Evolving Strategies for the Incorporation of Bioinformatics Within the Undergraduate Cell Biology Curriculum

PubMed Central

Honts, Jerry E.

2003-01-01

Recent advances in genomics and structural biology have resulted in an unprecedented increase in biological data available from Internet-accessible databases. In order to help students effectively use this vast repository of information, undergraduate biology students at Drake University were introduced to bioinformatics software and databases in three courses, beginning with an introductory course in cell biology. The exercises and projects that were used to help students develop literacy in bioinformatics are described. In a recently offered course in bioinformatics, students developed their own simple sequence analysis tool using the Perl programming language. These experiences are described from the point of view of the instructor as well as the students. A preliminary assessment has been made of the degree to which students had developed a working knowledge of bioinformatics concepts and methods. Finally, some conclusions have been drawn from these courses that may be helpful to instructors wishing to introduce bioinformatics within the undergraduate biology curriculum. PMID:14673489

Need assessment of enhancing the weightage of applied biochemistry in the undergraduate curriculum at MGIMS, sevagram.

PubMed

Kumar, Satish; Jena, Lingaraja; Vagha, Jayant

2016-05-06

In order to review the need assessment of enhancing the weightage of Applied Biochemistry in the undergraduate curriculum at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sevagram, a validated questionnaire was sent to 453 participants which include 387 undergraduate students, 11 interns, 23 postgraduate students, and 32 faculty members. A web-based data collection and analysis tool was designed for online questionnaire distribution, data collection, and analysis. Response rate was 100%. Most of the respondents agreed that the subject Biochemistry has relevance in clinical practice (81.24%) and applied based learning of Biochemistry by medical undergraduates would help in overall improvement in the health standards/patients care (83.44%). According to 65.12% respondents, most of the medical undergraduates read Biochemistry just for examination purpose only. Nearly half of the respondents agreed that minute details of biochemical reactions were not much useful in clinical practice (53.86%) and the vast majority of diagrammatic cycles memorized by the medical undergraduates had no relevance in clinical practice (51.21%), the decreased interest in learning the Applied Biochemistry was due to more amount of clinically irrelevant information taught to medical undergraduates (73.51%), there was a need to rethink for removing the diagrammatic biochemical cycles from curriculum for medical undergraduates (48.12%), the less learning of Applied Biochemistry or competencies would affect the clinical skills and knowledge of medical undergraduates (70.42%). The result of this study suggests that there is need for restructuring the Biochemistry curriculum with more clinical relevance. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44:230-240, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Observations by a university anatomy teacher and a suggestion for curricular change: integrative anatomy for undergraduates.

PubMed

Darda, David M

2010-01-01

The observation that anatomical course offerings have decreased in undergraduate biology curricula is supported by a survey of undergraduate institutions in the state of Washington. This reduction, due partially to increased emphasis in other areas of the biology curriculum, along with the lack of anatomy prerequisites for admission to most medical and dental schools, has resulted in many biology majors who have little or no exposure to the anatomical sciences. This is a disservice to our students who need to understand organismal form and function to better connect our rapidly expanding knowledge of life at the cell and molecular level to our understanding of the role of organisms in ecosystems and as the primary target of natural selection in evolutionary change. Undergraduate anatomical courses can also serve as an extension of the anatomy curriculum in professional healthcare programs, where anatomical sciences are also experiencing a reduced allocation of instructional time. Given the importance of anatomical knowledge along with the many demands and constraints on biology curricula, what can we do? One suggestion, a course in integrative anatomy for undergraduates, is proposed and discussed. Copyright 2010 American Association of Anatomists.

A Modular Approach to Teaching Mathematical Modeling in Biotechnology in the Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larripa, Kamila R.; Mazzag, Borbala

2016-01-01

Our paper describes a solution we found to a still existing need to develop mathematical modeling courses for undergraduate biology majors. Some challenges of such courses are: (i) relatively limited exposure of biology students to higher-level mathematical and computational concepts; (ii) availability of texts that can give a flavor of how…

Integration of Bioinformatics into an Undergraduate Biology Curriculum and the Impact on Development of Mathematical Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wightman, Bruce; Hark, Amy T.

2012-01-01

The development of fields such as bioinformatics and genomics has created new challenges and opportunities for undergraduate biology curricula. Students preparing for careers in science, technology, and medicine need more intensive study of bioinformatics and more sophisticated training in the mathematics on which this field is based. In this…

Pre-Service Biology Teachers' Perceptions on the Instruction of Socio-Scientific Issues in the Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kara, Yilmaz

2012-01-01

The work presented here represents a preliminary attempt to address the role of teachers in supporting students' learning on socio-scientific issues (SSI) by characterising pre-service biology teachers' perceptions and adaptation of curriculum and identifying factors that serve to mediate this process. A hundred and two undergraduate pre-service…

Training mechanical engineering students to utilize biological inspiration during product development.

PubMed

Bruck, Hugh A; Gershon, Alan L; Golden, Ira; Gupta, Satyandra K; Gyger, Lawrence S; Magrab, Edward B; Spranklin, Brent W

2007-12-01

The use of bio-inspiration for the development of new products and devices requires new educational tools for students consisting of appropriate design and manufacturing technologies, as well as curriculum. At the University of Maryland, new educational tools have been developed that introduce bio-inspired product realization to undergraduate mechanical engineering students. These tools include the development of a bio-inspired design repository, a concurrent fabrication and assembly manufacturing technology, a series of undergraduate curriculum modules and a new senior elective in the bio-inspired robotics area. This paper first presents an overview of the two new design and manufacturing technologies that enable students to realize bio-inspired products, and describes how these technologies are integrated into the undergraduate educational experience. Then, the undergraduate curriculum modules are presented, which provide students with the fundamental design and manufacturing principles needed to support bio-inspired product and device development. Finally, an elective bio-inspired robotics project course is present, which provides undergraduates with the opportunity to demonstrate the application of the knowledge acquired through the curriculum modules in their senior year using the new design and manufacturing technologies.

Assessing an effective undergraduate module teaching applied bioinformatics to biology students

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Applied bioinformatics skills are becoming ever more indispensable for biologists, yet incorporation of these skills into the undergraduate biology curriculum is lagging behind, in part due to a lack of instructors willing and able to teach basic bioinformatics in classes that don’t specifically focus on quantitative skill development, such as statistics or computer sciences. To help undergraduate course instructors who themselves did not learn bioinformatics as part of their own education and are hesitant to plunge into teaching big data analysis, a module was developed that is written in plain-enough language, using publicly available computing tools and data, to allow novice instructors to teach next-generation sequence analysis to upper-level undergraduate students. To determine if the module allowed students to develop a better understanding of and appreciation for applied bioinformatics, various tools were developed and employed to assess the impact of the module. This article describes both the module and its assessment. Students found the activity valuable for their education and, in focus group discussions, emphasized that they saw a need for more and earlier instruction of big data analysis as part of the undergraduate biology curriculum. PMID:29324777

Synthesizing Novel Anthraquinone Natural Product-Like Compounds to Investigate Protein-Ligand Interactions in Both an in Vitro and in Vivo Assay: An Integrated Research-Based Third-Year Chemical Biology Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenzie, Nancy; McNulty, James; McLeod, David; McFadden, Meghan; Balachandran, Naresh

2012-01-01

A new undergraduate program in chemical biology was launched in 2008 to provide a unique learning experience for those students interested in this interdisciplinary science. An innovative undergraduate chemical biology laboratory course at the third-year level was developed as a key component of the curriculum. The laboratory course introduces…

A High-Enrollment Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Improves Student Conceptions of Scientific Thinking and Ability to Interpret Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Sara E.; Hekmat-Scafe, Daria S.; Singla, Veena; Seawell, Patricia Chandler; Imam, Jamie F. Conklin; Eddy, Sarah L.; Stearns, Tim; Cyert, Martha S.

2015-01-01

We present an innovative course-based undergraduate research experience curriculum focused on the characterization of single point mutations in p53, a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated in more than 50% of human cancers. This course is required of all introductory biology students, so all biology majors engage in a research project as part of…

Bioinformatics and the Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maloney, Mark; Parker, Jeffrey; LeBlanc, Mark; Woodard, Craig T.; Glackin, Mary; Hanrahan, Michael

2010-01-01

Recent advances involving high-throughput techniques for data generation and analysis have made familiarity with basic bioinformatics concepts and programs a necessity in the biological sciences. Undergraduate students increasingly need training in methods related to finding and retrieving information stored in vast databases. The rapid rise of…

Advantages and challenges of using physics curricula as a model for reforming an undergraduate biology course.

PubMed

Donovan, D A; Atkins, L J; Salter, I Y; Gallagher, D J; Kratz, R F; Rousseau, J V; Nelson, G D

2013-06-01

We report on the development of a life sciences curriculum, targeted to undergraduate students, which was modeled after a commercially available physics curriculum and based on aspects of how people learn. Our paper describes the collaborative development process and necessary modifications required to apply a physics pedagogical model in a life sciences context. While some approaches were easily adapted, others provided significant challenges. Among these challenges were: representations of energy, introducing definitions, the placement of Scientists' Ideas, and the replicability of data. In modifying the curriculum to address these challenges, we have come to see them as speaking to deeper differences between the disciplines, namely that introductory physics--for example, Newton's laws, magnetism, light--is a science of pairwise interaction, while introductory biology--for example, photosynthesis, evolution, cycling of matter in ecosystems--is a science of linked processes, and we suggest that this is how the two disciplines are presented in introductory classes. We illustrate this tension through an analysis of our adaptations of the physics curriculum for instruction on the cycling of matter and energy; we show that modifications of the physics curriculum to address the biological framework promotes strong gains in student understanding of these topics, as evidenced by analysis of student work.

A Portable Bioinformatics Course for Upper-Division Undergraduate Curriculum in Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Floraino, Wely B.

2008-01-01

This article discusses the challenges that bioinformatics education is facing and describes a bioinformatics course that is successfully taught at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to the fourth year undergraduate students in biological sciences, chemistry, and computer science. Information on lecture and computer practice…

Bioinformatics for Undergraduates: Steps toward a Quantitative Bioscience Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Barbara S.; Christmann, James L.; Thatcher, Eileen F.

2006-01-01

We describe an innovative bioinformatics course developed under grants from the National Science Foundation and the California State University Program in Research and Education in Biotechnology for undergraduate biology students. The project has been part of a continuing effort to offer students classroom experiences focused on principles and…

Authentic Research Experience and "Big Data" Analysis in the Classroom: Maize Response to Abiotic Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Makarevitch, Irina; Frechette, Cameo; Wiatros, Natalia

2015-01-01

Integration of inquiry-based approaches into curriculum is transforming the way science is taught and studied in undergraduate classrooms. Incorporating quantitative reasoning and mathematical skills into authentic biology undergraduate research projects has been shown to benefit students in developing various skills necessary for future…

Learner-Centered Inquiry in Undergraduate Biology: Positive Relationships with Long-Term Student Achievement

PubMed Central

Ebert-May, Diane

2010-01-01

We determined short- and long-term correlates of a revised introductory biology curriculum on understanding of biology as a process of inquiry and learning of content. In the original curriculum students completed two traditional lecture-based introductory courses. In the revised curriculum students completed two new learner-centered, inquiry-based courses. The new courses differed significantly from those of the original curriculum through emphases on critical thinking, collaborative work, and/or inquiry-based activities. Assessments were administered to compare student understanding of the process of biological science and content knowledge in the two curricula. More seniors who completed the revised curriculum had high-level profiles on the Views About Science Survey for Biology compared with seniors who completed the original curriculum. Also as seniors, students who completed the revised curriculum scored higher on the standardized Biology Field Test. Our results showed that an intense inquiry-based learner-centered learning experience early in the biology curriculum was associated with long-term improvements in learning. We propose that students learned to learn science in the new courses which, in turn, influenced their learning in subsequent courses. Studies that determine causal effects of learner-centered inquiry-based approaches, rather than correlative relationships, are needed to test our proposed explanation. PMID:21123693

Disciplinary Authenticity: Enriching the Reforms of Introductory Physics Courses for Life-Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Jessica; Coffey, Janet E.; Redish, Edward F.; Cooke, Todd J.

2012-01-01

Educators and policy makers have advocated for reform of undergraduate biology education, calling for greater integration of mathematics and physics in the biology curriculum. While these calls reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of biology research, crossing disciplinary boundaries in the classroom carries epistemological challenges…

Effects of a Research-Infused Botanical Curriculum on Undergraduates' Content Knowledge, STEM Competencies, and Attitudes toward Plant Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Jennifer Rhode; Clarke, H. David; Horton, Jonathan L.

2014-01-01

In response to the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education initiative, we infused authentic, plant-based research into majors' courses at a public liberal arts university. Faculty members designed a financially sustainable pedagogical approach, utilizing vertically integrated…

Beyond the Cell: Using Multiscalar Topics to Bring Interdisciplinarity into Undergraduate Cellular Biology Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Carolyn F.

2016-01-01

Western science has grown increasingly reductionistic and, in parallel, the undergraduate life sciences curriculum has become disciplinarily fragmented. While reductionistic approaches have led to landmark discoveries, many of the most exciting scientific advances in the late 20th century have occurred at disciplinary interfaces; work at these…

Authentic teaching and learning through synthetic biology

PubMed Central

Kuldell, Natalie

2007-01-01

Synthetic biology is an emerging engineering discipline that, if successful, will allow well-characterized biological components to be predictably and reliably built into robust organisms that achieve specific functions. Fledgling efforts to design and implement a synthetic biology curriculum for undergraduate students have shown that the co-development of this emerging discipline and its future practitioners does not undermine learning. Rather it can serve as the lynchpin of a synthetic biology curriculum. Here I describe educational goals uniquely served by synthetic biology teaching, detail ongoing curricula development efforts at MIT, and specify particular aspects of the emerging field that must develop rapidly in order to best train the next generation of synthetic biologists. PMID:18271945

Biological Inquiry: A New Course and Assessment Plan in Response to the Call to Transform Undergraduate Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldey, Ellen S.; Abercrombie, Clarence L.; Ivy, Tracie M.; Kusher, Dave I.; Moeller, John F.; Rayner, Doug A.; Smith, Charles F.; Spivey, Natalie W.

2012-01-01

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which greater than 50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in…

Developing and Assessing Curriculum on the Physics of Medical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christensen, Warren; Johnson, James K.; Van Ness, Grace R.; Mylott, Elliot; Dunlap, Justin C.; Anderson, Elizabeth A.; Widenhorn, Ralf

2013-01-01

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre-health majors…

Integration of Biological Applications into the Core Undergraduate Curriculum: A Practical Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Komives, Claire; Prince, Michael; Fernandez, Erik; Balcarcel, Robert

2011-01-01

A web database of solved problems has been created to enable faculty to incorporate biological applications into core courses. Over 20% of US ChE departments utilized problems from the website, and 19 faculty attended a workshop to facilitate teaching the modules. Assessment of student learning showed some gains related to biological outcomes, as…

Change is necessary in a biological engineering curriculum.

PubMed

Johnson, Arthur T; Montas, Hubert; Shirmohammadi, Adel; Wheaton, Fredrick W

2006-01-01

Success of a Biological Engineering undergraduate educational program can be measured in a number of ways, but however it is measured, a presently successful program can translate into an unsuccessful program if it cannot adjust to different conditions posed by technical advances, student characteristics, and academic pressures. Described in this paper is a Biological Engineering curriculum that has changed significantly since its transformation from Agricultural Engineering in 1993. As a result, student numbers have continued to climb, specific objectives have emerged, and unique courses have been developed. The Biological Resources Engineering program has evolved into a program that emphasizes breadth, fundamentals, communications skills, diversity, and practical engineering judgment.

Biological Interaction of Molybdenocene Dichloride with Bovine Serum Albumin Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domínguez, Moralba; Cortes-Figueroa, Jose´ E.; Meléndez, Enrique

2018-01-01

Bioinorganic topics are ubiquitous in the inorganic chemistry curriculum; however, experiments to enhance understanding of related topics are scarce. In this proposed laboratory, upper undergraduate students assess the biological interaction of molybdenocene dichloride (Cp2MoCl2) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) by fluorescence spectroscopy.…

Advantages and Challenges of Using Physics Curricula as a Model for Reforming an Undergraduate Biology Course

PubMed Central

Donovan, D. A.; Atkins, L. J.; Salter, I. Y.; Gallagher, D. J.; Kratz, R. F.; Rousseau, J. V.; Nelson, G. D.

2013-01-01

We report on the development of a life sciences curriculum, targeted to undergraduate students, which was modeled after a commercially available physics curriculum and based on aspects of how people learn. Our paper describes the collaborative development process and necessary modifications required to apply a physics pedagogical model in a life sciences context. While some approaches were easily adapted, others provided significant challenges. Among these challenges were: representations of energy, introducing definitions, the placement of Scientists’ Ideas, and the replicability of data. In modifying the curriculum to address these challenges, we have come to see them as speaking to deeper differences between the disciplines, namely that introductory physics—for example, Newton's laws, magnetism, light—is a science of pairwise interaction, while introductory biology—for example, photosynthesis, evolution, cycling of matter in ecosystems—is a science of linked processes, and we suggest that this is how the two disciplines are presented in introductory classes. We illustrate this tension through an analysis of our adaptations of the physics curriculum for instruction on the cycling of matter and energy; we show that modifications of the physics curriculum to address the biological framework promotes strong gains in student understanding of these topics, as evidenced by analysis of student work. PMID:23737629

An Analysis of Curriculum and Undergraduate Students' Discourses about Environmental Education: A Debate Concerning Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasin, Elizabeth Bozoti; Bozelli, Reinaldo Luiz

2016-01-01

Teacher training on environmental education (EE) is a key element of promoting the restoration of ecological systems and insuring inclusive and equitable human development. Science and biology teachers play a significant role in favoring EE at Brazilian schools. This study investigates the presence of EE in the curriculum and aims to interpret the…

White Paper: Radiological Curriculum for Undergraduate Medical Education in Germany.

PubMed

Ertl-Wagner, B; Barkhausen, J; Mahnken, A H; Mentzel, H J; Uder, M; Weidemann, J; Stumpp, P

2016-11-01

Purpose: Radiology represents a highly relevant part of undergraduate medical education from preclinical studies to subinternship training. It is therefore important to establish a content base for teaching radiology in German Medical Faculties. Materials and Methods: The German Society of Radiology (DRG) developed a model curriculum for radiological teaching at German medical universities, which is presented in this article. There is also a European model curriculum for undergraduate teaching (U-level curriculum of the European Society of Radiology). In a modular concept, the students shall learn important radiological core principles in the realms of knowledge, skills and competences as well as core scientific competences in the imaging sciences. Results: The curriculum is divided into two modules. Module 1 includes principles of radiation biology, radiation protection and imaging technology, imaging anatomy as well as the risks and side effects of radiological methods, procedures and contrast media. This module is modality-oriented. Module 2 comprises radiological diagnostic decision-making and imaging-based interventional techniques for various disease entities. This module is organ system-oriented. Conclusion: The curriculum is meant as a living document to be amended and revised at regular intervals. The curriculum can be used as a basis for individual curricular development at German Medical Faculties. It can be integrated into traditional or reformed medical teaching curricula. Key Points: • Radiology is an integral and important part of medical education.• The German Society of Radiology (DRG) developed a model curriculum for teaching radiology at German Medical Faculties to help students develop the ability to make medical decisions based on scientific knowledge and act accordingly.• This curriculum can be used for individual curricular development at medical departments. It is divided into two modules with several chapters. Citation Format: • Ertl-Wagner B, Barkhausen J, Mahnken AH et al. White Paper: Radiological Curriculum for Undergraduate Medical Education in Germany. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2016; 188: 1017 - 1023. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Points of View: Content versus Process--Is This a Fair Choice? Undergraduate Biology Courses for Nonscientists: Toward a Lived Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Robin L.

2005-01-01

"Points of View" addresses issues faced by many people within the life sciences educational realm. This issue addresses the question "What should a biology student know?" The author argues for focusing on skill over content when teaching nonmajors biology, with the foundation of his argument being that literacy in any field…

Promoting Student Inquiry Using "Zea Mays" (Corn) Cultivars for Hypothesis-Driven Experimentation in a Majors Introductory Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blair, Amy C.; Peters, Brenda J.; Bendixen, Conrad W.

2014-01-01

The AAAS Vision and Change report (2011) recommends incorporating student research experiences into the biology curriculum at the undergraduate level. This article describes, in detail, how "Zea mays" (corn) cultivars were used as a model for a hypothesis-driven short-term research project in an introductory biology course at a small…

Deliberation as Communication Instruction: A Study of a Climate Change Deliberation in an Introductory Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drury, Sara A. Mehltretter

2015-01-01

The author argues that deliberation is an innovative method for teaching communication skills, particularly group communication, in the undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. A case study using a deliberation activity on global climate change in an introductory biology course demonstrates how deliberative…

Web-Based Learning Support for Experimental Design in Molecular Biology: A Top-Down Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aegerter-Wilmsen, Tinri; Hartog, Rob; Bisseling, Ton

2003-01-01

An important learning goal of a molecular biology curriculum is the attainment of a certain competence level in experimental design. Currently, undergraduate students are confronted with experimental approaches in textbooks, lectures and laboratory courses. However, most students do not reach a satisfactory level of competence in the designing of…

Known structure, unknown function: An inquiry-based undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course.

PubMed

Gray, Cynthia; Price, Carol W; Lee, Christopher T; Dewald, Alison H; Cline, Matthew A; McAnany, Charles E; Columbus, Linda; Mura, Cameron

2015-01-01

Undergraduate biochemistry laboratory courses often do not provide students with an authentic research experience, particularly when the express purpose of the laboratory is purely instructional. However, an instructional laboratory course that is inquiry- and research-based could simultaneously impart scientific knowledge and foster a student's research expertise and confidence. We have developed a year-long undergraduate biochemistry laboratory curriculum wherein students determine, via experiment and computation, the function of a protein of known three-dimensional structure. The first half of the course is inquiry-based and modular in design; students learn general biochemical techniques while gaining preparation for research experiments in the second semester. Having learned standard biochemical methods in the first semester, students independently pursue their own (original) research projects in the second semester. This new curriculum has yielded an improvement in student performance and confidence as assessed by various metrics. To disseminate teaching resources to students and instructors alike, a freely accessible Biochemistry Laboratory Education resource is available at http://biochemlab.org. © 2015 The Authors Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Benefits of using a hybrid problem-based learning curriculum to improve long-term learning acquisition in undergraduate biology education.

PubMed

Carrió, Mar; Agell, Laia; Baños, Josep Eladi; Moyano, Elisabeth; Larramona, Pilar; Pérez, Jorge

2016-08-01

Although problem-based learning (PBL) has been used for over 40 years, with many studies comparing the benefits of PBL versus other educational approaches, little attention has been paid to the effectiveness of hybrid PBL (H-PBL) curricula. Here we aimed to compare the learning outcomes of two groups of undergraduate biology students working towards a bachelor's degree: one group used an H-PBL approach, while the second used a lecture-based learning (LBL) approach. Specifically, the H-PBL group used a PBL module with interdisciplinary problems, which represented 20% of the entire curriculum. The main outcomes of evaluation were the long-term acquisition of factual knowledge and the problem-solving skills at the end of the bachelor's degree. The sample included 85 students, 39 in the H-PBL group and 46 in the LBL group. We found that an H-PBL curriculum can improve the students' learning outcomes such as long-term knowledge acquisition, problem solving skills and generic competences. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Curriculum Alignment with Vision and Change Improves Student Scientific Literacy

PubMed Central

Auerbach, Anna Jo; Schussler, Elisabeth E.

2017-01-01

The Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education final report challenged institutions to reform their biology courses to focus on process skills and student active learning, among other recommendations. A large southeastern university implemented curricular changes to its majors’ introductory biology sequence in alignment with these recommendations. Discussion sections focused on developing student process skills were added to both lectures and a lab, and one semester of lab was removed. This curriculum was implemented using active-learning techniques paired with student collaboration. This study determined whether these changes resulted in a higher gain of student scientific literacy by conducting pre/posttesting of scientific literacy for two cohorts: students experiencing the unreformed curriculum and students experiencing the reformed curriculum. Retention of student scientific literacy for each cohort was also assessed 4 months later. At the end of the academic year, scientific literacy gains were significantly higher for students in the reformed curriculum (p = 0.005), with those students having double the scientific literacy gains of the cohort in the unreformed curriculum. Retention of scientific literacy did not differ between the cohorts. PMID:28495933

Using Service Learning in a Course Entitled "Biology of Women" to Promote Student Engagement and Awareness of Community Needs and Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauer-Dantoin, Angela C.

2008-01-01

Service learning projects were incorporated into the curriculum of an undergraduate course entitled "Biology of Women". The goals of the service learning projects were: 1) to provide students with the opportunity to consider issues pertaining to human biology in real-world settings; 2) to foster student engagement with the community; and…

Understanding Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Processes †

PubMed Central

Nehm, Ross H.

2010-01-01

Fostering effective problem-solving skills is one of the most longstanding and widely agreed upon goals of biology education. Nevertheless, undergraduate biology educators have yet to leverage many major findings about problem-solving processes from the educational and cognitive science research literatures. This article highlights key facets of problem-solving processes and introduces methodologies that may be used to reveal how undergraduate students perceive and represent biological problems. Overall, successful problem-solving entails a keen sensitivity to problem contexts, disciplined internal representation or modeling of the problem, and the principled management and deployment of cognitive resources. Context recognition tasks, problem representation practice, and cognitive resource management receive remarkably little emphasis in the biology curriculum, despite their central roles in problem-solving success. PMID:23653710

Points of View: A Survey of Survey Courses--Are They Effective? Argument Favoring a Survey as the First Course for Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ledbetter, Mary Lee; Campbell, A. Malcolm

2005-01-01

Reasonable people disagree about how to introduce undergraduate students to the marvels and complexities of the biological sciences. With intrinsically varied subdisciplines within biology, exponentially growing bases of information, and new unifying theories rising regularly, introduction to the curriculum is a challenge. Some decide to focus…

Evaluating a Modeling Curriculum by Using Heuristics for Productive Disciplinary Engagement

PubMed Central

Passmore, Cynthia

2010-01-01

The BIO2010 report provided a compelling argument for the need to create learning experiences for undergraduate biology students that are more authentic to modern science. The report acknowledged the need for research that could help practitioners successfully create and reform biology curricula with this goal in mind. Our objective in this article was to explore how a set of six design heuristics could be used to evaluate the potential of curricula to support productive learning experiences for science students. We drew on data collected during a long-term study of an undergraduate traineeship that introduced students to mathematical modeling in the context of modern biological problems. We present illustrative examples from this curriculum that highlight the ways in which three heuristics—instructor role-modeling, holding students to scientific norms, and providing students with opportunities to practice these norms—consistently supported learning across the curriculum. We present a more detailed comparison of two different curricular modules and explain how differences in student authority, problem structure, and access to resources contributed to differences in productive engagement by students in these modules. We hope that our analysis will help practitioners think in more concrete terms about how to achieve the goals set forth by BIO2010. PMID:20810958

Teaching Biology through Statistics: Application of Statistical Methods in Genetics and Zoology Courses

PubMed Central

Colon-Berlingeri, Migdalisel; Burrowes, Patricia A.

2011-01-01

Incorporation of mathematics into biology curricula is critical to underscore for undergraduate students the relevance of mathematics to most fields of biology and the usefulness of developing quantitative process skills demanded in modern biology. At our institution, we have made significant changes to better integrate mathematics into the undergraduate biology curriculum. The curricular revision included changes in the suggested course sequence, addition of statistics and precalculus as prerequisites to core science courses, and incorporating interdisciplinary (math–biology) learning activities in genetics and zoology courses. In this article, we describe the activities developed for these two courses and the assessment tools used to measure the learning that took place with respect to biology and statistics. We distinguished the effectiveness of these learning opportunities in helping students improve their understanding of the math and statistical concepts addressed and, more importantly, their ability to apply them to solve a biological problem. We also identified areas that need emphasis in both biology and mathematics courses. In light of our observations, we recommend best practices that biology and mathematics academic departments can implement to train undergraduates for the demands of modern biology. PMID:21885822

Teaching biology through statistics: application of statistical methods in genetics and zoology courses.

PubMed

Colon-Berlingeri, Migdalisel; Burrowes, Patricia A

2011-01-01

Incorporation of mathematics into biology curricula is critical to underscore for undergraduate students the relevance of mathematics to most fields of biology and the usefulness of developing quantitative process skills demanded in modern biology. At our institution, we have made significant changes to better integrate mathematics into the undergraduate biology curriculum. The curricular revision included changes in the suggested course sequence, addition of statistics and precalculus as prerequisites to core science courses, and incorporating interdisciplinary (math-biology) learning activities in genetics and zoology courses. In this article, we describe the activities developed for these two courses and the assessment tools used to measure the learning that took place with respect to biology and statistics. We distinguished the effectiveness of these learning opportunities in helping students improve their understanding of the math and statistical concepts addressed and, more importantly, their ability to apply them to solve a biological problem. We also identified areas that need emphasis in both biology and mathematics courses. In light of our observations, we recommend best practices that biology and mathematics academic departments can implement to train undergraduates for the demands of modern biology.

Comparing the Impact of Course-Based and Apprentice-Based Research Experiences in a Life Science Laboratory Curriculum†

PubMed Central

Shapiro, Casey; Moberg-Parker, Jordan; Toma, Shannon; Ayon, Carlos; Zimmerman, Hilary; Roth-Johnson, Elizabeth A.; Hancock, Stephen P.; Levis-Fitzgerald, Marc; Sanders, Erin R.

2015-01-01

This four-year study describes the assessment of a bifurcated laboratory curriculum designed to provide upper-division undergraduate majors in two life science departments meaningful exposure to authentic research. The timing is critical as it provides a pathway for both directly admitted and transfer students to enter research. To fulfill their degree requirements, all majors complete one of two paths in the laboratory program. One path immerses students in scientific discovery experienced through team research projects (course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs) and the other path through a mentored, independent research project (apprentice-based research experiences, or AREs). The bifurcated laboratory curriculum was structured using backwards design to help all students, irrespective of path, achieve specific learning outcomes. Over 1,000 undergraduates enrolled in the curriculum. Self-report survey results indicate that there were no significant differences in affective gains by path. Students conveyed which aspects of the curriculum were critical to their learning and development of research-oriented skills. Students’ interests in biology increased upon completion of the curriculum, inspiring a subset of CURE participants to subsequently pursue further research. A rubric-guided performance evaluation, employed to directly measure learning, revealed differences in learning gains for CURE versus ARE participants, with evidence suggesting a CURE can reduce the achievement gap between high-performing students and their peers. PMID:26751568

Known structure, unknown function: An inquiry‐based undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course

PubMed Central

Gray, Cynthia; Price, Carol W.; Lee, Christopher T.; Dewald, Alison H.; Cline, Matthew A.; McAnany, Charles E.

2015-01-01

Abstract Undergraduate biochemistry laboratory courses often do not provide students with an authentic research experience, particularly when the express purpose of the laboratory is purely instructional. However, an instructional laboratory course that is inquiry‐ and research‐based could simultaneously impart scientific knowledge and foster a student's research expertise and confidence. We have developed a year‐long undergraduate biochemistry laboratory curriculum wherein students determine, via experiment and computation, the function of a protein of known three‐dimensional structure. The first half of the course is inquiry‐based and modular in design; students learn general biochemical techniques while gaining preparation for research experiments in the second semester. Having learned standard biochemical methods in the first semester, students independently pursue their own (original) research projects in the second semester. This new curriculum has yielded an improvement in student performance and confidence as assessed by various metrics. To disseminate teaching resources to students and instructors alike, a freely accessible Biochemistry Laboratory Education resource is available at http://biochemlab.org. © 2015 The Authors Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43(4):245–262, 2015. PMID:26148241

Ecological Literacy, Urban Green Space, and Mobile Technology: Exploring the Impacts of an Arboretum Curriculum Designed for Undergraduate Biology Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phoebus, Patrick E.

Increasing individual ecological literacy levels may help citizens make informed choices about the environmental challenges facing society. The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of an arboretum curriculum incorporating mobile technology and an urban greenspace on the ecological knowledge, environmental attitudes and beliefs, and environmental behaviors of undergraduate biology students and pre-service K-8 teachers during a summer course. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and later merged to create an enhanced understanding of the impact of the curriculum on the environmental attitudes and beliefs of the participants. Quantitative results revealed a significant difference between pre- and post-survey scores for ecological knowledge, with no significant differences between pre- and post-scores for the other variables measured. However, no significant difference in scores was found between experimental and comparison groups for any of the three variables. When the two data sets were compared, results from the quantitative and qualitative components were found to converge and diverge. Quantitative data indicated the environmental attitudes and beliefs of participants were unaffected by the arboretum curriculum. Similarly, qualitative data indicated participants' perceived environmental attitudes and beliefs about the importance of nature remained unchanged throughout the course of the study. However, qualitative data supporting the theme connecting with the curriculum suggested experiences with the arboretum curriculum helped participants develop an appreciation for trees and nature and led them to believe they increased their knowledge about trees.

Competency-based reforms of the undergraduate biology curriculum: integrating the physical and biological sciences.

PubMed

Thompson, Katerina V; Chmielewski, Jean; Gaines, Michael S; Hrycyna, Christine A; LaCourse, William R

2013-06-01

The National Experiment in Undergraduate Science Education project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a direct response to the Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians report, which urged a shift in premedical student preparation from a narrow list of specific course work to a more flexible curriculum that helps students develop broad scientific competencies. A consortium of four universities is working to create, pilot, and assess modular, competency-based curricular units that require students to use higher-order cognitive skills and reason across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Purdue University; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the University of Miami are each developing modules and case studies that integrate the biological, chemical, physical, and mathematical sciences. The University of Maryland, College Park, is leading the effort to create an introductory physics for life sciences course that is reformed in both content and pedagogy. This course has prerequisites of biology, chemistry, and calculus, allowing students to apply strategies from the physical sciences to solving authentic biological problems. A comprehensive assessment plan is examining students' conceptual knowledge of physics, their attitudes toward interdisciplinary approaches, and the development of specific scientific competencies. Teaching modules developed during this initial phase will be tested on multiple partner campuses in preparation for eventual broad dissemination.

The New Biotechnology and Biological Science-Related Instruction in Colleges of Pharmacy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Richard A.; And Others

1990-01-01

A discussion of the impact of modern biotechnological developments on pharmaceutical education looks at undergraduate and graduate curricula separately, and focuses on the impact on needs for new faculty and faculty retraining. Specific faculty and curriculum recommendations are made. (MSE)

Raising Levels of Student Interest in Less Popular Areas of the Biology Curriculum: Can Teacher CPD Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodger, Bev

2013-01-01

An opportunity for teachers to join 80 outstanding biological sciences undergraduates in a series of practical sessions and lectures at the 2010 Gatsby Plant Science Summer School has inspired the development of teaching and learning resources for use in schools. Plant scientists have a crucial role to play in society and it is hoped that the…

Conceptual Elements: A Detailed Framework to Support and Assess Student Learning of Biology Core Concepts

PubMed Central

Cary, Tawnya; Branchaw, Janet

2017-01-01

The Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: Call to Action report has inspired and supported a nationwide movement to restructure undergraduate biology curricula to address overarching disciplinary concepts and competencies. The report outlines the concepts and competencies generally but does not provide a detailed framework to guide the development of the learning outcomes, instructional materials, and assessment instruments needed to create a reformed biology curriculum. In this essay, we present a detailed Vision and Change core concept framework that articulates key components that transcend subdisciplines and scales for each overarching biological concept, the Conceptual Elements (CE) Framework. The CE Framework was developed using a grassroots approach of iterative revision and incorporates feedback from more than 60 biologists and undergraduate biology educators from across the United States. The final validation step resulted in strong national consensus, with greater than 92% of responders agreeing that each core concept list was ready for use by the biological sciences community, as determined by scientific accuracy and completeness. In addition, we describe in detail how educators and departments can use the CE Framework to guide and document reformation of individual courses as well as entire curricula. PMID:28450444

Curriculum Alignment with Vision and Change Improves Student Scientific Literacy.

PubMed

Auerbach, Anna Jo; Schussler, Elisabeth E

2017-01-01

The Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education final report challenged institutions to reform their biology courses to focus on process skills and student active learning, among other recommendations. A large southeastern university implemented curricular changes to its majors' introductory biology sequence in alignment with these recommendations. Discussion sections focused on developing student process skills were added to both lectures and a lab, and one semester of lab was removed. This curriculum was implemented using active-learning techniques paired with student collaboration. This study determined whether these changes resulted in a higher gain of student scientific literacy by conducting pre/posttesting of scientific literacy for two cohorts: students experiencing the unreformed curriculum and students experiencing the reformed curriculum. Retention of student scientific literacy for each cohort was also assessed 4 months later. At the end of the academic year, scientific literacy gains were significantly higher for students in the reformed curriculum ( p = 0.005), with those students having double the scientific literacy gains of the cohort in the unreformed curriculum. Retention of scientific literacy did not differ between the cohorts. © 2017 A. J. Auerbach and E. E. Schussler. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Instructional Methods for Human Anatomy and Cell Biology in Nurse Anesthesia Graduate Programs: A Survey with a Focus on Regional Anesthesia

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-09-01

undergraduate nursing students . They concluded that students who did well in this course tended to perform better in nursing school overall...curriculum for the medical student of the 21st century: Gross anatomy. Clinical Anatomy. 9 (2), 71-99. Fitzgerald, M.J.T. (1992). Undergraduate medical...Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799. Student Registered Nurse Anesthetist (SRNA). 1991 -1995 1 st Medical Group, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

Evolution across the Curriculum: Microbiology

PubMed Central

Burmeister, Alita R.; Smith, James J.

2016-01-01

An integrated understanding of microbiology and evolutionary biology is essential for students pursuing careers in microbiology and healthcare fields. In this Perspective, we discuss the usefulness of evolutionary concepts and an overall evolutionary framework for students enrolled in microbiology courses. Further, we propose a set of learning goals for students studying microbial evolution concepts. We then describe some barriers to microbial evolution teaching and learning and encourage the continued incorporation of evidence-based teaching practices into microbiology courses at all levels. Next, we review the current status of microbial evolution assessment tools and describe some education resources available for teaching microbial evolution. Successful microbial evolution education will require that evolution be taught across the undergraduate biology curriculum, with a continued focus on applications and applied careers, while aligning with national biology education reform initiatives. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education PMID:27158306

In-Class Use of Laptop Computers to Enhance Engagement within an Undergraduate Biology Curriculum: Findings and Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poling, Kirsten; Smit, Julie; Higgs, Dennis

2013-01-01

Laptop computers were provided for use in three biology classes with differing formats (a second year lecture course of 100 students, a third/fourth year lecture course of 50 students, and a second year course with greater than 250 students, in groups of 25 during the laboratory portion of the class) to assess their impact on student learning and…

Teaching of Biochemistry in Medical School: A Well-Trodden Pathway?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathews, Michael B.; Stagnaro-Green, Alex

2008-01-01

Biochemistry and molecular biology occupy a unique place in the medical school curriculum. They are frequently studied prior to medical school and are fundamental to the teaching of biomedical sciences in undergraduate medical education. These two circumstances, and the trend toward increased integration among the disciplines, have led to…

A Laboratory Exercise to Introduce Inorganic Biomimetic Compounds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, Donald M.

1985-01-01

Biomimetic chemistry is concerned with the synthesis of small, molecular weight molecules which mimic the properties of metal-containing sites within certain biologically significant species. A series of experiments for an advanced undergraduate laboratory is described as a way to introduce this area into the chemistry curriculum. (JN)

The DNA Triangle and Its Application to Learning Meiosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, L. Kate; Catavero, Christina M.; Newman, Dina L.

2017-01-01

Although instruction on meiosis is repeated many times during the undergraduate curriculum, many students show poor comprehension even as upper-level biology majors. We propose that the difficulty lies in the complexity of understanding DNA, which we explain through a new model, the DNA triangle. The "DNA triangle" integrates three…

Kinetics and Photochemistry of Ruthenium Bisbipyridine Diacetonitrile Complexes: An Interdisciplinary Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Laboratory Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rapp, Teresa L.; Phillips, Susan R.; Dmochowski, Ivan J.

2016-01-01

The study of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can be widely applied across disciplines in the undergraduate curriculum. Ruthenium photochemistry has advanced many fields including dye-sensitized solar cells, photoredox catalysis, lightdriven water oxidation, and biological electron transfer. Equally promising are ruthenium polypyridyl complexes…

Ultrafiltration of Protein Solutions: A Laboratory Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pansare, Vikram J.; Tien, Daniel; Prud'homme, Robert K.

2015-01-01

Biology is playing an increasingly important role in the chemical engineering curriculum. We describe a set of experiments we have implemented in our Undergraduate Laboratory course giving students practical insights into membrane separation processes for protein processing. The goal of the lab is to optimize the purification and concentration of…

Implementing the recommended curriculum in biochemistry and molecular biology at a regional comprehensive university through a biology/chemistry double major: The minnesota state university moorhead experience*.

PubMed

Wallert, Mark; Brisch, Ellen; Chastain, Chris; Malott, Michelle; Provost, Joseph

2004-05-01

Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a regional comprehensive university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. The current student population consists of ∼7,600 full- and part-time students who are enrolled in one of 135 majors that lead to baccalaureate degrees. MSUM is committed to excellence in science teaching and research for undergraduates. It is an institutional member of the Council on Undergraduate Research and has three faculty members participating in Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) Faculty for the 21st Century. Fourteen years ago, MSUM renewed its effort to have faculty participate in active research. All science faculty members hired since that time have been required to establish research programs. The primary purpose for the faculty engaging in ongoing research projects is to involve undergraduates in a meaningful research experience, thus training these students to become scientists. Copyright © 2004 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Integration of bioinformatics into an undergraduate biology curriculum and the impact on development of mathematical skills.

PubMed

Wightman, Bruce; Hark, Amy T

2012-01-01

The development of fields such as bioinformatics and genomics has created new challenges and opportunities for undergraduate biology curricula. Students preparing for careers in science, technology, and medicine need more intensive study of bioinformatics and more sophisticated training in the mathematics on which this field is based. In this study, we deliberately integrated bioinformatics instruction at multiple course levels into an existing biology curriculum. Students in an introductory biology course, intermediate lab courses, and advanced project-oriented courses all participated in new course components designed to sequentially introduce bioinformatics skills and knowledge, as well as computational approaches that are common to many bioinformatics applications. In each course, bioinformatics learning was embedded in an existing disciplinary instructional sequence, as opposed to having a single course where all bioinformatics learning occurs. We designed direct and indirect assessment tools to follow student progress through the course sequence. Our data show significant gains in both student confidence and ability in bioinformatics during individual courses and as course level increases. Despite evidence of substantial student learning in both bioinformatics and mathematics, students were skeptical about the link between learning bioinformatics and learning mathematics. While our approach resulted in substantial learning gains, student "buy-in" and engagement might be better in longer project-based activities that demand application of skills to research problems. Nevertheless, in situations where a concentrated focus on project-oriented bioinformatics is not possible or desirable, our approach of integrating multiple smaller components into an existing curriculum provides an alternative. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Circular dichroism spectroscopy: Enhancing a traditional undergraduate biochemistry laboratory experience.

PubMed

Lewis, Russell L; Seal, Erin L; Lorts, Aimee R; Stewart, Amanda L

2017-11-01

The undergraduate biochemistry laboratory curriculum is designed to provide students with experience in protein isolation and purification protocols as well as various data analysis techniques, which enhance the biochemistry lecture course and give students a broad range of tools upon which to build in graduate level laboratories or once they begin their careers. One of the most common biochemistry protein purification experiments is the isolation and characterization of cytochrome c. Students across the country purify cytochrome c, lysozyme, or some other well-known protein to learn these common purification techniques. What this series of experiments lacks is the use of sophisticated instrumentation that is rarely available to undergraduate students. To give students a broader background in biochemical spectroscopy techniques, a new circular dichroism (CD) laboratory experiment was introduced into the biochemistry laboratory curriculum. This CD experiment provides students with a means of conceptualizing the secondary structure of their purified protein, and assessments indicate that students' understanding of the technique increased significantly. Students conducted this experiment with ease and in a short time frame, so this laboratory is conducive to merging with other data analysis techniques within a single laboratory period. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(6):515-520, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Effects of a research-infused botanical curriculum on undergraduates' content knowledge, STEM competencies, and attitudes toward plant sciences.

