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BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists PDF

208 Pages·2003·1.21 MB·English
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Committee on Undergraduate Biology Education to Prepare st Research Scientists for the 21 Century Board on Life Sciences Division on Earth and Life Studies THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by Contract Number N01-OD-4-2139, Task Order 64 be- tween the National Academies and the National Institutes of Health and Award Num- ber 71200-500115 between the National Academies and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bio2010 : transforming undergraduate education for future research biologists / Committee on Undergraduate Biology Education to Prepare Research Scientists for the 21st Century, Board on Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies, the National Research Council of the National Academies. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-309-08535-7 (pbk.) 1. Biology—Study and teaching (Higher)—United States. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Undergraduate Biology Education to Prepare Research Scientists for the 21st Century. QH319.A1 B56 2002 570′.71′173—dc21 2002152267 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu Copyright 2003 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sci- ences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the exami- nation of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the Na- tional Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY EDUCATION ST TO PREPARE RESEARCH SCIENTISTS FOR THE 21 CENTURY LUBERT STRYER (Chair), Stanford University, Stanford, California RONALD BRESLOW, Columbia University, New York, New York JAMES GENTILE, Hope College, Holland, Michigan DAVID HILLIS, University of Texas, Austin, Texas JOHN HOPFIELD, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey NANCY KOPELL, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts SHARON LONG, Stanford University, Stanford, California EDWARD PENHOET, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, San Francisco, California JOAN STEITZ, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut CHARLES STEVENS, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California SAMUEL WARD, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona Staff KERRY A. BRENNER, Study Director, Board on Life Sciences ROBERT T. YUAN, Program Officer, Board on Life Sciences JAY B. LABOV, Deputy Director, Center for Education JOAN G. ESNAYRA, Program Officer, Board on Life Sciences BRIDGET K.B. AVILA, Senior Project Assistant, Board on Life Sciences DENISE GROSSHANS, Project Assistant, Board on Life Sciences Editor PAULA T. WHITACRE iv BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES COREY S. GOODMAN (Chair), University of California, Berkeley, California R. ALTA CHARO, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, Wisconsin JOANNE CHORY, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California DAVID J. GALAS, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Science, Claremont, California BARBARA GASTEL, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas JAMES M. GENTILE, Hope College, Holland, Michigan LINDA E. GREER, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC ED HARLOW, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts ELLIOT M. MEYEROWITZ, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California ROBERT T. PAINE, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington GREGORY A. PETSKO, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts STUART L. PIMM, Columbia University, New York, New York JOAN B. ROSE, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida GERALD M. RUBIN, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland BARBARA A. SCHAAL, Washington University, St. Louis RAYMOND L. WHITE, DNA Sciences, Inc., Fremont, California Staff FRANCES E. SHARPLES, Director JENNIFER KUZMA, Senior Program Officer ROBIN A. SCHOEN, Senior Program Officer KERRY A. BRENNER, Program Officer JOAN G. ESNAYRA, Program Officer MARILEE K. SHELTON, Program Officer EVONNE P.Y. TANG, Program Officer ROBERT T. YUAN, Program Officer BRIDGET K.B. AVILA, Senior Project Assistant DENISE GROSSHANS, Project Assistant VALERIE GUTMANN, Project Assistant SETH STRONGIN, Project Assistant v Foreword This report continues the National Academies’ efforts in the reform of education by calling on researchers to recognize the importance of teaching and to join together with educators to promote undergraduate learning. The goal in this case is to prepare the next generation of biological research- ers for the tremendous opportunities ahead. Attaining this goal will require that faculty spend more time discussing their teaching with their colleagues, both within and outside of their own field or department. The enthusiastic participation of the Bio2010 committee members in this study demon- strates how deeply our leading researchers value education. It also proves that chemists, physicists, mathematicians, and biologists can learn from each other, as well as from talented educators. As the report makes clear, biological research today has reached a very exciting stage, and many more biological scientists with strong backgrounds in physics and chemistry will be needed. Moreover, collaborations between established scientists who were trained in different disciplines will be facilitated if they learn to com- municate with its practitioners at an early stage in their careers and appreci- ate the contributions that each discipline can make to biology. Undergraduate education is a crucial link in the preparation of future researchers. Many university faculty care deeply about education, but most of them have received no training in how to teach. This report offers many suggestions for faculty who would like to improve their teaching. It pre- sents examples of what others have done and resources for further investi- vii viii FOREWORD gation. It also calls on colleges, universities, and others to provide support for faculty who want to devote energy to improving teaching and to pro- ducing new teaching materials. The National Academies have produced dozens of reports on educa- tion in recent years. Many of these reports are useful resources for college faculty. Science Teaching Reconsidered is a handbook for faculty to help them improve their teaching. Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology promotes a vision in which these subjects would become accessible to all students. How People Learn and Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards are written for precollege faculty, but they contain important ideas for everyone on how knowledge of cognitive science can inform teaching and learning. All of these resources are freely available on our Web site at www.national academies.org. Publishing reports is not enough. As a result of ideas presented in this Bio2010 report, the National Academies will launch a pilot program, a Summer Institute for Undergraduate Biology Education. The Institute will bring teams of faculty from research universities together to present them with proven ways to improve student learning, as well as to allow them to share their own expertise concerning effective undergraduate teaching. In closing, I would like to thank Lubert Stryer for his inspired, ener- getic leadership of this important project, as well as the members of the committee and its staff for each of their critical contributions. They have served the nation well. Bruce Alberts President, National Academy of Sciences Chair, National Research Council Preface Increasingly, biomedical researchers must be comfortable applying di- verse aspects of mathematics and the physical sciences to their pursuit of biological knowledge. Biomedical researchers advance society’s understand- ing of many topics, not just human disease. They work with diverse model organisms and study behavior in systems ranging from the molecular to the organismal using traditional biological techniques as well as high-tech ap- proaches. Undergraduate biology students who become comfortable with the ideas of mathematics and physical sciences from the start of their edu- cation will be better positioned to contribute to future discoveries in bio- medical research. For this reason the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute asked the National Research Council to evaluate the undergraduate education of this particular group of students. The committee began its work in the fall of 2000. The report recommends a comprehensive reevaluation of undergradu- ate science education for future biomedical researchers. In particular it calls for a renewed discussion on the ways that engineering and computer sci- ence, as well as chemistry, physics, and mathematics are presented to life science students. The conclusions of the report are based on input from chemists, physicists, and mathematicians, not just practicing research bi- ologists. The committee recognizes that all undergraduate science educa- tion is interconnected. Changes cannot be made solely to benefit future biomedical researchers. The impact on undergraduates studying other types ix

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