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DOCUMENT RESUME SE 059 113 ED 436 338 Beyond Bio 101. TITLE Howard Hughes Medical Inst., Chevy Chase, MD. INSTITUTION 1996-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 93p. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Office of Communications, AVAILABLE FROM 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-6789. For full text: <http://www.hhmi.org/beyondbio101>. Reports - Descriptive (141) PUB TYPE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Biological Sciences; *Biology; Educational Change; DESCRIPTORS Educational Practices; Faculty; Females; Higher Education; Learning Theories; *Majors (Students); Minority Groups; Science and Society; Science Curriculum; Science Education; Scientific Principles; Scientific Research; Teaching Methods; Undergraduate Study ABSTRACT Sharply rising enrollments in undergraduate biology, spurred by the growing importance of the life sciences in society, have led university faculty members across the country to experiment with new ways of teaching students. This report documents change in the nation's classrooms; specifically, it focuses on a sample of institutions that are incorporating innovative projects in biology education supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Chapter 1, "A World of Opportunity," details how rising enrollments and the rapid growth of biological information are contributing to profound changes in undergraduate biology education. Chapter 2, "Changes in the Classroom," describes innovative teaching methods that are bringing the life sciences to life. Chapter 3, "The Laboratory Experience," provides information about students' experiences in the biology laboratory. Chapter 4, "Faculty in the Crossfire," details the frantic yet richly rewarding lives of university faculty members. Chapter 5, "Expanding the Talent Pool," describes efforts by campuses to attract and retain women and minority candidates in biology. Chapter 6, "The Many Paths to Success," lists even more examples of education. new approaches to teaching and learning in undergraduate biology (WRM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Sharply rising enrollments in undergraduate biology, spurred by the growing importance of the life rooting a Community of Scholars sciences in society, have led faculty EXPANDING THE TALENT POOL members across the country to experiment Blology for Non4Ylajors with new ways of htip / /www.hhmi,org /BeyondBioi01 teaching students. The result: changes in undergraduate biology education as dramatic as those reshaping THE LABORATORY EXPERIENCE biology itself. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND Office of Educational Research and Improvement DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS UCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION 3EN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) is document has been reproduced as rec= ed from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality BEST COPY AVAILABLE TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ° Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent 1 official OERI position or policy. A REPORT FROM THE HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE 7 . .V1.1811^ 4'0 FOREWORD cientists speak often of the "revolution in molecular biology" to describe the current ferment and pace of change in our understanding of living organisms. Over the past two decades a cascade of discoveries about the genetic origins of diseases, molecular functioning of the brain, and other questions has begun changing the face of the biological sciences and medicine. The breadth and impact of this intellectual revolution continue to grow. Less noticed is the remarkable change taking place in undergraduate biology education. At colleges and universities across the United States, a generation of students is flocking to learn about the exciting developments in biology and related disciplines. They are getting involved in original research in addition to learning from lectures, textbooks, and the scientific literature. They are using powerful computers and state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, and putting their new knowledge and skills to work in scientific settings and across society. This change in the classroom is as compelling in its way as the science itself. Beyond Bio 101 examines how the trend is unfolding at research universities, liberal arts colleges, histor- ically black institutions, and other campuses across the country. It focuses on institutions supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to tell a story that involves the broader, nationwide community. It is a story whose outcome affects not only scientists and educators, but also a larger society that is facing difficult choices about health care, the environment, the economy, and many other issues involving biology. HHMI, the nation's largest private philanthropy, is a nonprofit medical research organization dedicated to basic biomedical research and education. Its major mission, involving about 80 percent of its expenditures, is medical research carried out by HHIVII investigators located in laboratories at more than 60 leading academic medical centers, universities, and hospitals throughout the United States. However, in addition to supporting cutting-edge research today HHMI is committed to training the outstanding researchers of tomorrow. To that end, the Institute has awarded nearly $600 million through