PubMed

Ward, Jennifer Rhode; Clarke, H David; Horton, Jonathan L

2014-01-01

In response to the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education initiative, we infused authentic, plant-based research into majors' courses at a public liberal arts university. Faculty members designed a financially sustainable pedagogical approach, utilizing vertically integrated curricular modules based on undergraduate researchers' field and laboratory projects. Our goals were to 1) teach botanical concepts, from cells to ecosystems; 2) strengthen competencies in statistical analysis and scientific writing; 3) pique plant science interest; and 4) allow all undergraduates to contribute to genuine research. Our series of inquiry-centered exercises mitigated potential faculty barriers to adopting research-rich curricula, facilitating teaching/research balance by gathering publishable scholarly data during laboratory class periods. Student competencies were assessed with pre- and postcourse quizzes and rubric-graded papers, and attitudes were evaluated with pre- and postcourse surveys. Our revised curriculum increased students' knowledge and awareness of plant science topics, improved scientific writing, enhanced statistical knowledge, and boosted interest in conducting research. More than 300 classroom students have participated in our program, and data generated from these modules' assessment allowed faculty and students to present 28 contributed talks or posters and publish three papers in 4 yr. Future steps include analyzing the effects of repeated module exposure on student learning and creating a regional consortium to increase our project's pedagogical impact. © 2014 J. R. Ward et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

NSF Support for Physics at the Undergraduate Level: A View from Inside

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBride, Duncan

2015-03-01

NSF has supported a wide range of projects in physics that involve undergraduate students. These projects include NSF research grants in which undergraduates participate; Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) centers and supplements; and education grants that range from upper-division labs that may include research, to curriculum development for upper- and lower-level courses and labs, to courses for non-majors, to Physics Education Research (PER). The NSF Divisions of Physics, Materials Research, and Astronomy provide most of the disciplinary research support, with some from other parts of NSF. I recently retired as the permanent physicist in NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), which supports the education grants. I was responsible for a majority of DUE's physics grants and was involved with others overseen by a series of physics rotators. There I worked in programs entitled Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (ILI); Course and Curriculum Development (CCD); Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI); Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education (TUES); and Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE). NSF support has enabled physics Principal Investigators to change and improve substantially the way physics is taught and the way students learn physics. The most important changes are increased undergraduate participation in physics research; more teaching using interactive engagement methods in classes; and growth of PER as a legitimate field of physics research as well as outcomes from PER that guide physics teaching. In turn these have led, along with other factors, to students who are better-prepared for graduate school and work, and to increases in the number of undergraduate physics majors. In addition, students in disciplines that physics directly supports, notably engineering and chemistry, and increasingly biology, are better and more broadly prepared to use their physics education in these fields. I will describe NSF support for undergraduate physics with both statistics and examples. In addition I will talk about trends in support for undergraduate physics at NSF and speculate about directions such support might go. Contents of this paper reflect the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

Teaching Synthetic Biology, Bioinformatics and Engineering to Undergraduates: The Interdisciplinary Build-a-Genome Course

PubMed Central

Dymond, Jessica S.; Scheifele, Lisa Z.; Richardson, Sarah; Lee, Pablo; Chandrasegaran, Srinivasan; Bader, Joel S.; Boeke, Jef D.

2009-01-01

A major challenge in undergraduate life science curricula is the continual evaluation and development of courses that reflect the constantly shifting face of contemporary biological research. Synthetic biology offers an excellent framework within which students may participate in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and is therefore an attractive addition to the undergraduate biology curriculum. This new discipline offers the promise of a deeper understanding of gene function, gene order, and chromosome structure through the de novo synthesis of genetic information, much as synthetic approaches informed organic chemistry. While considerable progress has been achieved in the synthesis of entire viral and prokaryotic genomes, fabrication of eukaryotic genomes requires synthesis on a scale that is orders of magnitude higher. These high-throughput but labor-intensive projects serve as an ideal way to introduce undergraduates to hands-on synthetic biology research. We are pursuing synthesis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes in an undergraduate laboratory setting, the Build-a-Genome course, thereby exposing students to the engineering of biology on a genomewide scale while focusing on a limited region of the genome. A synthetic chromosome III sequence was designed, ordered from commercial suppliers in the form of oligonucleotides, and subsequently assembled by students into ∼750-bp fragments. Once trained in assembly of such DNA “building blocks” by PCR, the students accomplish high-yield gene synthesis, becoming not only technically proficient but also constructively critical and capable of adapting their protocols as independent researchers. Regular “lab meeting” sessions help prepare them for future roles in laboratory science. PMID:19015540

Teaching synthetic biology, bioinformatics and engineering to undergraduates: the interdisciplinary Build-a-Genome course.

PubMed

Dymond, Jessica S; Scheifele, Lisa Z; Richardson, Sarah; Lee, Pablo; Chandrasegaran, Srinivasan; Bader, Joel S; Boeke, Jef D

2009-01-01

A major challenge in undergraduate life science curricula is the continual evaluation and development of courses that reflect the constantly shifting face of contemporary biological research. Synthetic biology offers an excellent framework within which students may participate in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and is therefore an attractive addition to the undergraduate biology curriculum. This new discipline offers the promise of a deeper understanding of gene function, gene order, and chromosome structure through the de novo synthesis of genetic information, much as synthetic approaches informed organic chemistry. While considerable progress has been achieved in the synthesis of entire viral and prokaryotic genomes, fabrication of eukaryotic genomes requires synthesis on a scale that is orders of magnitude higher. These high-throughput but labor-intensive projects serve as an ideal way to introduce undergraduates to hands-on synthetic biology research. We are pursuing synthesis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes in an undergraduate laboratory setting, the Build-a-Genome course, thereby exposing students to the engineering of biology on a genomewide scale while focusing on a limited region of the genome. A synthetic chromosome III sequence was designed, ordered from commercial suppliers in the form of oligonucleotides, and subsequently assembled by students into approximately 750-bp fragments. Once trained in assembly of such DNA "building blocks" by PCR, the students accomplish high-yield gene synthesis, becoming not only technically proficient but also constructively critical and capable of adapting their protocols as independent researchers. Regular "lab meeting" sessions help prepare them for future roles in laboratory science.

Radiation Oncology in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Literature Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dennis, Kristopher E.B., E-mail: kdennis@bccancer.bc.c; Duncan, Graeme

2010-03-01

Purpose: To review the published literature pertaining to radiation oncology in undergraduate medical education. Methods and Materials: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE Daily Update and EMBASE databases were searched for the 11-year period of January 1, 1998, through the last week of March 2009. A medical librarian used an extensive list of indexed subject headings and text words. Results: The search returned 640 article references, but only seven contained significant information pertaining to teaching radiation oncology to medical undergraduates. One article described a comprehensive oncology curriculum including recommended radiation oncology teaching objectives and sample student evaluations, two described integrating radiation oncologymore » teaching into a radiology rotation, two described multidisciplinary anatomy-based courses intended to reinforce principles of tumor biology and radiotherapy planning, one described an exercise designed to test clinical reasoning skills within radiation oncology cases, and one described a Web-based curriculum involving oncologic physics. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first review of the literature pertaining to teaching radiation oncology to medical undergraduates, and it demonstrates the paucity of published work in this area of medical education. Teaching radiation oncology should begin early in the undergraduate process, should be mandatory for all students, and should impart knowledge relevant to future general practitioners rather than detailed information relevant only to oncologists. Educators should make use of available model curricula and should integrate radiation oncology teaching into existing curricula or construct stand-alone oncology rotations where the principles of radiation oncology can be conveyed. Assessments of student knowledge and curriculum effectiveness are critical.« less

Foundational concepts and underlying theories for majors in "biochemistry and molecular biology".

PubMed

Tansey, John T; Baird, Teaster; Cox, Michael M; Fox, Kristin M; Knight, Jennifer; Sears, Duane; Bell, Ellis

2013-01-01

Over the past two years, through an NSF RCN UBE grant, the ASBMB has held regional workshops for faculty members and science educators from around the country that focused on identifying: 1) core principles of biochemistry and molecular biology, 2) essential concepts and underlying theories from physics, chemistry, and mathematics, and 3) foundational skills that undergraduate majors in biochemistry and molecular biology must understand to complete their major coursework. Using information gained from these workshops, as well as from the ASBMB accreditation working group and the NSF Vision and Change report, the Core Concepts working group has developed a consensus list of learning outcomes and objectives based on five foundational concepts (evolution, matter and energy transformation, homeostasis, information flow, and macromolecular structure and function) that represent the expected conceptual knowledge base for undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology. This consensus will aid biochemistry and molecular biology educators in the development of assessment tools for the new ASBMB recommended curriculum. © 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Simulating Phase Variation: A Practical Approach to Teaching Mutation and Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wanford, Joe; Aidley, Jack; Bayliss, Chris; Ketley, Julian; Goodwin, Mark

2018-01-01

Mutation, diversity, natural selection and the biology of human pathogens (including antibiotic resistance) are key features of the biosciences curriculum at A Level and undergraduate study. Few resources exist to allow students to engage with these topics in an interactive manner. This paper describes an interactive, online simulation of mutation…

Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Development Program and Calculus and the Bridge to Calculus Program: 1993 Awards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. Div. of Undergraduate Education.

The Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Development Program of the National Science Foundation supports the development of courses in all disciplines to improve the quality of undergraduate courses and curricula in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. The purpose of the program in Curriculum Development in Mathematics: Calculus and…

Embedding Responsible Conduct in Learning and Research into an Australian Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandes, Lynette B.

2017-01-01

Responsible conduct in learning and research (RCLR) was progressively introduced into the pharmacology curriculum for undergraduate science students at The University of Western Australia. In the second year of this undergraduate curriculum, a lecture introduces students to issues such as the use of animals in teaching and responsible conduct of…

The Undergraduate Curriculum: The Best and the Worst.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woloshin, David J.

1983-01-01

Reviews various aspects of the undergraduate foreign language curriculum over the past decade and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of that curriculum. Outlines the best and worst scenarios which could occur during the next 10 years and suggests means which can assure that undergraduate foreign language education will meet future needs. (EKN)

Authentic Research Experience and “Big Data” Analysis in the Classroom: Maize Response to Abiotic Stress

PubMed Central

Makarevitch, Irina; Frechette, Cameo; Wiatros, Natalia

2015-01-01

Integration of inquiry-based approaches into curriculum is transforming the way science is taught and studied in undergraduate classrooms. Incorporating quantitative reasoning and mathematical skills into authentic biology undergraduate research projects has been shown to benefit students in developing various skills necessary for future scientists and to attract students to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. While large-scale data analysis became an essential part of modern biological research, students have few opportunities to engage in analysis of large biological data sets. RNA-seq analysis, a tool that allows precise measurement of the level of gene expression for all genes in a genome, revolutionized molecular biology and provides ample opportunities for engaging students in authentic research. We developed, implemented, and assessed a series of authentic research laboratory exercises incorporating a large data RNA-seq analysis into an introductory undergraduate classroom. Our laboratory series is focused on analyzing gene expression changes in response to abiotic stress in maize seedlings; however, it could be easily adapted to the analysis of any other biological system with available RNA-seq data. Objective and subjective assessment of student learning demonstrated gains in understanding important biological concepts and in skills related to the process of science. PMID:26163561

Mapping the Future: Towards Oncology Curriculum Reform in Undergraduate Medical Education at a Canadian Medical School

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwan, Jennifer Y.Y.; Nyhof-Young, Joyce; Catton, Pamela

Purpose: To evaluate (1) the quantity and quality of current undergraduate oncology teaching at a major Canadian medical school; and (2) curricular changes over the past decade, to enhance local oncology education and provide insight for other educators. Methods and Materials: Relevant 2011-2012 undergraduate curricular sessions were extracted from the University of Toronto curriculum mapping database using keywords and database identifiers. Educational sessions were analyzed according to Medical Council of Canada objectives, discussion topics, instructor qualifications, teaching format, program year, and course subject. Course-related oncology research projects performed by students during 2000 to 2012 were extracted from another internal database.more » Elective choices of clerks during 2008-2014 were retrieved from the institution. The 2011-2012 and 2000-2001 curricula were compared using common criteria. Results: The 2011-2012 curriculum covers 5 major themes (public health, cancer biology, diagnosis, principles of care, and therapy), which highlight 286 oncology teaching topics within 80 sessions. Genitourinary (10, 12.5%), gynecologic (8, 10.0%), and gastrointestinal cancers (7.9, 9.8%) were the most commonly taught cancers. A minority of sessions were taught by surgical oncologists (6.5, 8.1%), medical oncologists (2.5, 3.1%), and radiation oncologists (1, 1.2%). During 2000-2012, 9.0% of students (233 of 2578) opted to complete an oncology research project. During 2008-2014, oncology electives constituted 2.2% of all clerkship elective choices (209 of 9596). Compared with pre-2001 curricula, the 2012 oncology curriculum shows notable expansion in the coverage of epidemiology (6:1 increase), prevention (4:1), screening (3:1), and molecular biology (6:1). Conclusions: The scope of the oncology curriculum has grown over the past decade. Nevertheless, further work is needed to improve medical student knowledge of cancers, particularly those relevant to public health needs. Defining minimum curricular content, emphasizing content based on population needs, and ensuring educational delivery with the support and expertise of oncologists and non-oncologists will be essential next steps.« less

Integrating numerical computation into the undergraduate education physics curriculum using spreadsheet excel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fauzi, Ahmad

2017-11-01

Numerical computation has many pedagogical advantages: it develops analytical skills and problem-solving skills, helps to learn through visualization, and enhances physics education. Unfortunately, numerical computation is not taught to undergraduate education physics students in Indonesia. Incorporate numerical computation into the undergraduate education physics curriculum presents many challenges. The main challenges are the dense curriculum that makes difficult to put new numerical computation course and most students have no programming experience. In this research, we used case study to review how to integrate numerical computation into undergraduate education physics curriculum. The participants of this research were 54 students of the fourth semester of physics education department. As a result, we concluded that numerical computation could be integrated into undergraduate education physics curriculum using spreadsheet excel combined with another course. The results of this research become complements of the study on how to integrate numerical computation in learning physics using spreadsheet excel.

From gene to structure: Lactobacillus bulgaricus D-lactate dehydrogenase from yogurt as an integrated curriculum model for undergraduate molecular biology and biochemistry laboratory courses.

PubMed

Lawton, Jeffrey A; Prescott, Noelle A; Lawton, Ping X

2018-05-01

We have developed an integrated, project-oriented curriculum for undergraduate molecular biology and biochemistry laboratory courses spanning two semesters that is organized around the ldhA gene from the yogurt-fermenting bacterium Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which encodes the enzyme d-lactate dehydrogenase. The molecular biology module, which consists of nine experiments carried out over eleven sessions, begins with the isolation of genomic DNA from L. bulgaricus in yogurt and guides students through the process of cloning the ldhA gene into a prokaryotic expression vector, followed by mRNA isolation and characterization of recombinant gene expression levels using RT-PCR. The biochemistry module, which consists of nine experiments carried out over eight sessions, begins with overexpression of the cloned ldhA gene and guides students through the process of affinity purification, biochemical characterization of the purified LdhA protein, and analysis of enzyme kinetics using various substrates and an inhibitor, concluding with a guided inquiry investigation of structure-function relationships in the three-dimensional structure of LdhA using molecular visualization software. Students conclude by writing a paper describing their work on the project, formatted as a manuscript to be submitted for publication in a scientific journal. Overall, this curriculum, with its emphasis on experiential learning, provides hands-on training with a variety of common laboratory techniques in molecular biology and biochemistry and builds experience with the process of scientific reasoning, along with reinforcement of essential transferrable skills such as critical thinking, information literacy, and written communication, all within the framework of an extended project having the look and feel of a research experience. © 2018 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(3):270-278, 2018. © 2018 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Integrating Grant-Funded Research into the Undergraduate Biology Curriculum Using IMG-ACT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ditty, Jayna L.; Williams, Kayla M.; Keller, Megan M.; Chen, Grischa Y.; Liu, Xianxian; Parales, Rebecca E.

2013-01-01

It has become clear in current scientific pedagogy that the emersion of students in the scientific process in terms of designing, implementing, and analyzing experiments is imperative for their education; as such, it has been our goal to model this active learning process in the classroom and laboratory in the context of a genuine scientific…

A flexible e-learning resource promoting the critical reading of scientific papers for science undergraduates.

PubMed

Letchford, Julie; Corradi, Hazel; Day, Trevor

2017-11-01

An important aim of undergraduate science education is to develop student skills in reading and evaluating research papers. We have designed, developed, and implemented an on-line interactive resource entitled "Evaluating Scientific Research literature" (ESRL) aimed at students from the first 2 years of the undergraduate program. In this article, we describe the resource, then use student data collected from questionnaire surveys to evaluate the resource within 2 years of its launch. Our results add to those reported previously and indicate that ESRL can enable students to start evaluating research articles when used during their undergraduate program. We conclude maximal learning is likely to occur when the resource can be embedded in the curriculum such that students have a clearly articulated context for the resource's activities, can see their relevance in relation to assessed assignments and can be encouraged to think deeply about the activities in conversation with one another and/or with staff. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(6):483-490, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Undergraduate study in psychology: Curriculum and assessment.

PubMed

Norcross, John C; Hailstorks, Robin; Aiken, Leona S; Pfund, Rory A; Stamm, Karen E; Christidis, Peggy

2016-01-01

The undergraduate curriculum in psychology profoundly reflects and shapes the discipline. Yet, reliable information on the undergraduate psychology curriculum has been difficult to acquire due to insufficient research carried out on unrepresentative program samples with disparate methods. In 2014, APA launched the first systematic effort in a decade to gather national data on the psychology major and program outcomes. We surveyed a stratified random sample of department chairs/coordinators of accredited colleges and universities in the United States that offer undergraduate courses and programs in psychology. A total of 439 undergraduate psychology programs (45.2%) completed the survey. This article summarizes, for both associate and baccalaureate programs, the results of the Undergraduate Study in Psychology. Current practices concerning the introductory course, the courses offered, core requirements, the psychology minor, and tracks/concentrations are presented. The frequency of formal program reviews and program-level assessment methods are also addressed. By extending prior research on the undergraduate curriculum, we chronicle longitudinal changes in the psychology major over the past 20 years. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Beyond the Cell: Using Multiscalar Topics to Bring Interdisciplinarity into Undergraduate Cellular Biology Courses

PubMed Central

Weber, Carolyn F.

2016-01-01

Western science has grown increasingly reductionistic and, in parallel, the undergraduate life sciences curriculum has become disciplinarily fragmented. While reductionistic approaches have led to landmark discoveries, many of the most exciting scientific advances in the late 20th century have occurred at disciplinary interfaces; work at these interfaces is necessary to manage the world’s looming problems, particularly those that are rooted in cellular-level processes but have ecosystem- and even global-scale ramifications (e.g., nonsustainable agriculture, emerging infectious diseases). Managing such problems requires comprehending whole scenarios and their emergent properties as sums of their multiple facets and complex interrelationships, which usually integrate several disciplines across multiple scales (e.g., time, organization, space). This essay discusses bringing interdisciplinarity into undergraduate cellular biology courses through the use of multiscalar topics. Discussing how cellular-level processes impact large-scale phenomena makes them relevant to everyday life and unites diverse disciplines (e.g., sociology, cell biology, physics) as facets of a single system or problem, emphasizing their connections to core concepts in biology. I provide specific examples of multiscalar topics and discuss preliminary evidence that using such topics may increase students’ understanding of the cell’s position within an ecosystem and how cellular biology interfaces with other disciplines. PMID:27146162

Integrating grant-funded research into the undergraduate biology curriculum using IMG-ACT.

PubMed

Ditty, Jayna L; Williams, Kayla M; Keller, Megan M; Chen, Grischa Y; Liu, Xianxian; Parales, Rebecca E

2013-01-01

It has become clear in current scientific pedagogy that the emersion of students in the scientific process in terms of designing, implementing, and analyzing experiments is imperative for their education; as such, it has been our goal to model this active learning process in the classroom and laboratory in the context of a genuine scientific question. Toward this objective, the National Science Foundation funded a collaborative research grant between a primarily undergraduate institution and a research-intensive institution to study the chemotactic responses of the bacterium Pseudomonas putida F1. As part of the project, a new Bioinformatics course was developed in which undergraduates annotate relevant regions of the P. putida F1 genome using Integrated Microbial Genomes Annotation Collaboration Toolkit, a bioinformatics interface specifically developed for undergraduate programs by the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. Based on annotations of putative chemotaxis genes in P. putida F1 and comparative genomics studies, undergraduate students from both institutions developed functional genomics research projects that evolved from the annotations. The purpose of this study is to describe the nature of the NSF grant, the development of the Bioinformatics lecture and wet laboratory course, and how undergraduate student involvement in the project that was initiated in the classroom has served as a springboard for independent undergraduate research projects. Copyright © 2012 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Is More Nutrition Education Needed in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum?

PubMed Central

Gomathi, Kadayam G.; Shehnaz, Syed I.; Khan, Nelofer

2014-01-01

Objectives: The rise in lifestyle diseases has resulted in primary physicians advising more patients on the benefits of nutritional modifications. However, nutrition education has remained more or less unchanged in the undergraduate medical curriculum. This study aimed to assess the perceptions of medical graduates regarding nutrition education in their undergraduate curriculum. Methods: A total of 125 medical graduates from the Gulf Medical University in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey from May to October 2012. The validated pilot-tested questionnaire was designed to assess perceptions regarding nutrition education in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Results: A total of 65 medical graduates responded to the survey, of which 55% were female. Of the respondents, 32% were general physicians and 68% were specialists in various disciplines. Nutrition education was perceived to be very important by 80% of the respondents; however, 78.5% felt that they had not received adequate instruction in this field during their undergraduate medical curriculum. The major areas of deficit identified were in the categories of clinical nutrition, nutrition in primary care and evidence-based nutrition. Conclusion: In this study, Gulf Medical University graduates perceived a need for more nutrition-related instruction in their undergraduate medical curriculum. The areas of deficit identified in this study could help in future curricular improvements. PMID:25364560

Improving Project Performance through Implementation of Agile Methodologies in the Renewable Energy Construction Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez Mendez, Arturo

Collaborative inquiry within undergraduate research experiences (UREs) is an effective curriculum tool to support student growth. This study seeks to understand how collaborative inquiry within undergraduate biology student experiences are affected within faculty mentored experiences and non-mentored experiences at a large private southeastern university. Undergraduate biology students engaged in UREs (faculty as mentor and non-mentor experiences) were examined for statistically significant differences in student self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was measured in three subcomponents (thinking and working like a scientist, scientific self-efficacy, and scientific identity) from student responses obtained in an online survey. Responses were analyzed using a nonparametric equivalent of a t test (Mann Whitney U test) to make comparisons between faculty mentored and non-mentored student groups. The conclusions of this study highlight the statistically significant effect of faculty mentoring in all three subcomponents. Faculty and university policy makers can apply these findings to develop further support for effective faculty mentoring practices in UREs.

Chemistry Report: MAA-CUPM Curriculum Foundations Workshop in Biology and Chemistry. Macalester College, November 2-5, 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craig, Norman C.

2001-01-01

Summarizes and revises the report given to the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) who is developing new guidelines for instruction in mathematics by a group of chemists at Macalester College in order to list specific knowledge and skills in mathematics needed by chemistry…

"Mini-Array" Transcriptional Analysis of the "Listeria Monocytogenes" Lecithinase Operon as a Class Project: A Student Investigative Molecular Biology Laboratory Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christensen, Douglas; Jovic, Marko

2006-01-01

This report describes a molecular biotechnology-based laboratory curriculum developed to accompany an undergraduate genetics course. During the course of a semester, students researched the pathogen, developed a research question, designed experiments, and performed transcriptional analysis of a set of genes that confer virulence to the food-borne…

Arsenic-based Life: An active learning assignment for teaching scientific discourse.

PubMed

Jeremy Johnson, R

2017-01-02

Among recent high profile scientific debates was the proposal that life could exist with arsenic in place of phosphorous in its nucleic acids and other biomolecules. Soon after its initial publication, scientists across diverse disciplines began to question this extraordinary claim. Using the original article, its claims, its scientific support, and the ensuing counterarguments, a two-day, active learning classroom exercise was developed focusing on the presentation, evaluation, and discussion of scientific argumentation and discourse. In this culminating assignment of a first semester biochemistry course, undergraduate students analyze the scientific support from the original research articles and then present and discuss multiple scientific rebuttals in a lively, civil classroom debate. Through this assignment, students develop a sense of skepticism, especially for the original arsenic-based life claims, and learn to clearly articulate their counterarguments with scientific support and critical reasoning. With its direct integration into first-semester biochemistry curriculum and the excitement surrounding arsenic based life, this assignment provides a robust, simple, and stimulating framework for introducing scientific discourse and active learning into the undergraduate molecular science curriculum. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(1):40-45, 2017. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

An approach to teaching general chemistry II that highlights the interdisciplinary nature of science.

PubMed

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M

2011-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An Approach to Teaching General Chemistry II that Highlights the Interdisciplinary Nature of Science*,†

PubMed Central

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M.

2012-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. PMID:21445902

The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map I: General Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holme, Thomas; Murphy, Kristen

2012-01-01

To provide tools for programmatic assessment related to the use of ACS Exams in undergraduate chemistry courses, the ACS Exams Institute has built a content map that applies to the entire undergraduate curriculum. At the top two levels, the grain size of the content classification is large and spans the entire undergraduate curriculum. At the…

The experimental teaching reform in biochemistry and molecular biology for undergraduate students in Peking University Health Science Center.

PubMed

Yang, Xiaohan; Sun, Luyang; Zhao, Ying; Yi, Xia; Zhu, Bin; Wang, Pu; Lin, Hong; Ni, Juhua

2015-01-01

Since 2010, second-year undergraduate students of an eight-year training program leading to a Doctor of Medicine degree or Doctor of Philosophy degree in Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) have been required to enter the "Innovative talent training project." During that time, the students joined a research lab and participated in some original research work. There is a critical educational need to prepare these students for the increasing accessibility of research experience. The redesigned experimental curriculum of biochemistry and molecular biology was developed to fulfill such a requirement, which keeps two original biochemistry experiments (Gel filtration and Enzyme kinetics) and adds a new two-experiment component called "Analysis of anti-tumor drug induced apoptosis." The additional component, also known as the "project-oriented experiment" or the "comprehensive experiment," consists of Western blotting and a DNA laddering assay to assess the effects of etoposide (VP16) on the apoptosis signaling pathways. This reformed laboratory teaching system aims to enhance the participating students overall understanding of important biological research techniques and the instrumentation involved, and to foster a better understanding of the research process all within a classroom setting. Student feedback indicated that the updated curriculum helped them improve their operational and self-learning capability, and helped to increase their understanding of theoretical knowledge and actual research processes, which laid the groundwork for their future research work. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Developing Students, Developing Faculty: Incompatible or Compatible Goals?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, Mark E.; Davis, Stephen F.; Smith, Randolph A.

Grounding students in research methodology is at the core of the undergraduate curriculum. Students usually conduct individual projects in the experimental psychology or research methods courses, and most undergraduate courses in the psychology curriculum contain a strong research component. The opportunities and benefits for undergraduate student…

Portuguese as a Minority Language: Attitudes of Undergraduate Students Studying Portuguese Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reis, Sonia Maria Nunes

2011-01-01

The differences between European Portuguese (EP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP) raise some interesting issues that are well worth considering through undergraduate university students' perceptions and attitudes. Instructors of undergraduate courses in Portuguese literature suggest that in terms of curriculum design, curriculum delivery, and…

Competency‐based strategies for injury control and prevention curriculums in undergraduate medical education

PubMed Central

Phelan, Mary Beth; Falimirski, Mark E; Simpson, Deborah E; Czinner, Mary L; Hargarten, Stephen W

2007-01-01

Injury, including unintentional injury and intentional injury, is the leading cause of death in people aged ⩽44 years. Doctors often treat acute injuries, assist in the rehabilitation process and provide injury prevention guidance to patients. Current undergraduate medical school curriculums lack content and consistency in providing training in this area. A matrix to show the integration of injury control and prevention principles into existing undergraduate medical school curriculums is proposed. PMID:17296681

Comparative Economics Systems in the Undergraduate Curriculum: An Update

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kovzik, Alexander; Johnson, Marianne

2016-01-01

In this study, the authors report on the status of comparative economics systems in the U.S. undergraduate economics curriculum. The treatment of comparative economics systems topics in introductory courses is examined through a survey of standard textbooks. To evaluate comparative economics systems at the advanced undergraduate level, they rely…

Multidisciplinary Field Training in Undergraduate Physical Geography: Russian Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasimov, Nikolay S.; Chalov, Sergey R.; Panin, Andrey V.

2013-01-01

Field training is seen as a central component of the discipline of Physical Geography and an essential part of the undergraduate curriculum. This paper explores the structure and relationships between fieldwork and theoretical courses and the abundant experiences of field training in the undergraduate curriculum of 37 Russian universities. It…

Undergraduate teaching on biological weapons and bioterrorism at medical schools in the UK and the Republic of Ireland: results of a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Green, Stephen T; Cladi, Lorenzo; Morris, Paul; Forde, Donall

2013-06-20

To determine if individual undergraduate schools of medicine in the UK and the Republic of Ireland provide any teaching to medical students about biological weapons, bioterrorism, chemical weapons and weaponised radiation, if they perceive them to be relevant issues and if they figure them in their future plans. A cross-sectional study utilising an internet-based questionnaire sent to key figures responsible for leading on the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical teaching at all schools of medicine in the UK and Ireland. All identified undergraduate schools of medicine in the UK and Ireland between August 2012 and December 2012. Numerical data and free text feedback about relevant aspects of undergraduate teaching. Of the 38 medical schools approached, 34 (28 in UK, 6 in Ireland) completed the questionnaire (89.47%). 4 (all in UK) chose not to complete it. 6/34 (17.65%) included some specific teaching on biological weapons and bioterrorism. 7/34 (20.59%) had staff with bioterrorism expertise (mainly in microbiological and syndromic aspects). 4/34 (11.76%) had plans to introduce some specific teaching on bioterrorism. Free text responses revealed that some felt that because key bodies (eg, UK's General Medical Council) did not request teaching on bioterrorism, then it should not be included, while others regarded this field of study as a postgraduate subject and not appropriate for undergraduates, or argued that the curriculum was too congested already. 4/34 (11.76%) included some specific teaching on chemical weapons, and 3/34 (8.82%) on weaponised radiation. This study provides evidence that at the present time there is little teaching at the undergraduate level in the UK and Ireland on the subjects of biological weapons and bioterrorism, chemical weapons and weaponised radiation and signals that this situation is unlikely to change unless there were to be high-level policy guidance.

Undergraduate teaching on biological weapons and bioterrorism at medical schools in the UK and the Republic of Ireland: results of a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Green, Stephen T; Cladi, Lorenzo; Morris, Paul; Forde, Donall

2013-01-01

Objective To determine if individual undergraduate schools of medicine in the UK and the Republic of Ireland provide any teaching to medical students about biological weapons, bioterrorism, chemical weapons and weaponised radiation, if they perceive them to be relevant issues and if they figure them in their future plans. Design A cross-sectional study utilising an internet-based questionnaire sent to key figures responsible for leading on the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical teaching at all schools of medicine in the UK and Ireland. Setting All identified undergraduate schools of medicine in the UK and Ireland between August 2012 and December 2012. Outcome measures Numerical data and free text feedback about relevant aspects of undergraduate teaching. Results Of the 38 medical schools approached, 34 (28 in UK, 6 in Ireland) completed the questionnaire (89.47%). 4 (all in UK) chose not to complete it. 6/34 (17.65%) included some specific teaching on biological weapons and bioterrorism. 7/34 (20.59%) had staff with bioterrorism expertise (mainly in microbiological and syndromic aspects). 4/34 (11.76%) had plans to introduce some specific teaching on bioterrorism. Free text responses revealed that some felt that because key bodies (eg, UK's General Medical Council) did not request teaching on bioterrorism, then it should not be included, while others regarded this field of study as a postgraduate subject and not appropriate for undergraduates, or argued that the curriculum was too congested already. 4/34 (11.76%) included some specific teaching on chemical weapons, and 3/34 (8.82%) on weaponised radiation. Conclusions This study provides evidence that at the present time there is little teaching at the undergraduate level in the UK and Ireland on the subjects of biological weapons and bioterrorism, chemical weapons and weaponised radiation and signals that this situation is unlikely to change unless there were to be high-level policy guidance. PMID:23794539

Curriculum Innovation in Undergraduate Accounting Degree Programmes through "Virtual Internships"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bayerlein, Leopold

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss major criticisms of traditional undergraduate accounting programmes and to introduce virtual internships as a curriculum innovation that addresses these criticisms. Design/methodology/approach: The main aim of the paper is to inspire curriculum innovation in accounting programmes though the…

An ET-CURE Pilot Project Supporting Undergraduate Training in Cancer Research, Emerging Technology, and Health Disparities

PubMed Central

Wilson, Danyell S.; Fang, Bin; Dalton, William S.; Meade, Cathy; Koomen, John M.

2012-01-01

The National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities has created pilot training opportunities under the “Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences” (CURE) program that focus on emerging technologies (ET). In this pilot project, an eighteen month cancer biology research internship was reinforced with: instruction in an emerging technology (proteomics), a transition from the undergraduate laboratory to a research setting, education in cancer health disparities, and community outreach activities. A major goal was to provide underrepresented undergraduates with hands-on research experiences that are rarely encountered at the undergraduate level, including mentoring, research presentations, and participation in local and national meetings. These opportunities provided education and career development for the undergraduates, and they have given each student the opportunity to transition from learning to sharing their knowledge and from being mentored to mentoring others. Here, we present the concepts, curriculum, infrastructure, and challenges for this training program along with evaluations by both the students and their mentors. PMID:22528637

An ET-CURE pilot project supporting undergraduate training in cancer research, emerging technology, and health disparities.

PubMed

Wilson, Danyell S; Fang, Bin; Dalton, William S; Meade, Cathy D; Koomen, John M

2012-06-01

The National Cancer Institute's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities has created pilot training opportunities under the "Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences" program that focus on emerging technologies. In this pilot project, an 18-month cancer biology research internship was reinforced with: instruction in an emerging technology (proteomics), a transition from the undergraduate laboratory to a research setting, education in cancer health disparities, and community outreach activities. A major goal was to provide underrepresented undergraduates with hands-on research experiences that are rarely encountered at the undergraduate level, including mentoring, research presentations, and participation in local and national meetings. These opportunities provided education and career development for the undergraduates, and they have given each student the opportunity to transition from learning to sharing their knowledge and from being mentored to mentoring others. Here, we present the concepts, curriculum, infrastructure, and challenges for this training program along with evaluations by both the students and their mentors.

Introducing Proteomics in the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Simple 2D Gel Electrophoresis Exercise with Serum Proteins

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Thomas D.; Craig, Paul A.

2010-01-01

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DGE) remains an important tool in the study of biological systems by proteomics. While the use of 2DGE is commonplace in research publications, there are few instructional laboratories that address the use of 2DGE for analyzing complex protein samples. One reason for this lack is the fact that the preparation…

Genomics and Bioinformatics in Undergraduate Curricula: Contexts for Hybrid Laboratory/Lecture Courses for Entering and Advanced Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Temple, Louise; Cresawn, Steven G.; Monroe, Jonathan D.

2010-01-01

Emerging interest in genomics in the scientific community prompted biologists at James Madison University to create two courses at different levels to modernize the biology curriculum. The courses are hybrids of classroom and laboratory experiences. An upper level class uses raw sequence of a genome (plasmid or virus) as the subject on which to…

Three Decades of Anti-Evolution Campaign and Its Results: Turkish Undergraduates' Acceptance and Understanding of the Biological Evolution Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peker, Deniz; Comert, Gulsum Gul; Kence, Aykut

2010-01-01

Even though in the early years of the Republic of Turkey Darwin's theory of evolution was treated as a scientific theory and taught fairly in schools, despite all the substantial evidence accumulated supporting the theory of evolution since then, Darwin and his ideas today have been scorned by curriculum and education policy makers. Furthermore,…

Conceptual Elements: A Detailed Framework to Support and Assess Student Learning of Biology Core Concepts.

PubMed

Cary, Tawnya; Branchaw, Janet

2017-01-01

The Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: Call to Action report has inspired and supported a nationwide movement to restructure undergraduate biology curricula to address overarching disciplinary concepts and competencies. The report outlines the concepts and competencies generally but does not provide a detailed framework to guide the development of the learning outcomes, instructional materials, and assessment instruments needed to create a reformed biology curriculum. In this essay, we present a detailed Vision and Change core concept framework that articulates key components that transcend subdisciplines and scales for each overarching biological concept, the Conceptual Elements (CE) Framework. The CE Framework was developed using a grassroots approach of iterative revision and incorporates feedback from more than 60 biologists and undergraduate biology educators from across the United States. The final validation step resulted in strong national consensus, with greater than 92% of responders agreeing that each core concept list was ready for use by the biological sciences community, as determined by scientific accuracy and completeness. In addition, we describe in detail how educators and departments can use the CE Framework to guide and document reformation of individual courses as well as entire curricula. © 2017 T. Cary and J. Branchaw. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Developing Oral and Written Communication Skills in Undergraduate Computer Science and Information Systems Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kortsarts, Yana; Fischbach, Adam; Rufinus, Jeff; Utell, Janine M.; Yoon, Suk-Chung

2010-01-01

Developing and applying oral and written communication skills in the undergraduate computer science and computer information systems curriculum--one of the ABET accreditation requirements - is a very challenging and, at the same time, a rewarding task that provides various opportunities to enrich the undergraduate computer science and computer…

Diversity in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Perspectives Held by Undergraduate Students at a Predominantly European American University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Littleford, Linh Nguyen

2013-01-01

Undergraduate students (N = 932, 83.8% European Americans, 69.6% women) completed an online survey and reported their definitions of diversity, their attitudes toward incorporating diversity into the curriculum, and their motivations for learning about diversity issues. Findings revealed that students conceptualized diversity primarily in terms of…

Creating Successful Campus Partnerships for Teaching Communication in Biology Courses and Labs.

PubMed

Hall, Susanne E; Birch, Christina

2018-01-01

Creating and teaching successful writing and communication assignments for biology undergraduate students can be challenging for faculty trying to balance the teaching of technical content. The growing body of published research and scholarship on effective teaching of writing and communication in biology can help inform such work, but there are also local resources available to support writing within biology courses that may be unfamiliar to science faculty and instructors. In this article, we discuss common on-campus resources biology faculty can make use of when incorporating writing and communication into their teaching. We present the missions, histories, and potential collaboration outcomes of three major on-campus writing resources: writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines initiatives (WAC/WID), writing programs, and writing centers. We explain some of the common misconceptions about these resources in order to help biology faculty understand their uses and limits, and we offer guiding questions faculty might ask the directors of these resources to start productive conversations. Collaboration with these resources will likely save faculty time and effort on curriculum development and, more importantly, will help biology students develop and improve their critical reading, writing, and communication skills.

Creating Successful Campus Partnerships for Teaching Communication in Biology Courses and Labs

PubMed Central

Hall, Susanne E.; Birch, Christina

2018-01-01

Creating and teaching successful writing and communication assignments for biology undergraduate students can be challenging for faculty trying to balance the teaching of technical content. The growing body of published research and scholarship on effective teaching of writing and communication in biology can help inform such work, but there are also local resources available to support writing within biology courses that may be unfamiliar to science faculty and instructors. In this article, we discuss common on-campus resources biology faculty can make use of when incorporating writing and communication into their teaching. We present the missions, histories, and potential collaboration outcomes of three major on-campus writing resources: writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines initiatives (WAC/WID), writing programs, and writing centers. We explain some of the common misconceptions about these resources in order to help biology faculty understand their uses and limits, and we offer guiding questions faculty might ask the directors of these resources to start productive conversations. Collaboration with these resources will likely save faculty time and effort on curriculum development and, more importantly, will help biology students develop and improve their critical reading, writing, and communication skills. PMID:29904537

[Curriculum reform and research in dentistry at the undergraduate level: history under construction].

PubMed

Maltagliati, Luciana Avila; Goldenberg, Paulete

2007-01-01

Approaching from the perspective of curriculum organization, the article examines the development of undergraduate research in dentistry. Based on Brazilian and international printed or electronic publications, the authors examine the institutionalization of higher education in dentistry, university reform, and the enactment of Curriculum Guidelines. From the earliest days of higher education in dentistry, there has been a concern with research. But Brazil's university reform assigned research to graduate studies and scientific instruction to undergraduate studies. In recent years, Curriculum Guidelines have reconsidered the position of research and have recommended changes that allow research to be viewed as an educational principle.

Teaching of biochemistry in medical school: A well-trodden pathway?

PubMed

Mathews, Michael B; Stagnaro-Green, Alex

2008-11-01

Biochemistry and molecular biology occupy a unique place in the medical school curriculum. They are frequently studied prior to medical school and are fundamental to the teaching of biomedical sciences in undergraduate medical education. These two circumstances, and the trend toward increased integration among the disciplines, have led to reconsideration of biochemistry instruction in many medical schools. We conducted a survey to explore the evolving trends in biochemistry education. A broad diversity was evident in parameters including course content, faculty, governance, prerequisites, and teaching methods. Notably, sharp differences were apparent between freestanding biochemistry courses and those in which biochemistry is integrated with other subjects. Furthermore, the data imply a likely trend toward increased integration of biochemistry with other disciplines in the medical school curriculum. Copyright © 2008 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

[Study Plan 2016 of the licentiate of medical surgery of the faculty of higher studies iztacala].

PubMed

Méndez-Cruz, Adolfo René; Novales-Castro, Xavier de Jesús; Ramírez-García, Lilia Isabel; Camarena-Ocampo, Eugenio; Reyes-Reali, Julia; Calderón-Abundes, Uriel; Amato, Dante

2017-01-01

The 2016 undergraduate medical degree curriculum at the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) is presented. It is the result of a long institutional reflection and academic dialog process of approximately three years, which culminated in its approval by UNAM's Academic Council for the Biology, Chemistry, and Health Sciences areas on January 25, 2016. Its most relevant characteristics are: modular organization, four knowledge areas (biomedical, methodological, socio-psychological, and humanistic and medical practice), and new modules such as Seminar of socio-psycho-biological integration; Genetics and molecular biology; Biochemistry and cellular biology; Pharmacological basis of therapeutics; Infectious diseases, microbiology and parasitology; Medical ethics; Public health; and Evidence-based medicine - clinical epidemiology. To achieve a more flexible curriculum, optional modules were included. To make possible the curricular change, improving the teaching strategies, innovating the learning assessment methods, supporting the training and updating of the teaching staff, and establishing a curriculum development committee for following up and evaluating the program, are necessary. Curricular changes are difficult and complex processes; they suppose challenges and opportunities. It is mandatory to plan them carefully and sensitively to allow a successful transition and avoid conflicts for the students, the teachers and the institution.

The Role of Faculty in Internationalizing the Undergraduate Curriculum and Classroom. CBIE Research Millennium Series No. 8

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bond, Sheryl L.; Qian, Jun; Huang, Jinyan

2003-01-01

Most faculty, administrators, as well as public and private sector leaders, name the curriculum as the most important feature of any internationalization strategy. To internationalize the undergraduate curriculum, however, requires careful reexamination of the curricula, scrutinizing the "more of the same" thinking that sometimes…

Conceptual understandings of biology in pre-service science educators and undergraduate biology students at Colorado institutions of higher education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Trenton John

Pre-service secondary science individuals, future middle or high school instructors training to become teachers, along with both Honors and general first year undergraduate biology students were investigated to determine how they reason about and understand two core topics in Biology: matter and energy flow through biological systems and evolution by natural selection. Diagnostic Question Clusters were used to assess student understanding of the processes by which matter and energy flow through biological systems over spatial scales, from the atomic-molecular to ecosystem levels. Key concepts and identified misconceptions were examined over topics of evolution by natural selection using the multiple-choice Concept Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) and open-response Assessing COntextual Reasoning about Natural Selection (ACORNS). Pre-service teachers used more scientifically based reasoning than the undergraduate students over the topics of matter and energy flow. The Honors students used more scientific and less improper informal reasoning than the general undergraduates over matter and energy flow. Honors students performed best on both the CINS and ACORNS items over natural selection, while the general undergraduates scored the lowest on the CINS, and the pre-service instructors scored lowest on the ACORNS. Overall, there remain a large proportion of students not consistently using scientific reasoning about these two important concepts, even in future secondary science teachers. My findings are similar to those of other published studies using the same assessments. In general, very few biology students at the college level use scientific reasoning that exhibits deep conceptual understanding. A reason for this could be that instructors fail to recognize deficiencies in student reasoning; they assume their students use principle-based reasoning. Another reason could be that principle-based reasoning is very difficult and our teaching approaches in college promote memorization of content rather than conceptual change. My findings are significant to the work and progression of concept inventories in biology education, as well as to the instructors of students at all levels of biology curriculum, and those of future science teachers.

Undergraduate basic science preparation for dental school.

