Enhancing Biology Education Research by Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries between Discipline-based Education Research in Biology and Learning Sciences.

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

A working knowledge of biology is increasingly important as society grapples with new genetic technologies, conservation, and the impacts of climate change. To help ensure a scientifically literate society that is prepared to deal with these issues, it is thus in the national interest to develop effective methods of teaching biological concepts. To that end, collaborations between scientists in discipline-based education research in biology (DBER-BIO) and learning sciences (LS; including cognitive, educational, and developmental psychology) have resulted in new theories and pedagogical strategies that advance understanding of learning in biology. Despite the benefits, however, these partnerships are relatively uncommon. Although the DBER-BIO and LS communities share the goal of understanding learning, connecting the two groups is often hindered by differences in training, methodologies, and practices. To facilitate collaboration between DBER-BIO and LS, the PI team will host a one-day workshop. The goals of the workshop are to develop connections between researchers from different disciplines, increase awareness of differences and similarities in perspectives towards education research, and equip participants with strategies for engaging in interdisciplinary work. Fostering these interdisciplinary collaborations will result in improved research on learning in biology that will ultimately improve undergraduate biology education. This project will support a one-day workshop for researchers in the LS and DBER-BIO communities. The workshop will foster interdisciplinary connections and identify strategies for collaboration through three activities: small group work, a panel discussion session with researchers who have experience in interdisciplinary collaborations, and a poster session. By the end of the workshop, it is anticipated that participants will have gained an appreciation of the value of interdisciplinary research and be equipped to pursue it. Data collected during the workshop will include discussion comments, collaborative strategies, and responses to an end-of-workshop survey. This data will be analyzed qualitatively using an in vivo approach for the first cycle of coding and focused coding for the second cycle to identify workshop outcomes. In turn, these will be evaluated to determine if the anticipated outcomes were met and to identify barriers to and facilitators of interdisciplinary collaboration as well as productive collaborative strategies. The PI team intends to share the results of this analysis through a meeting report, thus enabling the insights and strategies generated in the workshop to reach a broad audience.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.