RCN-UBE: Establishing a Genomics Education Alliance: Steps toward Sustainability

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

The genomics revolution, the wide-spread use of DNA sequence data to enhance biological understanding, brings unique challenges for biology educators. Skills from computer and data sciences have become core competencies for students even though many life science faculty completed formal training without the computational expertise needed to effectively engage in this field. The Genomics Education Alliance (GEA) will bring together members of existing genomics education networks, leveraging their combined expertise to identify and curate common genome analysis tools, associated curricular and assessment materials, and faculty training strategies to facilitate the adoption of genomics instruction at any college or university. By making existing resources accessible, the GEA will enable current faculty to guide undergraduate life science students participating in authentic genomic research projects. Such work will enhance the ability of students -- whether at 2- or 4-year institutions -- to become productive members of the technological work-force, to succeed in post-graduation studies in biology and related disciplines, and to be better informed citizens and decision makers. The GEA will develop a consensus set of vetted resources and training materials to be disseminated to the education community through a single web portal for use of these materials in undergraduate classrooms. Curation efforts will emphasize faculty training and student learning resources, in particular the development of strategies to effectively lead genomics Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). The GEA will form an extended network, recruiting members from existing undergraduate genomics education communities, and exploit their combined experience to create a unified and sustainable platform, available through a web portal, that faculty can use to engage diverse students in inquiry-based curricula and CUREs. Our efforts will focus around three major aims: 1) curation and maintenance of computational resources for genomics instruction; 2) development of faculty training and student learning materials; and 3) evaluation of teaching and learning assessments in genomics education, aligning assessments with faculty training and student learning resources. The GEA network will be organized into four committees -- Bioinformatics Infrastructure, Student Learning, Faculty Training, and Evaluation/Assessment -- who will meet regularly to assemble and select materials to be further refined at the three face-to-face workshops. The specific tasks of each committee will be set at the kickoff workshop, and their initial work will be reported at a second progress workshop. At the final synthesis workshop, participants will evaluate the products and recommend any continued development needed for broad implementation. Curated materials will be maintained on established infrastructure to ensure the long-term accessibility of these products. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.