PubMed

Humphrey, Sue P; Mathews, Robert E; Kaplan, Alan L; Beeman, Cynthia S

2002-11-01

In the Institute of Medicines report Dental Education at the Crossroads, it was suggested that dental schools across the country move toward integrated basic science education for dental and medical students in their curricula. To do so, dental school admission requirements and recommendations must be closely reviewed to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this coursework. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to identify student dentists' perceptions of their predental preparation as it relates to course content, and 2) to track student dentists' undergraduate basic science course preparation and relate that to DAT performance, basic science course performance in dental school, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. In the first part of the research, a total of ninety student dentists (forty-five from each class) from the entering classes of 1996 and 1997 were asked to respond to a survey. The survey instrument was distributed to each class of students after each completed the largest basic science class given in their second-year curriculum. The survey investigated the area of undergraduate major, a checklist of courses completed in their undergraduate preparation, the relevance of the undergraduate classes to the block basic science courses, and the strength of requiring or recommending the listed undergraduate courses as a part of admission to dental school. Results of the survey, using frequency analysis, indicate that students felt that the following classes should be required, not recommended, for admission to dental school: Microbiology 70 percent, Biochemistry 54.4 percent, Immunology 57.78 percent, Anatomy 50 percent, Physiology 58.89 percent, and Cell Biology 50 percent. The second part of the research involved anonymously tracking undergraduate basic science preparation of the same students with DAT scores, the grade received in a representative large basic science course, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. Using T-test analysis correlations, results indicate that having completed multiple undergraduate basic science courses (as reported by AADSAS BCP hours) did not significantly (p < .05) enhance student performance in any of these parameters. Based on these results, we conclude that student dentists with undergraduate preparation in science and nonscience majors can successfully negotiate the dental school curriculum, even though the students themselves would increase admission requirements to include more basic science courses than commonly required. Basically, the students' recommendations for required undergraduate basic science courses would replicate the standard basic science coursework found in most dental schools: anatomy, histology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, and immunology plus the universal foundation course of biology.

Teaching quantitative biology: goals, assessments, and resources

PubMed Central

Aikens, Melissa L.; Dolan, Erin L.

2014-01-01

More than a decade has passed since the publication of BIO2010, calling for an increased emphasis on quantitative skills in the undergraduate biology curriculum. In that time, relatively few papers have been published that describe educational innovations in quantitative biology or provide evidence of their effects on students. Using a “backward design” framework, we lay out quantitative skill and attitude goals, assessment strategies, and teaching resources to help biologists teach more quantitatively. Collaborations between quantitative biologists and education researchers are necessary to develop a broader and more appropriate suite of assessment tools, and to provide much-needed evidence on how particular teaching strategies affect biology students' quantitative skill development and attitudes toward quantitative work. PMID:25368425

The hidden curriculum in undergraduate medical education: qualitative study of medical students' perceptions of teaching.

PubMed

Lempp, Heidi; Seale, Clive

2004-10-02

To study medical students' views about the quality of the teaching they receive during their undergraduate training, especially in terms of the hidden curriculum. Semistructured interviews with individual students. One medical school in the United Kingdom. 36 undergraduate medical students, across all stages of their training, selected by random and quota sampling, stratified by sex and ethnicity, with the whole medical school population as a sampling frame. Medical students' experiences and perceptions of the quality of teaching received during their undergraduate training. Students reported many examples of positive role models and effective, approachable teachers, with valued characteristics perceived according to traditional gendered stereotypes. They also described a hierarchical and competitive atmosphere in the medical school, in which haphazard instruction and teaching by humiliation occur, especially during the clinical training years. Following on from the recent reforms of the manifest curriculum, the hidden curriculum now needs attention to produce the necessary fundamental changes in the culture of undergraduate medical education.

The Place of Nursing History in an Undergraduate Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lait, Margaret E.

2000-01-01

Describes a standalone undergraduate course in nursing history in terms of rationale, purpose, and content. Discusses arguments for inclusion of nursing history in the curriculum and problems associated with teaching it. (SK)

The relevance of basic sciences in undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Lynch, C; Grant, T; McLoughlin, P; Last, J

2016-02-01

Evolving and changing undergraduate medical curricula raise concerns that there will no longer be a place for basic sciences. National and international trends show that 5-year programmes with a pre-requisite for school chemistry are growing more prevalent. National reports in Ireland show a decline in the availability of school chemistry and physics. This observational cohort study considers if the basic sciences of physics, chemistry and biology should be a prerequisite to entering medical school, be part of the core medical curriculum or if they have a place in the practice of medicine. Comparisons of means, correlation and linear regression analysis assessed the degree of association between predictors (school and university basic sciences) and outcomes (year and degree GPA) for entrants to a 6-year Irish medical programme between 2006 and 2009 (n = 352). We found no statistically significant difference in medical programme performance between students with/without prior basic science knowledge. The Irish school exit exam and its components were mainly weak predictors of performance (-0.043 ≥ r ≤ 0.396). Success in year one of medicine, which includes a basic science curriculum, was indicative of later success (0.194 ≥ r (2) ≤ 0.534). University basic sciences were found to be more predictive than school sciences in undergraduate medical performance in our institution. The increasing emphasis of basic sciences in medical practice and the declining availability of school sciences should mandate medical schools in Ireland to consider how removing basic sciences from the curriculum might impact on future applicants.

Mathematical manipulative models: in defense of "beanbag biology".

PubMed

Jungck, John R; Gaff, Holly; Weisstein, Anton E

2010-01-01

Mathematical manipulative models have had a long history of influence in biological research and in secondary school education, but they are frequently neglected in undergraduate biology education. By linking mathematical manipulative models in a four-step process-1) use of physical manipulatives, 2) interactive exploration of computer simulations, 3) derivation of mathematical relationships from core principles, and 4) analysis of real data sets-we demonstrate a process that we have shared in biological faculty development workshops led by staff from the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium over the past 24 yr. We built this approach based upon a broad survey of literature in mathematical educational research that has convincingly demonstrated the utility of multiple models that involve physical, kinesthetic learning to actual data and interactive simulations. Two projects that use this approach are introduced: The Biological Excel Simulations and Tools in Exploratory, Experiential Mathematics (ESTEEM) Project (http://bioquest.org/esteem) and Numerical Undergraduate Mathematical Biology Education (NUMB3R5 COUNT; http://bioquest.org/numberscount). Examples here emphasize genetics, ecology, population biology, photosynthesis, cancer, and epidemiology. Mathematical manipulative models help learners break through prior fears to develop an appreciation for how mathematical reasoning informs problem solving, inference, and precise communication in biology and enhance the diversity of quantitative biology education.

Authentic Research Experience and "Big Data" Analysis in the Classroom: Maize Response to Abiotic Stress.

PubMed

Makarevitch, Irina; Frechette, Cameo; Wiatros, Natalia

2015-01-01

Integration of inquiry-based approaches into curriculum is transforming the way science is taught and studied in undergraduate classrooms. Incorporating quantitative reasoning and mathematical skills into authentic biology undergraduate research projects has been shown to benefit students in developing various skills necessary for future scientists and to attract students to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. While large-scale data analysis became an essential part of modern biological research, students have few opportunities to engage in analysis of large biological data sets. RNA-seq analysis, a tool that allows precise measurement of the level of gene expression for all genes in a genome, revolutionized molecular biology and provides ample opportunities for engaging students in authentic research. We developed, implemented, and assessed a series of authentic research laboratory exercises incorporating a large data RNA-seq analysis into an introductory undergraduate classroom. Our laboratory series is focused on analyzing gene expression changes in response to abiotic stress in maize seedlings; however, it could be easily adapted to the analysis of any other biological system with available RNA-seq data. Objective and subjective assessment of student learning demonstrated gains in understanding important biological concepts and in skills related to the process of science. © 2015 I. Makarevitch et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Need Assessment of Enhancing the Weightage of Applied Biochemistry in the Undergraduate Curriculum at MGIMS, Sevagram

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, Satish; Jena, Lingaraja; Vagha, Jayant

2016-01-01

In order to review the need assessment of enhancing the weightage of Applied Biochemistry in the undergraduate curriculum at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), Sevagram, a validated questionnaire was sent to 453 participants which include 387 undergraduate students, 11 interns, 23 postgraduate students, and 32 faculty members. A…

Undergraduate Students' Attitudes toward Individuals with Disabilities: Integrating Psychology Disability Curriculum and Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Wendy; Witschey, Hannah

2018-01-01

This study examined whether combining classroom curriculum with direct experience with people with disabilities (PWDs) can influence change in undergraduate students' attitudes toward PWDs. Undergraduate students (N = 68) enrolled in a psychology course completed the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale at the beginning and end of the semester.…

Inter-institutional Development of a Poster-Based Cancer Biology Learning Tool

PubMed Central

Andraos-Selim, Cecile; Modzelewski, Ruth A.; Steinman, Richard A.

2010-01-01

There is a paucity of African-American Cancer researchers. To help address this, an educational collaboration was developed between a Comprehensive Cancer Center and a distant undergraduate biology department at a minority institution that sought to teach students introductory cancer biology while modeling research culture. A student-centered active learning curriculum was established that incorporated scientific poster presentations and simulated research exercises to foster learning of cancer biology. Students successfully mined primary literature for supportive data to test cancer-related hypotheses. Student feedback indicated that the poster project substantially enhanced depth of understanding of cancer biology and laid the groundwork for subsequent laboratory work. This inter-institutional collaboration modeled the research process while conveying facts and concepts about cancer. PMID:20237886

Attitudes among students and teachers on vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum.

PubMed

Brynhildsen, J; Dahle, L O; Behrbohm Fallsberg, M; Rundquist, I; Hammar, M

2002-05-01

Important elements in the curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science sections of the curriculum, and horizontal integration between different subject areas. Integration throughout the whole curriculum is time-consuming for both teachers and students and hard work is required for planning, organization and execution. The aim was to assess the importance of vertical and horizontal integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to opinions among students and teachers. In a questionnaire 102 faculty teachers and 106 students were asked about the importance of 14 different components of the undergraduate medical curriculum including vertical and horizontal integration. They were asked to assign between one and six points to each component (6 points = extremely important for the quality of the curriculum; 1 point = unimportant). Students as well as teachers appreciated highly both forms of integration. Students scored horizontal integration slightly but significantly higher than the teachers (median 6 vs 5 points; p=0.009, Mann-Whitney U-test), whereas teachers scored vertical integration higher than students (6 vs 5; p=0.019, Mann-Whitney U-test). Both students and teachers considered horizontal and vertical integration to be highly important components of the undergraduate medical programme. We believe both kinds of integration support problem-based learning and stimulate deep and lifelong learning and suggest that integration should always be considered deeply when a new curriculum is planned for undergraduate medical education.

Needs Analysis of Business English Undergraduates and the Implications to Business English Curriculum Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Juan

2014-01-01

Needs Analysis is a valuable and irreplaceable tool in the curriculum design of Business English courses. It ensures a focused and efficient curriculum design responsive to the learners' needs. This paper analyses the needs of Business English undergraduates and the information obtained may offer some helpful suggestions to the setting of the…

Design and Evaluation of a One-Semester General Chemistry Course for Undergraduate Life Science Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnoebelen, Carly; Towns, Marcy H.; Chmielewski, Jean; Hrycyna, Christine A.

2018-01-01

The chemistry curriculum for undergraduate life science majors at Purdue University has been transformed to better meet the needs of this student population and prepare them for future success. The curriculum, called the 1-2-1 curriculum, includes four consecutive and integrated semesters of instruction in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and…

Linguistics in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langendoen, D. Terence, Ed.

A study examines the place of linguistics in undergraduate curricula in the United States and Canada, the nature and structure of the curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in linguistics, and the population served by the curriculum. The final report consists of an overview of the study, including the forms used for the survey; a directory of…

Skills Development, Habits of Mind, and the Spiral Curriculum: A Dialectical Approach to Undergraduate General Education Curriculum Mapping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Jeffrey W.

2016-01-01

This essay seeks to contribute to growing discussion concerning the need for more intentional inclusion of habits of mind in curriculum development, particularly in undergraduate general education, and to fuel an examination of the "dialectical" relationship between skills development and the development of habits of mind. The essay…

Mathematical Manipulative Models: In Defense of “Beanbag Biology”

PubMed Central

Gaff, Holly; Weisstein, Anton E.

2010-01-01

Mathematical manipulative models have had a long history of influence in biological research and in secondary school education, but they are frequently neglected in undergraduate biology education. By linking mathematical manipulative models in a four-step process—1) use of physical manipulatives, 2) interactive exploration of computer simulations, 3) derivation of mathematical relationships from core principles, and 4) analysis of real data sets—we demonstrate a process that we have shared in biological faculty development workshops led by staff from the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium over the past 24 yr. We built this approach based upon a broad survey of literature in mathematical educational research that has convincingly demonstrated the utility of multiple models that involve physical, kinesthetic learning to actual data and interactive simulations. Two projects that use this approach are introduced: The Biological Excel Simulations and Tools in Exploratory, Experiential Mathematics (ESTEEM) Project (http://bioquest.org/esteem) and Numerical Undergraduate Mathematical Biology Education (NUMB3R5 COUNT; http://bioquest.org/numberscount). Examples here emphasize genetics, ecology, population biology, photosynthesis, cancer, and epidemiology. Mathematical manipulative models help learners break through prior fears to develop an appreciation for how mathematical reasoning informs problem solving, inference, and precise communication in biology and enhance the diversity of quantitative biology education. PMID:20810952

Interdisciplinary cantilever physics: Elasticity of carrot, celery, and plasticware

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pestka, Kenneth A.

2014-05-01

This article presents several simple cantilever-based experiments using common household items (celery, carrot, and a plastic spoon) that are appropriate for introductory undergraduate laboratories or independent student projects. By applying Hooke's law and Euler beam theory, students are able to determine Young's modulus, fracture stress, yield stress, strain energy, and sound speed of these apparently disparate materials. In addition, a cellular foam elastic model is introduced—applicable to biologic materials as well as an essential component in the development of advanced engineering composites—that provides a mechanism to determine Young's modulus of the cell wall material found in celery and carrot. These experiments are designed to promote exploration of the similarities and differences between common inorganic and organic materials, fill a void in the typical undergraduate curriculum, and provide a foundation for more advanced material science pursuits within biology, botany, and food science as well as physics and engineering.

Training the 21st Century Voice Teacher: An Overview and Curriculum Survey of the Undergraduate Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walz, Ivy

2014-01-01

This document examines the current status of voice teacher education in the 21st century, focusing on the undergraduate experience as an important first step, and links that experience to current trends in pedagogical training as a whole. This document includes the results of a curriculum survey detailing the undergraduate vocal pedagogy courses…

Nutrition guidelines for undergraduate medical curricula: a six-country comparison.

PubMed

Crowley, Jennifer; Ball, Lauren; Laur, Celia; Wall, Clare; Arroll, Bruce; Poole, Phillippa; Ray, Sumantra

2015-01-01

To assess nutrition curriculum guidelines for undergraduate medical education in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to highlight potential opportunities for shared learning on the advancement of nutrition in medical education. A comprehensive list of professional bodies, councils, organizations, and other groups relevant to education or nutrition was compiled for each country after a review of relevant white and gray literature. All documents that were published from 2000 onwards, and that provided guidance on nutrition education within undergraduate medical education for one of the identified countries were included in the review. Each curriculum guideline was evaluated for 1) the organization's or group's role in undergraduate medical education; 2) the extent of nutrition-related recommendations; and 3) mandatory implementation. In the countries reviewed, a total of six nutrition-related curriculum guidelines were identified. All countries, aside from the Republic of Ireland, currently have externally visible curriculum guidelines to inform medical schools in undergraduate nutrition education, yet there is little evidence of mandatory enforcement. Curriculum guidelines predominantly focus on basic nutrition principles, nutrition assessment, the role of nutrition in health, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the provision of nutrition counseling. Notable differences exist regarding the scope and detail of curriculum guidelines for the reviewed countries. There are promising developments in nutrition curriculum guidelines for medical schools within the reviewed countries. Differences in the scope and detail of nutrition curriculum guidelines may influence the nutrition education provided to medical students, and the subsequent nutrition care provided by doctors in these countries. Consideration is required as to how to monitor and evaluate the nutrition competence of doctors in relation to routine health care practices, as well as the impact of their competency levels on patients' nutrition behavior and health outcomes.

Nutrition guidelines for undergraduate medical curricula: a six-country comparison

PubMed Central

Crowley, Jennifer; Ball, Lauren; Laur, Celia; Wall, Clare; Arroll, Bruce; Poole, Phillippa; Ray, Sumantra

2015-01-01

Aim To assess nutrition curriculum guidelines for undergraduate medical education in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to highlight potential opportunities for shared learning on the advancement of nutrition in medical education. Methods A comprehensive list of professional bodies, councils, organizations, and other groups relevant to education or nutrition was compiled for each country after a review of relevant white and gray literature. All documents that were published from 2000 onwards, and that provided guidance on nutrition education within undergraduate medical education for one of the identified countries were included in the review. Each curriculum guideline was evaluated for 1) the organization’s or group’s role in undergraduate medical education; 2) the extent of nutrition-related recommendations; and 3) mandatory implementation. Results In the countries reviewed, a total of six nutrition-related curriculum guidelines were identified. All countries, aside from the Republic of Ireland, currently have externally visible curriculum guidelines to inform medical schools in undergraduate nutrition education, yet there is little evidence of mandatory enforcement. Curriculum guidelines predominantly focus on basic nutrition principles, nutrition assessment, the role of nutrition in health, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the provision of nutrition counseling. Notable differences exist regarding the scope and detail of curriculum guidelines for the reviewed countries. Conclusion There are promising developments in nutrition curriculum guidelines for medical schools within the reviewed countries. Differences in the scope and detail of nutrition curriculum guidelines may influence the nutrition education provided to medical students, and the subsequent nutrition care provided by doctors in these countries. Consideration is required as to how to monitor and evaluate the nutrition competence of doctors in relation to routine health care practices, as well as the impact of their competency levels on patients’ nutrition behavior and health outcomes. PMID:25733949

The Genomics Education Partnership: Successful Integration of Research into Laboratory Classes at a Diverse Group of Undergraduate Institutions

PubMed Central

Shaffer, Christopher D.; Alvarez, Consuelo; Bailey, Cheryl; Barnard, Daron; Bhalla, Satish; Chandrasekaran, Chitra; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Chung, Hui-Min; Dorer, Douglas R.; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T.; Poet, Jeff L.; Frohlich, Donald; Goodman, Anya L.; Gosser, Yuying; Hauser, Charles; Hoopes, Laura L.M.; Johnson, Diana; Jones, Christopher J.; Kaehler, Marian; Kokan, Nighat; Kopp, Olga R.; Kuleck, Gary A.; McNeil, Gerard; Moss, Robert; Myka, Jennifer L.; Nagengast, Alexis; Morris, Robert; Overvoorde, Paul J.; Shoop, Elizabeth; Parrish, Susan; Reed, Kelynne; Regisford, E. Gloria; Revie, Dennis; Rosenwald, Anne G.; Saville, Ken; Schroeder, Stephanie; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher; Smith, Mary; Spana, Eric P.; Spratt, Mary; Stamm, Joyce; Thompson, Jeff S.; Wawersik, Matthew; Wilson, Barbara A.; Youngblom, Jim; Leung, Wilson; Buhler, Jeremy; Mardis, Elaine R.; Lopatto, David

2010-01-01

Genomics is not only essential for students to understand biology but also provides unprecedented opportunities for undergraduate research. The goal of the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP), a collaboration between a growing number of colleges and universities around the country and the Department of Biology and Genome Center of Washington University in St. Louis, is to provide such research opportunities. Using a versatile curriculum that has been adapted to many different class settings, GEP undergraduates undertake projects to bring draft-quality genomic sequence up to high quality and/or participate in the annotation of these sequences. GEP undergraduates have improved more than 2 million bases of draft genomic sequence from several species of Drosophila and have produced hundreds of gene models using evidence-based manual annotation. Students appreciate their ability to make a contribution to ongoing research, and report increased independence and a more active learning approach after participation in GEP projects. They show knowledge gains on pre- and postcourse quizzes about genes and genomes and in bioinformatic analysis. Participating faculty also report professional gains, increased access to genomics-related technology, and an overall positive experience. We have found that using a genomics research project as the core of a laboratory course is rewarding for both faculty and students. PMID:20194808

Developing Research Skills across the Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Simon; Coates, Lee; Fraser, Ann; Pierce, Pam

2015-01-01

This chapter describes consortial efforts within the Great Lakes Colleges Association to share expertise and programming to build research skills throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Strategies to scaffold research skill development are provided from Allegheny College, Kalamazoo College, and The College of Wooster.

Integrating Professional Development across the Curriculum: An Effectiveness Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciarocco, Natalie J.; Dinella, Lisa M.; Hatchard, Christine J.; Valosin, Jayde

2016-01-01

The current study empirically tested the effectiveness of a modular approach to integrating professional development across an undergraduate psychology curriculum. Researchers conducted a two-group, between-subjects experiment on 269 undergraduate psychology students assessing perceptions of professional preparedness and learning. Analysis…

Great expectations: using an analysis of current practices to propose a framework for the undergraduate inorganic curriculum.

PubMed

Reisner, Barbara A; Smith, Sheila R; Stewart, Joanne L; Raker, Jeffrey R; Crane, Johanna L; Sobel, Sabrina G; Pesterfield, Lester L

2015-09-21

The undergraduate inorganic chemistry curriculum in the United States mirrors the broad diversity of the inorganic research community and poses a challenge for the development of a coherent curriculum that is thorough, rigorous, and engaging. A recent large survey of the inorganic community has provided information about the current organization and content of the inorganic curriculum from an institutional level. The data reveal shared "core" concepts that are broadly taught, with tremendous variation in content coverage beyond these central ideas. The data provide an opportunity for a community-driven discussion about how the American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training's vision of a foundation and in-depth course for each of the five subdisciplines maps onto an inorganic chemistry curriculum that is consistent in its coverage of the core inorganic concepts, yet reflects the diversity and creativity of the inorganic community. The goal of this Viewpoint is to present the current state of the diverse undergraduate curriculum and lay a framework for an effective and engaging curriculum that illustrates the essential role inorganic chemistry plays within the chemistry community.

NEW PATTERNS IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION--EMERGING CURRICULUM MODELS FOR THE AMERICAN COLLEGE. NEW DIMENSIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION, NUMBER 15.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AXELROD, JOSEPH

THIS REVIEW OF A LITERATURE SEARCH PRESENTS A DESCRIPTION OF NEW MODELS OF UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUMS THAT ARE COMING INTO EXISTENCE AND COMPARES THE PURPOSES OF THESE NEW MODELS WITH THE WEAKNESSES OF THE OLD MODELS THAT THE NEW MODELS SEEK TO CORRECT. THE NEW MODELS OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION ARE SEEKING TO CREATE, EVEN ON THE LARGEST CAMPUSES,…

A proposal for health care management and leadership education within the UK undergraduate medical curriculum.

PubMed

Mafe, Cecilia; Menyah, Effie; Nkere, Munachi

2016-01-01

Health care management and leadership education is an important gap in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Lack of training promotes poor decision making and may lead to inadequate health services, adversely affecting patients. We propose an integrated approach to health care management and leadership education at undergraduate level, to enable doctors to be effective leaders and manage resources appropriately and to ultimately improve patient care.

Obsidian Hydration Dating in the Undergraduate Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manche, Emanuel P.; Lakatos, Stephen

1986-01-01

Provides an overview of obsidian hydration dating for the instructor by presenting: (1) principles of the method; (2) procedures; (3) applications; and (4) limitations. The theory of the method and one or more laboratory exercises can be easily introduced into the undergraduate geology curriculum. (JN)

Undergraduate allergy teaching in a UK medical school: comparison of the described and delivered curriculum.

PubMed

Shehata, Yasser; Ross, Michael; Sheikh, Aziz

2007-02-01

Concerns have been raised about the adequacy of allergy teaching in UK undergraduate medical curricula. Our previous work, which involved undertaking a systematic analysis of the documented curricular learning objectives relating to allergy teaching in a UK medical school, found references to allergy teaching in each of the five years of study but also identified some apparent omissions in allergy teaching. These may represent actual gaps in relation to allergy training, or alternatively may reflect dissonance between the described and delivered curricula. To compare the described and delivered undergraduate curricula on allergy and allergy-related topics in a UK medical school. We identified and e-mailed the individuals responsible for each of the 43 modules in the five-year undergraduate medical programme at the University of Edinburgh, enquiring about the delivery of allergy-related teaching within their modules. We then compared these responses with the results of the previous study mapping allergy-related teaching across the undergraduate curriculum. Fifty-one individuals were identified as being responsible for leading the 43 modules in the curriculum. Forty-nine (96%) of these module organisers responded to our enquiry; these individuals represented 41 of the 43 modules (95%). Module organisers reported that allergy-related teaching and learning was delivered in 14 modules (33%), was absent in 13 (30%) modules, and may occur to varying degrees within a further 10 (23%) modules. Module organisers' responses about the delivered curriculum on allergy were consistent with the findings from documented learning objectives in 21 (49%) modules. They also reported allergy teaching and learning in modules which had not been identified by examination of the learning objectives; however, there were still important gaps in the allergy-related curriculum. Information gathered from teaching staff confirms that specific teaching and learning on allergic disorders is currently being delivered in all five years of the undergraduate curriculum. However, comparison between the described and delivered curricula on allergy revealed discrepancies highlighting the complex nature of the undergraduate curriculum and the difficulties involved in mapping specific teaching themes within them. This assessment has revealed gaps in allergy training which need to be addressed.

An investigation of bacterial protein interactions as a primary research project in a sophomore-level molecular biology course.

PubMed

Cardinale, Jean A

2011-01-01

Longer term research activities that may be incorporated in undergraduate courses are a powerful tool for promoting student interest and learning, developing cognitive process skills, and allowing undergraduates to experience real research activities in which they may not otherwise have the opportunity to participate. The challenge to doing so in lower-level courses is that students may have not fully grasped the scientific concepts needed to undertake such research endeavors, and that they may be discouraged if activities are perceived to be too challenging. The paper describes how a bacterial protein:protein interaction detection system was adapted and incorporated into the laboratory component of a sophomore-level Molecular Cell Biology course. The project was designed to address multiple learning objectives connecting course content to the laboratory activities, as well as teach basic molecular biology laboratory skills and procedures in the context of a primary research activity. Pre- and posttesting and student surveys both suggest that the laboratory curriculum resulted in significant learning gains, as well as being well received and valued by the students.

Using PCR-RFLP technology to teach single nucleotide polymorphism for undergraduates.

PubMed

Zhang, Bo; Wang, Yan; Xu, Xiaofeng; Guan, Xingying; Bai, Yun

2013-01-01

Recent studies indicated that the aberrant gene expression of peroxiredoxin-6 (prdx6) was found in various kinds of cancers. Because of its biochemical function and gene expression pattern in cancer cells, the association between genetic polymorphism of Prdx6 and cancer onset is interesting. In this report, we have developed and implemented a serial experiment in molecular biology laboratory course to teach single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to undergraduate students majoring in molecular biology or genetics. The flanking sequence of rs4382766 was located in Prdx6 gene, which contained a restriction site of SspI, and was used as a target in this lab course. The students could mimic real research by integrating different techniques, such as database retrieving, genomic DNA isolation, PCR, and restriction enzyme assay. This serial experiment of PCR-RFLP helps students set up intact idea of molecular biology and understand the relation among individual experiments. Students were found to be more enthusiastic during the laboratory classes than those in the former curriculum. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Integrating Computational Chemistry into the Physical Chemistry Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Lewis E.; Engel, Thomas

2011-01-01

Relatively few undergraduate physical chemistry programs integrate molecular modeling into their quantum mechanics curriculum owing to concerns about limited access to computational facilities, the cost of software, and concerns about increasing the course material. However, modeling exercises can be integrated into an undergraduate course at a…

Teaching Culture and Improving Language Skills through a Cinematic Lens: A Course on Spanish Film in the Undergraduate Spanish Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Julie L.

2001-01-01

Explores the role of a course on Spanish cinema in an undergraduate, university-level curriculum in terms of its potential to acquaint students with significant cultural issues and to develop language skills. (Author/VWL)

Consensus statement on an updated core communication curriculum for UK undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Noble, Lorraine M; Scott-Smith, Wesley; O'Neill, Bernadette; Salisbury, Helen

2018-04-22

Clinical communication is a core component of undergraduate medical training. A consensus statement on the essential elements of the communication curriculum was co-produced in 2008 by the communication leads of UK medical schools. This paper discusses the relational, contextual and technological changes which have affected clinical communication since then and presents an updated curriculum for communication in undergraduate medicine. The consensus was developed through an iterative consultation process with the communication leads who represent their medical schools on the UK Council of Clinical Communication in Undergraduate Medical Education. The updated curriculum defines the underpinning values, core components and skills required within the context of contemporary medical care. It incorporates the evolving relational issues associated with the more prominent role of the patient in the consultation, reflected through legal precedent and changing societal expectations. The impact on clinical communication of the increased focus on patient safety, the professional duty of candour and digital medicine are discussed. Changes in the way medicine is practised should lead rapidly to adjustments to the content of curricula. The updated curriculum provides a model of best practice to help medical schools develop their teaching and argue for resources. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

More than a Picture: Helping Undergraduates Learn to Communicate through Scientific Images

PubMed Central

Watson, Fiona L.

2008-01-01

Images are powerful means of communicating scientific results; a strong image can underscore an experimental result more effectively than any words, whereas a poor image can readily undermine a result or conclusion. Developmental biologists rely extensively on images to compare normal versus abnormal development and communicate their results. Most undergraduate lab science courses do not actively teach students skills to communicate effectively through images. To meet this need, we developed a series of image portfolio assignments and imaging workshops in our Developmental Biology course to encourage students to develop communication skills using images. The improvements in their images over the course of the semester were striking, and on anonymous course evaluations, 73% of students listed imaging skills as the most important skill or concept they learned in the course. The image literacy skills acquired through simple lab assignments and in-class workshops appeared to stimulate confidence in the student's own evaluations of current scientific literature to assess research conclusions. In this essay, we discuss our experiences and methodology teaching undergraduates the basic criteria involved in generating images that communicate scientific content and provide a road map for integrating this curriculum into any upper-level biology laboratory course. PMID:18316805

Synthesis and Self-Assembly of the "Tennis Ball" Dimer and Subsequent Encapsulation of Methane. An Advanced Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hof, Fraser; Palmer, Liam C.; Rebek, Julius, Jr.

2001-11-01

While important to the biological and materials sciences, noncovalent interactions, self-folding, and self-assembly often receive little discussion in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The synthesis and NMR characterization of a molecular "tennis ball" in an advanced undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory is a simple and effective way to introduce the relevance of these concepts. In appropriate solvents, the monomer dimerizes through a seam of eight hydrogen bonds with encapsulation of a guest molecule and symmetry reminiscent of a tennis ball. The entire experiment can be completed in three lab periods, however large-scale synthetic preparation of the starting monomer by a teaching assistant would reduce the laboratory to a single lab period for NMR studies.

Integration of Computational Chemistry into the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esselman, Brian J.; Hill, Nicholas J.

2016-01-01

Advances in software and hardware have promoted the use of computational chemistry in all branches of chemical research to probe important chemical concepts and to support experimentation. Consequently, it has become imperative that students in the modern undergraduate curriculum become adept at performing simple calculations using computational…

The Undergraduate Curriculum in Theatre History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elwood, William R.

Theatre history programs in the medium sized or large university need to be reorganized at the undergraduate level for relevancy in the twentieth century. One possible curriculum would require that 80 percent of the courses taken be in dramatic literature, theatre history, theory, and criticism, while the remaining 20 percent consist of courses…

Applied Mathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics, Berkeley, CA.

After considering the growth in the use of mathematics in the past 25 years, this report makes four major recommendations regarding the undergraduate curriculum: (1) The mathematics department should offer a course or two in applied mathematics which treat some realistic situations completely, including the steps of problem formulation, model…

Mathematical Modeling in the Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toews, Carl

2012-01-01

Mathematical modeling occupies an unusual space in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum: typically an "advanced" course, it nonetheless has little to do with formal proof, the usual hallmark of advanced mathematics. Mathematics departments are thus forced to decide what role they want the modeling course to play, both as a component of the…

The Undergraduate Spanish Major Curriculum: Faculty, Alumni, and Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertel, Tammy Jandrey; Dings, Abby

2017-01-01

This article presents the quantitative and qualitative results of a nationwide survey of the perceptions of faculty, alumni, and students regarding the contribution to the undergraduate Spanish major curriculum of various types of courses and experiences. Quantitative results indicated that all participants valued the importance of study abroad as…

The Undergraduate Spanish Major Curriculum: Realities and Faculty Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertel, Tammy Jandrey; Dings, Abby

2014-01-01

This article presents the quantitative and qualitative results of a nationwide survey of Spanish department faculty on the components of their undergraduate Spanish major curriculum and their perceptions of these components, as well as their perceptions of recent Modern Language Association (MLA) reports (2007, 2009) and the reports'…

Internationalizing the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Handbook for Campus Leaders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pickert, Sarah; Turlington, Barbara

This handbook offers practical guidance from implemented programs for making the undergraduate curriculum more international in outlook and content. The handbook is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, presidents of four colleges and universities describe how they encourage curricular change to internationalize their institutions. The…

Incorporation of Bioinformatics Exercises into the Undergraduate Biochemistry Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feig, Andrew L.; Jabri, Evelyn

2002-01-01

The field of bioinformatics is developing faster than most biochemistry textbooks can adapt. Supplementing the undergraduate biochemistry curriculum with data-mining exercises is an ideal way to expose the students to the common databases and tools that take advantage of this vast repository of biochemical information. An integrated collection of…

Challenges Implementing Work-Integrated Learning in Human Resource Management University Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rook, Laura

2017-01-01

The examination of work-integrated learning (WIL) programs in the undergraduate Human Resource Management (HRM) curriculum is an area under-represented in the Australian literature. This paper identifies the challenges faced in implementing WIL into the HRM undergraduate curriculum. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38…

A Statistics Curriculum for the Undergraduate Chemistry Major

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlotter, Nicholas E.

2013-01-01

Our ability to statistically analyze data has grown significantly with the maturing of computer hardware and software. However, the evolution of our statistics capabilities has taken place without a corresponding evolution in the curriculum for the undergraduate chemistry major. Most faculty understands the need for a statistical educational…

Embedding Research-Based Learning Early in the Undergraduate Geography Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walkington, Helen; Griffin, Amy L.; Keys-Mathews, Lisa; Metoyer, Sandra K.; Miller, Wendy E.; Baker, Richard; France, Derek

2011-01-01

This article considers the rationale for embedding research and enquiry skills early in the undergraduate geography curriculum and for making these skills explicit to students. A survey of 52 international geography faculty identified critical thinking, framing research questions, reflectivity and creativity as the most challenging research skills…

Plastic surgery in the undergraduate curriculum: the importance of considering students' perceptions.

PubMed

Burd, Andrew; Chiu, Tor; McNaught, Carmel

2004-12-01

As the undergraduate medical curriculum becomes increasingly crowded the competition for time inevitably increases and surgical specialties have decreasing representation. Plastic surgery is regarded with some confusion in terms of its relevance to the generic doctor. Plastic surgeons have no doubt about the relevance of the specialty to undergraduates. Others see this as a very technical specialty dealing with complex reconstructions and surgical interventions or, as a rather indulgent specialty focusing mainly on glamour and cosmesis. This study focuses on students' perceptions of an undergraduate teaching program in plastic surgery. The reality is that highly pressured undergraduates do not have the luxury of time to consider the finer details of the specialties to which they are exposed. Their priority is to pass their examinations and, having addressed that concern, further information becomes an acceptable bonus. The conclusion is that if plastic surgeons are going to gain greater involvement in the undergraduate curriculum they must start with involvement in examinations and assessments. The students will then ensure that adequate and appropriate teaching time is allocated.

[The 2010 curriculum of the faculty of medicine at the National University of Mexico].

PubMed

Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor; Durante-Montiel, Irene; Morales-López, Sara; Lozano-Sánchez, Rogelio; Martínez-González, Adrián; Graue Wiechers, Enrique

2011-01-01

The 2010 undergraduate medical degree curriculum at the faculty of medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) constitutes an important curricular reform of medical education in our country. It is the result of an institutional reflective process and academic dialog, which culminated in its approval by UNAM’s Academic Council for the Biology, Chemistry, and Health Sciences areas on February 2nd, 2010. Some distinguishing characteristics of the new academic curriculum are: organization by courses with a focus on outcome competencies; three curricular axes that link three knowledge areas; four educational phases with achievement profiles; new courses (biomedical informatics, basic-clinical and clinical-basic integration, among others); and core curriculum. The aforementioned curriculum was decided within a framework of effective teaching strategies, competency oriented learning assessment methods, restructuring of the training of teaching staff, and establishment of a curriculum committee follow-up and evaluation of the program. Curricular change in medical education is a complex process through which the institution can achieve its mission and vision. This change process faces challenges and opportunities, and requires strategic planning with long-term foresight to guarantee a successful dynamic transition for students, teachers, and for the institution itself.

Undergraduate otolaryngology education at the University of Toronto: a review using a curriculum mapping system.

PubMed

Oyewumi, Modupe; Isaac, Kathryn; Schreiber, Martin; Campisi, Paolo

2012-02-01

The aim of Canadian medical school curricula is to provide educational experiences that satisfy the specific objectives set out by the Medical Council of Canada. However, for specialties such as otolaryngology, there is considerable variability in student exposure to didactic and clinical teaching across Canadian medical schools, making it unclear whether students receive sufficient teaching of core otolaryngology content and clinical skills. The goal of this review was to assess the exposure to otolaryngology instruction in the undergraduate medical curriculum at the University of Toronto. Otolaryngology objectives were derived from objectives created by the Medical Council of Canada and the University of Toronto. The University of Toronto's recently developed Curriculum Mapping System (CMap) was used to perform a keyword search of otolaryngology objectives to establish when and to what extent essential topics were being taught. All (10 of 10) major topics and skills identified were covered in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Although no major gaps were identified, an uneven distribution of teaching time exists. The majority (> 90%) of otolaryngology education occurs during year 1 of clerkship. The amount of preclerkship education was extremely limited. Essential otolaryngology topics and skills are taught within the University of Toronto curriculum. The CMap was an effective tool to assess the otolaryngology curriculum and was able to identify gaps in otolaryngology education during the preclerkship years of medical school. As a result, modifications to the undergraduate curriculum have been implemented to provide additional teaching during the preclerkship years.

A High-Enrollment Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Improves Student Conceptions of Scientific Thinking and Ability to Interpret Data

PubMed Central

Brownell, Sara E.; Hekmat-Scafe, Daria S.; Singla, Veena; Chandler Seawell, Patricia; Conklin Imam, Jamie F.; Eddy, Sarah L.; Stearns, Tim; Cyert, Martha S.

2015-01-01

We present an innovative course-based undergraduate research experience curriculum focused on the characterization of single point mutations in p53, a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated in more than 50% of human cancers. This course is required of all introductory biology students, so all biology majors engage in a research project as part of their training. Using a set of open-ended written prompts, we found that the course shifts student conceptions of what it means to think like a scientist from novice to more expert-like. Students at the end of the course identified experimental repetition, data analysis, and collaboration as important elements of thinking like a scientist. Course exams revealed that students showed gains in their ability to analyze and interpret data. These data indicate that this course-embedded research experience has a positive impact on the development of students’ conceptions and practice of scientific thinking. PMID:26033869

Biological Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Examination of an Introductory Level Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knoth, Kenneth Charles

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide authentic research benefits to an entire laboratory course population. CURE experiences are proposed to enhance research skills, critical thinking, productivity, and retention in science. CURE curriculum developers face numerous obstacles, such as the logistics and time commitment involved in bringing a CURE to larger student populations. In addition, an ideal CURE topic requires affordable resources, lab techniques that can be quickly mastered, time for multiple iterations within one semester, and the opportunity to generate new data. This study identifies some of the CURE activities that lead to proposed participant outcomes. Introductory Biology I CURE lab students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville completed research related to the process of converting storage lipids in microalgae into biodiesel. Data collected from CURE and traditional lab student participants indicate increased CURE student reports of project ownership, scientific self-efficacy, identification as a scientist, and sense of belonging to a science community. Study limitations and unanticipated benefits are discussed.

Integrating Clinical Neuropsychology into the Undergraduate Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puente, Antonio E.; And Others

1991-01-01

Claims little information exists in undergraduate education about clinical neuropsychology. Outlines an undergraduate neuropsychology course and proposes ways to integrate the subject into existing undergraduate psychology courses. Suggests developing specialized audio-visual materials for telecourses or existing courses. (NL)

Does Curriculum Practical Training Affect Engineers' Workplace Outcomes? Evidence from an Engineer Survey in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jing; Zhang, Yu; Tsang, Mun; Li, Manli

2015-01-01

With the increasing attention to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), hands-on Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) has been expanding rapidly worldwide as a requirement of the undergraduate engineering education. In China, a typical CPT for undergraduate engineering students requires several weeks of hands-on training in the…

Information Systems Program and Business Needs: Case Study of a Midwestern University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amadi, Emmanuel U.

2012-01-01

The course contents of the undergraduate Information Systems (IS) curriculums are vital to the IS field and to IS graduates. Technological advances and their associated impacts on businesses have necessitated changes in the contents of the undergraduate IS curriculums and the skills and knowledge required of IS graduates by the business…

Guidelines for Curriculum Development for Undergraduate Medical Education in the Prevention of Pulmonary Diseases.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Inst. (DHHS/NIH), Bethesda, MD. Div. of Lung Diseases.

These guidelines for developing an undergraduate medical education curriculum in pulmonary disease prevention emphasize not only the most current scientific practice but also the active application of cognitive and behavioral skills related to patient education. Chapter 1 introduces the guidelines and the issues and trends in preventative…

A New Consensus for Undergraduate Education: Can We Get There from Here?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shoenberg, Robert E.

2007-01-01

Business executives, government leaders and educators concerned with undergraduate curriculum are converging on a set of college outcomes necessary for success in the global society of the 21st century. Yet moving postsecondary education toward a curriculum that embraces these outcomes has proven difficult. The preoccupations of faculty members,…

Linguistics as a Cognitive Science and Its Role in an Undergraduate Curriculum. Linguistics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Appendix 4-F.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakoff, George

In most colleges and universities, linguistics is taught very little, while disciplines intellectually dependent on results in linguistics are taught almost universally. An understanding of the central issues in philosophy, psychology, anthropology, literature, and artificial intelligence requires an understanding of linguistics, but most…

Improvement or Selection? A Longitudinal Analysis of Students' Views about Experimental Physics in Their Lab Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcox, Bethany R.; Lewandowski, H. J.

2017-01-01

Laboratory courses represent a unique and potentially important component of the undergraduate physics curriculum, which can be designed to allow students to authentically engage with the process of experimental physics. Among other possible benefits, participation in these courses throughout the undergraduate physics curriculum presents an…

General Education Models: Continuity and Change in the U.S. Undergraduate Curriculum, 1975-2000

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brint, Steven; Proctor, Kristopher; Murphy, Scott Patrick; Turk-Bicakci, Lori; Hanneman, Robert A.

2009-01-01

General education requirements comprise, on average, approximately 30% of the undergraduate curriculum and therefore represent an important feature of the student academic experience in American colleges and universities. Previous studies have not fully examined the origins of the most important models of general education, the distribution of…

The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map III: Inorganic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marek, Keith A.; Raker, Jeffery R.; Holme, Thomas A.; Murphy, Kristen L.

2018-01-01

For the past eight years, the ACS Examinations Institute has been developing Anchoring Concepts Content Maps for the different subdisciplines taught throughout the undergraduate curriculum. The structure of the map consists of two top levels that are shared throughout the entire curriculum and two subdiscipline specific levels that contain…

Enhancing the Undergraduate Industrial Engineering Curriculum: Defining Desired Characteristics and Emerging Topics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eskandari, Hamidreza; Sala-Diakanda, Serge; Furterer, Sandra; Rabelo, Luis; Crumpton-Young, Lesia; Williams, Kent

2007-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to present the results of an initial research study conducted to identify the desired professional characteristics of an industrial engineer with an undergraduate degree and the emerging topic areas that should be incorporated into the curriculum to prepare industrial engineering (IE) graduates for the future workforce.…

Linguistics, Cognitive Science and the Undergraduate Curriculum. Linguistics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Appendix 4-I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feinstein, Mark; Stillings, Neil

Cognitive science has recently emerged as a new interdisciplinary field incorporating parts of psychology, computer science, philosophy, neuroscience, and linguistics. Its goal is to bring the theoretical and methodological resources of the contributing disciplines to bear on an integrated investigation of thought, meaning, language, perception,…

Draft Model Curriculum in Nursing Education for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naegle, Madeline A.; Burns, Elizabeth M.