its grants program since 1988. Among its goals is the enhancement of the quality of science education for American students of all ages. The largest of the Institute's grants programs is directed toward biological sciences education at the college undergraduate level. More than 200 public and private colleges and universities have received several hundred million dollars in grants to expand research opportunities for students, update courses and facilities, attract talented women and underrepresented minorities to science, and reach out to science teachers and schools in their communities. This publication profiles only a sample of the programs supported by HHM1, which are themselves representative of the many colleges and universities that have begun to change how millions of young people learn about a science that is transforming their world. The goals, content, and practitioners of undergraduate biology education are all changing. Beyond Bio 101 describes what is happeningand why it matters to all of us. Purnell W. Choppin, M.D. President 4 Howard Hughes Medical Institute More- "" THE TRANSFORMATION OF UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY EDUCATION house College, A REPORT FROM THE HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE p. 98 CHAPTER 1: A World of Opportunity 4 Rising enrollments and the rapid growth of biological information are contributing to profound changes in undergraduate biology education. CHAPTER 2: Changes in the Classroom 18 Innovative teaching methods are bringing the life sciences to life. CHAPTER 3: 30 The Laboratory Experience Students carrying out real research discover what science is all about. CHAPTER 4: Faculty in the Crossfire 46 The life of a faculty member can be franticand richly rewarding. University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, p. 47 3ES' COPY Min 5 Fort Lewis College, p. 60 SURFING BEYOND BIG 101 A colorful electronic version of this publication is available on the Institute's World Wide Web site. It includes links to many of the programs described in this book, and to a variety of use- ful resources for biolo- CHAPTER 5: gy educators and students. Address: 58 Expanding the Talent Pool http://www.hhmi.org/ Campuses are learning how to attract more women and minority BeyondBio 101 students to biology, and how to help them succeed. All of the institutions profiled in this report have received support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through its Undergraduate CHAPTER 6: Biological Sciences Educa- tion Pwa,am. 72 The Many Paths to Success The names cf the colleges and universities are as they Biology education is flourishing at many campuses as new approaches appear in the 1995 Higher Education Directory. to teaching and learning take hold. Cover photographs: City College of New York (upper); Carnegie Mellon University (middle); University of Wisconsin-Madison (lower) Inside front cover: The bright yellow hybridization signal reveals the location of the messenger for a brain protein that binds zinc. This protein helps protect against epileptic seizures. COPY AVM LAKE 6 BEST ORM OF OPP° TO raduateeip. the Bio gical Scien - :,,c1116'" TEST COPY AVAILABLE CHAPTER 1 rowing up, Gus- tavo Arrizabalaga always knew that he wanted to study science. What he did not know was how difficult that would be for him. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Arriza- balaga enrolled with a scholarship at Haverford College outside Philadelphia and almost immediately was overwhelmed. The courses were much tougher than any- thing he had taken in high school. He was far away from his family and home, and he struggled to speak English flu- ently enough to be Colorful stripes distinguish Offlt developing body parts in Gc(103D 1:Gcg tio f3alee6cA, Drosophila embryo. _AKE .gr BEST COPY AVM understood. Several of his instructors won- underrepresented in the sciences. A little more than half are womenup from about dered if he was going to make it. Slowly he began to catch up. His English 30 percent in the 1960s. Most come to col- professors took him aside and worked lege directly from high school, but some through his papers with him. He began have taken time off or arrive at four-year doing research on photosynthesis in the lab- colleges by way of two-year colleges. An increasing number of biology majors are oratory of associate professor Julio de Paula. older students who are returning to college "The summer of his sophomore year, when to finish a degree or earn a second degree. Gustavo began in the lab, he really started The careers for which these students are to blossom," recalls de Paula. "His grades Many of the most preparing are equally diverse. Nationwide, got better. He started working on projects on pressing issues his own, and that made a big difference." about 10 percent of biology majors go on to Then, in his junior year, Arrizabalaga graduate school in biology and other sci- in the 21st century attended a seminar by a Peruvian-born ences, and about 20 percent go on to med- are likely to have ical school. A small but significant fraction expert on the structure and function of DNA. "That was a turning point for me," he says. become teachers in elementary and sec- biological roots. ondary schools. Others take jobs in industry "I told myself that if he could do it, I could government, the nonprofit sector, law, jour- nalism, and many other fields. do it." Now investi- Beyond the core group of biology majors gating Drosophila genetics at the are millions of other college students who take one or more biology classes each year. Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass- They might be satisfying a requirement for a related undergraduate degree such as achusetts, Arrizabal- aga is about a year psychology, agriculture, or education. They away from earning might be fulfilling a distribution requirement with a science perceived to be less mathe- his Ph.D. in biology. The year he grad- matically oriented than physics or chemistry. uated from Haver- Or maybe they are studying biology to learn ford, Arrizabalaga more about themselves and the world was one of about around them. 40,000 biology majors nationwidc a num- Whatever their motivation, they are tak- A computer-generated model shows the structure ing part in an experience that is undergoing ber that has since risen to more than 50,000, of the DNA-binding segment according to U.S. Department of Education decisive change. The number of students of the receptor for vitamin A. statistics. It is a remarkably diverse group. taking biology classes has soared in recent Like Arrizabalaga, about 12 percent of biolo- years, even though budgets in many biology gy majors are members of minority groups departments have stayed level or declined. 60,000 40,000 20,000 Bachelor's Degrees In Hill the Biological Sciences I I 111111111111111111 Year of Degree Award ('94=1993-94) 0 '72 '74 '68 '73 '75 '76 '67 '70 '69 '78 '84 '85 '86 '90 '66 '77 '79 '80 '87 '88 '89 '82 '71 '83 '92 '93 '91 '94 '81 Department of Education U.S. Source: Class sizes have increased, competition for other careers have become more promi- research experiences has intensified, and nent. Biology faculty members are asking faculty members have searched for new how biology can serve as the core of a ways to deliver a quality education to an strong liberal arts education, preparing Biology is increasingly diverse group of students. students for a wide range of ever-changing attracting students careers. And they are reexamining whether At the same time, the job market for students with biologically oriented educations their courses for non-majors adequately in the same way has been shifting. Medical schools and bio- prepare students for citizenship in a democ- that physics did in logy graduate schools are reexamining their racy that depends increasingly on science curricula and enrollment levels in the face and technology. the 1950s and of managed care, fierce competition for aca- These issues are contributing to a grow- Wes because ing ferment in undergraduate biology edu- demic jobs, and other pressures. Positions in industry continue to be available, but down- cation. Professors are experimenting with it is at the leading sizing in both the public and the private ways to engage students more actively in edge of intellectual sectors has generated considerable uncer- learning, even in the large classes that tainty. Students are intensely focused on result from growing enrollments. Laboratory activity today. experiences are turning into what education can do for their careers. open-ended investigations Less utilitarian forces also are at work. in which students learn not After a century in which engineering and only how to operate micro- the physical sciences dominated public scopes and centrifuges but attention, many of the most pressing issues also how to design experi- in the 21st century are likely to have biologi- ments, solve problems, and cal roots: preventing and treating formida- communicate their results. ble illnesses like AIDS, feeding a rapidly expanding world population, developing Students are getting involved in research projects even as biological sources of materials and energy. freshmen and sophomores. Biology is attracting students in the same And everywherein dorm way physics did in the 1950s and 1960s rooms, libraries, laborato- because it is at the leading edge of in- ries, and classroomsnew tellectual activity today. "It's what students technologies are redefining read about in the newspaper all the time," says biologist Bruce Alberts, president of the science education. These new approaches National Academy of Sciences. are raising tough questions. Furthermore, biology seems on the verge How can instructors create of answering some of the most tantalizing questions in science: How do organisms meaningful hands-on experiences for large numbers of grow and develop? How do ecosystems students? Can undergradu- function? To what extent can and should we ate education combine such manipulate the biological world? And these questions are not far removed from the experiences with the breadth of coverage that a rapidly world of undergraduates. College students expanding knowledge base are cloning genes, investigating the prop- seems to demand? Should erties of neurons, and measuring molecular evolutionactivities that were limited biology classes focus primar- to graduate students, postdocs, and profes- ily on the content or the process of biology? Hemdssenda Cressi- sors just a few years ago. How can effective teaching be disseminat- comls, or sea slug, a nudibranch mollusc. ed more widely? Changes in enrollments and the economy have raised a host of complex issues for This publication examines these ques- faculty. As the percentages of students accept- tions through the experiences of many of the ed into medical school and graduate school more than 200 colleges and universities that decline, the needs of students going into have received grants from the Howard