This document contains three model curricula in nursing education for alcohol and other drug abuse, one graduate and one baccalaureate level from New York University's (NYU) Division of Nursing, and the third combining graduate and undergraduate level curricula for Ohio State University (OSU). The NYU undergraduate curriculum contains a pilot test…

Students' Response to Curriculum Review of Undergraduate Religion/Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eluu, Patrick E.

2015-01-01

This paper examines the imperative and students' response to curriculum review of undergraduate Religion/Education programme in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. The study was a survey type and a fifteen (15) item questionnaire was designed to elicit response from the respondents. The population of the study comprised all the second…

A behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum proposal for Japanese undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Tsutsumi, Akizumi

2015-01-01

Behavioral science and behavioral medicine have not been systematically taught to Japanese undergraduate medical students. A working group under the auspices of Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine developed an outcome-oriented curriculum of behavioral science/behavioral medicine through three processes: identifying the curriculum contents, holding a joint symposium with related societies, and defining outcomes and proposing a learning module. The behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum consists of 11 units of lectures and four units of practical study. The working group plans to improve the current core curriculum by devising formative assessment methods so that students can learn and acquire attitude as well as the skills and knowledge necessary for student-centered clinical practice.

Effects of a Research-Infused Botanical Curriculum on Undergraduates’ Content Knowledge, STEM Competencies, and Attitudes toward Plant Sciences

PubMed Central

Clarke, H. David; Horton, Jonathan L.

2014-01-01

In response to the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education initiative, we infused authentic, plant-based research into majors’ courses at a public liberal arts university. Faculty members designed a financially sustainable pedagogical approach, utilizing vertically integrated curricular modules based on undergraduate researchers’ field and laboratory projects. Our goals were to 1) teach botanical concepts, from cells to ecosystems; 2) strengthen competencies in statistical analysis and scientific writing; 3) pique plant science interest; and 4) allow all undergraduates to contribute to genuine research. Our series of inquiry-centered exercises mitigated potential faculty barriers to adopting research-rich curricula, facilitating teaching/research balance by gathering publishable scholarly data during laboratory class periods. Student competencies were assessed with pre- and postcourse quizzes and rubric-graded papers, and attitudes were evaluated with pre- and postcourse surveys. Our revised curriculum increased students’ knowledge and awareness of plant science topics, improved scientific writing, enhanced statistical knowledge, and boosted interest in conducting research. More than 300 classroom students have participated in our program, and data generated from these modules’ assessment allowed faculty and students to present 28 contributed talks or posters and publish three papers in 4 yr. Future steps include analyzing the effects of repeated module exposure on student learning and creating a regional consortium to increase our project's pedagogical impact. PMID:25185223

Integrating undergraduate research into the electro-optics and laser engineering technology program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Andrew F.

2014-07-01

Bringing research into an undergraduate curriculum is a proven and powerful practice with many educational benefits to students and the professional rewards to faculty mentors. In recent years, undergraduate research has gained national prominence as an effective problem-based learning strategy. Developing and sustaining a vibrant undergraduate research program of high quality and productivity is an outstanding example of the problem-based learning. To foster student understanding of the content learned in the classroom and nurture enduring problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities, we have created a collaborative learning environment by building research into the Electro-Optics curriculum for the first- and second-year students. The teaching methodology is described and examples of the research projects are given. Such a research-integrated curriculum effectively enhances student learning and critical thinking skills, and strengthens the research culture for the first- and second-year students.

Determining and prioritizing competencies in the undergraduate internal medicine curriculum in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Almoallim, H

2011-08-01

To determine knowledge and skills competencies in internal medicine for the undergraduate curriculum in Saudi Arabia, competencies were identified based on group work utilizing common textbooks. The Delphi Technique was used as a consensus method to determine and prioritize competencies in internal medicine. A group of 20 clinicians rated the identified competencies from 0-3 (0: no need to know, 1: interesting to know, 2: should know and 3: must know). After formulating the results, a second Delphi round was conducted with 5 experts in internal medicine. A total of 1513 knowledge competencies and 189 skills competencies were determined and prioritized. The competencies corresponded to the 12 systems in internal medicine. All competencies rated 2.2-3.0 were produced separately and considered core competencies for the undergraduate internal medicine curriculum. Determining and prioritizing competencies should influence the curriculum reform process.

Redesign of the Undergraduate Business Curriculum: The Way Forward, a Paradigm Shift

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Priscilla

2008-01-01

The need to reform the undergraduate business curriculum was in evidence before 9/11 and is more imperative since the stock market disintegration beginning in December 2007. The stakeholders will not tolerate the old methods of functional teaching for business school graduates. Graduates must be work ready and the challenges to business schools…

Project LITE: Light Inquiry Through Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brecher, Kenneth

2007-06-01

"Project LITE: Light Inquiry Through Experiments" is a science education project aimed at developing interactive hands-on and eyes-on curriculum, software and materials about light and optics. These are being developed for use in undergraduate astronomy courses, but they can also be used to advantage in physics, chemistry, Earth science and psychology courses throughout the K-12 and undergraduate curriculum.

Design of an Information Technology Undergraduate Program to Produce IT Versatilists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koohang, Alex; Riley, Liz; Smith, Terry; Floyd, Kevin

2010-01-01

This paper attempts to present a model for designing an IT undergraduate program that is based on the recommendations of the Association for Computer Machinery/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers--Information Technology (ACM/IEEE--IT) Curriculum Model. The main intent is to use the ACM/IEEE--IT Curriculum Model's recommendations as a…

The Vanishing West: 1964-2010--The Disappearance of Western Civilization from the American Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ricketts, Glenn; Wood, Peter R.; Balch, Stephen H.; Thorne, Ashley

2011-01-01

"The Vanishing West" traces the decline and near extinction of the Western Civilization history survey course in America's top colleges and universities from 1964 to 2010. This course, covering classical antiquity to the present, was once part of the undergraduate curriculum's intellectual bedrock, not only because it was often a graduation…

The Financial and Non-Financial Aspects of Developing a Data-Driven Decision-Making Mindset in an Undergraduate Business Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohler, Jeffrey; Krishnamoorthy, Anand; Larson, Benjamin

2017-01-01

Making data-driven decisions is becoming more important for organizations faced with confusing and often contradictory information available to them from their operating environment. This article examines one college of business' journey of developing a data-driven decision-making mindset within its undergraduate curriculum. Lessons learned may be…

Developing and Implementing a Reorganized Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum Based on the Foundational Chemistry Topics of Structure, Reactivity, and Quantitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaller, Chris P.; Graham, Kate J.; Johnson, Brian J.; Fazal, M. A.; Jones, T. Nicholas; McIntee, Edward J.; Jakubowski, Henry V.

2014-01-01

The recent revision of undergraduate curricular guidelines from the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (ACS-CPT) has generated interest in examining new ways of organizing course sequences both for chemistry majors and for nonmajors. A radical reconstruction of the foundation-level chemistry curriculum is presented in…

Beyond "Traditional Geographies": Integrating Urban Political Ecology and Cultural Sustainability into Undergraduate Geographical Education in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nzeadibe, Augustina Chinyere; Uchem, Rose Nkechi; Nzeadibe, Thaddeus Chidi

2018-01-01

This study utilized qualitative methods and the urban political ecology (UPE) framework to situate changes in scope and content of undergraduate geography curriculum in Nigeria within the domain of education for sustainability. It was stimulated by significant curriculum-related events in the geography department of the University of Nigeria, and…

Blueprint for an Undergraduate Primary Care Curriculum.

PubMed

Fazio, Sara B; Demasi, Monica; Farren, Erin; Frankl, Susan; Gottlieb, Barbara; Hoy, Jessica; Johnson, Amanda; Kasper, Jill; Lee, Patrick; McCarthy, Claire; Miller, Kathe; Morris, Juliana; O'Hare, Kitty; Rosales, Rachael; Simmons, Leigh; Smith, Benjamin; Treadway, Katherine; Goodell, Kristen; Ogur, Barbara

2016-12-01

In light of the increasing demand for primary care services and the changing scope of health care, it is important to consider how the principles of primary care are taught in medical school. While the majority of schools have increased students' exposure to primary care, they have not developed a standardized primary care curriculum for undergraduate medical education. In 2013, the authors convened a group of educators from primary care internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and medicine-pediatrics, as well as five medical students to create a blueprint for a primary care curriculum that could be integrated into a longitudinal primary care experience spanning undergraduate medical education and delivered to all students regardless of their eventual career choice.The authors organized this blueprint into three domains: care management, specific areas of content expertise, and understanding the role of primary care in the health care system. Within each domain, they described specific curriculum content, including longitudinality, generalism, central responsibility for managing care, therapeutic alliance/communication, approach to acute and chronic care, wellness and prevention, mental and behavioral health, systems improvement, interprofessional training, and population health, as well as competencies that all medical students should attain by graduation.The proposed curriculum incorporates important core features of doctoring, which are often affirmed by all disciplines but owned by none. The authors argue that primary care educators are natural stewards of this curriculum content and can ensure that it complements and strengthens all aspects of undergraduate medical education.

Using yeast to determine the functional consequences of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene: An introductory course-based undergraduate research experience in molecular and cell biology.

PubMed

Hekmat-Scafe, Daria S; Brownell, Sara E; Seawell, Patricia Chandler; Malladi, Shyamala; Imam, Jamie F Conklin; Singla, Veena; Bradon, Nicole; Cyert, Martha S; Stearns, Tim

2017-03-04

The opportunity to engage in scientific research is an important, but often neglected, component of undergraduate training in biology. We describe the curriculum for an innovative, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) appropriate for a large, introductory cell and molecular biology laboratory class that leverages students' high level of interest in cancer. The course is highly collaborative and emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of original scientific data. During the course, students work in teams to characterize a collection of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene via expression and analysis in yeast. Initially, student pairs use both qualitative and quantitative assays to assess the ability of their p53 mutant to activate expression of reporter genes, and they localize their mutation within the p53 structure. Through facilitated discussion, students suggest possible molecular explanations for the transactivation defects displayed by their p53 mutants and propose experiments to test these hypotheses that they execute during the second part of the course. They use a western blot to determine whether mutant p53 levels are reduced, a DNA-binding assay to test whether recognition of any of three p53 target sequences is compromised, and fluorescence microscopy to assay nuclear localization. Students studying the same p53 mutant periodically convene to discuss and interpret their combined data. The course culminates in a poster session during which students present their findings to peers, instructors, and the greater biosciences community. Based on our experience, we provide recommendations for the development of similar large introductory lab courses. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):161-178, 2017. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

An Undergraduate Computer Science Curriculum for the Hearing Impaired.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, A. Louise

1995-01-01

Presents an example section from a computer-science-integrated curriculum that was originally based on the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) 1978 curriculum. The curriculum was designed to allow both instructors and students to move away from teaching and learning facts. (DDR)

Art Instructor's Attitude towards the Art Curriculum for Undergraduate Degree in Tehran Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedayat, Mina; Goodarzi, Mostafa; Kahn, Sabzali Musa; bin Ramli, Sharulnizam

2013-01-01

The present research aims to investigate lecturer's feedback over the art curriculum in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and introduce the applicability of Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE), as a new way of teaching art, and its implication of art instruction in studio-based fields of study for undergraduate degree. This study is carried out based…

"Epistemic Chaos": The Recontextualisation of Undergraduate Curriculum Design and Pedagogic Practice in a New University Business School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brady, Norman

2015-01-01

This paper is based on a qualitative case study of undergraduate curriculum design and pedagogic practice in the new University Business School (UBS). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 24 academics from across a range of business sub-disciplines together with an extensive documentary review of materials relating to two…

Education, Learning, and Communications, Ecology and the Undergraduate Curriculum, Session 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darnell, Rezneat M.; And Others

This set of two audio cassette tapes was recorded at the 1969 AAAS meeting on Ecology and the undergraduate curriculum. Four papers were presented each followed by a question and answer session. Dr. Darnell presented a paper titled "The New Ecology." The paper outlined the historical roots of ecology and defined the new perspectives of ecology,…

Searching for French Civilization: Reflections On Situating Information Literacy Skills in an Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Reilly, Carmel

2014-01-01

This chapter questions and reflects on the changing role of the foreign language and civilization lecturer as educator, when information literacy skills are situated in an undergraduate curriculum. As such, it does not set itself the task of providing solutions. Instead, it considers all the complications which occur en route to a greater use of…

Software Assurance Curriculum Project Volume 2: Undergraduate Course Outlines

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-01

Contents Acknowledgments iii Abstract v 1 An Undergraduate Curriculum Focus on Software Assurance 1 2 Computer Science I 7 3 Computer Science II...confidence that can be integrated into traditional software development and acquisition process models . Thus, in addition to a technology focus...testing throughout the software development life cycle ( SDLC ) AP Security and complexity—system development challenges: security failures

Founders' Weekend. North Country Workshop on Science, Technology and the Undergraduate Curriculum. Proceedings (Potsdam, New York, November 9-10, 1984).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

State Univ. of New York, Potsdam. Coll. at Potsdam.

Proceedings of the North Country Workshop on Science, Technology, and the Undergraduate Curriculum are presented. The Sloan Foundation's call for reform of the liberal arts and coverage of mathematics, science, and technology is noted in welcoming remarks by State University of New York, Potsdam, President Humphrey Tonkin. Stephen H. Cutcliffe…

An Empirical Investigation of the Conception Focused Curriculum: The Importance of Introducing Undergraduate Business Statistics Students to the "Real World"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burch, Gerald F.; Burch, Jana J.; Heller, Nathan A.; Batchelor, John H.

2015-01-01

Continuing pressures are being placed on undergraduate business education to alter curriculum content and delivery. The anticipated product of these changes is a graduate that is capable of performing the higher order thinking skills needed to navigate a constantly changing, global business environment. This article describes the implementation of…

Development of an undergraduate bioinformatics degree program at a liberal arts college.

PubMed

Bagga, Paramjeet S

2012-09-01

The highly interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics has emerged as a powerful modern science. There has been a great demand for undergraduate- and graduate-level trained bioinformaticists in the industry as well in the academia. In order to address the needs for trained bioinformaticists, its curriculum must be offered at the undergraduate level, especially at four-year colleges, where a majority of the United States gets its education. There are many challenges in developing an undergraduate-level bioinformatics program that needs to be carefully designed as a well-integrated and cohesive interdisciplinary curriculum that prepares the students for a wide variety of career options. This article describes the challenges of establishing a highly interdisciplinary undergraduate major, the development of an undergraduate bioinformatics degree program at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and lessons learned in the last 10 years during its management.

An International Marketing Curriculum - Development and Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abboushi, Suhail; Lackman, Conway; Peace, A. Graham

1999-01-01

Describes the process of market-driven curriculum design in the development of an undergraduate International Marketing (IM) major at Duquesne University (Pennsylvania) School of Business Administration. Reports on a market study revealing profiles and IM curriculum design preferences of exporting companies. Discusses the curriculum development,…

Bridging the Undergraduate Curriculum Using an Integrated Course-Embedded Undergraduate Research Experience (ICURE)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, James E.; D'Costa, Allison R.; Runck, Clay; Barnes, David W.; Barrera, Alessandra L.; Hurst-Kennedy, Jennifer; Sudduth, Elizabeth B.; Quinlan, Erin L.; Schlueter, Mark

2015-01-01

The traditional undergraduate program of study incorporates a selection of classes that represent a broad spectrum of subdisciplines. Unfortunately, few curricula successfully integrate concepts in all subdisciplines, giving undergraduates the misconception that there is a lack of application or connectedness between class subjects. An integrated…

Web-Based Surveys Facilitate Undergraduate Research and Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimes, Paul, Ed.; Steele, Scott R.

2008-01-01

The author presents Web-based surveying as a valuable tool for achieving quality undergraduate research in upper-level economics courses. Web-based surveys can be employed in efforts to integrate undergraduate research into the curriculum without overburdening students or faculty. The author discusses the value of undergraduate research, notes…

Developing and Assessing Curriculum on the Physics of Medical Instruments

PubMed Central

Christensen, Warren; Johnson, James K.; Van Ness, Grace R.; Mylott, Elliot; Dunlap, Justin C.; Anderson, Elizabeth A.; Widenhorn, Ralf

2013-01-01

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre–health majors at Portland State University, we aim to teach fundamental physical concepts, such as light absorption and emission and atomic energy levels, through analysis of biological systems and medical devices. The activities address the properties of electromagnetic waves as they relate to the interaction with biological tissue and make links between physics and biomedical applications such as microscopy or laser eye surgery. We report on the effect that engaging students in tasks with actual medical equipment has had on their conceptual understanding of light and spectroscopy. These initial assessments indicate that students’ understanding improves in some areas as a result of taking the course, but gains are not uniform and are relatively low for other topics. We also find a promising “nonshift” in student attitudes toward learning science as a result of taking the course. A long-term goal of this work is to develop these materials to the extent that they can eventually be imported into an introductory curriculum for life sciences majors. PMID:23737632

Developing and assessing curriculum on the physics of medical instruments.

PubMed

Christensen, Warren; Johnson, James K; Van Ness, Grace R; Mylott, Elliot; Dunlap, Justin C; Anderson, Elizabeth A; Widenhorn, Ralf

2013-06-01

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre-health majors at Portland State University, we aim to teach fundamental physical concepts, such as light absorption and emission and atomic energy levels, through analysis of biological systems and medical devices. The activities address the properties of electromagnetic waves as they relate to the interaction with biological tissue and make links between physics and biomedical applications such as microscopy or laser eye surgery. We report on the effect that engaging students in tasks with actual medical equipment has had on their conceptual understanding of light and spectroscopy. These initial assessments indicate that students' understanding improves in some areas as a result of taking the course, but gains are not uniform and are relatively low for other topics. We also find a promising "nonshift" in student attitudes toward learning science as a result of taking the course. A long-term goal of this work is to develop these materials to the extent that they can eventually be imported into an introductory curriculum for life sciences majors.

Tetrahymena in the classroom.

PubMed

Smith, Joshua J; Wiley, Emily A; Cassidy-Hanley, Donna M

2012-01-01

Tetrahymena has been a useful model in basic research in part due to the fact it is easy to grow in culture and exhibits a range of complex processes, all within a single cell. For these same reasons Tetrahymena has shown enormous potential as a teaching tool for fundamental principles of biology at multiple science education levels that can be integrated into K-12 classrooms and undergraduate and graduate college laboratory courses. These Tetrahymena-based teaching modules are inquiry-based experiences that are also effective at teaching scientific concepts, retaining students in science, and exciting students about the scientific process. Two learning communities have been developed that utilize Tetrahymena-based teaching modules. Advancing Secondary Science Education with Tetrahymena (ASSET) and the Ciliate Genomics Consortium (CGC) have developed modules for K-12 students and college-level curriculums, respectively. These modules range from addressing topics in ecology, taxonomy, and environmental toxicity to more advanced concepts in biochemistry, proteomics, bioinformatics, cell biology, and molecular biology. An overview of the current modules and their learning outcomes are discussed, as are assessment, dissemination, and sustainability strategies for K-12 and college-level curriculum. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The human heart and the circulatory system as an interesting interdisciplinary topic in lessons of physics and biology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volná, M.; Látal, F.; Kubínek, R.; Richterek, L.

2014-01-01

Many topics which are closely related can be found in the national curriculum of the Czech Republic for physics and biology. One of them is the heart and the circulatory system in the human body. This topic was examined cross curriculum, a teaching module was created and the topic was chosen for our research. The task was to determine if the students of bachelor study are aware of connections between physics and biology within this topic and whether we can help them effectively to describe the corresponding physics phenomena in the human body connected, for example, with a heart attack or with the measurement of blood pressure. In this paper, the heart and the circulatory system are presented as suitable topics for an interdisciplinary teaching module which includes both theoretical and experimental parts. The module was evaluated by a group of first-year undergraduate students of physics at the Faculty of Science, Palacký University. The acquired knowledge was compared with another control group through a test. The highest efficiency of the module was evaluated on the basis of questions that covered the calculation problems.

[Competence development in undergraduate medical schools: a model with entrusted professional activities].

PubMed

Torruco-García, Uri; Ortiz-Montalvo, Armando; Varela-Ruiz, Margarita Elena; Hamui-Sutton, Alicia

2016-01-01

Today´s relevant educational models emphasize that a great part of learning be situated and reflexive; one of those is the Entrusted Professional Activities model. The study objective was to develop a model that integrates Entrusted Professional Activities with a medical school curriculum. From October 2012 a multidisciplinary group met to develop a model with the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology. From two published models of Entrusted Professional Activities and the curriculum of a school of medicine, blocks, units, and daily clinical practice charts were developed. The thematic content of the curriculum was integrated with the appropriate milestones for undergraduate students and the clinical practice needed to achieve it. We wrote a manual with 37 daily clinical practice charts for students (18 of gynecology and 19 of obstetrics) and 37 for teachers. Each chart content was the daily clinical practice, reflection activities, assessment instruments, and bibliography. It is feasible to combine a model of Entrusted Professional Activities with an undergraduate curriculum, which establishes a continuum with postgraduate education.

Medical education in Sweden.

PubMed

Lindgren, Stefan; Brännström, Thomas; Hanse, Eric; Ledin, Torbjörn; Nilsson, Gunnar; Sandler, Stellan; Tidefelt, Ulf; Donnér, Jakob

2011-01-01

Undergraduate medical education in Sweden has moved from nationally regulated, subject-based courses to programmes integrated either around organ systems or physiological and patho-physiological processes, or organised around basic medical science in conjunction with clinical specialities, with individual profiles at the seven medical schools. The national regulations are restricted to overall academic and professional outcomes. The 5½ year long university undergraduate curriculum is followed by a mandatory 18 months internship, delivered by the County Councils. While quality control and accreditation for the university curriculum is provided by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, no such formal control exists for the internship; undergraduate medical education is therefore in conflict with EU directives from 2005. The Government is expected to move towards 6 years long university undergraduate programmes, leading to licence, which will facilitate international mobility of both Swedish and foreign medical students and doctors. Ongoing academic development of undergraduate education is strengthened by the Bologna process. It includes outcome (competence)-based curricula, university Masters level complying with international standards, progression of competence throughout the curriculum, student directed learning, active participation and roles in practical clinical education and a national assessment model to assure professional competence. In the near future, the dimensioning of Swedish undergraduate education is likely to be decided more by international demands and aspects of quality than by national demands for doctors.

NEXUS/Physics: An interdisciplinary repurposing of physics for biologists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redish, E. F.; Bauer, C.; Carleton, K. L.; Cooke, T. J.; Cooper, M.; Crouch, C. H.; Dreyfus, B. W.; Geller, B. D.; Giannini, J.; Gouvea, J. S.; Klymkowsky, M. W.; Losert, W.; Moore, K.; Presson, J.; Sawtelle, V.; Thompson, K. V.; Turpen, C.; Zia, R. K. P.

2014-05-01

In response to increasing calls for the reform of the undergraduate science curriculum for life science majors and pre-medical students (Bio2010, Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, Vision & Change), an interdisciplinary team has created NEXUS/Physics: a repurposing of an introductory physics curriculum for the life sciences. The curriculum interacts strongly and supportively with introductory biology and chemistry courses taken by life-science students, with the goal of helping students build general, multi-discipline scientific competencies. NEXUS/Physics stresses interdisciplinary examples and the content differs markedly from traditional introductory physics to facilitate this: it extends the discussion of energy to include interatomic potentials and chemical reactions, the discussion of thermodynamics to include enthalpy and Gibbs free energy and includes a serious discussion of random vs coherent motion including diffusion. The development of instructional materials is coordinated with careful education research. Both the new content and the results of the research are described in a series of papers for which this paper serves as an overview and context.

Training graduate students to be teachers.

PubMed

de-Macedo, D V; de-Paula, E; Torres, B B

1999-12-01

Pedagogic education of graduate students, when and where it exists, is restricted to theoretical courses or to the participation of the students as teachers' assistants. This model is essentially reproductive and offers few opportunities for any significant curriculum innovation. To open an opportunity for novelty we have introduced a new approach in "Biochemistry Teaching", a course included in the Biochemistry Graduate Program of the Biochemistry Department (Universidade Estadual de Campinas and Universidade de São Paulo). The content of the course consists of a) choosing the theme, b) selecting and organizing the topics, c) preparing written material, d) establishing the methodological strategies, e) planning the evaluation tools and, finally, f) as teachers, conducting the course as an optional summer course for undergraduate students. During the first semester the graduate students establish general and specific educational objectives, select and organize contents, decide on the instructional strategies and plan evaluation tools. The contents are explored using a wide range of strategies, which include computer-aided instruction, laboratory classes, small group teaching, a few lectures and round table discussions. The graduate students also organize printed class notes to be used by the undergraduate students. Finally, as a group, they teach the summer course. In the three versions already developed, the themes chosen were Biochemistry of Exercise (UNICAMP), Biochemistry of Nutrition (UNICAMP) and Molecular Biology of Plants (USP). In all cases the number of registrations greatly exceeded the number of places and a selection had to be made. The evaluation of the experience by both graduate and undergraduate students was very positive. Graduate students considered this experience to be unique and recommended it to their schoolmates; the undergraduate students benefited from a more flexible curriculum (more options) and gave very high scores to both the courses and the teachers.

Integrating Research-Informed Teaching within an Undergraduate Level 4 (Year 1) Diagnostic Radiography Curriculum: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Robert; Hogg, Peter; Robinson, Leslie

2013-01-01

This article discusses the piloting and evaluation of the Research-informed Teaching experience (RiTe) project. The aim of RiTe was to link teaching and learning with research within an undergraduate diagnostic radiography curriculum. A preliminary pilot study of RiTe was undertaken with a group of level 4 (year 1) volunteer BSc (Hons) diagnostic…

Instructional Complements for Undergraduate World History or Western Civilization Courses: Selected Topics in the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History of India: A Curriculum Supplement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiley, Wayne Hamilton

This curriculum supplement on India consists of three modules that have been used with undergraduates in introductory world civilization courses. Module 1, "Ancient Period: Hinduism and the Caste System in India: Origin, Development, and Social Functions" discusses the religious doctrines of Hinduism, the caste system, and its structure.…

Nature's Business: Incorporating Global Studies, Environmental Law and Literacy, and Corporate Social Responsibility into the Business School Curriculum through Interdisciplinary "Business-Science" Study Tour Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denbo, Susan M.

2008-01-01

At many universities, much of the learning in the undergraduate curriculum is discipline based, with very little integration of material from different subject areas. Furthermore, not all undergraduate business students have the opportunity to take courses with a diversity component that exposes them to the cultural and other differences that…

A longitudinal study of the effect of an interprofessional education curriculum on student satisfaction and attitudes towards interprofessional teamwork and education.

PubMed

Curran, Vernon R; Sharpe, Dennis; Flynn, Kate; Button, Pam

2010-01-01

There has been limited research on the effect of interprofessional education (IPE) over time on the attitudes of undergraduate health and human service professional students. Previous research in this area has suggested that students from different professions report differing attitudes towards IPE and interprofessional teamwork, and such attitudes may also be influenced by other background characteristics of the students themselves (e.g., gender, age). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal effect of the introduction of an IPE curriculum on students' attitudes towards IPE and teamwork. A time series study design was conducted to assess the attitudes of undergraduate health and human service professional students towards IPE and teamwork, and students were also asked to complete satisfaction surveys after IPE curriculum activities. Significant differences in the attitudes of students from different professions and their satisfaction with participation in IPE were reported over the duration of the study. Overall, student satisfaction with IPE participation was relatively positive; however the introduction of IPE curriculum during their undergraduate education did not appear to have a significant longitudinal effect on attitudes towards IPE or interprofessional teamwork. The findings have implications for the design and integration of IPE curriculum within existing uni-professional curriculum.

Kinetics and Photochemistry of Ruthenium Bisbipyridine Diacetonitrile Complexes: An Interdisciplinary Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Laboratory Exercise.

PubMed

Rapp, Teresa L; Phillips, Susan R; Dmochowski, Ivan J

2016-12-13

The study of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can be widely applied across disciplines in the undergraduate curriculum. Ruthenium photochemistry has advanced many fields including dye-sensitized solar cells, photoredox catalysis, light-driven water oxidation, and biological electron transfer. Equally promising are ruthenium polypyridyl complexes that provide a sterically bulky, photolabile moiety for transiently "caging" biologically active molecules. Photouncaging involves the use of visible (1-photon) or near-IR (2-photon) light to break one or more bonds between ruthenium and coordinated ligand(s), which can occur on short time scales and in high quantum yields. In this work we demonstrate the use of a model "caged" acetonitrile complex, Ru(2,2'-bipyridine) 2 (acetonitrile) 2 , or RuMeCN in an advanced synthesis and physical chemistry laboratory. Students made RuMeCN in an advanced synthesis laboratory course and performed UV-vis spectroscopy and electrochemistry. The following semester students investigated RuMeCN photolysis kinetics in a physical chemistry laboratory. These two exercises may also be combined to create a 2-week module in an advanced undergraduate laboratory course.

Kinetics and Photochemistry of Ruthenium Bisbipyridine Diacetonitrile Complexes: An Interdisciplinary Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Laboratory Exercise

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

The study of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can be widely applied across disciplines in the undergraduate curriculum. Ruthenium photochemistry has advanced many fields including dye-sensitized solar cells, photoredox catalysis, light-driven water oxidation, and biological electron transfer. Equally promising are ruthenium polypyridyl complexes that provide a sterically bulky, photolabile moiety for transiently “caging” biologically active molecules. Photouncaging involves the use of visible (1-photon) or near-IR (2-photon) light to break one or more bonds between ruthenium and coordinated ligand(s), which can occur on short time scales and in high quantum yields. In this work we demonstrate the use of a model “caged” acetonitrile complex, Ru(2,2′-bipyridine)2(acetonitrile)2, or RuMeCN in an advanced synthesis and physical chemistry laboratory. Students made RuMeCN in an advanced synthesis laboratory course and performed UV–vis spectroscopy and electrochemistry. The following semester students investigated RuMeCN photolysis kinetics in a physical chemistry laboratory. These two exercises may also be combined to create a 2-week module in an advanced undergraduate laboratory course. PMID:28649139

The Undergraduate Training in Genomics (UTRIG) Initiative: early & active training for physicians in the genomic medicine era.

PubMed

Wilcox, Rebecca L; Adem, Patricia V; Afshinnekoo, Ebrahim; Atkinson, James B; Burke, Leah W; Cheung, Hoiwan; Dasgupta, Shoumita; DeLaGarza, Julia; Joseph, Loren; LeGallo, Robin; Lew, Madelyn; Lockwood, Christina M; Meiss, Alice; Norman, Jennifer; Markwood, Priscilla; Rizvi, Hasan; Shane-Carson, Kate P; Sobel, Mark E; Suarez, Eric; Tafe, Laura J; Wang, Jason; Haspel, Richard L

2018-05-01

Genomic medicine is transforming patient care. However, the speed of development has left a knowledge gap between discovery and effective implementation into clinical practice. Since 2010, the Training Residents in Genomics (TRIG) Working Group has found success in building a rigorous genomics curriculum with implementation tools aimed at pathology residents in postgraduate training years 1-4. Based on the TRIG model, the interprofessional Undergraduate Training in Genomics (UTRIG) Working Group was formed. Under the aegis of the Undergraduate Medical Educators Section of the Association of Pathology Chairs and representation from nine additional professional societies, UTRIG's collaborative goal is building medical student genomic literacy through development of a ready-to-use genomics curriculum. Key elements to the UTRIG curriculum are expert consensus-driven objectives, active learning methods, rigorous assessment and integration.

Toward University Modeling Instruction—Biology: Adapting Curricular Frameworks from Physics to Biology

PubMed Central

Manthey, Seth; Brewe, Eric

2013-01-01

University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence. PMID:23737628

Toward university modeling instruction--biology: adapting curricular frameworks from physics to biology.

PubMed

Manthey, Seth; Brewe, Eric

2013-06-01

University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence.

Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: Meeting the Goals of BIO2010

PubMed Central

Ledbetter, Mary Lee S.; Hoopes, Laura L.M.; Eckdahl, Todd T.; Heyer, Laurie J.; Rosenwald, Anne; Fowlks, Edison; Tonidandel, Scott; Bucholtz, Brooke; Gottfried, Gail

2007-01-01

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable microarrays, microarray scanners, free software for data analysis, and faculty workshops. Microarrays provided by GCAT have been used by 141 faculty on 134 campuses, including 21 faculty that serve large numbers of underrepresented minority students. An estimated 9480 undergraduates a year will have access to microarrays by 2009 as a direct result of GCAT faculty workshops. Gains for students include significantly improved comprehension of topics in functional genomics and increased interest in research. Faculty reported improved access to new technology and gains in understanding thanks to their involvement with GCAT. GCAT's network of supportive colleagues encourages faculty to explore genomics through student research and to learn a new and complex method with their undergraduates. GCAT is meeting important goals of BIO2010 by making research methods accessible to undergraduates, training faculty in genomics and bioinformatics, integrating mathematics into the biology curriculum, and increasing participation by underrepresented minority students. PMID:17548873

Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: meeting the goals of BIO2010.

PubMed

Campbell, A Malcolm; Ledbetter, Mary Lee S; Hoopes, Laura L M; Eckdahl, Todd T; Heyer, Laurie J; Rosenwald, Anne; Fowlks, Edison; Tonidandel, Scott; Bucholtz, Brooke; Gottfried, Gail

2007-01-01

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable microarrays, microarray scanners, free software for data analysis, and faculty workshops. Microarrays provided by GCAT have been used by 141 faculty on 134 campuses, including 21 faculty that serve large numbers of underrepresented minority students. An estimated 9480 undergraduates a year will have access to microarrays by 2009 as a direct result of GCAT faculty workshops. Gains for students include significantly improved comprehension of topics in functional genomics and increased interest in research. Faculty reported improved access to new technology and gains in understanding thanks to their involvement with GCAT. GCAT's network of supportive colleagues encourages faculty to explore genomics through student research and to learn a new and complex method with their undergraduates. GCAT is meeting important goals of BIO2010 by making research methods accessible to undergraduates, training faculty in genomics and bioinformatics, integrating mathematics into the biology curriculum, and increasing participation by underrepresented minority students.

Integrating professionalism teaching into undergraduate medical education in the UK setting.

PubMed

Goldie, John

2008-06-01

This paper examines how professionalism teaching might be integrated into undergraduate medical education in the United Kingdom setting. It advocates adopting an outcome-based approach to curriculum planning, using the Scottish Deans' Medical Curriculum Group's (SDMCG) outcomes as a starting point. In discussing the curricular content, potential learning methods and strategies, theoretical considerations are explored. Student selection, assessment and strategies for optimising the educational environment are also considered.

Using yeast to determine the functional consequences of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene: An introductory course‐based undergraduate research experience in molecular and cell biology

PubMed Central

Brownell, Sara E.; Seawell, Patricia Chandler; Malladi, Shyamala; Imam, Jamie F. Conklin; Singla, Veena; Bradon, Nicole; Cyert, Martha S.; Stearns, Tim

2016-01-01

Abstract The opportunity to engage in scientific research is an important, but often neglected, component of undergraduate training in biology. We describe the curriculum for an innovative, course‐based undergraduate research experience (CURE) appropriate for a large, introductory cell and molecular biology laboratory class that leverages students′ high level of interest in cancer. The course is highly collaborative and emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of original scientific data. During the course, students work in teams to characterize a collection of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene via expression and analysis in yeast. Initially, student pairs use both qualitative and quantitative assays to assess the ability of their p53 mutant to activate expression of reporter genes, and they localize their mutation within the p53 structure. Through facilitated discussion, students suggest possible molecular explanations for the transactivation defects displayed by their p53 mutants and propose experiments to test these hypotheses that they execute during the second part of the course. They use a western blot to determine whether mutant p53 levels are reduced, a DNA‐binding assay to test whether recognition of any of three p53 target sequences is compromised, and fluorescence microscopy to assay nuclear localization. Students studying the same p53 mutant periodically convene to discuss and interpret their combined data. The course culminates in a poster session during which students present their findings to peers, instructors, and the greater biosciences community. Based on our experience, we provide recommendations for the development of similar large introductory lab courses. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):161–178, 2017. PMID:27873457

Fostering 21st-Century Evolutionary Reasoning: Teaching Tree Thinking to Introductory Biology Students

PubMed Central

Novick, Laura R.; Catley, Kefyn M.

2016-01-01

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life (ToL) diagrams has become a vital component of science literacy in the 21st century. This article reports on the effectiveness of a research-based curriculum, including an instructional booklet, laboratory, and lectures, to teach the fundamentals of such tree thinking in an introductory biology class for science majors. We present the results of a study involving 117 undergraduates who received either our new research-based tree-thinking curriculum or business-as-usual instruction. We found greater gains in tree-thinking abilities for the experimental instruction group than for the business-as-usual group, as measured by performance on our novel assessment instrument. This was a medium size effect. These gains were observed on an unannounced test that was administered ∼5–6 weeks after the primary instruction in tree thinking. The nature of students’ postinstruction difficulties with tree thinking suggests that the critical underlying concept for acquiring expert-level competence in this area is understanding that any specific phylogenetic tree is a subset of the complete, unimaginably large ToL. PMID:27881445

Competency based ophthalmology training curriculum for undergraduate medical students in Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Masanganise, R; Samkange, C; Mukona, D; Aagaard, E

2015-01-01

The establishment of a credible, defensible and acceptable “formal competency based ophthalmology training curriculum for undergraduate medical and dental students” is fundamental to program recognition, monitoring and evaluation. The University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences (UZ-CHS) has never had a formal ophthalmology training curriculum for medical graduates since its inception. This has cast doubts on the quality of medical graduates produced with regards to delivery of basic primary eye care in the community. The aim of this project was to develop a formal “competency based ophthalmology training curriculum” (CBOTC) for medical graduates in Zimbabwe. Institution based (University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals), cross-sectional analytic study. A review of undergraduate medical training curriculum and literature was done to identify gaps in the ophthalmology training curriculum. A local needs assessment was conducted through interviews of major stake holders in the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. This project confirmed the lack of a formal ophthalmology training curriculum for medical graduates at the UZCHS, ad-hoc training of undergraduate ophthalmology and inconsistent student assessment in knowledge of and care of eye complaints. Cataract, glaucoma, refractive errors, ocular tumours, conjunctivitis, eye infection and eye injuries were suggested as priority conditions every student should learn during the rotation. A formal CBOTC for medical graduates based on identified needs and priority eye diseases has been developed in response. A CBOTC based on identified needs and focused on targeted diseases has been proposed geared towards producing medical graduates with the basic knowledge, skills and attitudes to deliver adequate primary eye care.

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching of Neurology. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrahamson, Stephen; Barrows, Howard S.

This report describes a curriculum development project aimed at improving the teaching of neurology to undergraduate medical students; and providing more effective instruction in neurology for the practicing physician. The project involved: (1) development of a balanced presentation of neurological teaching from undergraduate medical education…

Sample Undergraduate Linguistics Courses. Linguistics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Appendix 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linguistic Society of America, Washington, DC.

Thirty-six nontraditional undergraduate courses in linguistics are described. Course topics include: animal communication, bilingualism, sociolinguistics, introductory linguistics, language and formal reasoning, language and human conflict, language and power, language and sex, language and the brain, language planning, language typology and…

Undergraduate Psychology Courses Preferred by Graduate Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawson, Timothy J.; Reisinger, Debra L.; Jordan-Fleming, Mary Kay

2012-01-01

Information about the undergraduate psychology courses preferred by graduate programs is useful for a number of purposes, including (a) advising psychology majors who are interested in graduate school, (b) undergraduate curriculum planning, and (c) examining whether graduate programs' preferences reflect national guidelines for the undergraduate…

Teaching of ophthalmology in undergraduate curricula: a survey of Australasian and Asian medical schools.

PubMed

Fan, Jennifer C; Sherwin, Trevor; McGhee, Charles N J

2007-01-01

Despite established international guidelines on preferred teaching components for ophthalmology in undergraduate curricula, with increasingly less specialty-based undergraduate teaching within curricula, teaching of core ophthalmology knowledge and skills may become marginalized. This survey aims to evaluate the current state of undergraduate ophthalmology teaching in Australasia and proximate Asian medical schools. A questionnaire was developed to determine the content and extent of ophthalmology teaching in the undergraduate medical curriculum. The questionnaire was sent to 25 medical schools throughout Australasia and Asia. Nineteen of the 25 questionnaires were returned (76% response rate). Ophthalmology teaching programmes ranged from 2 to 20 days: five (26%) medical schools having one ophthalmology attachment; six schools (32%) two attachments; and the remainder three or more. Only seven of the schools taught all 13 ophthalmology topics recommended in current curriculum guidelines. Ocular examination (100%), lens and cataract (95%) and ocular manifestations of systemic disease (95%) were the most commonly taught topics, with intraocular tumours only covered by 10 schools (53%). Students in 14 schools (74%) attended ophthalmology operating theatre, but only two schools (11%) offered attendance at optometry clinics. Ten schools (53%) required a pass in ophthalmology to complete the academic year. Ophthalmology may increasingly be a small, or even absent, component of undergraduate medical curricula. Despite established international ophthalmology curriculum guidelines, this survey highlights significant lack of uniformity in their implementation.

A high-enrollment course-based undergraduate research experience improves student conceptions of scientific thinking and ability to interpret data.

PubMed

Brownell, Sara E; Hekmat-Scafe, Daria S; Singla, Veena; Chandler Seawell, Patricia; Conklin Imam, Jamie F; Eddy, Sarah L; Stearns, Tim; Cyert, Martha S

2015-01-01

We present an innovative course-based undergraduate research experience curriculum focused on the characterization of single point mutations in p53, a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated in more than 50% of human cancers. This course is required of all introductory biology students, so all biology majors engage in a research project as part of their training. Using a set of open-ended written prompts, we found that the course shifts student conceptions of what it means to think like a scientist from novice to more expert-like. Students at the end of the course identified experimental repetition, data analysis, and collaboration as important elements of thinking like a scientist. Course exams revealed that students showed gains in their ability to analyze and interpret data. These data indicate that this course-embedded research experience has a positive impact on the development of students' conceptions and practice of scientific thinking. © 2015 S. E. Brownell et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

A Model for Persistent Improvement of Medical Education as Illustrated by the Surgical Reform Curriculum HeiCuMed.

PubMed

Kadmon, Guni; Schmidt, Jan; De Cono, Nicola; Kadmon, Martina

2011-01-01

Heidelberg Medical School underwent a major curricular change with the implementation of the reform curriculum HeiCuMed (Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale) in October 2001. It is based on rotational modules with daily cycles of interactive, case-based small-group seminars, PBL tutorials and training of sensomotor and communication skills. For surgical undergraduate training an organisational structure was developed that ensures continuity of medical teachers for student groups and enables their unimpaired engagement for defined periods of time while accounting for the daily clinical routine in a large surgery department of a university hospital. It includes obligatory didactic training, standardising teaching material on the basis of learning objectives and releasing teaching doctors from clinical duties for the duration of a module. To compare the effectiveness of the undergraduate surgical reform curriculum with that of the preceding traditional one as reflected by students' evaluations. The present work analyses student evaluations of the undergraduate surgical training between 1999 and 2008 including three cohorts (~360 students each) in the traditional curriculum and 13 cohorts (~150 students each) in the reform curriculum. The evaluation of the courses, their organisation, the teaching quality, and the subjective learning was significantly better in HeiCuMed than in the preceding traditional curriculum over the whole study period. A medical curriculum based on the implementation of interactive didactical methods is more important to successful teaching and the subjective gain of knowledge than knowledge transfer by traditional classroom teaching. The organisational strategy adopted in the surgical training of HeiCuMed has been successful in enabling the maintenance of a complex modern curriculum on a continuously high level within the framework of a busy surgical environment.

A Radiation Laboratory Curriculum Development at Western Kentucky University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barzilov, Alexander P.; Novikov, Ivan S.; Womble, Phil C.

2009-03-01

We present the latest developments for the radiation laboratory curriculum at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Western Kentucky University. During the last decade, the Applied Physics Institute (API) at WKU accumulated various equipment for radiation experimentation. This includes various neutron sources (computer controlled d-t and d-d neutron generators, and isotopic 252 Cf and PuBe sources), the set of gamma sources with various intensities, gamma detectors with various energy resolutions (NaI, BGO, GSO, LaBr and HPGe) and the 2.5-MeV Van de Graaff particle accelerator. XRF and XRD apparatuses are also available for students and members at the API. This equipment is currently used in numerous scientific and teaching activities. Members of the API also developed a set of laboratory activities for undergraduate students taking classes from the physics curriculum (Nuclear Physics, Atomic Physics, and Radiation Biophysics). Our goal is to develop a set of radiation laboratories, which will strengthen the curriculum of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and environmental science at WKU. The teaching and research activities are integrated into real-world projects and hands-on activities to engage students. The proposed experiments and their relevance to the modern status of physical science are discussed.

Alternative Methods for Teaching Chemical Information to Undergraduates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Wade M.; Wiggins, Gary

1997-01-01

Discusses whether to provide library instruction for undergraduate chemistry majors as a separate class or integrated into courses, particularly for those who receive a degree certified by the American Chemical Society. The authors suggest that a librarian coordinate course-integrated instruction throughout the undergraduate curriculum. (LRW)

Bioinformatics education dissemination with an evolutionary problem solving perspective.

PubMed

Jungck, John R; Donovan, Samuel S; Weisstein, Anton E; Khiripet, Noppadon; Everse, Stephen J

2010-11-01

Bioinformatics is central to biology education in the 21st century. With the generation of terabytes of data per day, the application of computer-based tools to stored and distributed data is fundamentally changing research and its application to problems in medicine, agriculture, conservation and forensics. In light of this 'information revolution,' undergraduate biology curricula must be redesigned to prepare the next generation of informed citizens as well as those who will pursue careers in the life sciences. The BEDROCK initiative (Bioinformatics Education Dissemination: Reaching Out, Connecting and Knitting together) has fostered an international community of bioinformatics educators. The initiative's goals are to: (i) Identify and support faculty who can take leadership roles in bioinformatics education; (ii) Highlight and distribute innovative approaches to incorporating evolutionary bioinformatics data and techniques throughout undergraduate education; (iii) Establish mechanisms for the broad dissemination of bioinformatics resource materials and teaching models; (iv) Emphasize phylogenetic thinking and problem solving; and (v) Develop and publish new software tools to help students develop and test evolutionary hypotheses. Since 2002, BEDROCK has offered more than 50 faculty workshops around the world, published many resources and supported an environment for developing and sharing bioinformatics education approaches. The BEDROCK initiative builds on the established pedagogical philosophy and academic community of the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium to assemble the diverse intellectual and human resources required to sustain an international reform effort in undergraduate bioinformatics education.

Visual analytics in medical education: impacting analytical reasoning and decision making for quality improvement.

PubMed

Vaitsis, Christos; Nilsson, Gunnar; Zary, Nabil

2015-01-01

The medical curriculum is the main tool representing the entire undergraduate medical education. Due to its complexity and multilayered structure it is of limited use to teachers in medical education for quality improvement purposes. In this study we evaluated three visualizations of curriculum data from a pilot course, using teachers from an undergraduate medical program and applying visual analytics methods. We found that visual analytics can be used to positively impacting analytical reasoning and decision making in medical education through the realization of variables capable to enhance human perception and cognition on complex curriculum data. The positive results derived from our evaluation of a medical curriculum and in a small scale, signify the need to expand this method to an entire medical curriculum. As our approach sustains low levels of complexity it opens a new promising direction in medical education informatics research.

Handbook of the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices, and Change (by Jerry G. Gaff, James L. Radcliffe, and Associates)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hargittai, Istvan

1997-05-01

Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 1997. xxxvi + 747 pp. This volume is part of the Higher and Adult Education Series of Jossey-Bass Publishers and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the debates and reforms concerning the undergraduate curriculum. As to what is the curriculum, Clark Kerr is quoted, "the curriculum isthe statement a college makes about what is considered useful, appropriate, or relevant" Thus the term curriculum refers to the educational plan of an institution or to a program or course. The major thesis of this volume is that the trend of fragmentation of the learning experience of students is currently being reversed and the needed innovation and experimentation cannot be carried out without sound assessment of student growth, development, and attainment.

A central support system can facilitate implementation and sustainability of a Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Genomics.

PubMed

Lopatto, David; Hauser, Charles; Jones, Christopher J; Paetkau, Don; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Dunbar, David; MacKinnon, Christy; Stamm, Joyce; Alvarez, Consuelo; Barnard, Daron; Bedard, James E J; Bednarski, April E; Bhalla, Satish; Braverman, John M; Burg, Martin; Chung, Hui-Min; DeJong, Randall J; DiAngelo, Justin R; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T; Emerson, Julia; Frary, Amy; Frohlich, Donald; Goodman, Anya L; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Haberman, Adam; Hark, Amy T; Hoogewerf, Arlene; Johnson, Diana; Kadlec, Lisa; Kaehler, Marian; Key, S Catherine Silver; Kokan, Nighat P; Kopp, Olga R; Kuleck, Gary A; Lopilato, Jane; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan C; McNeil, Gerard; Mel, Stephanie; Nagengast, Alexis; Overvoorde, Paul J; Parrish, Susan; Preuss, Mary L; Reed, Laura D; Regisford, E Gloria; Revie, Dennis; Robic, Srebrenka; Roecklien-Canfield, Jennifer A; Rosenwald, Anne G; Rubin, Michael R; Saville, Kenneth; Schroeder, Stephanie; Sharif, Karim A; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher D; Smith, Mary; Smith, Sheryl T; Spana, Eric P; Spratt, Mary; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Thompson, Jeffrey S; Wawersik, Matthew; Wolyniak, Michael J; Youngblom, James; Zhou, Leming; Buhler, Jeremy; Mardis, Elaine; Leung, Wilson; Shaffer, Christopher D; Threlfall, Jennifer; Elgin, Sarah C R

2014-01-01

In their 2012 report, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated "replacing standard science laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses"-a challenging proposition that presents practical and pedagogical difficulties. In this paper, we describe our collective experiences working with the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide faculty consortium that aims to provide undergraduates with a research experience in genomics through a scheduled course (a classroom-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE). We examine the common barriers encountered in implementing a CURE, program elements of most value to faculty, ways in which a shared core support system can help, and the incentives for and rewards of establishing a CURE on our diverse campuses. While some of the barriers and rewards are specific to a research project utilizing a genomics approach, other lessons learned should be broadly applicable. We find that a central system that supports a shared investigation can mitigate some shortfalls in campus infrastructure (such as time for new curriculum development, availability of IT services) and provides collegial support for change. Our findings should be useful for designing similar supportive programs to facilitate change in the way we teach science for undergraduates. © 2014 D. Lopatto et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Scientific teaching: defining a taxonomy of observable practices.

PubMed

Couch, Brian A; Brown, Tanya L; Schelpat, Tyler J; Graham, Mark J; Knight, Jennifer K

2015-03-02

Over the past several decades, numerous reports have been published advocating for changes to undergraduate science education. These national calls inspired the formation of the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology (SI), a group of regional workshops to help faculty members learn and implement interactive teaching methods. The SI curriculum promotes a pedagogical framework called Scientific Teaching (ST), which aims to bring the vitality of modern research into the classroom by engaging students in the scientific discovery process and using student data to inform the ongoing development of teaching methods. With the spread of ST, the need emerges to systematically define its components in order to establish a common description for education researchers and practitioners. We describe the development of a taxonomy detailing ST's core elements and provide data from classroom observations and faculty surveys in support of its applicability within undergraduate science courses. The final taxonomy consists of 15 pedagogical goals and 37 supporting practices, specifying observable behaviors, artifacts, and features associated with ST. This taxonomy will support future educational efforts by providing a framework for researchers studying the processes and outcomes of ST-based course transformations as well as a concise guide for faculty members developing classes. © 2015 B. A. Couch et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The case for undergraduate medical education in healthcare business and management.

PubMed

Hsu, Benson S; Hosokawa, Michael C; Maria, Bernard

2007-01-01

Current undergraduate medical education does notprepare students to approach the intricacies of healthcare business. This absence within medical education creates significant challenges for physicians throughout their careers. The field of academic medicine has clearly documented the need for medical education to prepare students for practice management, yet there exist only a small number of attempts at exposing students to healthcare business and management. The authors argue that this curriculum must start at the level ofundergraduate medical education. Furthermore, this curriculum must possess the basic components of support, integration, practicality, application, and continuation. Fulfilling these requirements will allow for the successful adaptation of the healthcare business and management curriculum.

Curriculum. A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study Since 1636.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudolph, Frederick

In addition to describing the traditional college curriculum and comparing historical moments in curriculum change in America, this history defines other historic dimensions: prescription versus free choice, general versus specialized education, elite versus egalitarian education, mass versus individualized instruction, autocratic versus…

Incorporating Dynamical Systems into the Traditional Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natov, Jonathan

2001-01-01

Presents a brief overview of dynamical systems. Gives examples from dynamical systems and where they fit into the current curriculum. Points out that these examples are accessible to undergraduate freshmen and sophomore students, add continuity to the standard curriculum, and are worth including in classes. (MM)

Provision of undergraduate otorhinolaryngology teaching within General Medical Council approved UK medical schools: what is current practice?

PubMed

Khan, M M; Saeed, S R

2012-04-01

Despite longstanding concern, provision of undergraduate ENT teaching has not improved in response to the aims of the UK General Medical Council's initiative Tomorrow's Doctors. Previous studies have demonstrated poor representation of ENT within the undergraduate curriculum. We aimed to identify current practice in order to establish undergraduate ENT experience across UK medical schools, a timely endeavour in light of the General Medical Council's new 2011-2013 education strategy. Questionnaires were sent to ENT consultants, medical school deans and students. All schools with a clinical curriculum were anonymously represented. Our outcome measures were the provision of mandatory or optional ENT placements, and their duration and content. A compulsory ENT placement was available to over half (53 per cent) of the students. Ten of the 26 participating schools did not offer an ENT attachment. The mean mandatory placement was 8 days. Overall, 38 per cent of students reported a satisfactory compulsory ENT placement. Most ENT consultants questioned considered that newly qualified doctors were not proficient in managing common ENT problems that did not require specialist referral. Little improvement in the provision of undergraduate ENT teaching was demonstrated. An increase in the proportion of students undertaking ENT training is necessary. Time and curriculum constraints on medical schools mean that optimisation of available resources is required.

Curriculum Mapping: A Method to Assess and Refine Undergraduate Degree Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joyner-Melito, Helen S.

2016-01-01

Over the past several decades, there has been increasing interest in program- and university-level assessment and aligning learning outcomes to program content. Curriculum mapping is a tool that creates a visual map of all courses in the curriculum and how they relate to curriculum learning outcomes. Assessment tools/activities are often included…

Curriculum-Dependent and Curriculum-Independent Factors in Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Cory T.

2013-01-01

In this nested mixed methods study I investigate factors influencing preservice elementary teachers' adaptation of science curriculum materials to better support students' engagement in science as inquiry. Analyses focus on two "reflective teaching assignments" completed by 46 preservice elementary teachers in an undergraduate elementary science…

A course-based research experience: how benefits change with increased investment in instructional time.

PubMed

Shaffer, Christopher D; Alvarez, Consuelo J; Bednarski, April E; Dunbar, David; Goodman, Anya L; Reinke, Catherine; Rosenwald, Anne G; Wolyniak, Michael J; Bailey, Cheryl; Barnard, Daron; Bazinet, Christopher; Beach, Dale L; Bedard, James E J; Bhalla, Satish; Braverman, John; Burg, Martin; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Chung, Hui-Min; Clase, Kari; Dejong, Randall J; Diangelo, Justin R; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T; Eisler, Heather; Emerson, Julia A; Frary, Amy; Frohlich, Donald; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Haberman, Adam; Hark, Amy T; Hauser, Charles; Hoogewerf, Arlene; Hoopes, Laura L M; Howell, Carina E; Johnson, Diana; Jones, Christopher J; Kadlec, Lisa; Kaehler, Marian; Silver Key, S Catherine; Kleinschmit, Adam; Kokan, Nighat P; Kopp, Olga; Kuleck, Gary; Leatherman, Judith; Lopilato, Jane; Mackinnon, Christy; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; McNeil, Gerard; Mel, Stephanie; Mistry, Hemlata; Nagengast, Alexis; Overvoorde, Paul; Paetkau, Don W; Parrish, Susan; Peterson, Celeste N; Preuss, Mary; Reed, Laura K; Revie, Dennis; Robic, Srebrenka; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer; Rubin, Michael R; Saville, Kenneth; Schroeder, Stephanie; Sharif, Karim; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher D; Smith, Mary A; Smith, Sheryl T; Spana, Eric; Spratt, Mary; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Stamm, Joyce; Szauter, Paul; Thompson, Jeffrey S; Wawersik, Matthew; Youngblom, James; Zhou, Leming; Mardis, Elaine R; Buhler, Jeremy; Leung, Wilson; Lopatto, David; Elgin, Sarah C R

2014-01-01

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. An alumni survey revealed that time spent on a research project is also a significant factor in the value former students assign to the experience one or more years later. We conclude: 1) implementation of a bioinformatics project within the biology curriculum provides a mechanism for successfully engaging large numbers of students in undergraduate research; 2) benefits to students are achievable at a wide variety of academic institutions; and 3) successful implementation of course-based research experiences requires significant investment of instructional time for students to gain full benefit.

A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change with Increased Investment in Instructional Time

PubMed Central

Shaffer, Christopher D.; Alvarez, Consuelo J.; Bednarski, April E.; Dunbar, David; Goodman, Anya L.; Reinke, Catherine; Rosenwald, Anne G.; Wolyniak, Michael J.; Bailey, Cheryl; Barnard, Daron; Bazinet, Christopher; Beach, Dale L.; Bedard, James E. J.; Bhalla, Satish; Braverman, John; Burg, Martin; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Chung, Hui-Min; Clase, Kari; DeJong, Randall J.; DiAngelo, Justin R.; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T.; Eisler, Heather; Emerson, Julia A.; Frary, Amy; Frohlich, Donald; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Haberman, Adam; Hark, Amy T.; Hauser, Charles; Hoogewerf, Arlene; Hoopes, Laura L. M.; Howell, Carina E.; Johnson, Diana; Jones, Christopher J.; Kadlec, Lisa; Kaehler, Marian; Silver Key, S. Catherine; Kleinschmit, Adam; Kokan, Nighat P.; Kopp, Olga; Kuleck, Gary; Leatherman, Judith; Lopilato, Jane; MacKinnon, Christy; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; McNeil, Gerard; Mel, Stephanie; Mistry, Hemlata; Nagengast, Alexis; Overvoorde, Paul; Paetkau, Don W.; Parrish, Susan; Peterson, Celeste N.; Preuss, Mary; Reed, Laura K.; Revie, Dennis; Robic, Srebrenka; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer; Rubin, Michael R.; Saville, Kenneth; Schroeder, Stephanie; Sharif, Karim; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher D.; Smith, Mary A.; Smith, Sheryl T.; Spana, Eric; Spratt, Mary; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Stamm, Joyce; Szauter, Paul; Thompson, Jeffrey S.; Wawersik, Matthew; Youngblom, James; Zhou, Leming; Mardis, Elaine R.; Buhler, Jeremy; Leung, Wilson; Lopatto, David; Elgin, Sarah C. R.

2014-01-01

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. An alumni survey revealed that time spent on a research project is also a significant factor in the value former students assign to the experience one or more years later. We conclude: 1) implementation of a bioinformatics project within the biology curriculum provides a mechanism for successfully engaging large numbers of students in undergraduate research; 2) benefits to students are achievable at a wide variety of academic institutions; and 3) successful implementation of course-based research experiences requires significant investment of instructional time for students to gain full benefit. PMID:24591510

Biological Physics major as a means to stimulate an undergraduate physics program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeger, Herbert; Eid, Khalid; Yarrison-Rice, Jan

2013-03-01

In an effort to stress the cross-disciplinary nature of modern physics we added a Biological Physics major. Drawing from coursework in physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, and related disciplines, it combines a broad curriculum with physical and mathematical rigor in preparation for careers in biophysics, medical physics, and biomedical engineering. Biological Physics offers a new path of studies to a large pool of life science students. We hope to grow our physics majors from 70-80 to more than 100 students and boost our graduation rate from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties. The new major brought about a revision of our sophomore curriculum to make room for modern topics without sidelining fundamentals. As a result, we split our 1-semester long Contemporary Physics course (4 cr hrs) into a year-long sequence Contemporary Physics Foundations and Contemporary Physics Frontiers (both 3 cr hrs). Foundations starts with relativity, then focuses on 4 quantum mechanics topics: wells, spin 1/2, oscillators, and hydrogen. Throughout the course applications are woven in whenever the opportunity arises, e.g. magnetism and NMR with spin 1/2. The following semester Frontiers explores scientific principles and technological advances that make quantum science and resulting technologies different from the large scale. Frontiers covers enabling techniques from atomic, molecular, condensed matter, and particle physics, as well as advances in nanotechnology, quantum optics, and biophysics.

An Undergraduate Course in Modeling and Simulation of Multiphysics Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortiz-Rodriguez, Estanislao; Vazquez-Arenas, Jorge; Ricardez-Sandoval, Luis A.

2010-01-01

An overview of a course on modeling and simulation offered at the Nanotechnology Engineering undergraduate program at the University of Waterloo. The motivation for having this course in the undergraduate nanotechnology curriculum, the course structure, and its learning objectives are discussed. Further, one of the computational laboratories…

A Survey of Instructional Support for Undergraduate Research Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hensley, Merinda Kaye

2015-01-01

Undergraduate research and other high-impact educational practices simulate real-world learning environments and present an opportunity for high-level information literacy teaching to be better incorporated into the curriculum. The purpose of this survey is to examine efforts of libraries currently offering IL instruction to undergraduate research…

An Applied Project-Driven Approach to Undergraduate Research Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karls, Michael A.

2017-01-01

In this paper I will outline the process I have developed for conducting applied mathematics research with undergraduates and give some examples of the projects we have worked on. Several of these projects have led to refereed publications that could be used to illustrate topics taught in the undergraduate curriculum.

Minimum Competencies in Undergraduate Motor Development. Guidance Document

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2004

2004-01-01

The minimum competency guidelines in Motor Development described herein at the undergraduate level may be gained in one or more motor development course(s) or through other courses provided in an undergraduate curriculum. The minimum guidelines include: (1) Formulation of a developmental perspective; (2) Knowledge of changes in motor behavior…

Enhancing the Undergraduate Computing Experience in Chemical Engineering CACHE Corporation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgar, Thomas F.

2006-01-01

This white paper focuses on the integration and enhancement of the computing experience for undergraduates throughout the chemical engineering curriculum. The computing experience for undergraduates in chemical engineering should have continuity and be coordinated from course to course, because a single software solution is difficult to achieve in…

Making Data Management Accessible in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reisner, Barbara A.; Vaughan, K. T. L.; Shorish, Yasmeen L.

2014-01-01

In the age of "big data" science, data management is becoming a key information literacy skill for chemistry professionals. To introduce this skill in the undergraduate chemistry major, an activity has been developed to familiarize undergraduates with data management. In this activity, students rename and organize cards that represent…

Geoscience Education Programs in the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education: Different Acronyms with Similar Intent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, J.; Ryan, J. G.

2014-12-01

For the past three decades, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) has administered a succession of programs intended to improve undergraduate STEM education for all students. The IUSE (Improving Undergraduate STEM Education) program is the latest program in this succession, and reflects an expanded, NSF-wide effort to make sustainable improvements in STEM education on a national scale. The origins and thinking behind IUSE can be in part traced back to precursor programs including: ILI (Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement), CCD (Course and Curriculum Development), UFE (Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement), CCLI (Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement), and TUES (Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM), all of which sought to support faculty efforts to investigate and improve curriculum and instructional practice in undergraduate STEM education, and to disseminate effective STEM educational practices for broad adoption. IUSE, like its predecessor programs, is open to all STEM fields, and as such is intended to support improvements in geoscience education, spanning the atmospheric, ocean, and Earth sciences, as well as in environmental science, GIS science, climate change and sustainability/resilience. An emphasis on discipline-based research on learning that had origins in the CCLI and TUES programs is a new priority area in IUSE, with the ambition that projects will take advantage of the integrated expertise of domain scientists, educational practioners, and experts in learning science. We trace and describe the history of undergraduate education efforts with an emphasis placed on the recently introduced IUSE program. Understanding the origin of DUE's IUSE program can provide insights for faculty interested in developing proposals for submission and gain a greater appreciation of trends and priorities within the division.

Evaluating an interdisciplinary undergraduate training program in health promotion research.

PubMed

Misra, Shalini; Harvey, Richard H; Stokols, Daniel; Pine, Kathleen H; Fuqua, Juliana; Shokair, Said M; Whiteley, John M

2009-04-01

The University of California at Irvine Interdisciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (ID-SURE) program had three objectives: (1) designing an interdisciplinary health promotion training curriculum for undergraduate research fellows; (2) developing measures for evaluating and assessing program-related educational processes and products; and (3) comparing these educational process and product measures between groups of students who did or did not receive the training. A total of 101 students participated in the ID-SURE program during 2005, 2006, and 2007. A longitudinal research design was employed whereby students' interdisciplinary attitudes and behaviors were assessed at the beginning and end of the training program. The interdisciplinary and intellectual qualities of students' academic and research products were assessed at the conclusion of the training activities. In addition, ID-SURE participants' interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors, and research products were compared to those of 70 participants in another fellowship program that did not have an interdisciplinary training component. Exposing undergraduate research fellows to the interdisciplinary curriculum led to increased participation in, and positive attitudes about, interdisciplinary classroom and laboratory activities. Products, such as the integrative and interdisciplinary quality of student research projects, showed no differences when compared to those of undergraduates who were not exposed to the interdisciplinary curriculum. However, undergraduates exposed to the training engaged in more interdisciplinary behaviors at the end of the program than students who were not trained in interdisciplinary research techniques. The findings from this study offer evidence for the efficacy of the ID-SURE program for training undergraduate students in transdisciplinary concepts, methods, and skills that are needed for effective scientific collaboration. Additionally, this study makes two important contributions to the development and evaluation of interdisciplinary health research training programs: (1) It presents and evaluates a novel curriculum for training undergraduate students in interdisciplinary theories, concepts, and methods of health promotion that can be replicated in other settings and contexts; (2) It provides and tests the reliability of new measures for evaluating interdisciplinary collaborative processes and develops objective criteria for rating the integrative and intellectual quality of students' research products.

Instructional multimedia program versus standard lecture: a comparison of two methods for teaching the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum.

PubMed

Aly, M; Elen, J; Willems, G

2004-02-01

To compare the effectiveness of an interactive multimedia courseware package versus standard lectures regarding knowledge, understanding, and transfer of content, as well as problem-solving skills in orthodontics. Pre- and post-test assessments of final-year dental students (n = 26), who either used an interactive multimedia courseware package (n = 15) or attended standard lectures (n = 11) on equivalent material of the undergraduate orthodontic curriculum were carried out. Both groups were tested by written and multiple-choice questions covering knowledge, understanding, and application areas in the curriculum. A one-way anova was carried out in order to check statistical difference between the two groups. The P-value was set at 0.05. There was no difference in prior knowledge between the groups at baseline. Generally, no significant difference was seen between the two groups in relation to answers to questions about knowledge, understanding, and application in the orthodontic curriculum. However, both groups improved their scores after the course. In one question investigating the extent of understanding the instructional content of the multidisciplinary orthodontic treatment, the multimedia courseware package group scored significantly better. In this study, the instructional interactive multimedia program was found to be at least as effective as the standard lecture of the orthodontic curriculum for undergraduate training in orthodontics.

Medical teachers' perception towards simulation-based medical education: A multicenter study in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Ahmed, Shabnam; Al-Mously, Najwa; Al-Senani, Fahmi; Zafar, Muhammad; Ahmed, Muhammad

2016-01-01

This study aims to evaluate the perception of medical teachers toward the integration of simulation-based medical education (SBME) in undergraduate curriculum and also identify contextual barriers faced by medical teachers. This cross-sectional observational study included medical teachers from three universities. A questionnaire was used to report teachers' perception. SBME was perceived by medical teachers (basic sciences/clinical, respectively) as enjoyable (71.1%/75.4%), effective assessment tool to evaluate students' learning (60%/73.9%) and can improve learning outcome (88.8%/79.7%). Similarly, (91.1%/71%) of teachers think that simulation should be part of the curriculum and not stand alone one time activity. Teachers' training for SBME has created a significant difference in perception (p < 0.05). Lack of teachers' training, time, resources and the need to integrate in medical curriculum are major perceived barriers for effective SBME. Results highlight the positive perception and attitude of medical teachers toward the integration of SBME in undergraduate curriculum. Prior formal training of teachers created a different perception. Top perceived barriers for effective SBME include teachers' formal training supported with time and resources and the early integration into the curriculum. These critical challenges need to be addressed by medical schools in order to enhance the integration SBME in undergraduate curricula.

How we developed a bioethics theme in an undergraduate medical curriculum.

PubMed

Ghias, Kulsoom; Ali, Syeda Kauser; Khan, Kausar S; Khan, Robyna; Khan, Murad M; Farooqui, Arshi; Nayani, Parvez

2011-01-01

The 5-year undergraduate medical curriculum at Aga Khan University integrates basic sciences with clinical and community health sciences. Multimodal strategies of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on problem-based learning, are utilized to equip students with knowledge, skills, behaviours, attitudes and values necessary for a high-calibre medical graduate. Bioethics teaching was introduced in the medical curriculum in 1988 and has since undergone several changes. In 2009, a multidisciplinary voluntary group began review of undergraduate bioethics teaching and invested over 350 man-hours in curricular revision. This involved formulating terminal objectives, delineating specific objectives and identifying instructional methodologies and assessment strategies appropriate for the contents of each objective. Innovative strategies were specially devised to work within the time constraints of the existing medical curriculum and importantly, to increase student interest and engagement. The new bioethics curriculum is designed to be comprehensive and robust, and strives to develop graduates who, in addition to being technically skilled and competent, are well-versed in the history and philosophy of ethics and bioethics and are ethical in their thinking and practice, especially in the context of a developing country like Pakistan where health indicators are among the worst in the region, and clinical practices are not effectively regulated to ensure quality of care.

A survey validation and analysis of undergraduate medical biochemistry practical curriculum in maharashtra, India.

PubMed

Dandekar, Sucheta P; Maksane, Shalini N; McKinley, Danette

2012-01-01

In order to review the strengths and weaknesses of medical biochemistry practical curriculum for undergraduates and to generate ideas to improve it, a questionnaire was sent to 50 biochemistry faculty members selected (through simple random sampling method) from 42 medical colleges of Maharashtra, India. 39 responded to the questionnaire, representing a 78% response rate. The internal consistency of the questionnaire sections was found to be satisfactory (>0.7). The respondents did not agree that the ongoing curriculum was in alignment with learning outcomes (8%), that it encouraged active learning (28%), helped to apply knowledge to clinical situations (18%) and promoted critical thinking and problem solving skills (28%). There were a number of qualitative experiments that were rated 'irrelevant'. Qualitative and quantitative experiments related to recent advances were suggested to be introduced by the respondents. Checklists for the practicals and new curriculum objectives provided in the questionnaire were also approved. The results of the curriculum evaluation suggest a need for re-structuring of practical biochemistry curriculum and introduction of a modified curriculum with more clinical relevance.

Confronting the Core Curriculum: Considering Change in the Undergraduate Mathematics Major. Proceedings of the West Point Core Curriculum Conference in Mathematics (West Point, New York, April 23-24, 1994). Notes 45.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dossey, John A., Ed.

This document contains the proceedings of a conference held at the U.S. Military Academy to consider the question of core requirements for the courses often employed by partner disciplines, what concepts and procedural skills are really central, and how these questions might lead to the creation of a new undergraduate set of requirements that meet…

Orthodontic undergraduate education: developments in a modern curriculum.

PubMed

Chadwick, Stephen M; Bearn, David R; Jack, Alan C; O'Brien, Kevin D

2002-05-01

This paper explores some modern concepts of teaching and learning, including cognitive theory, the zone of proximal development, constructivism, andragogy and learning styles and describes how they have informed the development of an undergraduate orthodontic curriculum. The changes described include student-centred learning, guided self-learning, and the incorporation of problem-based learning concepts. The details of the problem-based learning programme are described together with results of student feedback on the change in teaching and learning style.

Toward A Social Policy Analysis Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stimson, John; Stimson, Ardyth

An eight-course curriculum in social policy analysis which follows a policy analysis paradigm is proposed. The undergraduate curriculum concentrates on the ability to appreciate and operate under uncertainty; anticipation of interrelated, unexpected ramifications of new stimuli; understanding of the social construction of problems and their cures;…

Group-effort applied research: expanding opportunities for undergraduate research through original, class-based research projects.

PubMed

Moore, Sean D; Teter, Ken

2014-01-01

Undergraduate research clearly enriches the educational development of participating students, but these experiences are limited by the inherent inefficiency of the standard one student-one mentor model for undergraduate research. Group-effort applied research (GEAR) was developed as a strategy to provide substantial numbers of undergraduates with meaningful research experiences. The GEAR curriculum delivers concept-driven lecture material and provides hands-on training in the context of an active research project from the instructor's laboratory. Because GEAR is structured as a class, participating students benefit from intensive, supervised research training that involves a built-in network of peer support and abundant contact with faculty mentors. The class format also ensures a relatively standardized and consistent research experience. Furthermore, meaningful progress toward a research objective can be achieved more readily with GEAR than with the traditional one student-one mentor model of undergraduate research because sporadic mistakes by individuals in the class are overshadowed by the successes of the group as a whole. Three separate GEAR classes involving three distinct research projects have been offered to date. In this article, we provide an overview of the GEAR format and review some of the recurring themes for GEAR instruction. We propose GEAR can serve as a template to expand student opportunities for life science research without sacrificing the quality of the mentored research experience. © 2014 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Biotechnology by Design: An Introductory Level, Project-Based, Synthetic Biology Laboratory Program for Undergraduate Students.

PubMed

Beach, Dale L; Alvarez, Consuelo J

2015-12-01

Synthetic biology offers an ideal opportunity to promote undergraduate laboratory courses with research-style projects, immersing students in an inquiry-based program that enhances the experience of the scientific process. We designed a semester-long, project-based laboratory curriculum using synthetic biology principles to develop a novel sensory device. Students develop subject matter knowledge of molecular genetics and practical skills relevant to molecular biology, recombinant DNA techniques, and information literacy. During the spring semesters of 2014 and 2015, the Synthetic Biology Laboratory Project was delivered to sophomore genetics courses. Using a cloning strategy based on standardized BioBrick genetic "parts," students construct a "reporter plasmid" expressing a reporter gene (GFP) controlled by a hybrid promoter regulated by the lac-repressor protein (lacI). In combination with a "sensor plasmid," the production of the reporter phenotype is inhibited in the presence of a target environmental agent, arabinose. When arabinose is absent, constitutive GFP expression makes cells glow green. But the presence of arabinose activates a second promoter (pBAD) to produce a lac-repressor protein that will inhibit GFP production. Student learning was assessed relative to five learning objectives, using a student survey administered at the beginning (pre-survey) and end (post-survey) of the course, and an additional 15 open-ended questions from five graded Progress Report assignments collected throughout the course. Students demonstrated significant learning gains (p < 0.05) for all learning outcomes. Ninety percent of students indicated that the Synthetic Biology Laboratory Project enhanced their understanding of molecular genetics. The laboratory project is highly adaptable for both introductory and advanced courses.

The Growing Importance of Linear Algebra in Undergraduate Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Alan

1993-01-01

Discusses the theoretical and practical importance of linear algebra. Presents a brief history of linear algebra and matrix theory and describes the place of linear algebra in the undergraduate curriculum. (MDH)

Undergraduate psychiatry in India: A SWOT analysis.

PubMed

Kumar, Pawan; Jangid, Purushottam; Sethi, Sujata

2018-03-01

Psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent and remains a huge burden on the society. In spite of that persons with mental illness are marginalized and mental health is largely being neglected. There is an acute shortage of mental health professionals in India, and also there is inadequate exposure to psychiatry during the medical undergraduate training in India. Moreover, the perception towards psychiatry and psychiatrists is not favorable among medical fraternity and policy makers. This is reflected in the fact that in spite of clearly deficient undergraduate psychiatry curriculum, no steps have been taken towards improving it and recommendations are not being implemented in true spirit. This review tries to identify the gaps in undergraduate curriculum, present a SWOT analysis of current situation and recommend the possible ways to address the deficiencies particularly in India. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Implant dentistry curriculum in undergraduate education: part 2-program at the Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany.

PubMed

Kroeplin, Birgit S; Strub, Joerg R

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe the didactic and clinical undergraduate implant dentistry program of the Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany, with emphasis on the clinical implant experience. A detailed description of the implant curriculum at Albert-Ludwigs University is given with documented exemplary cases and additional flow charts. All students participate in 28 hours of lectures and approximately 64 hours of seminars with hands-on courses and gain clinical experience. All undergraduate students are eligible to place and restore oral implants. Emphasis is placed on prosthetic-driven planning of implant positions, three-dimensional imaging, and computer-guided implant placement. Implant restorations performed by undergraduate students comprise single crowns and small multiunit fixed dental prostheses in partially edentulous posterior maxillae and anterior or posterior mandibles, implant-retained overdentures (snap attachment) in edentulous patients, and telescopic fixed-removable dental prostheses on remaining teeth and strategically placed additional implants. Over the past 2.5 years, 51 patients were treated with 97 dental implants placed by students in the undergraduate program. Seventy-one restorations were inserted: 60.6% single crowns, 7% fixed dental protheses, 21.1% overdentures, and 11.3% telescopic fixed-removable dental prostheses. The implant survival rate was 98.9%. Because survival rates for dental implants placed and restored by students are comparable to those of experienced dentists, oral implant dentistry should be implemented as part of the undergraduate dental curriculum.

Acute care teaching in the undergraduate nursing curriculum.

PubMed

McGaughey, Jennifer

2009-01-01

To incorporate basic aspects of acute care into the undergraduate nursing programme by providing an opportunity for the development of knowledge and skills in the early recognition and assessment of deteriorating patients on general hospital wards. Acute care initiatives implemented in the hospital setting to improve the identification and management of 'at risk' patients have focused on the provision of education for trained or qualified staff. However, to ensure student nurses are 'fit to practice' at the point of registration, it has been recommended that acute care theory and skills are incorporated into the undergraduate nursing curriculum. PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE: An 'Integrated Nursing Care' module was incorporated into year 3 of the undergraduate nursing programme to introduce students to acute care theory and practice. Module content focuses on the early detection and management of acute deterioration in patients with respiratory, cardiac, neurological or renal insufficiencies. We used a competency-based framework to ensure the application of theory to practice through the use of group seminars. High-fidelity patient-simulated clinical scenarios were a key feature. The United Kingdom Resuscitation Council Intermediate Life Support course is also an important component of the module. Incorporating the Integrated Nursing Care module into the undergraduate nursing curriculum provides pre-registration students the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in acute care. The provision of undergraduate education in care of the acutely ill patient in hospital is essential to improve nurses' competence and confidence in assessing and managing deteriorating patients in general wards at the point of registration.

Visual analytics in healthcare education: exploring novel ways to analyze and represent big data in undergraduate medical education

PubMed Central

Nilsson, Gunnar; Zary, Nabil

2014-01-01

Introduction. The big data present in the medical curriculum that informs undergraduate medical education is beyond human abilities to perceive and analyze. The medical curriculum is the main tool used by teachers and directors to plan, design, and deliver teaching and assessment activities and student evaluations in medical education in a continuous effort to improve it. Big data remains largely unexploited for medical education improvement purposes. The emerging research field of visual analytics has the advantage of combining data analysis and manipulation techniques, information and knowledge representation, and human cognitive strength to perceive and recognize visual patterns. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the use and benefits of visual analytics in medical education. Methods. The present study is based on analyzing the data in the medical curriculum of an undergraduate medical program as it concerns teaching activities, assessment methods and learning outcomes in order to explore visual analytics as a tool for finding ways of representing big data from undergraduate medical education for improvement purposes. Cytoscape software was employed to build networks of the identified aspects and visualize them. Results. After the analysis of the curriculum data, eleven aspects were identified. Further analysis and visualization of the identified aspects with Cytoscape resulted in building an abstract model of the examined data that presented three different approaches; (i) learning outcomes and teaching methods, (ii) examination and learning outcomes, and (iii) teaching methods, learning outcomes, examination results, and gap analysis. Discussion. This study identified aspects of medical curriculum that play an important role in how medical education is conducted. The implementation of visual analytics revealed three novel ways of representing big data in the undergraduate medical education context. It appears to be a useful tool to explore such data with possible future implications on healthcare education. It also opens a new direction in medical education informatics research. PMID:25469323

Visual analytics in healthcare education: exploring novel ways to analyze and represent big data in undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Vaitsis, Christos; Nilsson, Gunnar; Zary, Nabil

2014-01-01

Introduction. The big data present in the medical curriculum that informs undergraduate medical education is beyond human abilities to perceive and analyze. The medical curriculum is the main tool used by teachers and directors to plan, design, and deliver teaching and assessment activities and student evaluations in medical education in a continuous effort to improve it. Big data remains largely unexploited for medical education improvement purposes. The emerging research field of visual analytics has the advantage of combining data analysis and manipulation techniques, information and knowledge representation, and human cognitive strength to perceive and recognize visual patterns. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the use and benefits of visual analytics in medical education. Methods. The present study is based on analyzing the data in the medical curriculum of an undergraduate medical program as it concerns teaching activities, assessment methods and learning outcomes in order to explore visual analytics as a tool for finding ways of representing big data from undergraduate medical education for improvement purposes. Cytoscape software was employed to build networks of the identified aspects and visualize them. Results. After the analysis of the curriculum data, eleven aspects were identified. Further analysis and visualization of the identified aspects with Cytoscape resulted in building an abstract model of the examined data that presented three different approaches; (i) learning outcomes and teaching methods, (ii) examination and learning outcomes, and (iii) teaching methods, learning outcomes, examination results, and gap analysis. Discussion. This study identified aspects of medical curriculum that play an important role in how medical education is conducted. The implementation of visual analytics revealed three novel ways of representing big data in the undergraduate medical education context. It appears to be a useful tool to explore such data with possible future implications on healthcare education. It also opens a new direction in medical education informatics research.

Plastic Surgery Inclusion in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: Perception, Challenges, and Career Choice—A Comparative Study

PubMed Central

Vaughan, R.; Thomas, S.

2017-01-01

Objective The undergraduate medical curriculum has been overcrowded with core learning outcomes with no formal exposure to plastic surgery. The aim of this study was to compare medical students from two educational settings for the basic understanding, preferred learning method, and factors influencing a career choice in plastic surgery. Design and Setting A prospective cohort study based on a web-based anonymous questionnaire sent to final year medical students at Birmingham University (United Kingdom), McGill University (Canada), and a control group (non-medical staff). The questions were about plastic surgery: (1) source of information and basic understanding; (2) undergraduate curriculum inclusion and preferred learning methods; (3) factors influencing a career choice. A similar questionnaire was sent to non-medical staff (control group). The data was analysed based on categorical outcomes (Chi-square χ2) and level of significance p ≤ 0.05. Results Questionnaire was analysed for 243 students (Birmingham, n = 171/332, 52%) (McGill n = 72/132, 54%). Birmingham students (14%) considered the word “plastic” synonymous with “cosmetic” more than McGill students (4%, p < 0.025). Teaching was the main source of knowledge for McGill students (39%, p < 0.001) while Birmingham students and control group chose the media (70%, p < 0.001). McGill students (67%) more than Birmingham (49%, p < 0.010) considered curriculum inclusion. The preferred learning method was lectures for McGill students (61%, p < 0.01) but an optional module for Birmingham (61%). A similar proportion (18%) from both student groups considered a career in plastic surgery. Conclusions Medical students recognised the need for plastic surgery inclusion in the undergraduate curriculum. There was a difference for plastic surgery source of information, operations, and preferred method of learning for students. The study highlighted the urgent need to reform plastic surgery undergraduate teaching in collaboration with national educational bodies worldwide. PMID:28630768

Wind energy curriculum development at GWU

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsu, Stephen M

A wind energy curriculum has been developed at the George Washington University, School of Engineering and Applied Science. Surveys of student interest and potential employers expectations were conducted. Wind industry desires a combination of mechanical engineering training with electrical engineering training. The curriculum topics and syllabus were tested in several graduate/undergraduate elective courses. The developed curriculum was then submitted for consideration.

Analysis of Selected Characteristics of Faculty Conducted Curriculum Research in Small Colleges. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milliken, Russell A.

The objective of this study was to identify characteristics of researchers and small, undergraduate colleges supportive of curriculum research. A questionnaire, designed to determine professional characteristics of the respondents, and environmental, and organizational factors supportive of curriculum research was mailed to the total faculty of…

Training Student Organizers Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamm, Michael; Hurtado, Denise

The purpose of this curriculum is to help teachers and field supervisors at the college, high school, and advanced junior high school level train students to organize environmental improvement projects. It can also be used by graduate/undergraduate students who are supervising secondary school students. The curriculum may be started at any point…

Models for Instruction and Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toth, Elizabeth L.

1999-01-01

Proposes three models of course-specific curricula and a content-curriculum model for undergraduate public-relations education, and proposes core and elective areas for a master's of public-relations curriculum. Agrees that public-relations curricula should have a broad liberal arts and science basis, and recommended more attention to ethics,…

Careers in Psychology: Creating Customized Learning to Expose the Invisible Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Case, Kim A.; Miller, Angela; Hensley, Rachel; Jackson, Shaprie

2014-01-01

Invisible knowledge or the hidden curriculum, the informal education some students get from faculty mentors, is a privilege not afforded to all students. Many universities have instituted psychology careers courses to assist undergraduate psychology students with academic and career advisement. Designed to share this invisible curriculum with all…

Curriculum Studies in Brasil: A Study of the Teaching Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcondes, Maria Ines; Tura, Maria de Lourdes Rangel; de Macedo, Elizabeth Fernandes

This study analyzes how undergraduate university teachers are thinking in the classroom about the theoretical and practical contents related to the subject called "Curriculum Studies." The study focuses on the aspects of the theory-practice relationship, the idea of curriculum, and the theoretical references used by the undergraduate…

Present and future of the undergraduate ophthalmology curriculum: a survey of UK medical schools

PubMed Central

Hill, Sophie; Dennick, Reg

2017-01-01

Objectives To investigate the current undergraduate ophthalmology curricula provided by the UK medical schools, evaluate how they compare with the guidelines of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) and International Council for Ophthalmology (ICO), and determine the views of the UK ophthalmology teaching leads on the future direction of the curriculum. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire was sent to teaching leads in 31 medical schools across the UK. The questionnaire evaluated eight themes of the curriculum: content and learning outcomes, communication of learning outcomes, organisation of the curriculum, assessment, educational resources, teaching methods used, and the educational environment. The ophthalmology teaching leads were also asked their opinion on the current and future management of the curriculum. These were compared with RCOphth and ICO guidelines and descriptive statistical analysis performed. Results A response rate of 93% (n=29/31) was achieved. The knowledge and clinical skills taught by the UK medical schools match the  RCOphth guidelines, but fail to meet the ICO recommendations. A diverse range of assessment methods are used by UK medical schools during ophthalmology rotations. Variation was also observed in the organisation and methods of ophthalmology teaching.  However, a significant consensus about the future direction of the curriculum was reported by teaching leads. Conclusions Comprehensive RCOphth guidance, and resource sharing between medical schools could help to ensure ophthalmology’s continuing presence in the medical curriculum and improve the effectiveness of undergraduate ophthalmology teaching, while reducing the workload of local teaching departments and medical schools.  PMID:29103017

Do Undergraduate Engineering Faculty Include Occupational and Public Health and Safety in the Engineering Curriculum?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farwell, Dianna; And Others

1995-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether and, if so, why engineering faculty include occupational and public health and safety in their undergraduate engineering courses. Data were collected from 157 undergraduate engineering faculty from 65 colleges of engineering in the United States. (LZ)

A Series of Molecular Dynamics and Homology Modeling Computer Labs for an Undergraduate Molecular Modeling Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elmore, Donald E.; Guayasamin, Ryann C.; Kieffer, Madeleine E.

2010-01-01

As computational modeling plays an increasingly central role in biochemical research, it is important to provide students with exposure to common modeling methods in their undergraduate curriculum. This article describes a series of computer labs designed to introduce undergraduate students to energy minimization, molecular dynamics simulations,…

Creativity, Diversity, and Integration: Radical Change in the Bachelor of Music Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, David E.

2016-01-01

During 2013-2014, the Task Force on the Undergraduate Music Major of the USA's College Music Society prepared a report entitled "Transforming Music Study from its Foundations: A Manifesto for Progressive Change in the Undergraduate Preparation of Music Majors." The report is a call for increased relevance in undergraduate music studies…

A Research Based Sport Management Curricular Model: Undergraduate and Graduate Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Dennie R.; And Others

This paper brings to closure a series of evaluation/action research studies on needs assessment by: (1) sport management personnel in sport business/agencies; (2) faculty in charge of curriculum in all known undergraduate and graduate sport management programs in higher education; and (3) undergraduate and graduate majors in sport management from…

An Exploration of the Characteristics of Effective Undergraduate Peer-Mentoring Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglass, April G.; Smith, Dennie L.; Smith, Lana J.

2013-01-01

In this article, we explored the effectiveness of peer mentoring of undergraduate education students enrolled in core curriculum, writing-intensive courses. The context for our study was the use of peer mentors in undergraduate education writing-intensive courses. Peer mentors who had previously taken the courses were selected and trained as…

Internet Data Analysis for the Undergraduate Statistics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Juana; He, Yan

2005-01-01

Statistics textbooks for undergraduates have not caught up with the enormous amount of analysis of Internet data that is taking place these days. Case studies that use Web server log data or Internet network traffic data are rare in undergraduate Statistics education. And yet these data provide numerous examples of skewed and bimodal…

Nursing education: training evaluation by graduates, employers and teachers.

PubMed

Meira, Maria Dyrce Dias; Kurcgant, Paulina

2016-01-01

to support the assessment and the necessary changes in the curriculum of an undergraduate degree in Nursing. it is a descriptive study developed in two stages as an action research. In the first stage, the speeches of 19 graduates and 15 employers were interviewed and analyzed; in the second stage, five teachers participated in the focus group. For processing the data, the content analysis was adopted. based on the assessment of the actors, an action plan was created with suggestions regarding the curriculum flexibility, content resizing, continuing education, practice enhancement, active methodologies and autonomy of the student. the participation of actors participants of the training process and performance of professional nurses in the evaluation of a curriculum pointed aspects to realignment and provided concrete benefits to improving the quality of undergraduate course curriculum, scenario of this study.

Increasing student confidence in technical and professional skills through project based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Alice L.

This work focuses on developing undergraduate students' technical and professional skills through a project-based spiral curriculum in the Agricultural & Biological Engineering department at Purdue that can be implemented campus wide. Through this curriculum, Purdue engineers will be prepared for leadership roles in responding to the global technological, economic, and societal challenges of the 21st century by exposure to the relationships between engineering and its impacts on real world needs and challenges. Project-based learning uses projects as the focus of instruction and has shown increased understanding, motivation, and confidence through application of engineering principles to real-world problems. The strength of a spiral curriculum is that it continually revisits basic ideas and themes with increasing complexity and sophistication. The proposed spiral curriculum incorporates the target attributes of the Purdue Engineer of 2020 through project based courses during sophomore, junior, and senior year. These courses will build on concepts taught during first year engineering as well. The Engineer of 2020 (NAE and Purdue) target attributes include strong technical and professional skills to solve societal and technological burdens. A prototype course has been developed, taught, and evaluated during the previous two fall semesters in the sophomore level of the Biological and Food Process Engineering curriculum. The target students met 3 hours a week in a traditional lecture setting plus 2 hours a week in a project based lab setting. The control group met only 3 hours a week in a traditional lecture setting. Peer and self assessment results from student surveys show increased confidence in every area surveyed. Focus groups revealed student reactions to the course. Students enjoyed the course but felt it difficult to handle ambiguity with project work. Future work includes course revisions to the content, assessment, and pedagogy of the prototype class, development of the remaining project courses in the curriculum, and increasing graduate student instruction in the courses to gain teaching and leadership experience.

Clinical skills training in a skills lab compared with skills training in internships: comparison of skills development curricula.

PubMed

Peeraer, G; Scherpbier, A J J A; Remmen, R; De winter, B Y; Hendrickx, K; van Petegem, P; Weyler, J; Bossaert, L

2007-11-01

The necessity of learning skills through "integrated skills training" at an undergraduate level has been supported by several studies. The University of Antwerp implemented undergraduate skills training in its renewed curriculum in 1998, after it was demonstrated that Flemish students did not master their medical skills as well as Dutch students who received "integrated skills training" as part of their undergraduate medical course. The aim of this study was to compare the skill outcome levels of two different student populations: students who had been trained in basic clinical skills mainly through clinical internships in year 7 with students who had learned these skills through an integrated longitudinal programme in a special learning environment in years 1-5 prior to their internship experience. Students of the traditional curriculum learned skills through a 75 hour programme in years 4 and 5, through plenary sessions followed by a 12 month period of internships during which skills could be further practiced. We tested this group right after completion of their internships. Students from the renewed curriculum followed a 200 hour intensive small group skills training programme offered in years 1-5. This group was tested before starting their internships. On global OSCE-scores, renewed curriculum students had significantly higher overall scores (p<0.001) and they scored significantly higher at 6 of 15 stations. There was no significant difference at 8 stations, while traditional curriculum students scored better at station 1. 5 years and 200 hours of integrated undergraduate skills training is more effective as a method of learning basic clinical skills, compared to learning these skills through 75 hours of traditional skill training and reinforcement of these skills in 12 month clinical internships, when measured by means of an OSCE.

Engineering Curriculum Development: Balancing Employer Needs and National Interest--A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buniyamin, Norlida; Mohamad, Zainuddin

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia, developed an undergraduate-level engineering curriculum that balances national interests with those of employers and academics. The curriculum was based on materials posted at the Internet sites of universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Malaysia…

Implementation of PBL Curriculum Involving Multiple Disciplines in Undergraduate Medical Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chakravarthi, Srikumar; Haleagrahara, Nagaraja

2010-01-01

This article describes how a multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum was established at the International Medical University in Malaysia for preclinical education in a 5-semester phase 1 programme. Based on positive feedback from a modified PBL program implemented in one discipline, a multidisciplinary PBL curriculum was…

"What Every Student Should Know": General Education Requirements in Undergraduate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aldegether, Reem A.

2017-01-01

The present paper defines general curriculum requirements in higher education. It focuses on the history of the arguments that make up general curriculum requirements starting from the Yale Report 1828 to the recent perspectives on general curriculum. The purpose of the review is to illustrate that what defines knowledgeable person is determined…

The Cost of Chaos in the Curriculum. Perspectives on Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capaldi Phillips, Elizabeth D.; Poliakoff, Michael B.

2015-01-01

ACTA's report "The Cost of Chaos in the Curriculum" reveals that the vast array of course choices given to college students is a cause of exploding costs and poor academic outcomes. And a bloated undergraduate curriculum is particularly detrimental to the success of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The report documents how…

Are We Teaching the IS 2009 Model Curriculum?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apigian, Charles H.; Gambill, Stanley E.

2010-01-01

This article presents the results of research that gathered data about undergraduate information systems curricula and compared it to previous studies and the IS 2009 working model curriculum which is now named IS 2010 Model Curriculum after final approval. Data was collected from the websites of 240 colleges and universities identified as having…

Curriculum Assessment in Social Sciences at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saleh, Hanifah Mahat Yazid; Hashim, Mohmadisa; Yaacob, Norazlan Hadi; Kasim, Adnan Jusoh Ahmad Yunus

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of the curriculum implementation for undergraduate programme in the Faculty of Human Sciences, UPSI producing quality and competitive educators. Curriculum implementation has to go through an assessment process that aims to determine the problem, select relevant information and collect and…

A Competency-Based Medical Student Curriculum Targeting Key Geriatric Syndromes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Zuilen, Maria H.; Rodriguez, Osvaldo; Mintzer, Michael J.; Paniagua, Miguel A.; Milanez, Marcos N.; Ruiz, Jorge G.; Kaiser, Robert M.; Roos, Bernard A.

2008-01-01

The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) has developed and implemented a competency-based undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum that targets 61 learning objectives for three geriattic syndromes: dementia, falls, and delirium. This curriculum redesign changed the educational focus from what is taught to what is learned.…

A Comparative Study on Student Perceptions of Their Learning Outcomes in Undergraduate Science Degree Programmes with Differing Curriculum Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Kelly E.; Firn, Jennifer; Schmidt, Susanne; Whelan, Karen

2017-01-01

This study investigated students' perceptions of their graduate learning outcomes including content knowledge, communication, writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking in two Australian universities. One university has a traditional discipline-orientated curriculum and the other, an interdisciplinary curriculum in the entry…

Implementing Curriculum Evaluation: Case Study of a Generic Undergraduate Degree in Health Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Lynne; Driscoll, Peter; Lewis, Melinda; Matthews, Lynda; Russell, Cherry; Cumming, Steven

2010-01-01

This case study presents a longitudinal, evidence-based approach to health science curriculum reform and evaluation. Curriculum in higher education must meet the needs of diverse stakeholders and must respond to dynamic local, national and international contexts, and this creates challenges for evaluation. The long lead time prior to the…

Redesigning a Curriculum for Inquiry: An Ecology Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spronken-Smith, R. A.; Walker, R.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Closs, G. P.; Lord, J. M.; Harland, T.

2011-01-01

This article reports on an interdisciplinary ecology degree that was redesigned to provide more research activity for undergraduates. A case study approach explored how the teaching team constructed a curriculum that used inquiry activities. The development of an inquiry curriculum was enabled by a University audit focusing on the links between…

A comparative study on student perceptions of their learning outcomes in undergraduate science degree programmes with differing curriculum models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Kelly E.; Firn, Jennifer; Schmidt, Susanne; Whelan, Karen

2017-04-01

This study investigated students' perceptions of their graduate learning outcomes including content knowledge, communication, writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking in two Australian universities. One university has a traditional discipline-orientated curriculum and the other, an interdisciplinary curriculum in the entry semester of first year. The Science Students Skills Inventory asked students (n = 613) in first and final years to rate their perceptions of the importance of developing graduate learning outcomes within the programme; how much they improved their graduate learning outcomes throughout their undergraduate science programme; how much they saw learning outcomes included in the programme; and how confident they were about their learning outcomes. A framework of progressive curriculum development was adopted to interpret results. Students in the discipline-oriented degree programme reported higher perceptions of scientific content knowledge and ethical thinking while students from the interdisciplinary curriculum indicated higher perceptions of oral communication and teamwork. Implications for curriculum development include ensuring progressive development from first to third years, a need for enhanced focus on scientific ethics, and career opportunities from first year onwards.

Using Delphi technique in a consensual curriculum for periodontics.

PubMed

Fried, Hana; Leao, Anna Thereza

2007-11-01

Periodontics has experienced several important conceptual changes in the last few decades. As such, it is important to have a periodontics curriculum built upon the expertise of specialists in that discipline and reflecting those changes. The main goal of this study was to attain a consensus, through the use of the Delphi technique, on the topics that should be included in a periodontics curriculum for undergraduate dental students. A sample of periodontics lecturers from nine dental schools in two Brazilian cities was used, and a Delphi technique approach was followed to investigate sample member perceptions on the subject. Participants received four postal mail questionnaires asking them to rate and rerate eighty-nine topics for possible inclusion in the curriculum. A descriptive analysis was conducted, and topic frequencies were calculated. Topics rated as highly important for inclusion were the following: health, ailment, prevention, etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment. The Delphi technique approach proved successful in involving periodontics lecturers in the design of a periodontics curriculum for undergraduate dental students.

A Successful Strategy to Integrate Sex and Gender Medicine into a Newly Developed Medical Curriculum.

PubMed

Ludwig, Sabine; Oertelt-Prigione, Sabine; Kurmeyer, Christine; Gross, Manfred; Grüters-Kieslich, Annette; Regitz-Zagrosek, Vera; Peters, Harm

2015-12-01

A new modular, outcome-based, interdisciplinary curriculum was introduced for undergraduate medical education at one of the largest European medical faculties. A key stated institutional goal was to systematically integrate sex and gender medicine and gender perspectives into the curriculum in order to foster adequate gender-related knowledge and skills for future doctors concerning the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and research of diseases. A change agent was integrated directly into the curriculum development team to facilitate interactions with all key players of the curricular development process. The gender change agent established a supporting organizational framework of all stakeholders, and developed a 10-step approach including identification, selection, placing relevant sex and gender medicine-related issues in the curricular planning sessions, counseling of faculty members, and monitoring of the integration achieved. With this approach, quantitatively sex and gender medicine-related content was widely integrated throughout all teaching and learning formats and from early basic science to later clinical modules (94 lectures, 33 seminars, and 16 practical courses). Gender perspectives involve 5% of the learning objectives and represent an integral part of the assessment program. Qualitatively, the relevance of gender (sociocultural) differences was combined with sex (biological) differences in disease manifestation throughout the curriculum. The appointment of a change agent facilitates the development of systematic approaches that can be a key and serve as practice models to successfully integrate new overarching curricular perspectives and dimensions--in this case sex and gender medicine--into a new medical curriculum.

Teaching clinical pharmacology and therapeutics with an emphasis on the therapeutic reasoning of undergraduate medical students

PubMed Central

Richir, Milan C.; Tichelaar, Jelle; Geijteman, Eric C. T.

2008-01-01

Background The rational prescribing of drugs is an essential skill of medical doctors. Clinical pharmacologists play an important role in the development of these skills by teaching clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CP&T) to undergraduate medical students. Although the approaches to teaching CP&T have undergone many changes over the last decennia, it is essential that the actual teaching of CP&T continues to be a major part of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Objectives The learning objectives of CP&T teaching in terms of developing the therapeutic competencies of undergraduate medical students are described, with an emphasis on therapeutic decision-making. On the basis of current theories of cognitive psychology and medical education, context-learning is presented as an effective approach by which to achieve therapeutic competencies. An example of a CP&T curriculum is presented. PMID:18228012

Reprioritizing current research trends in medical education: a reflection on research activities in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Obeidat, Akef S; Alhaqwi, Ali Ibrahim; Abdulghani, Hamza Mohammad

2015-04-01

There are numerous national efforts to determine and develop research priorities of medical education in Saudi Arabia. These priorities were first proposed in 2010 by "Dr Al-Khuli's Chair for Developing Medical Education in Saudi Arabia". The proposed priority domains were: curriculum, students, faculty, and quality assurance and accreditation. To investigate publications in medical education at the national and international levels in areas relating to these proposed priorities. Electronic search within PubMed database for papers relating to each domain of priority was conducted at national and international levels in the last three years, using the same keywords as the priority domains, but only confined to undergraduate medical education. Out of 3145 articles retrieved when searching with keyword as broad as "undergraduate medical curriculum" only 81 articles worldwide and 3 articles from Saudi Arabia were dealing with curriculum related issues as a whole. Further search on the sub-domains "effective strategies to manage undergraduate curriculum" and "undergraduate medical education models", resulted in the retrieval of few articles worldwide and none from Saudi Arabia. At the national level, there were 63 publications from Saudi Arabia that were either course (topic)-specific or could not be classified under the four domains specified by Dr Al-Khuli's Chair. Research activities in medical education in Saudi Arabia in the last 3 years showed diversity and lack of focus in the research priorities. Efforts of academic and research centers should continue to monitor and encourage these activities toward achieving the recommended priorities.

The Tips, Tricks, and Challenges of Teaching Undergraduate Kinesiology Students Research Methodology through a Programmatic Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beller, Jennifer M.

2013-01-01

This article describes a programmatic approach to undergraduate research (UGR) at Washington State University. In a programmatic approach, UGR is woven throughout the curriculum, with the expressed intent of producing undergraduate students who have at least a moderate ability to read, use, conduct, and present research. Washington State…

Psychology Students' Interest in Graduate Training: A Need for Partnership among Undergraduate Psychology and Graduate School Psychology Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stinnett, Terry A.; Solomon, Benjamin G.

2014-01-01

An initial point of contact for recruitment of qualified persons into school psychology is undergraduate psychology degree programs. Unfortunately, the discipline of school psychology appears to receive at best only cursory coverage in undergraduate psychology texts, curriculum, and discussion by psychology department faculty even though school…

Library List: A Suggested Library Collection for Undergraduate Linguistics Programs. Linguistics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Appendix 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linguistic Society of America, Washington, DC.

A list of linguistics-related holdings in the Middlebury College (Vermont) library is presented as an example of a well-developed library collection for an undergraduate linguistics program. The materials are listed under 10 headings corresponding to the best-represented subareas in the collection: linguistics, semantics, grammar (comparative and…

Physiology and the Biomedical Engineering Curriculum: Utilizing Emerging Instructional Technologies to Promote Development of Adaptive Expertise in Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Regina K.

2013-01-01

A mixed-methods research study was designed to test whether undergraduate engineering students were better prepared to learn advanced topics in biomedical engineering if they learned physiology via a quantitative, concept-based approach rather than a qualitative, system-based approach. Experiments were conducted with undergraduate engineering…

Communicating across the Curriculum in an Undergraduate Business Program: Management 100--Leadership and Communication in Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuleja, Elizabeth A.; Greenhalgh, Anne M.

2008-01-01

Educating undergraduate business students in the 21st century requires more than addressing the quantitative side of business; rather, it calls for including the more qualitative "soft skills," such as speaking and writing. This article examines the design, delivery, and effectiveness of an undergraduate program dedicated to leadership,…

Patterns of Undergraduates' Use of Scholarly Databases in a Large Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mbabu, Loyd Gitari; Bertram, Albert; Varnum, Ken

2013-01-01

Authentication data was utilized to explore undergraduate usage of subscription electronic databases. These usage patterns were linked to the information literacy curriculum of the library. The data showed that out of the 26,208 enrolled undergraduate students, 42% of them accessed a scholarly database at least once in the course of the entire…

It's Not Easy Being Green: Bringing Real Life to the Undergraduate Legal Environment of Business Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcum, Tanya M.; Perry, Sandra J.

2010-01-01

In the Legal Environment of Business course in a traditional undergraduate business curriculum, students are expected to acquire knowledge about many areas of the law and the application of law to business, society, and the international marketplace. Current concepts in undergraduate business education, such as ethics and sustainability, must also…

The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map II: Organic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raker, Jeffrey; Holme, Thomas; Murphy, Kristen

2013-01-01

As a way to assist chemistry departments with programmatic assessment of undergraduate chemistry curricula, the ACS Examinations Institute is devising a map of the content taught throughout the undergraduate curriculum. The structure of the map is hierarchal, with large grain size at the top and more content detail as one moves "down"…

The longitudinal curriculum "social and communicative competencies" within Bologna-reformed undergraduate medical education in Basel.

PubMed

Kiessling, Claudia; Langewitz, Wolf

2013-01-01

Within the Bologna reform, a longitudinal curriculum of "social and communicative competencies" (SOKO) was implemented into the new Bachelor-Master structure of undergraduate medical education in Basel (Switzerland). The aim of the SOKO curriculum is to enable students to use techniques of patient-centred communication to elicit and provide information to patients in order to involve them as informed partners in decision making processes. The SOKO curriculum consists of 57 lessons for the individual student from the first bachelor year to the first master year. Teaching encompasses lectures and small group learning. Didactic methods include role play, video feedback, and consultations with simulated and real patients. Summative assessment takes place in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE). In Basel, a longitudinal SOKO curriculum based on students' cumulative learning was successfully implemented. Goals and contents were coordinated with the remaining curriculum and are regularly assessed in OSCEs. At present, most of the workload rests on the shoulders of the department of psychosomatic medicine at the university hospital. For the curriculum to be successful in the long-term, sustainable structures need to be instituted at the medical faculty and the university hospital to guarantee high quality teaching and assessment.

Genomics and bioinformatics in undergraduate curricula: Contexts for hybrid laboratory/lecture courses for entering and advanced science students.

PubMed

Temple, Louise; Cresawn, Steven G; Monroe, Jonathan D

2010-01-01

Emerging interest in genomics in the scientific community prompted biologists at James Madison University to create two courses at different levels to modernize the biology curriculum. The courses are hybrids of classroom and laboratory experiences. An upper level class uses raw sequence of a genome (plasmid or virus) as the subject on which to base the experience of genomic analysis. Students also learn bioinformatics and software programs needed to support a project linking structure and function in proteins and showing evolutionary relatedness of similar genes. An optional entry-level course taken in addition to the required first-year curriculum and sponsored in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, engages first year students in a primary research project. In the first semester, they isolate and characterize novel bacteriophages that infect soil bacteria. In the second semester, these young scientists annotate the genes on one or more of the unique viruses they discovered. These courses are demanding but exciting for both faculty and students and should be accessible to any interested faculty member. Copyright © 2010 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Testing the development of student conceptual and visualization understanding in quantum mechanics through the undergraduate career

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinett, Richard

2003-04-01

In order to probe various aspects of student understanding of some of the core ideas of quantum mechanics, and especially how they develop over the undergraduate curriculum, we have developed an assessment instrument designed to test conceptual and visualization understanding in quantum theory. We report data obtained from students ranging from sophomore-level modern physics courses, through junior-senior level quantum theory classes, to first year graduate quantum mechanics courses in what may be the first such study of the development of student understanding in this important core subject of physics through the undergraduate career. We discuss the results and their possible relevance to the standard curriculum as well as to the development of new curricular materials.

Incorporating Space Science Content Into the Undergraduate Curriculum by the NASA Education Forums' Higher Education Working Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, N. A.; Buxner, S.; Cobabe-Ammann, E. A.; Fraknoi, A.; Moldwin, M.; Peticolas, L. M.; Low, R.; Schultz, G. R.

2013-12-01

As part of the NASA Education Forums, the Higher Education Working Group (HEWG) strives to support undergraduate science education through a variety of activities. These activities include: providing resource that incorporate space science topics into the existing undergraduate curriculum, understanding the role that community colleges play in STEM education and preparing STEM teachers, and identifying issues in diversity related to STEM education. To assess the best way of including space science into the undergraduate curriculum, the HEWG held a series of workshops and conducted surveys of undergraduate faculty who are conducting research in space science. During this engagement, the faculty expressed a need for a centralized repository of materials that can be used as part of already existing undergraduate courses in astronomy, physics, and earth science. Such a repository has since been developed, the 'EarthSpace Higher Education Clearing House (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/earthspace/) and it is still growing. Additional community tools, such as a newsletter, are provided through this website. To better understand the role and needs of community colleges, the HEWG undertook and extensive survey of community college STEM faculty. 187 faculty responded to the survey and the results show the extensive teaching load these faculty have, as well as the diverse demographics and the extent to which STEM teachers begin their preparation at 2 year institutions. Finally, the HEWG has begun to work on understanding the issues faced in increasing the diversity of the STEM work force. Progress and results of all this work will be summarized in this presentation.

Cultural diversity: blind spot in medical curriculum documents, a document analysis.

PubMed

Paternotte, Emma; Fokkema, Joanne P I; van Loon, Karsten A; van Dulmen, Sandra; Scheele, Fedde

2014-08-22

Cultural diversity among patients presents specific challenges to physicians. Therefore, cultural diversity training is needed in medical education. In cases where strategic curriculum documents form the basis of medical training it is expected that the topic of cultural diversity is included in these documents, especially if these have been recently updated. The aim of this study was to assess the current formal status of cultural diversity training in the Netherlands, which is a multi-ethnic country with recently updated medical curriculum documents. In February and March 2013, a document analysis was performed of strategic curriculum documents for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in the Netherlands. All text phrases that referred to cultural diversity were extracted from these documents. Subsequently, these phrases were sorted into objectives, training methods or evaluation tools to assess how they contributed to adequate curriculum design. Of a total of 52 documents, 33 documents contained phrases with information about cultural diversity training. Cultural diversity aspects were more prominently described in the curriculum documents for undergraduate education than in those for postgraduate education. The most specific information about cultural diversity was found in the blueprint for undergraduate medical education. In the postgraduate curriculum documents, attention to cultural diversity differed among specialties and was mainly superficial. Cultural diversity is an underrepresented topic in the Dutch documents that form the basis for actual medical training, although the documents have been updated recently. Attention to the topic is thus unwarranted. This situation does not fit the demand of a multi-ethnic society for doctors with cultural diversity competences. Multi-ethnic countries should be critical on the content of the bases for their medical educational curricula.

The perception of the hidden curriculum on medical education: an exploratory study

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Major curriculum reform of undergraduate medical education occurred during the past decades in the United Kingdom (UK); however, the effects of the hidden curriculum, which influence the choice of primary care as a career, have not been sufficiently recognized. While Japan, where traditionally few institutions systematically foster primary care physicians and very few have truly embraced family medicine as their guiding discipline, has also experienced meaningful curriculum reform, the effect of the hidden curriculum is not well known. The aim of this study is to identify themes pertaining to the students' perceptions of the hidden curriculum affecting undergraduate medical education in bedside learning in Japan. Methods Semi-structured interviews with thematic content analysis were implemented. Undergraduate year-5 students from a Japanese medical school at a Japanese teaching hospital were recruited. Interview were planned to last between 30 to 60 minutes each, over an 8-month period in 2007. The interviewees' perceptions concerning the quality of teaching in their bedside learning and related experiences were collected and analysed thematically. Results Twenty five medical students (18 males and 7 females, mean age 25 years old) consented to participate in the interviews, and seven main themes emerged: "the perception of education as having a low priority," "the prevalence of positive/negative role models," "the persistence of hierarchy and exclusivity," "the existence of gender issues," "an overburdened medical knowledge," "human relationships with colleagues and medical team members," and "first experience from the practical wards and their patients." Conclusions Both similarities and differences were found when comparing the results to those of previous studies in the UK. Some effects of the hidden curriculum in medical education likely exist in common between the UK and Japan, despite the differences in their demographic backgrounds, cultures and philosophies. PMID:20003462

Cultural diversity: blind spot in medical curriculum documents, a document analysis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Cultural diversity among patients presents specific challenges to physicians. Therefore, cultural diversity training is needed in medical education. In cases where strategic curriculum documents form the basis of medical training it is expected that the topic of cultural diversity is included in these documents, especially if these have been recently updated. The aim of this study was to assess the current formal status of cultural diversity training in the Netherlands, which is a multi-ethnic country with recently updated medical curriculum documents. Methods In February and March 2013, a document analysis was performed of strategic curriculum documents for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in the Netherlands. All text phrases that referred to cultural diversity were extracted from these documents. Subsequently, these phrases were sorted into objectives, training methods or evaluation tools to assess how they contributed to adequate curriculum design. Results Of a total of 52 documents, 33 documents contained phrases with information about cultural diversity training. Cultural diversity aspects were more prominently described in the curriculum documents for undergraduate education than in those for postgraduate education. The most specific information about cultural diversity was found in the blueprint for undergraduate medical education. In the postgraduate curriculum documents, attention to cultural diversity differed among specialties and was mainly superficial. Conclusions Cultural diversity is an underrepresented topic in the Dutch documents that form the basis for actual medical training, although the documents have been updated recently. Attention to the topic is thus unwarranted. This situation does not fit the demand of a multi-ethnic society for doctors with cultural diversity competences. Multi-ethnic countries should be critical on the content of the bases for their medical educational curricula. PMID:25150546

Navigating the Complexities of Undergraduate Medical Curriculum Change: Change Leaders' Perspectives.

PubMed

Velthuis, Floor; Varpio, Lara; Helmich, Esther; Dekker, Hanke; Jaarsma, A Debbie C

2018-02-06

Changing an undergraduate medical curriculum is a recurring, high-stakes undertaking at medical schools. This study aimed to explore how people leading major curriculum changes conceived of the process of enacting change and the strategies they relied on to succeed in their efforts. The first author individually interviewed nine leaders who were leading or had led the most recent undergraduate curriculum change in one of the eight medical schools in the Netherlands. Interviews were between December 2015 and April 2016, using a semi-structured interview format. Data analysis occurred concurrently with data collection, with themes being constructed inductively from the data. Leaders conceived of curriculum change as a dynamic, complex process. They described three major challenges they had to deal with while navigating this process: the large number of stakeholders championing a multitude of perspectives, dealing with resistance, and steering the change process. Additionally, strategies for addressing these challenges were described. The authors identified an underlying principle informing the work of these leaders: being and remaining aware of emerging situations, and carefully constructing strategies for ensuring the intended outcomes were reached and contributed to the progress of the change process. This empirical, descriptive study enriches the understanding of how institutional leaders navigate the complexities of major medical curriculum changes. The insights serve as a foundation for training and coaching future change leaders. To broaden the understanding of curriculum change processes, future studies could investigate the processes through alternative stakeholder perspectives.Written work prepared by employees of the Federal Government as part of their official duties is, under the U.S. Copyright Act, a "work of the United States Government" for which copyright protection under Title 17 of the United States Code is not available. As such, copyright does not extend to the contributions of employees of the Federal Government.

Designing and implementing a skills program Using a clinically integrated, multi-professional approach: Using evaluation to drive curriculum change

PubMed Central

Carr, Sandra E.; Celenza, Antonio; Lake, Fiona

2009-01-01

The essential procedural skills that newly graduated doctors require are rarely defined, do not take into account pre-vocational employer expectations, and differ between Universities. This paper describes how one Faculty used local evaluation data to drive curriculum change and implement a clinically integrated, multi-professional skills program. A curriculum restructure included a review of all undergraduate procedural skills training by academic staff and clinical departments, resulting in a curriculum skills map. Undergraduate training was then linked with postgraduate expectations using the Delphi process to identify the skills requiring structured standardised training. The skills program was designed and implemented without a dedicated simulation center. This paper shows the benefits of an alternate model in which clinical integration of training and multi-professional collaboration encouraged broad ownership of a program and, in turn, impacted the clinical experience obtained. PMID:20165528

The Effect of Reflective Activities on Reflective Thinking Ability in an Undergraduate Pharmacy Curriculum.

PubMed

Tsingos-Lucas, Cherie; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia; Schneider, Carl R; Smith, Lorraine

2016-05-25

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of integrating reflective practice activities into a second-year undergraduate pharmacy curriculum and their impact on reflective thinking ability. Design. A cross-over design with repeated measures was employed. Newly developed reflective modules based on real hospital and community pharmacy cases were integrated into the second-year pharmacy practice curriculum. A novel strategy, the Reflective Ability Clinical Assessment (RACA), was introduced to enhance self- and peer reflection. Assessment. Student responses (n=214) to the adapted Kember et al(1) Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ) were compared before and after reflective activities were undertaken. Significant improvement in three indicators of reflective thinking was shown after students engaged in reflective activities. Conclusion. Integration of reflective activities into a pharmacy curriculum increased the reflective thinking capacity of students. Enhancing reflective thinking ability may help students make better informed decisions and clinical judgments, thus improving future practice.

The Effect of Reflective Activities on Reflective Thinking Ability in an Undergraduate Pharmacy Curriculum

PubMed Central

Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia; Schneider, Carl R.; Smith, Lorraine

2016-01-01

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of integrating reflective practice activities into a second-year undergraduate pharmacy curriculum and their impact on reflective thinking ability. Design. A cross-over design with repeated measures was employed. Newly developed reflective modules based on real hospital and community pharmacy cases were integrated into the second-year pharmacy practice curriculum. A novel strategy, the Reflective Ability Clinical Assessment (RACA), was introduced to enhance self- and peer reflection. Assessment. Student responses (n=214) to the adapted Kember et al1 Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ) were compared before and after reflective activities were undertaken. Significant improvement in three indicators of reflective thinking was shown after students engaged in reflective activities. Conclusion. Integration of reflective activities into a pharmacy curriculum increased the reflective thinking capacity of students. Enhancing reflective thinking ability may help students make better informed decisions and clinical judgments, thus improving future practice. PMID:27293232

Scaling Up: Adapting a Phage-Hunting Course to Increase Participation of First-Year Students in Research

PubMed Central

Staub, Nancy L.; Poxleitner, Marianne; Braley, Amanda; Smith-Flores, Helen; Pribbenow, Christine M.; Jaworski, Leslie; Lopatto, David; Anders, Kirk R.

2016-01-01

Authentic research experiences are valuable components of effective undergraduate education. Research experiences during the first years of college are especially critical to increase persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) model provides a high-impact research experience to first-year students but is usually available to a limited number of students, and its implementation is costly in faculty time and laboratory space. To offer a research experience to all students taking introductory biology at Gonzaga University (n = 350/yr), we modified the traditional two-semester SEA-PHAGES course by streamlining the first-semester Phage Discovery lab and integrating the second SEA-PHAGES semester into other courses in the biology curriculum. Because most students in the introductory course are not biology majors, the Phage Discovery semester may be their only encounter with research. To discover whether students benefit from the first semester alone, we assessed the effects of the one-semester Phage Discovery course on students’ understanding of course content. Specifically, students showed improvement in knowledge of bacteriophages, lab math skills, and understanding experimental design and interpretation. They also reported learning gains and benefits comparable with other course-based research experiences. Responses to open-ended questions suggest that students experienced this course as a true undergraduate research experience. PMID:27146160

Occupational exposure to potentially infectious biological material in a dental teaching environment.

PubMed

Machado-Carvalhais, Helenaura P; Ramos-Jorge, Maria L; Auad, Sheyla M; Martins, Laura H P M; Paiva, Saul M; Pordeus, Isabela A

2008-10-01

The aims of this cross-sectional study were to determine the prevalence of occupational accidents with exposure to biological material among undergraduate students of dentistry and to estimate potential risk factors associated with exposure to blood. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire (86.4 percent return rate), which was completed by a sample of 286 undergraduate dental students (mean age 22.4 +/-2.4 years). The students were enrolled in the clinical component of the curriculum, which corresponds to the final six semesters of study. Descriptive, bivariate, simple logistic regression and multiple logistic regression (Forward Stepwise Procedure) analyses were performed. The level of statistical significance was set at 5 percent. Percutaneous and mucous exposures to potentially infectious biological material were reported by 102 individuals (35.6 percent); 26.8 percent reported the occurrence of multiple episodes of exposure. The logistic regression analyses revealed that the incomplete use of individual protection equipment (OR=3.7; 95 percent CI 1.5-9.3), disciplines where surgical procedures are carried out (OR=16.3; 95 percent CI 7.1-37.2), and handling sharp instruments (OR=4.4; 95 percent CI 2.1-9.1), more specifically, hollow-bore needles (OR=6.8; 95 percent CI 2.1-19.0), were independently associated with exposure to blood. Policies of reviewing the procedures during clinical practice are recommended in order to reduce occupational exposure.

Improving medical student performance in smoking health promotion: effect of a vertically integrated curriculum.

PubMed

Sawyer, S M; Cooke, R; Conn, J; Marks, M K; Roseby, R; Cerritelli, B

2006-08-01

The majority of medical schools have curricula that address the health effects of smoking. However, there are many gaps in smoking education, especially in relationship to vertical integration. The authors aimed to determine whether medical students would better address adolescent smoking within a vertically integrated curriculum in comparison with the previous traditional curriculum. They studied two groups of fifth-year students; one group received a specific smoking intervention. Each group consisted of the entire cohort of students within the Child and Adolescent Health rotation of a newly designed medical curriculum. Two groups of students from the previous traditional undergraduate curriculum were available for direct comparison, one of which had received the same teaching on adolescent smoking. An objective structured clinical examination station was used to measure adolescent smoking enquiry. Intervention students in the new curriculum were more likely to enquire about smoking in the objective structured clinical examination than students who did not receive the intervention (p < 0.005). New curriculum students performed better than students from the previous curriculum, whether or not they had received the smoking intervention (p < 0.001). This study suggests that integrated undergraduate teaching can improve student clinical behaviours with regard to opportunistic smoking enquiry in adolescents.

Fostering 21st-Century Evolutionary Reasoning: Teaching Tree Thinking to Introductory Biology Students.

PubMed

Novick, Laura R; Catley, Kefyn M

2016-01-01

The ability to interpret and reason from Tree of Life (ToL) diagrams has become a vital component of science literacy in the 21st century. This article reports on the effectiveness of a research-based curriculum, including an instructional booklet, laboratory, and lectures, to teach the fundamentals of such tree thinking in an introductory biology class for science majors. We present the results of a study involving 117 undergraduates who received either our new research-based tree-thinking curriculum or business-as-usual instruction. We found greater gains in tree-thinking abilities for the experimental instruction group than for the business-as-usual group, as measured by performance on our novel assessment instrument. This was a medium size effect. These gains were observed on an unannounced test that was administered ∼5-6 weeks after the primary instruction in tree thinking. The nature of students' postinstruction difficulties with tree thinking suggests that the critical underlying concept for acquiring expert-level competence in this area is understanding that any specific phylogenetic tree is a subset of the complete, unimaginably large ToL. © 2016 L. R. Novick and K. M. Catley. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Integrating global animal health, public health and tropical animal health issues into the veterinary curriculum: a South African/African perspective.

PubMed

Swan, G E; Coetzer, J A W; Terblanche, H M

2009-08-01

The globalisation of trade and food, the increased volume and speed of international travel, climate change, and the related escalation of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases mean that countries are now more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. Africa is beleaguered by a range of endemic infectious and parasitic tropical diseases which, due to its diverse wildlife populations and indigenous livestock, can serve as a reservoir of high-impact or transboundary diseases and play a role in the emergence of disease, particularly at the wildlife, domestic animal and human interfaces. It is therefore essential to integrate animal and public health issues into the veterinary curriculum. Veterinary training in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa has focused on producing veterinarians to serve the livestock sector although socio-economic changes and privatisation of Veterinary Services have caused curriculum adjustments, as have globalisation and the increased risk of the spread of transboundary diseases. In South Africa, undergraduate veterinary training is more clinically oriented than in other regions. Animal and public health issues are covered in the curriculum, although their global relevance is not emphasised. The authors describe the undergraduate veterinary curriculum and summarise post-graduate programmes in South Africa. They also discuss a more comprehensive core-elective approach to the current curriculum and the need to adapt to new challenges facing the profession. Finally, they examine the potential use of innovative technology in undergraduate and post-graduate training and professional development, the importance of regional and international collaboration and the accreditation and recognition of veterinary training.

The WAC Glossary Project: Facilitating Conversations between Composition and WID Faculty in a Unified Writing Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohr, Dennis J.; Rhoades, Georgia

2014-01-01

The Writing Across the Curriculum Program at Appalachian State University, founded in 2008, supports faculty instruction in a vertical writing curriculum which requires two courses in Composition and two in the disciplines, ensuring that students take a dedicated writing course in each year of undergraduate education. To address the challenges of…

Curriculum Analytics: Application of Social Network Analysis for Improving Strategic Curriculum Decision-Making in a Research-Intensive University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawson, Shane; Hubball, Harry

2014-01-01

This paper provides insight into the use of curriculum analytics to enhance learning-centred curricula in diverse higher education contexts. Engagement in evidence-based practice to evaluate and monitor curricula is vital to the success and sustainability of efforts to reform undergraduate and graduate programs. Emerging technology-enabled inquiry…

Social Media and Marketing Education: A Review of Current Practices in Curriculum Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brocato, E. Deanne; White, Nathan James; Bartkus, Kenneth; Brocato, Ashley Ann

2015-01-01

Given the presumed importance of social media to marketing, along with the apparent lack of research concerning social media curriculum development, the purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic analysis of social media curriculum through the evaluation of undergraduate course syllabi in the United States. This research is intended to…

Undergraduate Medical Education and the Elective System: Experience with the Duke Curriculum, 1966-75.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gifford, James F., Jr., Ed.; And Others

In view of increased public demand since 1965 for medical curriculum re-evaluation, the Duke University School of Medicine offered the first new model of medical education responsive to social pressures for change. The new Duke curriculum included presentation by each basic science department of the core of principles and information considered…

Moral Philosophy in a Social Scientific Age: A Proposal to Reintegrate the Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beuttler, Fred W.

2012-01-01

American higher education has been in almost perpetual crisis for several generations, with students experiencing fragmentation and loss of coherence across the curriculum. Most liberal arts colleges in the 19th century had a required senior course in "moral philosophy" to integrate the curriculum and prepare students for future leadership, but…

Teaching about Climate Change in the Business Curriculum: An Introductory Module and Resource List

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takacs, C. Helen

2013-01-01

Business managers are increasingly engaged with climate change issues, but pedagogy on climate change in the business curriculum is in its infancy. The author addresses the need for greater integration of climate change knowledge in the business curriculum by describing a teaching module for an undergraduate introductory business course and…

A Delicate Balance: An Examination of Lehigh University's Athletic Culture and Athletic Extra-Curriculum, 1866-1998

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Courtney Michelle

2010-01-01

This dissertation examines the history of Lehigh University's athletic culture and extra-curriculum from 1866 to 1998 and argues that both of those institutions served as the basis for identity within the undergraduate student body. Additionally, this dissertation argues that the athletic culture and extra-curriculum established Lehigh's identity…

"Making Connections" at the University of North Carolina: Moving toward a Global Curriculum at a Flagship Research University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Jay M.; Kruse, Julia

2009-01-01

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has reformed its undergraduate curriculum to create connections across disciplines and advance efforts to internationalize its campus. As a result, global issues, experiential learning, study abroad, and international course clusters have become an integral part of a curriculum that emphasizes…

Biotechnology by Design: An Introductory Level, Project-Based, Synthetic Biology Laboratory Program for Undergraduate Students†

PubMed Central

Beach, Dale L.; Alvarez, Consuelo J.

2015-01-01

Synthetic biology offers an ideal opportunity to promote undergraduate laboratory courses with research-style projects, immersing students in an inquiry-based program that enhances the experience of the scientific process. We designed a semester-long, project-based laboratory curriculum using synthetic biology principles to develop a novel sensory device. Students develop subject matter knowledge of molecular genetics and practical skills relevant to molecular biology, recombinant DNA techniques, and information literacy. During the spring semesters of 2014 and 2015, the Synthetic Biology Laboratory Project was delivered to sophomore genetics courses. Using a cloning strategy based on standardized BioBrick genetic “parts,” students construct a “reporter plasmid” expressing a reporter gene (GFP) controlled by a hybrid promoter regulated by the lac-repressor protein (lacI). In combination with a “sensor plasmid,” the production of the reporter phenotype is inhibited in the presence of a target environmental agent, arabinose. When arabinose is absent, constitutive GFP expression makes cells glow green. But the presence of arabinose activates a second promoter (pBAD) to produce a lac-repressor protein that will inhibit GFP production. Student learning was assessed relative to five learning objectives, using a student survey administered at the beginning (pre-survey) and end (post-survey) of the course, and an additional 15 open-ended questions from five graded Progress Report assignments collected throughout the course. Students demonstrated significant learning gains (p < 0.05) for all learning outcomes. Ninety percent of students indicated that the Synthetic Biology Laboratory Project enhanced their understanding of molecular genetics. The laboratory project is highly adaptable for both introductory and advanced courses. PMID:26753032

Extra-Curricular Undergraduate Research Training: Notes on the Pedagogical Practices behind the Sydney Undergraduate Journal of Musicology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coady, Christopher; Nelson, Kathleen

2013-01-01

Although there is a clear body of evidence supporting the idea that undergraduate students benefit from participation in original research projects, many units of study--particularly in the creative arts and humanities--have been slow to embrace curriculum renewal along these lines. In this paper, we detail a pragmatic approach to meeting this…

Analysing the Correlation between Secondary Mathematics Curriculum Change and Trends in Beginning Undergraduates' Performance of Basic Mathematical Skills in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treacy, Páraic; Faulkner, Fiona; Prendergast, Mark

2016-01-01

The phenomenon in which students enter university under-prepared for the mathematical demands of their undergraduate courses, regularly referred to as the 'Maths Problem', has been widely reported in Ireland, UK, Australia, and the US. This issue has been of particular concern in Ireland recently, with beginning undergraduates' performance of…

Minority Status and Privilege in the Academy: The Importance of Race, Gender, and Socialization Practices for Undergraduates, Graduate Students and Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rios, Desdamona

2010-01-01

This dissertation examines socialization practices in the academy in three separate studies. The first study considers the general absence of women in mainstream undergraduate curriculum and examines the influence of introducing women exemplars into an undergraduate political psychology course that is not identified as "Women's Studies." The…

The Core Curricula of Information Systems Undergraduate Programs: A Survey of AACSB-Accredited Colleges in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Samuel C.

2016-01-01

The author examines the present state of information systems undergraduate programs in the United States. He reviewed 516 institutions and collected data on 234 institutions offering information systems (IS) undergraduate programs. Of seven core courses required by the IS 2010 curriculum model, four are required by more than 50% of the programs,…

Scientific Teaching: Defining a Taxonomy of Observable Practices

PubMed Central

Couch, Brian A.; Brown, Tanya L.; Schelpat, Tyler J.; Graham, Mark J.; Knight, Jennifer K.

2015-01-01

Over the past several decades, numerous reports have been published advocating for changes to undergraduate science education. These national calls inspired the formation of the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology (SI), a group of regional workshops to help faculty members learn and implement interactive teaching methods. The SI curriculum promotes a pedagogical framework called Scientific Teaching (ST), which aims to bring the vitality of modern research into the classroom by engaging students in the scientific discovery process and using student data to inform the ongoing development of teaching methods. With the spread of ST, the need emerges to systematically define its components in order to establish a common description for education researchers and practitioners. We describe the development of a taxonomy detailing ST’s core elements and provide data from classroom observations and faculty surveys in support of its applicability within undergraduate science courses. The final taxonomy consists of 15 pedagogical goals and 37 supporting practices, specifying observable behaviors, artifacts, and features associated with ST. This taxonomy will support future educational efforts by providing a framework for researchers studying the processes and outcomes of ST-based course transformations as well as a concise guide for faculty members developing classes. PMID:25713097

Getting to the core of medicine: Developing undergraduate forensic medicine and pathology teaching.

PubMed

Jones, Richard Martin

2017-11-01

Teaching and learning of forensic medicine and pathology in the undergraduate medical curriculum has been in decline for decades in the UK, and yet graduates are expected to be able to recognise, and protect, those who are most vulnerable in society - i.e. at risk of abuse or neglect - a matter highly relevant to the role of the forensic medical practitioner. When Cardiff University School of Medicine created a new 'learner-centred' undergraduate curriculum, championing case-based discussion in small groups, and earlier clinical contact, residual teaching on 'the pathology of trauma' disappeared. An opportunity to create a new course for the year 3 core curriculum, however, led to re-emergence of forensic medicine and pathology, with a focus on identification, and protection, of the 'vulnerable patient'. This paper describes the development process of the first two iterations of that course, and the influence of 'listening to the student voice'. Forensic medicine and pathology remain relevant in undergraduate medical education; effective, and ethical, safeguarding of the vulnerable is an essential 'core' skill of the modern medical graduate, and forensic medical practitioners can play an integral role in the preparation of medical students for their future clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Teaching post-mortem external examination in undergraduate medical education--the formal and the informal curriculum.

PubMed

Anders, Sven; Fischer-Bruegge, Dorothee; Fabian, Merle; Raupach, Tobias; Petersen-Ewert, Corinna; Harendza, Sigrid

2011-07-15

In undergraduate medical education, the training of post-mortem external examination on dead bodies might evoke strong emotional reactions in medical students that could counteract the intended learning goals. We evaluated student perception of a forensic medicine course, their perceived learning outcome (via self-assessment) and possible tutor-dependent influences on the overall evaluation of the course by a questionnaire-based survey among 150 medical students in Hamburg, Germany. The majority of students identified post-mortem external examination as an important learning objective in undergraduate medical education and did not feel that the dignity of the deceased was offended by the course procedures. After the course, more than 70% of the students felt able to perform an external examination and to fill in a death certificate. Respectful behavior of course tutors towards the deceased entailed better overall course ratings by students (p<0.001). Our findings highlight the importance of factors such as clearly defined learning goals and course standardization (formal curriculum) as well as tutor behavior (informal curriculum) in undergraduate education in forensic medicine. Furthermore, we suggest embedding teaching in forensic medicine in longitudinal curricula on death and dying and on the health consequences of interpersonal violence. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Mini-array" transcriptional analysis of the Listeria monocytogenes lecithinase operon as a class project: A student investigative molecular biology laboratory experience*.

PubMed

Christensen, Douglas; Jovic, Marko

2006-05-01

This report describes a molecular biotechnology-based laboratory curriculum developed to accompany an undergraduate genetics course. During the course of a semester, students researched the pathogen, developed a research question, designed experiments, and performed transcriptional analysis of a set of genes that confer virulence to the food-borne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. Gene fragments were amplified via PCR and utilized in "mini-arrays," a dot-blot-based format suitable for the simultaneous transcriptional analysis of multiple genes. The project provides exposure to a wide range of molecular techniques and can be easily modified for variations in class size. Data are generated at various steps of the process, allowing for student interpretation, troubleshooting, and assessment opportunities. Copyright © 2006 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Investigating introductory astronomy students' perceived impacts from participation in course-based undergraduate research experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wooten, Michelle M.; Coble, Kim; Puckett, Andrew W.; Rector, Travis

2018-06-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] This study investigates students' perceived impacts regarding their participation in course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in astronomy. Each research experience adopted one or more projects from the Research Based Science Education for Undergraduates (RBSEU) curriculum, which teaches analysis of astronomical data coming from various national observatories. Participating students were enrolled in introductory astronomy courses at one of four universities using the curriculum. They were invited to respond to several instruments, including surveys (N =199 ), essays (N =94 ), and interviews (N =19 ). Each university implemented the curriculum differently with respect to content covered, length of instruction, and whether students' research results were contributed to the astronomical community. We found that participation in all versions of the curriculum had the potential to significantly increase students' perceived confidence participating in science. However, participation in experiences wherein results were contributed to the scientific community more often led to students' nuanced perceptions of science processes, including increased understanding of the role of analysis and the utility of scientific communities and collaborations. We frame our study according to a pathway model under study by discipline-based education researchers of CUREs and explore our findings' connections with psychological theories.

An evaluation of methods used to teach quality improvement to undergraduate healthcare students to inform curriculum development within preregistration nurse education: a protocol for systematic review and narrative synthesis.

PubMed

Armstrong, Lorraine; Lauder, William; Shepherd, Ashley

2015-01-14

Despite criticism, quality improvement (QI) continues to drive political and educational priorities within health care. Until recently, QI educational interventions have varied, targeting mainly postgraduates, middle management and the medical profession. However, there is now consensus within the UK, USA and beyond to integrate QI explicitly into nurse education, and faculties may require redesign of their QI curriculum to achieve this. Whilst growth in QI preregistration nurse education is emerging, little empirical evidence exists to determine such effects. Furthermore, previous healthcare studies evaluating QI educational interventions lend little in the way of support and have instead been subject to criticism. They reveal methodological weakness such as no reporting of theoretical underpinnings, insufficient intervention description, poor evaluation methods, little clinical or patient impact and lack of sustainability. This study aims therefore to identify, evaluate and synthesise teaching methods used within the undergraduate population to aid development of QI curriculum within preregistration nurse education. A systematic review of the literature will be conducted. Electronic databases, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Psychological Information (PsychINFO), Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), will be searched alongside reference list scanning and a grey literature search. Peer-reviewed studies from 2000-2014 will be identified using key terms quality improvement, education, curriculum, training, undergraduate, teaching methods, students and evaluation. Studies describing a QI themed educational intervention aimed at undergraduate healthcare students will be included and data extracted using a modified version of the Reporting of Primary Studies in Education (REPOSE) Guidelines. Studies will be judged for quality and relevance using the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre's (EPPI) Weight of Evidence framework and a narrative synthesis of the findings provided. This study aims to identify, evaluate and synthesise the teaching methods used in quality improvement education for undergraduate healthcare students where currently this is lacking. This will enable nursing faculty to adopt the most effective methods when developing QI education within their curriculum. Prospero CRD42014013847.

Online Interactive Teaching Modules Enhance Quantitative Proficiency of Introductory Biology Students

PubMed Central

Nelson, Kären C.; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Keller, Michael; Fagan, William F.

2010-01-01

There is widespread agreement within the scientific and education communities that undergraduate biology curricula fall short in providing students with the quantitative and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills they need to obtain a deep understanding of biological phenomena and be prepared fully to contribute to future scientific inquiry. MathBench Biology Modules were designed to address these needs through a series of interactive, Web-based modules that can be used to supplement existing course content across the biological sciences curriculum. The effect of the modules was assessed in an introductory biology course at the University of Maryland. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant increases in quantitative skills that were independent of previous math course work. Students also showed increased comfort with solving quantitative problems, whether or not they ultimately arrived at the correct answer. A survey of spring 2009 graduates indicated that those who had experienced MathBench in their course work had a greater appreciation for the role of mathematics in modern biology than those who had not used MathBench. MathBench modules allow students from diverse educational backgrounds to hone their quantitative skills, preparing them for more complex mathematical approaches in upper-division courses. PMID:20810959

Learning Each Other's Ropes: Negotiating Interdisciplinary Authenticity

PubMed Central

Redish, Edward F.; Cooke, Todd J.

2013-01-01

A common feature of the recent calls for reform of the undergraduate biology curriculum has been for better coordination between biology and the courses from the allied disciplines of mathematics, chemistry, and physics. Physics has lagged behind math and chemistry in creating new, biologically oriented curricula, although much activity is now taking place, and significant progress is being made. In this essay, we consider a case study: a multiyear conversation between a physicist interested in adapting his physics course for biologists (E.F.R.) and a biologist interested in including more physics in his biology course (T.J.C.). These extended discussions have led us both to a deeper understanding of each other's discipline and to significant changes in the way we each think about and present our classes. We discuss two examples in detail: the creation of a physics problem on fluid flow for a biology class and the creation of a biologically authentic physics problem on scaling and dimensional analysis. In each case, we see differences in how the two disciplines frame and see value in the tasks. We conclude with some generalizations about how biology and physics look at the world differently that help us navigate the minefield of counterproductive stereotypical responses. PMID:23737626

Online interactive teaching modules enhance quantitative proficiency of introductory biology students.

PubMed

Thompson, Katerina V; Nelson, Kären C; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Keller, Michael; Fagan, William F

2010-01-01

There is widespread agreement within the scientific and education communities that undergraduate biology curricula fall short in providing students with the quantitative and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills they need to obtain a deep understanding of biological phenomena and be prepared fully to contribute to future scientific inquiry. MathBench Biology Modules were designed to address these needs through a series of interactive, Web-based modules that can be used to supplement existing course content across the biological sciences curriculum. The effect of the modules was assessed in an introductory biology course at the University of Maryland. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant increases in quantitative skills that were independent of previous math course work. Students also showed increased comfort with solving quantitative problems, whether or not they ultimately arrived at the correct answer. A survey of spring 2009 graduates indicated that those who had experienced MathBench in their course work had a greater appreciation for the role of mathematics in modern biology than those who had not used MathBench. MathBench modules allow students from diverse educational backgrounds to hone their quantitative skills, preparing them for more complex mathematical approaches in upper-division courses.

Ethics education in research involving human beings in undergraduate medicine curriculum in Brazil.

PubMed

Novaes, Maria Rita Garbi; Guilhem, Dirce; Barragan, Elena; Mennin, Stewart

2013-12-01

The Brazilian national curriculum guidelines for undergraduate medicine courses inspired and influenced the groundwork for knowledge acquisition, skills development and the perception of ethical values in the context of professional conduct. The evaluation of ethics education in research involving human beings in undergraduate medicine curriculum in Brazil, both in courses with active learning processes and in those with traditional lecture learning methodologies. Curricula and teaching projects of 175 Brazilian medical schools were analyzed using a retrospective historical and descriptive exploratory cohort study. Thirty one medical schools were excluded from the study because of incomplete information or a refusal to participate. Active research for information from institutional sites and documents was guided by terms based on 69 DeCS/MeSH descriptors. Curriculum information was correlated with educational models of learning such as active learning methodologies, tutorial discussions with integrated curriculum into core modules, and traditional lecture learning methodologies for large classes organized by disciplines and reviewed by occurrence frequency of ethical themes and average hourly load per semester. Ninety-five medical schools used traditional learning methodologies. The ten most frequent ethical themes were: 1--ethics in research (26); 2--ethical procedures and advanced technology (46); 3--ethic-professional conduct (413). Over 80% of schools using active learning methodologies had between 50 and 100 hours of scheduled curriculum time devoted to ethical themes whereas more than 60% of traditional learning methodology schools devoted less than 50 hours in curriculum time to ethical themes. The data indicates that medical schools that employ more active learning methodologies provide more attention and time to ethical themes than schools with traditional discipline-based methodologies. Given the importance of ethical issues in contemporary medical education, these findings are significant for curriculum change and modification plans in the future of Brazilian medical education. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An Undergraduate Environmental Science Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gupta, Gian C.

1982-01-01

Describes a curriculum in Environmental Sciences adopted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Includes lists of lower-level courses for the first two years, required courses, and recommended electives. Discusses cooperative education/on-the-job training component, implementation, and evaluation. (Author/JN)

Content Analysis of Research in Undergraduate Medical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimitroff, Alexandra; Davis, Wayne K.

1996-01-01

Analysis of 773 journal articles on undergraduate medical education found curriculum, teaching, and student assessment most frequently discussed, with 45% reporting research activities. Research studies were generally conducted in a naturalistic environment; were evaluative or comparative; used observation, testing, or questionnaires for data…

Undergraduate/Postgraduate Astronomy in Cambridge--A Student's Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Robin

1991-01-01

Described is the undergraduate curriculum in physics and its relationship to astronomy at Cambridge University. Discussed are the astronomical research and research establishments at Cambridge. Personal views of a student on the postgraduate research being done at Cambridge are also included. (KR)

Integrating Leadership Development throughout the Undergraduate Science Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Kelynne E.; Aiello, David P.; Barton, Lance F.; Gould, Stephanie L.; McCain, Karla S.; Richardson, John M.

2016-01-01

This article discusses the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Teaching and Research (STAR) Leadership Program, developed at Austin College, which engages students in activities integrated into undergraduate STEM courses that promote the development of leadership behaviors. Students focus on interpersonal communication,…

Undergraduate Training for Industrial Careers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stehney, Ann K.

1983-01-01

Forty-eight mathematicians in industry, business, and government replied to a questionnaire on the relative merits of the traditional undergraduate curriculum, advanced topics in pure mathematics, computer programing, additional computer science, and specialized or applied topics. They favored programing and applied mathematics, along with a…

Affordable Cyclic Voltammetry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Greg; Kuntzleman, Thomas S.; Amend, John R.; Collins, Michael J.

2009-01-01

Cyclic voltammetry is an important component of the undergraduate chemical curriculum. Unfortunately, undergraduate students rarely have the opportunity to conduct experiments in cyclic voltammetry owing to the high cost of potentiostats, which are required to control these experiments. By using MicroLab data acquisition interfaces in conjunction…

A Tiered Mentoring Model of Exposing and Engaging Students with Research Throughout the Undergraduate Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerard, J.; Hayes, S. M.

2015-12-01

Incorporating research into undergraduate curricula has been linked to improved critical thinking, intellectual independence, and student retention, resulting in a graduating population more ready for the workforce or graduate school. We have designed a three-tier model of undergraduate chemistry courses that enable first-year students with no previous research experience to gain the skills needed to develop, fund and execute independent research projects by the close of their undergraduate studies. First-year students are provided with context through a broadly focused introductory class that exposes them to current faculty research activities, and also gives them direct experience with the research process through peer mentored research teams as they participate in faculty-directed projects. Mid-career undergraduate students receive exposure and support in two formats: illustrative examples from current faculty research are incorporated into lessons in core classes, and courses specially designed to foster research independence. This is done by providing content and process mentoring as students develop independent projects, write proposals, and build relationships with faculty and graduate students in research groups. Advanced undergraduates further develop their research independence performing student-designed projects with faculty collaboration that frequently result in tangible research products. Further, graduate students gain experience in mentoring though formal training, as well as through actively mentoring mid-career undergraduates. This novel, integrated approach enables faculty to directly incorporate their research into all levels of the undergraduate curriculum while fostering undergraduates in developing and executing independent projects and empowering mentoring relationships.

Technosciences in Academia: Rethinking a Conceptual Framework for Bioinformatics Undergraduate Curricula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Symeonidis, Iphigenia Sofia

This paper aims to elucidate guiding concepts for the design of powerful undergraduate bioinformatics degrees which will lead to a conceptual framework for the curriculum. "Powerful" here should be understood as having truly bioinformatics objectives rather than enrichment of existing computer science or life science degrees on which bioinformatics degrees are often based. As such, the conceptual framework will be one which aims to demonstrate intellectual honesty in regards to the field of bioinformatics. A synthesis/conceptual analysis approach was followed as elaborated by Hurd (1983). The approach takes into account the following: bioinfonnatics educational needs and goals as expressed by different authorities, five undergraduate bioinformatics degrees case-studies, educational implications of bioinformatics as a technoscience and approaches to curriculum design promoting interdisciplinarity and integration. Given these considerations, guiding concepts emerged and a conceptual framework was elaborated. The practice of bioinformatics was given a closer look, which led to defining tool-integration skills and tool-thinking capacity as crucial areas of the bioinformatics activities spectrum. It was argued, finally, that a process-based curriculum as a variation of a concept-based curriculum (where the concepts are processes) might be more conducive to the teaching of bioinformatics given a foundational first year of integrated science education as envisioned by Bialek and Botstein (2004). Furthermore, the curriculum design needs to define new avenues of communication and learning which bypass the traditional disciplinary barriers of academic settings as undertaken by Tador and Tidmor (2005) for graduate studies.

Evaluating the Critical Thinking Skills and Academic Characteristics of Undergraduate Students at Two Post-Secondary Institutions Utilizing Two Different Curriculum Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hepner, Michael Robert

2012-01-01

This mixed methods study compared the critical thinking skills of students at two post-secondary education institutions that utilize two different curriculum models. A contemporary institution that offers a core curriculum and degree specialization (majors) was contrasted with a Great Books school that utilizes a canon of primary sources and…

Predicting Undergraduates' Academic Achievement: The Role of the Curriculum, Time Investment and Self-Regulated Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torenbeek, Marjolein; Jansen, Ellen; Suhre, Cor

2013-01-01

The time students invest in their studies and their resulting achievement is partly dependent on curriculum characteristics. Degree programmes differ greatly with respect to how the curriculum is organized, for example in the type (e.g. lectures, practicals) and the number of classes. The focus of this study is on the relationships between…

Enhancing interdisciplinary, mathematics, and physical science in an undergraduate life science program through physical chemistry.

PubMed

Pursell, David P

2009-01-01

BIO2010 advocates enhancing the interdisciplinary, mathematics, and physical science components of the undergraduate biology curriculum. The Department of Chemistry and Life Science at West Point responded by developing a required physical chemistry course tailored to the interests of life science majors. To overcome student resistance to physical chemistry, students were enabled as long-term stakeholders who would shape the syllabus by selecting life science topics of interest to them. The initial 2 yr of assessment indicates that students have a positive view of the course, feel they have succeeded in achieving course outcome goals, and that the course is relevant to their professional future. Instructor assessment of student outcome goal achievement via performance on exams and labs is comparable to that of students in traditional physical chemistry courses. Perhaps more noteworthy, both student and instructor assessment indicate positive trends from year 1 to year 2, presumably due to the student stakeholder effect.

Enhancing Interdisciplinary, Mathematics, and Physical Science in an Undergraduate Life Science Program through Physical Chemistry

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

BIO2010 advocates enhancing the interdisciplinary, mathematics, and physical science components of the undergraduate biology curriculum. The Department of Chemistry and Life Science at West Point responded by developing a required physical chemistry course tailored to the interests of life science majors. To overcome student resistance to physical chemistry, students were enabled as long-term stakeholders who would shape the syllabus by selecting life science topics of interest to them. The initial 2 yr of assessment indicates that students have a positive view of the course, feel they have succeeded in achieving course outcome goals, and that the course is relevant to their professional future. Instructor assessment of student outcome goal achievement via performance on exams and labs is comparable to that of students in traditional physical chemistry courses. Perhaps more noteworthy, both student and instructor assessment indicate positive trends from year 1 to year 2, presumably due to the student stakeholder effect. PMID:19255133

The inclusion of LGBT+ health issues within undergraduate healthcare education and professional training programmes: A systematic review.

PubMed

McCann, Edward; Brown, Michael

2018-05-01

An inclusive health curriculum within undergraduate and continuing professional development programmes (CPD) should include issues related to people whom identify as LGBT+. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the education and training requirements of undergraduate students and health professionals regarding the inclusion of LGBT+ health issues. A systematic review of the available published empirical studies. A systematic literature search was undertaken of the following databases: CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and Sociological Abstracts. All papers reviewed were from the years 2007 to 2017 and written in English. Three research questions informing the literature review were: (i) What are the education and training requirements of undergraduate students and health professionals regarding the health needs of LGBT+ people? (ii) What are the approaches utilized in the education and training of undergraduate students and health professionals regarding the health needs of LGBT+ people? (iii) What are the best practice examples of the education and training of undergraduate students and health professionals? Following the application of definitive criteria, 22 papers were included in the review. Quality appraisal and data extraction was undertaken by the two authors. The 22 papers were reviewed in detail in the final data analysis and synthesis where four main themes were identified: (1) Cultural competence and inclusivity. (2) Existing knowledge of LGBT+ health-related issues. (3) Curriculum developments and outcomes. (4) Evidence of best practice in education delivery. The review highlights the importance of the inclusion of LGBT+ health-related issues within the health curriculum and continuing professional development programmes and the implications for education and training, clinical practice and research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient-based cultural competency curriculum for pre-health professionals.

PubMed

Melamed, Esther; Wyatt, Lacey E; Padilla, Tony; Ferry, Robert J

2008-01-01

The diverse US population requires medical cultural competency education for health providers throughout their pre-professional and professional years. We present a curriculum to train pre-health professional undergraduates by combining classroom education in the humanities and cross-cultural communication skills with volunteer clinical experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) hospital. The course was open to a maximum of 15 UCLA junior and senior undergraduate students with a pre-health or humanities major and was held in the spring quarters of 2002--2004. The change in students' knowledge of cultural competency was evaluated using the Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture Quiz (QCQ) and through students' written assignments and evaluations. Trainees displayed a statistically significant improvement in scores on the QCQ. Participants' written assignments and subjective evaluations confirmed an improvement in awareness and a high motivation to continue learning at the graduate level. This is the first evaluated undergraduate curriculum that integrates interdisciplinary cultural competency training with patient volunteering in the medical field. The didactic, volunteering, and writing components of the course comprise a broadly applicable tool for training future health care providers at other institutions.

Periodontology in the undergraduate curriculum in UK dental schools.

PubMed

Heasman, P A; Witter, J; Preshaw, P M

2015-07-10

In 1980 the British Society of Periodontology published a series of educational goals which have guided periodontal curricula at UK dental schools. Further, a survey of UK dental schools evaluated aspects of teaching and learning in periodontology. The aims of this project were to identify teaching practices and assessments in periodontology and best practice which may be developed in the future. A questionnaire was sent to dental schools who had participated in the previous survey. The questionnaire sought information on aspects of teaching and learning in periodontology: teaching manpower, curriculum structure, assessment, research opportunities for students and whether implantology is delivered in the undergraduate curriculum. There is consistency between the education providers with respect to teaching and learning in periodontology. Most are developing integrated learning between dental undergraduates and members of the dental team although there are opportunities for further development. Students are expected to have knowledge of complex treatments but are not expected to be competent at undertaking periodontal surgery nor placing and restoring implants. The findings confirm that there is considerable consistency between the education providers with respect to aspects of teaching and learning in periodontology.

Evaluation of a new community-based curriculum in disaster medicine for undergraduates.

PubMed

Bajow, Nidaa; Djalali, Ahmadreza; Ingrassia, Pier Luigi; Ragazzoni, Luca; Ageely, Hussein; Bani, Ibrahim; Corte, Francesco Della

2016-08-26

Nowadays, many medical schools include training in disaster medicine in undergraduate studies. This study evaluated the efficacy of a disaster medicine curriculum recently designed for Saudi Arabian medical students. Participants were 15 male and 14 female students in their fourth, fifth or sixth year at Jazan University Medical School, Saudi Arabia. The course was held at the Research Center in Emergency and Disaster Medicine and Computer Sciences Applied to the Medical Practice in Novara, Italy. The overall mean score on a test given before the course was 41.0 % and it increased to 67.7 % on the post-test (Wilcoxon test for paired samples: z = 4.71, p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences between the mean scores of males and females, or between students in their fourth, fifth or sixth year of medical school. These results show that this curriculum is effective for teaching disaster medicine to undergraduate medical students. Adoption of this course would help to increase the human resources available for dealing with disaster situations.

Not left to chance: introducing an undergraduate interprofessional education curriculum.

PubMed

Pardue, Karen T

2013-01-01

Teaching diverse health profession students to work in teams, communicate, understand each other's roles and responsibilities, and effectively collaborate is imperative for creating a practice-ready workforce. This short report introduces an innovative undergraduate interprofessional curriculum for students enrolled in the baccalaureate majors of applied exercise science, athletic training, dental hygiene, nursing and pre-occupational therapy. The process of designing this program of study, guided by the method of appreciative inquiry, is highlighted. The format and learning activities created for this novel curriculum are described. Congruence for this endeavor is explored through alignment with the recent national Interprofessional Education Collaborative expert panel report. Preparing graduates to fulfill the dual identity of discipline-specific clinician and interprofessional team member is an essential curricular consideration for contemporary health profession education.

The longitudinal curriculum "social and communicative competencies" within Bologna-reformed undergraduate medical education in Basel

PubMed Central

Kiessling, Claudia; Langewitz, Wolf

2013-01-01

Background: Within the Bologna reform, a longitudinal curriculum of “social and communicative competencies” (SOKO) was implemented into the new Bachelor-Master structure of undergraduate medical education in Basel (Switzerland). Project description: The aim of the SOKO curriculum is to enable students to use techniques of patient-centred communication to elicit and provide information to patients in order to involve them as informed partners in decision making processes. The SOKO curriculum consists of 57 lessons for the individual student from the first bachelor year to the first master year. Teaching encompasses lectures and small group learning. Didactic methods include role play, video feedback, and consultations with simulated and real patients. Summative assessment takes place in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE). Conclusion: In Basel, a longitudinal SOKO curriculum based on students’ cumulative learning was successfully implemented. Goals and contents were coordinated with the remaining curriculum and are regularly assessed in OSCEs. At present, most of the workload rests on the shoulders of the department of psychosomatic medicine at the university hospital. For the curriculum to be successful in the long-term, sustainable structures need to be instituted at the medical faculty and the university hospital to guarantee high quality teaching and assessment. PMID:24062811

The Impact of a Required Undergraduate Health and Wellness Course on Students' Awareness and Knowledge of Physical Activity and Chronic Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuruganti, Usha

2014-01-01

As part of the undergraduate curriculum, the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) requires all students to take an undergraduate course in physical activity, health and wellness in their third year of study. This capstone course allows students to integrate concepts from their program regarding physical activity,…

Space Physiology within an Exercise Physiology Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Jason R.; West, John B.

2013-01-01

Compare and contrast strategies remain common pedagogical practices within physiological education. With the support of an American Physiological Society Teaching Career Enhancement Award, we have developed a junior- or senior-level undergraduate curriculum for exercise physiology that compares and contrasts the physiological adaptations of…

Design-Oriented Enhanced Robotics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yilmaz, M.; Ozcelik, S.; Yilmazer, N.; Nekovei, R.

2013-01-01

This paper presents an innovative two-course, laboratory-based, and design-oriented robotics educational model. The robotics curriculum exposed senior-level undergraduate students to major robotics concepts, and enhanced the student learning experience in hybrid learning environments by incorporating the IEEE Region-5 annual robotics competition…

Planning, Teaching, and Assessing Elementary Education Interdisciplinary Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Cynthia; Henning, Mary Beth

2010-01-01

This paper describes an innovative teaching collaboration between two university professors to prepare undergraduate preservice teachers for planning, designing, and assessing interdisciplinary curriculum. Specifically, we were interested in whether deliberate efforts to integrate social studies and assessment methods courses would facilitate our…

Sustainability in Chemical Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glassey, Jarka; Haile, Sue

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a concentrated strategy to embed sustainability teaching into a (chemical) engineering undergraduate curriculum throughout the whole programme. Innovative teaching approaches in subject-specific context are described and their efficiency investigated. Design/methodology/approach: The activities in…

Developing the Undergraduate Curricula For Environmental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, John R.

1976-01-01

Guidelines for the education of environmental health personnel at the associate and baccalaureate levels are presented. Examples of the Ferris State College environmental health curriculum and an operational curriculum which satisfies the Accreditation Council guidelines are detailed. Implications for future environmental health curriculum…

Measurement of Solution Viscosity via Diffusion-Ordered NMR Spectroscopy (DOSY)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Weibin; Kagan, Gerald; Hopson, Russell; Williard, Paul G.

2011-01-01

Increasingly, the undergraduate chemistry curriculum includes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Advanced NMR techniques are often taught including two-dimensional gradient-based experiments. An investigation of intermolecular forces including viscosity, by a variety of methods, is often integrated in the undergraduate physical and…

A Computer Security Course in the Undergraduate Computer Science Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spillman, Richard

1992-01-01

Discusses the importance of computer security and considers criminal, national security, and personal privacy threats posed by security breakdown. Several examples are given, including incidents involving computer viruses. Objectives, content, instructional strategies, resources, and a sample examination for an experimental undergraduate computer…

Pathways over Time: Functional Genomics Research in an Introductory Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reeves, Todd D.; Warner, Douglas M.; Ludlow, Larry H.; O'Connor, Clare M.

2018-01-01

National reports have called for the introduction of research experiences throughout the undergraduate curriculum, but practical implementation at many institutions faces challenges associated with sustainability, cost, and large student populations. We describe a novel course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that introduces…

Introducing Environmental Law in the Undergraduate Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Centner, Terence J.; Geyer, L. Leon

1993-01-01

Discusses the development of an undergraduate environmental law course. Initial considerations in course development include the instruction unit, student needs, choice of instructor, and text. Presents materials covered under categories of pollution prevention, conservation and sustainable systems, land use and local government, and cleanup and…

Encouraging Undergraduate Engineering Students towards Civic Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallen, Matthew R.; Pandit, Abhay S.

2009-01-01

Responding to the calls for teaching "soft skills" within the undergraduate engineering curriculum and for the university to address a perceived decrease in social capital, a programme titled Community Awareness Initiatives Responsibly Directed by Engineers (CAIRDE, an Irish language word meaning "friends") was instituted at…

UK Institutional Responses to Undergraduates' Term-Time Working.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Brenda

2002-01-01

Examines research findings on the impact of working on undergraduate students' experience and academic performance, and considers UK institutions' responses, specifically the establishment of university job-shops and curriculum frameworks that try to "capture" learning derived from work experience. Considers to what extent these…

Peer Learning in an Introductory Programming Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lippert, Susan K.; Granger, Mary J.

The role of Information Systems within organizations is constantly changing. Undergraduates concentrating in Information Systems need to acquire the knowledge and skills to compete in this dynamic arena. The undergraduate curriculum must not only address technical knowledge, but also communications and collaborative skills necessary for…

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of integrating the World Health Organization patient safety curriculum into undergraduate medical education in Pakistan: a qualitative case study.

PubMed

Misbah, Samreen; Mahboob, Usman

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of integrating the World Health Organization (WHO) patient safety curriculum into undergraduate medical education in Pakistan. A qualitative interpretive case study was conducted at Riphah International University, Islamabad, from October 2016 to June 2017. The study included 9 faculty members and 1 expert on patient safety. The interviews were audiotaped, and a thematic analysis of the transcripts was performed using NVivo software. Four themes were derived based on the need analysis model. The sub-themes derived from the collected data were arranged under the themes of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, in accordance with the principles of SWOT analysis. The strengths identified were the need for a formal patient safety curriculum and its early integration into the undergraduate program. The weaknesses were faculty awareness and participation in development programs. The opportunities were an ongoing effort to develop an appropriate curriculum, to improve the current culture of healthcare, and to use the WHO curricular resource guide. The threats were attitudes towards patient safety in Pakistani culture, resistance to implementation from different levels, and the role of regulatory authorities. The theme of patient safety needs to be incorporated early into the formal medical education curriculum, with the main goals of striving to do no harm and seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn. Faculty development activities need to be organized, and faculty members should to be encouraged to participate in them. The lack of a patient safety culture was identified as the primary reason for resistance to this initiative at many levels. The WHO curriculum, amended according to local institutional culture, can be implemented appropriately with support from the corresponding regulatory bodies.

Pros and cons of vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum: examples and experiences from Linköping, Sweden.

PubMed

Dahle, L O; Brynhildsen, J; Behrbohm Fallsberg, M; Rundquist, I; Hammar, M

2002-05-01

Problem-based learning (PBL), combined with early patient contact, multiprofessional education and emphasis on development of communications skills, has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping (FHS), Sweden, which was started in 1986. Important elements in the curriculum are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science parts of the curriculum and horizontal integration between different subject areas. This article discusses the importance of vertical integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to experiences from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping, and also give examples on how it has been implemented during the latest 15 years. Results and views put forward in published articles concerning vertical integration within undergraduate medical education are discussed in relation to the experiences in Linköping. Vertical integration between basic sciences and clinical medicine in a PBL setting has been found to stimulate profound rather than superficial learning, and thereby stimulates better understanding of important biomedical principles. Integration probably leads to better retention of knowledge and the ability to apply basic science principles in the appropriate clinical context. Integration throughout the whole curriculum entails a lot of time and work in respect of planning, organization and execution. The teachers have to be deeply involved and enthusiastic and have to cooperate over departmental borders, which may produce positive spin-off effects in teaching and research but also conflicts that have to be resolved. The authors believe vertical integration supports PBL and stimulates deep and lifelong learning.

Genetic Determinism in the Genetics Curriculum. An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Mendelian and Weldonian Emphases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamieson, Annie; Radick, Gregory

2017-12-01

Twenty-first-century biology rejects genetic determinism, yet an exaggerated view of the power of genes in the making of bodies and minds remains a problem. What accounts for such tenacity? This article reports an exploratory study suggesting that the common reliance on Mendelian examples and concepts at the start of teaching in basic genetics is an eliminable source of support for determinism. Undergraduate students who attended a standard `Mendelian approach' university course in introductory genetics on average showed no change in their determinist views about genes. By contrast, students who attended an alternative course which, inspired by the work of a critic of early Mendelism, W. F. R. Weldon (1860-1906), replaced an emphasis on Mendel's peas with an emphasis on developmental contexts and their role in bringing about phenotypic variability, were less determinist about genes by the end of teaching. Improvements in both the new Weldonian curriculum and the study design are in view for the future.

Life in the Universe: A Multidisciplinary Science Curriculum for Undergraduate Honors Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danly, L.

2004-05-01

Astrobiology provides an excellent framework for an interdisciplinary study of the sciences, especially for non-majors. To be conversant in astrobiology, one must have a basic understanding of astronomy, planetary science, geology, chemistry, biology, and environmental science. To explore the possible futures for life on Earth one must also consider political, economic, and other societal issues. And, as the questions addressed in astrobiology are also profoundly philosophical topics that have been considered by artists and writers of all cultures, the humanities also play an important role. The study of the past, present, and future possibilities for life in the universe, therefore, can offer curricular opportunities for students of all disciplines to have something to share with and something to learn from their peers. This paper describes a three-term curriculum for Honors Program students at the University of Denver that includes, among other innovations, peer learning, student goal/syllabus setting, integration of University of Denver faculty research programs, and community service.

Graduates from a traditional medical curriculum evaluate the effectiveness of their medical curriculum through interviews.

PubMed

Watmough, Simon; O'Sullivan, Helen; Taylor, David

2009-10-26

In 1996 The University of Liverpool reformed its medical course from a traditional lecture-based course to an integrated PBL curriculum. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. Part of this project has involved gathering retrospective views on the relevance of both types of undergraduate education according to graduates. This paper focuses on the views of traditional Liverpool graduates approximately 6 years after graduation. From February 2006 to June 2006 interviews took place with 46 graduates from the last 2 cohorts to graduate from the traditional Liverpool curriculum. The graduates were generally happy with their undergraduate education although they did feel there were some flaws in their curriculum. They felt they had picked up good history and examination skills and were content with their exposure to different specialties on clinical attachments. They were also pleased with their basic science teaching as preparation for postgraduate exams, however many complained about the overload and irrelevance of many lectures in the early years of their course, particular in biochemistry. There were many different views about how they integrated this science teaching into understanding disease processes and many didn't feel it was made relevant to them at the time they learned it. Retrospectively, they felt that they hadn't been clinically well prepared for the role of working as junior doctor, particularly the practical aspects of the job nor had enough exposure to research skills. Although there was little communication skills training in their course they didn't feel they would have benefited from this training as they managed to pick up had the required skills on clinical attachments. These interviews offer a historical snapshot of the views of graduates from a traditional course before many courses were reformed. There was some conflict in the interviews about the doctors enjoying their undergraduate education but then saying that they didn't feel they received good preparation for working as a junior doctor. Although the graduates were happy with their undergraduate education these interviews do highlight some of the reasons why the traditional curriculum was reformed at Liverpool.

A Hierarchical Biology Concept Framework: A Tool for Course Design

PubMed Central

Khodor, Julia; Halme, Dina Gould; Walker, Graham C.

2004-01-01

A typical undergraduate biology curriculum covers a very large number of concepts and details. We describe the development of a Biology Concept Framework (BCF) as a possible way to organize this material to enhance teaching and learning. Our BCF is hierarchical, places details in context, nests related concepts, and articulates concepts that are inherently obvious to experts but often difficult for novices to grasp. Our BCF is also cross-referenced, highlighting interconnections between concepts. We have found our BCF to be a versatile tool for design, evaluation, and revision of course goals and materials. There has been a call for creating Biology Concept Inventories, multiple-choice exams that test important biology concepts, analogous to those in physics, astronomy, and chemistry. We argue that the community of researchers and educators must first reach consensus about not only what concepts are important to test, but also how the concepts should be organized and how that organization might influence teaching and learning. We think that our BCF can serve as a catalyst for community-wide discussion on organizing the vast number of concepts in biology, as a model for others to formulate their own BCFs and as a contribution toward the creation of a comprehensive BCF. PMID:15257339

A transformative model for undergraduate quantitative biology education.

PubMed

Usher, David C; Driscoll, Tobin A; Dhurjati, Prasad; Pelesko, John A; Rossi, Louis F; Schleiniger, Gilberto; Pusecker, Kathleen; White, Harold B

2010-01-01

The BIO2010 report recommended that students in the life sciences receive a more rigorous education in mathematics and physical sciences. The University of Delaware approached this problem by (1) developing a bio-calculus section of a standard calculus course, (2) embedding quantitative activities into existing biology courses, and (3) creating a new interdisciplinary major, quantitative biology, designed for students interested in solving complex biological problems using advanced mathematical approaches. To develop the bio-calculus sections, the Department of Mathematical Sciences revised its three-semester calculus sequence to include differential equations in the first semester and, rather than using examples traditionally drawn from application domains that are most relevant to engineers, drew models and examples heavily from the life sciences. The curriculum of the B.S. degree in Quantitative Biology was designed to provide students with a solid foundation in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, with an emphasis on preparation for research careers in life sciences. Students in the program take core courses from biology, chemistry, and physics, though mathematics, as the cornerstone of all quantitative sciences, is given particular prominence. Seminars and a capstone course stress how the interplay of mathematics and biology can be used to explain complex biological systems. To initiate these academic changes required the identification of barriers and the implementation of solutions.

A Transformative Model for Undergraduate Quantitative Biology Education

PubMed Central

Driscoll, Tobin A.; Dhurjati, Prasad; Pelesko, John A.; Rossi, Louis F.; Schleiniger, Gilberto; Pusecker, Kathleen; White, Harold B.

2010-01-01

The BIO2010 report recommended that students in the life sciences receive a more rigorous education in mathematics and physical sciences. The University of Delaware approached this problem by (1) developing a bio-calculus section of a standard calculus course, (2) embedding quantitative activities into existing biology courses, and (3) creating a new interdisciplinary major, quantitative biology, designed for students interested in solving complex biological problems using advanced mathematical approaches. To develop the bio-calculus sections, the Department of Mathematical Sciences revised its three-semester calculus sequence to include differential equations in the first semester and, rather than using examples traditionally drawn from application domains that are most relevant to engineers, drew models and examples heavily from the life sciences. The curriculum of the B.S. degree in Quantitative Biology was designed to provide students with a solid foundation in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, with an emphasis on preparation for research careers in life sciences. Students in the program take core courses from biology, chemistry, and physics, though mathematics, as the cornerstone of all quantitative sciences, is given particular prominence. Seminars and a capstone course stress how the interplay of mathematics and biology can be used to explain complex biological systems. To initiate these academic changes required the identification of barriers and the implementation of solutions. PMID:20810949

Scaling Up: Adapting a Phage-Hunting Course to Increase Participation of First-Year Students in Research.

PubMed

Staub, Nancy L; Poxleitner, Marianne; Braley, Amanda; Smith-Flores, Helen; Pribbenow, Christine M; Jaworski, Leslie; Lopatto, David; Anders, Kirk R

2016-01-01

Authentic research experiences are valuable components of effective undergraduate education. Research experiences during the first years of college are especially critical to increase persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) model provides a high-impact research experience to first-year students but is usually available to a limited number of students, and its implementation is costly in faculty time and laboratory space. To offer a research experience to all students taking introductory biology at Gonzaga University (n = 350/yr), we modified the traditional two-semester SEA-PHAGES course by streamlining the first-semester Phage Discovery lab and integrating the second SEA-PHAGES semester into other courses in the biology curriculum. Because most students in the introductory course are not biology majors, the Phage Discovery semester may be their only encounter with research. To discover whether students benefit from the first semester alone, we assessed the effects of the one-semester Phage Discovery course on students' understanding of course content. Specifically, students showed improvement in knowledge of bacteriophages, lab math skills, and understanding experimental design and interpretation. They also reported learning gains and benefits comparable with other course-based research experiences. Responses to open-ended questions suggest that students experienced this course as a true undergraduate research experience. © 2016 N. L. Staub et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Critical Visual Literacy: Multimodal Communication across the Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duffelmeyer, Barb Blakely; Ellertson, Anthony

2005-01-01

"Critical Visual Literacy: Multimodal Communication Across the Curriculum" makes the case for expanding the pedagogical space and communication possibilities in undergraduate communication-intensive and linked (learning community) courses by allowing students to create multimodal texts that deal with civic and cultural and/or discipline…

Planning for Curriculum Development in Independent Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleiber, Pamela B.; Zhu, Lillian

1995-01-01

The strategic planning process of the University System of Georgia Independent Study program includes assessment of undergraduate curriculum, credit equivalency, and enrollment rate; nationwide, faculty, and student surveys on technology in course delivery; and environmental scanning. Negotiation of various interests is an important part. (SK)

Can Diversity in the Undergraduate Engineering Population BE Enhanced Through Curricular Change?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busch-Vishniac, Ilene J.; Jarosz, Jeffrey P.

The lack of diversity in the engineering workforce is a persistent problem, with no signs of pending improvement. The situation continues despite a serious technical workforce shortage in the United States. Efforts to promote diversity in the student body in U.S. engineering schools, such as industrial partnerships, academic services, and the establishment of social networks, have produced modest gains. The authors intend to pursue a distinctly different approach to the problem of encouraging a diverse engineering student population, one that focuses on the curriculum. This study reviews curricular innovations attempted to date as a basis for rebuilding the undergraduate engineering curriculum from the ground up. The goal is to produce a curriculum that retains the salient technical material but enhances the link between fundamentals and applications, reduces critical path lengths in the course sequence, introduces team experiences into all courses, and creates an atmosphere of inclusion rather than exclusion. The new curriculum will require trial, assessment, and revision before it is ready for adoption.

Using Interactive Data Visualizations for Exploratory Analysis in Undergraduate Genomics Coursework: Field Study Findings and Guidelines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mirel, Barbara; Kumar, Anuj; Nong, Paige; Su, Gang; Meng, Fan

2016-01-01

Life scientists increasingly use visual analytics to explore large data sets and generate hypotheses. Undergraduate biology majors should be learning these same methods. Yet visual analytics is one of the most underdeveloped areas of undergraduate biology education. This study sought to determine the feasibility of undergraduate biology majors…

Final Year Undergraduates' Perceptions of the Integration of Soft Skills in the Formal Curriculum: A Survey of Malaysian Public Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devadason, Evelyn Shyamala; Subramaniam, Thirunaukarasu; Daniel, Esther Gnanamalar Sarojini

2010-01-01

A recent initiative or skill bridging measure taken by the Malaysian public universities is to build into the formal curriculum soft skills to produce graduates with a right balance of diverse abilities. However, to date, there is no comprehensive attempt to review the integration of soft skills in the formal curriculum (both coursework and…

Fostering Creativity through Personalized Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munakata, Mika; Vaidya, Ashwin

2013-01-01

This article focuses on the philosophy of creativity and its enhancement through an undergraduate research experience. In this paper we offer suggestions for infusing the undergraduate mathematics and science curriculum with research experiences as a way of fostering creativity in our students. We refer to the term "research" broadly,…

Teaching Analytical Method Development in an Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lanigan, Katherine C.

2008-01-01

Method development and assessment, central components of carrying out chemical research, require problem-solving skills. This article describes a pedagogical approach for teaching these skills through the adaptation of published experiments and application of group-meeting style discussions to the curriculum of an undergraduate instrumental…

Research on the Undergraduate Financial Engineering Education in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Haiyong; Zhang, Weiwei

2011-01-01

The rapid development of modern economy has put forward higher requirements for financial engineering education. This paper analyzes the status and problems in undergraduate financial engineering education in china, such as indistinct training objective, rigid curriculum structure, and superficial teaching methods, etc. and puts forward…

Rethinking Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Stephen R.

2016-01-01

A summary of fundamental changes made to the undergraduate physical chemistry curriculum in the Chemistry Department at Gustavus Adolphus College (beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year) is presented. The yearlong sequence now consists of an introductory semester covering both quantum mechanics and thermodynamics/kinetics, followed by a second…

Attitudes of Undergraduate Business Students toward Sustainability Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eagle, Lynne; Low, David; Case, Peter; Vandommele, Lisa

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to report on findings from the first phase of a longitudinal study of undergraduate business students' attitudes, beliefs and perceptions concerning sustainability issues. Design/methodology/approach: To improve understanding of the potential effects of changes in the curriculum, business students enrolled during the…

Evaluating Business School Undergraduates' Situation Analytical Ability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Ghee-Soon

2002-01-01

An instrument to test students' ability to analyze business situations was administered to 120 undergraduates. Level of study, achievement in business curriculum, and stress resilience were associated with test performance. Gender, age, family income, and high school results were not related to performance. (Contains 44 references.) (SK)

Artificial Intelligence Is for Real: Undergraduate Students Should Know about It.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liebowitz, Jay

1988-01-01

Discussion of the possibilities of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) into the undergraduate curriculum highlights the introduction of AI in an introduction to information processing course for business students at George Washington University. Topics discussed include robotics, expert systems prototyping in class, and the interdisciplinary…

Leadership, Medication Administration, and Knowledge Retention: A Quality Improvement Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treister, Pamela

2017-01-01

A leadership and quality improvement project was undertaken in order to assist undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students in knowledge retention for medication administration during their senior semester in nursing school. Specific changes in curriculum were implemented to assist these undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students at a suburban…

Hirsch's index: a case study conducted atthe Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo.

PubMed

Torro-Alves, N; Herculano, R D; Terçariol, C A S; Kinouchi Filho, O; Graeff, C F O

2007-11-01

An analysis of scientific bibliographic productivity using the Hirsch h-index, information from the Institute of Scientific Information database and the Curriculum Lattes (CNPq, Brazil) was performed at the Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (FFCLRP-USP) that has four departments in natural, biological and social sciences. Bibliometric evaluations of undergraduate programs showed a better performance of the departments of Chemistry (P < 0.001) and Biology (P < 0.001) when compared to the departments of Physics and Mathematics and Psychology and Education. We also analyzed the scientific output of the six graduate programs of FFCLRP: Psychology, Psychobiology, Chemistry, Physics Applied to Medicine and Biology, Comparative Biology, and Entomology. The graduate program in Psychology presented a lower h-index (P < 0.001) and had fewer papers indexed by the ISI web of science (P < 0.001) when compared to the other graduate programs. The poorer performance of the Psychology program may be associated with the limited coverage by the Thompson Institute of Scientific Information database.

Role and challenges of simulation in undergraduate curriculum.

PubMed

Nuzhat, Ayesha; Salem, Raneem Osama; Al Shehri, Fatimah Nasser; Al Hamdan, Nasser

2014-04-01

Medical simulation is relatively a novel technology widely utilized for teaching and assessing students clinical skills. Students and faculty face many challenges when simulation sessions are introduced into undergraduate curriculum. The aim of this study is to obtain the opinion of undergraduate medical students and our faculty regarding the role of simulation in undergraduate curriculum, the simulation modalities used, and the perceived barriers in implementing simulation sessions. A self-administered pilot tested questionnaire with 18 items using a 5-point Likert scale was distributed to undergraduate male (n = 125) and female students (n = 70) as well as to the faculty members (n = 14) at King Fahad Medical City, King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University of Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia, to respond. Survey elements addressed the role of simulation, simulation modalities used, and perceived challenges to implementation of simulation sessions. Various learning outcomes are achieved and improved through the technology enhanced simulation sessions such as communication skills, diagnostic skills, procedural skills, self-confidence, and integration of basic and clinical sciences. The use of high fidelity simulators, simulated patients and task trainers was more desirable by our students and faculty for teaching and learning as well as an evaluation tool. According to most of the students', institutional support in terms of resources, staff and duration of sessions was adequate. However, motivation to participate in the sessions and provision of adequate feedback by the staff was a constraint. The use of simulation laboratory is of great benefit to the students and a great teaching tool for the staff to ensure students learn various skills.

The Use of Mock NSF-type Grant Proposals and Blind Peer Review as the Capstone Assignment in Upper-Level Neurobiology and Cell Biology Courses

PubMed Central

Itagaki, Haruhiko

2013-01-01

Although the use of grant proposals and blind peer review are standard in the natural sciences, their use as a pedagogical tool is rarely mentioned in the literature. As a consequence of dissatisfaction with term papers and literature reviews as the capstone writing experience in 300-level undergraduate biology courses, I have been experimenting with mock NSF-type grant proposals followed by blind peer review as the major assignment in my junior/senior-level classes. The improvement in educational outcomes and competencies due to this assignment appears to be substantial and worth the additional effort on both the students’ and instructor’s parts. Here, I outline the mechanics of this assignment and its advantages and disadvantages as well as the type of curriculum that is required to support this type of capstone assignment. PMID:24319395

Renewable Energy Certificate Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gwendolyn S. Andersen

2012-07-17

This project was primarily to develop and implement a curriculum which will train undergraduate and graduate students at the University seeking a degree as well as training for enrollees in a special certification program to prepare individuals to be employed in a broad range of occupations in the field of renewable energy and energy conservation. Curriculum development was by teams of Saint Francis University Faculty in the Business Administration and Science Departments and industry experts. Students seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees are able to enroll in courses offered within these departments which will combine theory and hands-on training in themore » various elements of wind power development. For example, the business department curriculum areas include economic modeling, finance, contracting, etc. The science areas include meteorology, energy conversion and projection, species identification, habitat protection, field data collection and analysis, etc.« less

Biomedical Engineering curriculum at UAM-I: a critical review.

PubMed

Martinez Licona, Fabiola; Azpiroz-Leehan, Joaquin; Urbina Medal, E Gerardo; Cadena Mendez, Miguel

2014-01-01

The Biomedical Engineering (BME) curriculum at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) has undergone at least four major transformations since the founding of the BME undergraduate program in 1974. This work is a critical assessment of the curriculum from the point of view of its results as derived from an analysis of, among other resources, institutional databases on students, graduates and their academic performance. The results of the evaluation can help us define admission policies as well as reasonable limits on the maximum duration of undergraduate studies. Other results linked to the faculty composition and the social environment can be used to define a methodology for the evaluation of teaching and the implementation of mentoring and tutoring programs. Changes resulting from this evaluation may be the only way to assure and maintain leadership and recognition from the BME community.

New Guidelines for Undergraduate Chemistry Curricula Examined.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worthy, Ward

1989-01-01

Reviews current biochemistry, education, and polymer course options found in chemistry programs. Proposes a new core curriculum with 28 semester hours with courses in inorganic, chemical, and instrumental analysis, organic, bioorganic, and physical chemistry. Notes that the new curriculum would better prepare students for the existing employment…

Enhancing Curriculum through Service Learning in the Social Determinants of Health Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rooks, Ronica Nicole; Rael, Christine Tagliaferri

2013-01-01

Service learning bridges classroom learning and community volunteerism and is anchored in the curriculum, classroom discussion, and community. We incorporated service learning projects (SLP) into three Social Determinants of Health courses (2008-2010) to promote: experiential learning; undergraduate scholarship; faculty career development through…

Mapping More than Aboriginal Studies: Pedagogy, Professional Practice and Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norman, Heidi

2014-01-01

As undergraduate curriculum is increasingly required to meet a range of intellectual, professional practice and personal learning outcomes, what purpose does Australian Aboriginal Studies have in curriculum? Most Australian universities are currently in the process of developing institution-wide approaches to Indigenous Australian content in…

Geographic Contributions to Institutional Curriculum Reform in Australia: The Challenge of Embedding Field-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, Kate; Howitt, Richard; Bilous, Rebecca; Clark, Lindie; Dowling, Robyn; Fagan, Robert; Fuller, Sara; Hammersley, Laura; Houston, Donna; McGregor, Andrew; McLean, Jessica; Miller, Fiona; Ruming, Kristian; Semple, Anne-Louise; Suchet-Pearson, Sandie

2015-01-01

In the context of continuing pressures from managerialist and neoliberal drivers of university reform in Australia, Macquarie University's recent undergraduate curriculum innovation, based on "People," "Planet," and "Participation," has resulted in the embedding and integration of experiential learning in its…

Development of a Green Fluorescent Protein-Based Laboratory Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larkin, Patrick D.; Hartberg, Yasha

2005-01-01

A laboratory curriculum has been designed for an undergraduate biochemistry course that focuses on the investigation of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). The sequence of procedures extends from analysis of the DNA sequence through PCR amplification, recombinant plasmid DNA synthesis, bacterial transformation, expression, isolation, and…

Teaching Ethics across the Public Relations Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchison, Liese L.

2002-01-01

Suggests ways of incorporating ethics across the undergraduate public relations curriculum. Reviews current coverage of ethics in public relations principles, writing, cases, and textbooks. Suggests other methods that teachers can use to incorporate ethical pedagogical tools in all public relations courses in an effort to develop students' ethical…

Methods for Introducing Inorganic Polymer Concepts throughout the Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Lill, Daniel T.; Carraher, Charles E., Jr.

2017-01-01

Inorganic polymers can be introduced in a variety of undergraduate courses to discuss concepts related to polymer chemistry. Inorganic polymers such as silicates and polysiloxanes are simple materials that can be incorporated into an introductory or descriptive inorganic course. Polymers based on inorganic carbon, including diamond and graphite,…

Understanding the Factors That Influence Student Satisfaction with the Undergraduate Business Major

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Melanie Beth; Haug, James C.; Huckabee, W. Allen

2016-01-01

A survey was administered to undergraduate business students to gain insight into 34 factors influencing satisfaction, divided into curriculum matters, interaction between faculty and students, and activities beyond coursework. Students expressed a desire for experienced faculty, degree customization, and career paths through internships, with…

Nuclear Science in the Undergraduate Curriculum: The New Nuclear Science Facility at San Jose State University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ling, A. Campbell

1979-01-01

The following aspects of the radiochemistry program at San Jose State University in California are described: the undergraduate program in radiation chemistry, the new nuclear science facility, and academic programs in nuclear science for students not attending San Jose State University. (BT)

Efficient Optoelectronics Teaching in Undergraduate Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matin, M. A.

2005-01-01

The Engineering Department's vision for undergraduate education for the next century is to develop a set of laboratory experiences that are thoughtfully sequenced and integrated to promote the full development of students in all courses. Optoelectronics is one of the most important and most demanding courses in Electrical and Computer Engineering.…

Students' Reflective Essays as Insights into Student Centred-Pedagogies within the Undergraduate Research Methods Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosein, Anesa; Rao, Namrata

2017-01-01

In higher education, despite the emphasis on student-centred pedagogical approaches, undergraduate research methods pedagogy remains surprisingly teacher-directed. Consequently, it may lead to research methods students assuming that becoming a researcher involves gathering information rather than it being a continuous developmental process. To…

Incorporation of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry into the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giarikos, Dimitrios G.; Patel, Sagir; Lister, Andrew; Razeghifard, Reza

2013-01-01

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a powerful analytical tool for detection, identification, and quantification of many volatile organic compounds. However, many colleges and universities have not fully incorporated this technique into undergraduate teaching laboratories despite its wide application and ease of use in organic…

An Integrated Approach to an Undergraduate Kinesiology Curriculum: A Case Study about Stalling in Wrestling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Kevin P.; Kretchmar, R. Scott

2008-01-01

Kinesiology is a broad field that draws from numerous domains, including biomechanics, physiology, psychology, and philosophy. Professors from each specialty emphasize discipline-specific content, which results in a lack of cross-disciplinary integration. Consequently, kinesiology undergraduates are exposed to coursework in various disciplines,…

Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

Provided are guidelines for evaluating undergraduate professional education in chemistry. The guidelines summarize an approved program as including: 400 hours of classroom work; 500 hours of laboratory work; a core curriculum covering principles of analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry; 1 year of advanced work in chemistry or…

Introductory Anatomy and Physiology in an Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, S. J.; White, S.; Power, N.

2017-01-01

Using an educational data mining approach, first-year academic achievement of undergraduate nursing students, which included two compulsory courses in introductory human anatomy and physiology, was compared with achievement in a final semester course that transitioned students into the workplace. We hypothesized that students could be grouped…

Architectural Theory in the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Pedagogical Alternative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Korydon H.

2013-01-01

The study of architectural theory remains absent from many undergraduate design programs, or, if present, the structure of many curricula place "theory" as an autonomous, peripheral course. Theory, however, as it is in other disciplines, is the foundation of the discipline of architecture. To regain the importance and vitality of…

Curriculum for the Twenty-First Century: Recent Advances in Economic Theory and Undergraduate Economics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, William D.

2011-01-01

Undergraduate economics lags behind cutting-edge economic theory. The author briefly reviews six related advances that profoundly extend and deepen economic analysis: game-theoretic modeling, collective-action problems, information economics and contracting, social preference theory, conceptualizing rationality, and institutional theory. He offers…

Reasons for Suboptimal Learning in Medical Microbiology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Struwig, Magdalena C.; Beylefeld, Adriana A.; Joubert, Georgina

2016-01-01

Medical microbiology presents a challenge to undergraduate students, mostly due to its extensive content and complexity of unfamiliar terminology. In addition to a narrative review of the literature, we report findings on students' motivation for and approach to learning in the Infections module of an undergraduate medical curriculum, and their…

Reputation Cycles: The Value of Accreditation for Undergraduate Journalism Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blom, Robin; Davenport, Lucinda D.; Bowe, Brian J.

2012-01-01

Accreditation is among various outside influences when developing an ideal journalism curriculum. The value of journalism accreditation standards for undergraduate programs has been studied and is still debated. This study discovers views of opinion leaders in U.S. journalism programs, as surveyed program directors give reasons for being…

Developing an Undergraduate Information Systems Security Track

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Aditya; Murphy, Marianne C.; Rosso, Mark A.; Grant, Donna

2013-01-01

Information Systems Security as a specialized area of study has mostly been taught at the graduate level. This paper highlights the efforts of establishing an Information Systems (IS) Security track at the undergraduate level. As there were many unanswered questions and concerns regarding the Security curriculum, focus areas, the benefit of…

Undergraduate Research-Methods Training in Political Science: A Comparative Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Jonathan

2010-01-01

Unlike other disciplines in the social sciences, there has been relatively little attention paid to the structure of the undergraduate political science curriculum. This article reports the results of a representative survey of 200 political science programs in the United States, examining requirements for quantitative methods, research methods,…

Instilling Foundation Behaviors of Professional Practice in Undergraduate Athletic Training Students: A Grounded Theory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Christopher W.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to investigate the implementation of the "Foundational Behaviors of Professional Practice" in undergraduate athletic training education program curriculums accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education [CAATE]. Specifically, this study examined the educational and…

Integrated Laboratories: Laying the Foundation for Undergraduate Research Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillner, Debra K.; Ferrante, Robert F.; Fitzgerald, Jeffrey P.; Schroeder, Maria J.

2011-01-01

Interest in undergraduate student research has grown in response to initiatives from various professional societies and educational organizations. Participation in research changes student attitudes towards courses as they realize the utility and relevance of what they are learning. At the U.S. Naval Academy, the chemistry majors' curriculum was…

Economic Education in Korea: Current Status and Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hahn, Jinsoo; Jang, Kyungho

2010-01-01

The authors describe key aspects of precollege and undergraduate economic education in Korea. They show that precollege students seem to have low economics literacy due to problems with the curriculum and insufficient training of teachers. At the undergraduate level, they show that economics departments have more male students than female students…

The Development of an Undergraduate Study Abroad Program: Nicaragua and the Psychology of Social Inequality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shupe, Ellen I.

2013-01-01

In its recent report outlining principles for teaching undergraduate students in psychology, the American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs recommended including experiential learning in the curriculum and identified study abroad opportunities as being particularly valuable. Unfortunately, although American universities offer…

Content Validation of Athletic Therapy Clinical Presentations in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lafave, Mark R.; Yeo, Michelle; Westbrook, Khatija; Valdez, Dennis; Eubank, Breda; McAllister, Jenelle

2016-01-01

Context: Competency-based education requires strong planning and a vehicle to deliver and track students' progress across their undergraduate programs. Clinical presentations (CPs) are proposed as 1 method to deliver a competency-based curriculum in a Canadian undergraduate athletic therapy program. Objective: Validation of 253 CPs. Setting:…

Reports of the Hope College Conference on Designing the Undergraduate Curriculum in Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, Ann

2002-01-01

Presents in full a consensus document produced from the 2000 Hope College National Communication Association Faculty Development Institute conference. Agrees that all graduates of an undergraduate degree program in communication should meet conceptual and competency standards in eight different areas: theoretical approaches, sensitivity to diverse…

Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics in undergraduate medical education in the UK: the future.

PubMed Central

Walley, T; Bligh, J; Orme, M; Breckenridge, A

1994-01-01

1. Changes in undergraduate medical education will involve the development of a core curriculum of material of essential knowledge and of the skills for self directed learning both as a student and a postgraduate. A survey of departments or individuals teaching clinical pharmacology and therapeutics was conducted to consider what a core curriculum in these subjects might contain and how changes in the school curriculum would affect teaching in the future. 2. A questionnaire was developed based on an American consensus statement on the core curriculum in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Freetext answers were encouraged. Twenty-seven medical schools were surveyed; 21 (78%) replied. 3. Items of core knowledge (as defined by the American statement) were generally rated important or very important. The most important were considered to be (in order): prescribing for the elderly, management of overdose and adverse drug reactions. All of these were widely taught (85-100%). The least important items were the efficacy and toxicity of nonprescription drugs (taught by 35%) and the process of drug development and approval (taught nevertheless by 95%). 4. Core skills were generally rated less important, and less often taught. It was felt by many respondents that these skills, as defined, were excessively detailed for British undergraduates and more appropriate for postgraduate education. 5. Core attitudes were rated as being of intermediate importance, but not widely taught as it was felt that these could best be inculcated by example rather than formal teaching. Again, many felt that these attitudes were inappropriate for a UK core curriculum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:8186060

[Teaching family medicine in Lausanne].

PubMed

Bischoff, Thomas; Junod, Michel; Cornuz, Jacques; Herzig, Lilli; Bonvin, Raphael

2010-12-01

The Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne has integrated education of family medicine all along its new undergraduate medical curriculum. The Institute of general medicine is in charge to implement those offers among which two are presented hereafter. In the new module "Generalism" several courses cover the specificities of the discipline as for example medical decision in the practice. A mandatory one-month internship in the medical practice offers an experiential immersion into family medicine for all students. In a meeting at the end of their internship, students discuss in group with their peers their individual experiences and are asked to identify, based on their personal experience, the general concepts of the specialty of family medicine and general practice.

A critical review of the core medical training curriculum in the UK: A medical education perspective.

PubMed

Laskaratos, Faidon-Marios; Gkotsi, Despoina; Panteliou, Eleftheria

2014-01-01

This paper represents a systematic evaluation of the Core Medical Training Curriculum in the UK. The authors critically review the curriculum from a medical education perspective based mainly on the medical education literature as well as their personal experience of this curriculum. They conclude in practical recommendations and suggestions which, if adopted, could improve the design and implementation of this postgraduate curriculum. The systematic evaluation approach described in this paper is transferable to the evaluation of other undergraduate or postgraduate curricula, and could be a helpful guide for medical teachers involved in the delivery and evaluation of any medical curriculum.

["Autoimmune curriculitis": a not so new curricular disease].

PubMed

Salas, Sofía P; Sánchez D, Ignacio; Larios G, Guillermo; Jeria D, Alvaro; Pertuzé S, Cristóbal

2009-04-01

Thirty years ago, Abrahamson described the main curriculum problems in undergraduate medical education as "diseases of the curriculum". Based on our own experience and knowledge, we propose the inclusion of a new condition named "autoimmune curriculitis", which is produced by the students themselves. In this condition, the students are who decide to "swell" the curriculum, by excessively participating in multiple intra and extramural activities, competing to markedly improve their academic performance. Unlike other curriculum diseases, this one may directly affect the students personal life and health, especially if it begins as early as in the first semester of the career Two main aspects of medical education have a key role in the genesis of this disease: the so-called hidden curriculum and the selection process used in the postgraduate programs in Chile. Unfortunately the prevalence and severity of this curriculum disease is a growing threat, due to the increasing number of undergraduate students in Chile without an equivalent increment of postgraduate programs. Given its characteristics, eradicating this disease seems quite difficult. To do so, it is necessary for postgraduate selection committees to give a clear sign regarding the most relevant attributes they consider when choosing the candidates and, consequently to discourage the exaggerated collection of curriculum records. Moreover, we need a group of students faithful to their own interests, who will keep growing in depth those that are more meaningful to them.

Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine (SHARC-FM): Creating a national consensus on relevant and practical training for medical students.

PubMed

Keegan, David A; Scott, Ian; Sylvester, Michael; Tan, Amy; Horrey, Kathleen; Weston, W Wayne

2017-04-01

In 2006, leaders of undergraduate family medicine education programs faced a series of increasing curriculum mandates in the context of limited time and financial resources. Additionally, it became apparent that a hidden curriculum against family medicine as a career choice was active in medical schools. The Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine was developed by the Canadian Undergraduate Family Medicine Education Directors and supported by the College of Family Physicians of Canada as a national collaborative project to support medical student training in family medicine clerkship. Its key objective is to enable education leaders to meet their educational mandates, while at the same time countering the hidden curriculum and providing a route to scholarship. The Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine is an open-access, shared, national curriculum ( www.sharcfm.ca ). It contains 23 core clinical topics (determined through a modified Delphi process) with demonstrable objectives for each. It also includes low- and medium-fidelity virtual patient cases, point-of-care learning resources (clinical cards), and assessment tools, all aligned with the core topics. French translation of the resources is ongoing. The core topics, objectives, and educational resources have been adopted by medical schools across Canada, according to their needs. The lessons learned from mounting this multi-institutional collaborative project will help others develop their own collaborative curricula. Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Development and alignment of undergraduate medical curricula in a web-based, dynamic Learning Opportunities, Objectives and Outcome Platform (LOOOP).

PubMed

Balzer, Felix; Hautz, Wolf E; Spies, Claudia; Bietenbeck, Andreas; Dittmar, Martin; Sugiharto, Firman; Lehmann, Lars; Eisenmann, Dorothea; Bubser, Florian; Stieg, Markus; Hanfler, Sven; Georg, Waltraud; Tekian, Ara; Ahlers, Olaf

2016-01-01

This study presents a web-based method and its interface ensuring alignment of all parts of a curriculum map including competencies, objectives, teaching and assessment methods, workload and patient availability. Needs, acceptance and effectiveness are shown through a nine-year study. After a comprehensive needs assessment, the curriculum map and a web-based interface "Learning Opportunities, Objectives and Outcome Platform" (LOOOP) were developed according to Harden's conceptual framework of 10-steps for curriculum mapping. The outcome was measured by surveys and results of interdisciplinary MCQ-assessments. The usage rates and functionalities were analysed. The implementation of LOOOP was significantly associated with improved perception of the curriculum structure by teachers and students, quality of defined objectives and their alignment with teaching and assessment, usage by students to prepare examinations and their scores in interdisciplinary MCQ-assessment. Additionally, LOOOP improved the curriculum coordination by faculty, and assisted departments for identifying patient availability for clinical training. LOOOP is well accepted among students and teachers, has positive effect on curriculum development, facilitates effective utilisation of educational resources and improves student's outcomes. Currently, LOOOP is used in five undergraduate medical curricula including 85,000 mapped learning opportunities (lectures, seminars), 5000 registered users (students, teachers) and 380,000 yearly page-visits.

Bridging the Gap: Embedding Communication Courses in the Science Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jandciu, Eric; Stewart, Jaclyn J.; Stoodley, Robin; Birol, Gülnur; Han, Andrea; Fox, Joanne A.

2015-01-01

The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…

What Should We Teach? A Consensus Method to Determine Curriculum Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarthy, W. H.; And Others

1977-01-01

A technique is described that uses the perception of a wide variety of doctors, including specialists in the field, other specialists, and general practitioners, to determine what should be taught to undergraduate medical students. The Spivey technique is applied to curriculum needs in ophthalmology. (LBH)

Rationale for Incorporating Health and Safety into the Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleischman, Marvin

1988-01-01

Presents a philosophical commentary on the need and rationale for incorporating safety and health into the chemical engineering curriculum. Proposes safety and health assessments as useful teaching methods. Describes an approach to bringing safety and health into undergraduate engineering curricula. Gives examples of integration of these curricula…

Development and Interdependence. A One-Semester Model Curriculum for Secondary Schools and Undergraduate Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaeffler, Walter S.; Collier, Anne B.

The interdisciplinary curriculum on global economic and social development and interdependence traces Western development trends, investigates current issues and processes in development, and offers a development planning exercise. An introductory section serves as a teacher's guide. It discusses the skills developed by the activities, suggests…

Reinventing the Undergraduate Curriculum: Strategies To Enhance Student Learning in Mathematics and Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Barbara J., Comp.; Wallner, Barbara K., Comp.; Powers, Myra L. Ed.; Hartley, Nancy K., Ed.

This publication is a compilation of examples of practical, easily implemented activities to help mathematics, science, and education faculty duplicate efforts by the Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative (RMTEC) to reform and revise curriculum for preservice educators. Activities are organized by content areas: mathematics; geology,…

Curriculum Integration = Course Disintegration: What Does This Mean for Anatomy?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolender, David L.; Ettarh, Rajunor; Jerrett, David P.; Laherty, Richard F.

2013-01-01

Many basic scientists including anatomists are currently involved in decisions related to revisions of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Integration is a common theme in many of these decisions. As described by Harden, integration can occur along a multistep continuum from independent, discipline-based courses to a completely interdisciplinary…

Motivating the Concept of Eigenvectors via Cryptography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siap, Irfan

2008-01-01

New methods of teaching linear algebra in the undergraduate curriculum have attracted much interest lately. Most of this work is focused on evaluating and discussing the integration of special computer software into the Linear Algebra curriculum. In this article, I discuss my approach on introducing the concept of eigenvectors and eigenvalues,…

Homology Modeling and Molecular Docking for the Science Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDougal, Owen M.; Cornia, Nic; Sambasivarao, S. V.; Remm, Andrew; Mallory, Chris; Oxford, Julia Thom; Maupin, C. Mark; Andersen, Tim

2014-01-01

DockoMatic 2.0 is a powerful open source software program (downloadable from sourceforge.net) that allows users to utilize a readily accessible computational tool to explore biomolecules and their interactions. This manuscript describes a practical tutorial for use in the undergraduate curriculum that introduces students to macromolecular…

Creating a New Model Curriculum: A Rationale for "Computing Curricula 1990".

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruce, Kim B.

1991-01-01

Describes a model for the design of undergraduate curricula in the discipline of computing that was developed by the ACM/IEEE (Association for Computing Machinery/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Computer Society Joint Curriculum Task Force. Institutional settings and structures in which computing degrees are awarded are…

Recent Evolution of the Introductory Curriculum in Computing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Allen B.; Garnick, David K.

1991-01-01

Traces the evolution of introductory computing courses for undergraduates based on the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) guidelines published in "Curriculum 78." Changes in the curricula are described, including the role of discrete mathematics and theory; and the need for a broader model for designing introductory courses is…

Evaluating the Impact of Curriculum Infusion on US College Students' Alcohol Use and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samuolis, Jessica; Lazowski, Andrew; Kessler, Janice

2016-01-01

Objectives: This paper explores the extent to which curriculum infusion (CI) impacted undergraduate students' alcohol use, perceived peer alcohol use, use of protective behavioural strategies, academic performance and course engagement. Design: Two faculty members infused content on norms and protective behavioural strategies into selected…

Grant Writing Skill Building: A Business Administration Curriculum Proposal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankenship, Dianna; Jones, Irma; Lovett, Marvin

2010-01-01

This paper reviews the need for grant writing skills within various types of organizations and the resulting proposal for including grant writing within business administration curriculum at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels. An introduction precedes the results of a survey regarding current grant writing courses within AACSB schools of…

Introduction of Molecular Methods into a Food Microbiology Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pleitner, Aaron M.; Hammons, Susan R.; McKenzie, Emily; Cho, Young-Hee; Oliver, Haley F.

2014-01-01

Maintaining current, relevant curriculum in undergraduate Food Microbiology courses is essential for training future experts in food quality and safety. Having an understanding of the fundamental techniques (for example, polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) that are used in the food industry and regulatory agencies is critical for students entering…

A Socioscientific Curriculum Facilitating the Development of Distal and Proximal NOS Conceptualizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schalk, Kelly A.

2012-01-01

This study reports the effects of an innovative introductory microbiology course for undergraduates that used a socioscientific issues (SSI)-based curriculum. The study illustrates how an SSI-based intervention provides learners with pragmatic opportunities for cultivating their scientific literacy subsuming the nature of science (NOS). Empirical…

Undergraduate Oral Examinations in a University Organic Chemistry Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dicks, Andrew P.; Lautens, Mark; Koroluk, Katherine J.; Skonieczny, Stanislaw

2012-01-01

This article describes the successful implementation of an oral examination format in the organic chemistry curriculum at the University of Toronto. Oral examinations are used to replace traditional written midterm examinations in several courses. In an introductory organic class, each student is allotted 15 min to individually discuss one…

Environmental Topics in an Undergraduate Physics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowan, David J.

1972-01-01

Reducing the decline in the number of bachelor's degrees in physics conferred annually may be accomplished by increasing the versatility of the degree. One method is to apply physical principles to the following areas of environmental change in the curriculum: air pollution, energy conversion and resources, environmental radiation, noise, thermal…

Integrative Approach for a Transformative Freshman-Level STEM Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Souza, Malcolm J.; Curran, Kathleen L.; Olsen, Paul E.; Nwogbaga, Agashi P.; Stotts, Stephanie

2016-01-01

In 2014 Wesley College adopted a unified undergraduate program of evidence-based high-impact teaching practices. Through foundation and federal and state grant support, the college completely revised its academic core curriculum and strengthened its academic support structures by including a comprehensive early alert system for at-risk students.…

Developing Transferrable Geospatial Skills in a Liberal Arts Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colaianne, Blake A.; Powell, Matthew G.

2011-01-01

Geology education usually takes place within the context of a broader curriculum, but specific synergies between disciplines have rarely been explored or exploited. Here, we have assessed the spatial visualization skills of undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines to determine which are most compatible with a geology curriculum. Spatial…

History of Higher Education: Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harada, Myra

This paper reviews the history of undergraduate curriculum in the United States from the colonial period to the present, arguing that the drive for utility has been the main force shaping curricular trends. It discusses the purpose of early colonial colleges and their curricula, which emphasized Latin, Greek, Hebrew, ancient history, theology,…

Bringing Knowledge Management into an Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winberg, S. L.; Schach, S. R.; Inggs, M. R.

2007-01-01

The use of effective knowledge management is becoming an essential part of technical development projects in order to enable developers to handle the growing complexity of these projects. In this article we discuss an innovative approach to address this concern from the perspective of an undergraduate engineering curriculum. Instead of adding…

Reshaping an Undergraduate Advertising Curriculum to Prepare for the 1990s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doerner, Russell C.

Working from a report that pinpointed changes in mass communications by the end of the coming decade and from input provided by accredited advertising programs at other institutions, the advertising department at the University of Missouri proposed several curriculum changes. The following requirements were recommended for majors: substituting…

A Practical Application of Ocean Color Methodology to an Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moisan, Tiffany A.; Swift, Robert N.; Campbell, Brian A.; Yungel, James K.; Linkswiler, Matthew A.; Nolan, Jessica

2008-01-01

Recently there have been newly launched ocean color satellites which target the coastlines at unprecedented scales. Science education curricula can benefit from the provision of small low-cost spectroradiometers and curriculum supplemental materials that can be incorporated in a "hands on" teaching approach to explain and demonstrate remote…

Course Sequencing in the Communication Curriculum: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Adam S.

2012-01-01

This case study of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland demonstrates the need to consider course sequencing in the communication curriculum. The investigation assessed whether the order in which undergraduates took courses predicted grade performance. Students' (N = 6,166) grade data from earlier courses were used to…

The Contemporary Relevance of Communication Research: Using "Communication Currents" in the Communication Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldeck, Jennifer H.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe a rationale and strategies for use of the National Communication Association's online magazine, "Communication Currents", in the undergraduate communication curriculum. "Communication Currents" features essays that translate current scholarship published in NCA journals, making the research "understandable…

Merging Information Literacy and Evidence-Based Practice in an Undergraduate Health Sciences Curriculum Map

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franzen, Susan; Bannon, Colleen M.

2016-01-01

The ACRL's "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" offers the opportunity to rethink information literacy teaching and curriculum. However, the ACRL's rescinded "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" correlate with the preferred research and decision-making model of the health…

Internationalising the Psychology Curriculum: Preliminary Notes on Conception and Assessment of Anticipated Benefits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jessop, Nadia; Adams, Glenn

2016-01-01

Advocates for internationalisation of the undergraduate psychology curriculum anticipate a variety of beneficial outcomes strongly associated with forms of intellectual growth -- including critical thinking, appreciation for diversity, and global awareness -- that are the defining purpose of a university education. As a prelude to an intervention…

Explorations: A Research-Based Program Introducing Undergraduates to Diverse Biology Research Topics Taught by Grad Students and Postdocs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Sara E.; Khalfan, Waheeda; Bergmann, Dominique; Simoni, Robert

2013-01-01

Undergraduate biology majors are often overwhelmed by and underinformed about the diversity and complexity of biological research that is conducted on research-intensive campuses. We present a program that introduces undergraduates to the diversity and scope of biological research and also provides unique teaching opportunities for graduate…

High school students' learning and perceptions of phylogenetics of flowering plants.

PubMed

Bokor, Julie R; Landis, Jacob B; Crippen, Kent J

2014-01-01

Basic phylogenetics and associated "tree thinking" are often minimized or excluded in formal school curricula. Informal settings provide an opportunity to extend the K-12 school curriculum, introducing learners to new ideas, piquing interest in science, and fostering scientific literacy. Similarly, university researchers participating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach activities increase awareness of college and career options and highlight interdisciplinary fields of science research and augment the science curriculum. To aid in this effort, we designed a 6-h module in which students utilized 12 flowering plant species to generate morphological and molecular phylogenies using biological techniques and bioinformatics tools. The phylogenetics module was implemented with 83 high school students during a weeklong university STEM immersion program and aimed to increase student understanding of phylogenetics and coevolution of plants and pollinators. Student response reflected positive engagement and learning gains as evidenced through content assessments, program evaluation surveys, and program artifacts. We present the results of the first year of implementation and discuss modifications for future use in our immersion programs as well as in multiple course settings at the high school and undergraduate levels. © 2014 J. R. Bokor et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum: A vision and guidelines for future developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chonacky, Norman; Winch, David

2008-04-01

There is substantial evidence of a need to make computation an integral part of the undergraduate physics curriculum. This need is consistent with data from surveys in both the academy and the workplace, and has been reinforced by two years of exploratory efforts by a group of physics faculty for whom computation is a special interest. We have examined past and current efforts at reform and a variety of strategic, organizational, and institutional issues involved in any attempt to broadly transform existing practice. We propose a set of guidelines for development based on this past work and discuss our vision of computationally integrated physics.

Integrative Approach for a Transformative Freshman-Level STEM Curriculum

PubMed Central

Curran, Kathleen L.; Olsen, Paul E.; Nwogbaga, Agashi P.; Stotts, Stephanie

2016-01-01

In 2014 Wesley College adopted a unified undergraduate program of evidence-based high-impact teaching practices. Through foundation and federal and state grant support, the college completely revised its academic core curriculum and strengthened its academic support structures by including a comprehensive early alert system for at-risk students. In this core, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty developed fresh manifestations of integrated concept-based introductory courses and revised upper-division STEM courses around student-centered learning. STEM majors can participate in specifically designed paid undergraduate research experiences in directed research elective courses. Such a college-wide multi-tiered approach results in institutional cultural change. PMID:27064213

Patient-based Cultural Competency Curriculum for Pre-Health Professionals

PubMed Central

Melamed, Esther; Wyatt, Lacey E.; Padilla, Tony; Ferry, Robert J.

2011-01-01

Background and Objectives The diverse US population requires medical cultural competency education for health providers throughout their pre-professional and professional years. We present a curriculum to train pre-health professional undergraduates by combining classroom education in the humanities and cross-cultural communication skills with volunteer clinical experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) hospital. Methods The course was open to a maximum of 15 UCLA junior and senior undergraduate students with a pre-health or humanities major and was held in the spring quarters of 2002–2004. The change in students' knowledge of cultural competency was evaluated using the Provider's Guide to Quality and Culture Quiz (QCQ) and through students' written assignments and evaluations. Results Trainees displayed a statistically significant improvement in scores on the QCQ. Participants' written assignments and subjective evaluations confirmed an improvement in awareness and a high motivation to continue learning at the graduate level. Conclusions This is the first evaluated undergraduate curriculum that integrates interdisciplinary cultural competency training with patient volunteering in the medical field. The didactic, volunteering, and writing components of the course comprise a broadly applicable tool for training future health care providers at other institutions. PMID:18979261

Canadian Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery clerkship curricula: evolving toward tomorrow’s learners

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Increasing focus is being placed on Clerkship curriculum design and implementation in light of new undergraduate medical education research and accreditation standards. Canadian Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OTOHNS) Clerkship programs are continually but independently evolving towards a common goal of improving Clerkship curriculum. Methods An electronic survey was sent to undergraduate OTOHNS directors at all Canadian medical schools (n = 17) examining their Clerkship curricula. Themes included Clerkship format, teaching methods, faculty support and development, program strengths, and barriers. Results Survey response rate was 76%. All responding schools had OTOHNS Clerkship programs ranging in type (mandatory, selective or elective) and length (<1 to 4 weeks). Learning modalities varied. Electronic learning tools were identified as increasingly important to curriculum delivery. Common strengths included wide clinical exposure and one-on-one mentoring. Multiple challenges were identified in curriculum implementation and evaluation. All schools expressed interest in developing national standards, objectives and e-learning resources. Conclusions Significant variation exists in OTOHNS Clerkship experiences between Canadian medical schools. Many schools perceive barriers of insufficient time, space and curriculum standardization. Interested Canadian OTOHNS educators are eager to collaborate to improve the collective OTOHNS Clerkship experience. PMID:23663703

Design and integration of a problem-based biofabrication course into an undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum.

PubMed

Raman, Ritu; Mitchell, Marlon; Perez-Pinera, Pablo; Bashir, Rashid; DeStefano, Lizanne

2016-01-01

The rapidly evolving discipline of biological and biomedical engineering requires adaptive instructional approaches that teach students to target and solve multi-pronged and ill-structured problems at the cutting edge of scientific research. Here we present a modular approach to designing a lab-based course in the emerging field of biofabrication and biological design, leading to a final capstone design project that requires students to formulate and test a hypothesis using the scientific method. Students were assessed on a range of metrics designed to evaluate the format of the course, the efficacy of the format for teaching new topics and concepts, and the depth of the contribution this course made to students training for biological engineering careers. The evaluation showed that the problem-based format of the course was well suited to teaching students how to use the scientific method to investigate and uncover the fundamental biological design rules that govern the field of biofabrication. We show that this approach is an efficient and effective method of translating emergent scientific principles from the lab bench to the classroom and training the next generation of biological and biomedical engineers for careers as researchers and industry practicians.

Development of community based curriculum on ophthalmology for under graduate medical course in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Khan, A K; Hussain, A Z M I

2012-08-01

The curriculum represents the expression of educational ideas in practice. Ophthalmic education is the corner stone to improve eye care globally. Curriculum needs continuous modification varying in different geographic locations. Though 90% of common conditions are either preventable or curable but emphasis on the common conditions is inadequate. This is a stepwise descriptive study aiming to develop a community based ophthalmology curriculum for undergraduate medical course in Bangladesh conducted during March 2007 to February 2008 at UniSA School of Public Health and Life Sciences, University of South Asia, Banani, Dhaka. Delphi technique, a modified qualitative method was used to accumulate data and reaching a consensus opinion for developing the curriculum. Study approach includes two iterative rounds and finally a workshop. Iteration of round-I was "What are the eye diseases with overall knowledge of their management one MBBS physician should acquire"; followed by a list of eye diseases and topics for expert opinion. The response was collated. Iteration round-II was "How much a MBBS student should have percentage of knowledge, attitude and skills on each topic while being taught". The response was collated and presented to panel of expert ophthalmologists for discussion and validation. In the round-I Delphi, 400 (62%) out to total 641 ophthalmologist were randomly selected dividing in categories (62% in each) of Professor-22, Associate Professor-12, Assistant Professor-26, Consultant-27, ophthalmologists working in NGO-56 and ophthalmologists in private sector-257. Sixty (15%) responded with opinion. In the round-II, 200 (31%) including 60 of round-I, selected randomly but proportionately as before. Forty five (22.5%) responded with opinion. Result collated. The results and opinion of respondents were presented at a workshop attended by 24 (80%), out of 30 invited expert ophthalmic specialists for discussion, criticism, opinion, addition, modification and finally for validation. On the basis of the opinion of the respondents, reviewing literature, analyzing the ocular disease pattern in Bangladesh and also analyzing the present ophthalmology curriculum, a community and need based ophthalmology curriculum for undergraduate medical course in Bangladesh was developed. This research would help developing community and need based ophthalmology curriculum for undergraduate medical course in Bangladesh.

Biological inquiry: a new course and assessment plan in response to the call to transform undergraduate biology.

PubMed

Goldey, Ellen S; Abercrombie, Clarence L; Ivy, Tracie M; Kusher, Dave I; Moeller, John F; Rayner, Doug A; Smith, Charles F; Spivey, Natalie W

2012-01-01

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which >50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in class and in labs, which are devoted to building authentic research skills through open-ended experiments. Students develop core biological knowledge, from the ecosystem to molecular level, and core skills through regular practice in hypothesis testing, reading primary literature, analyzing data, interpreting results, writing in disciplinary style, and working in teams. Assignments and exams require higher-order cognitive processes, and students build new knowledge and skills through investigation of real-world problems (e.g., malaria), which engages students' interest. Evidence from direct and indirect assessment has guided continuous course revision and has revealed that compared with the course it replaced, Biological Inquiry produces significant learning gains in all targeted areas. It also retains 94% of students (both BA and BS track) compared with 79% in the majors-only course it replaced. The project has had broad impact across the entire college and reflects the input of numerous constituencies and close collaboration among biology professors and students.

Biological Inquiry: A New Course and Assessment Plan in Response to the Call to Transform Undergraduate Biology

PubMed Central

Goldey, Ellen S.; Abercrombie, Clarence L.; Ivy, Tracie M.; Kusher, Dave I.; Moeller, John F.; Rayner, Doug A.; Smith, Charles F.; Spivey, Natalie W.

2012-01-01

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which >50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in class and in labs, which are devoted to building authentic research skills through open-ended experiments. Students develop core biological knowledge, from the ecosystem to molecular level, and core skills through regular practice in hypothesis testing, reading primary literature, analyzing data, interpreting results, writing in disciplinary style, and working in teams. Assignments and exams require higher-order cognitive processes, and students build new knowledge and skills through investigation of real-world problems (e.g., malaria), which engages students’ interest. Evidence from direct and indirect assessment has guided continuous course revision and has revealed that compared with the course it replaced, Biological Inquiry produces significant learning gains in all targeted areas. It also retains 94% of students (both BA and BS track) compared with 79% in the majors-only course it replaced. The project has had broad impact across the entire college and reflects the input of numerous constituencies and close collaboration among biology professors and students. PMID:23222831

Correlation between MCAT biology content specifications and topic scope and sequence of general education college biology textbooks.

PubMed

Rissing, Steven W

2013-01-01

Most American colleges and universities offer gateway biology courses to meet the needs of three undergraduate audiences: biology and related science majors, many of whom will become biomedical researchers; premedical students meeting medical school requirements and preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT); and students completing general education (GE) graduation requirements. Biology textbooks for these three audiences present a topic scope and sequence that correlates with the topic scope and importance ratings of the biology content specifications for the MCAT regardless of the intended audience. Texts for "nonmajors," GE courses appear derived directly from their publisher's majors text. Topic scope and sequence of GE texts reflect those of "their" majors text and, indirectly, the MCAT. MCAT term density of GE texts equals or exceeds that of their corresponding majors text. Most American universities require a GE curriculum to promote a core level of academic understanding among their graduates. This includes civic scientific literacy, recognized as an essential competence for the development of public policies in an increasingly scientific and technological world. Deriving GE biology and related science texts from majors texts designed to meet very different learning objectives may defeat the scientific literacy goals of most schools' GE curricula.

Correlation between MCAT Biology Content Specifications and Topic Scope and Sequence of General Education College Biology Textbooks

PubMed Central

Rissing, Steven W.

2013-01-01

Most American colleges and universities offer gateway biology courses to meet the needs of three undergraduate audiences: biology and related science majors, many of whom will become biomedical researchers; premedical students meeting medical school requirements and preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT); and students completing general education (GE) graduation requirements. Biology textbooks for these three audiences present a topic scope and sequence that correlates with the topic scope and importance ratings of the biology content specifications for the MCAT regardless of the intended audience. Texts for “nonmajors,” GE courses appear derived directly from their publisher's majors text. Topic scope and sequence of GE texts reflect those of “their” majors text and, indirectly, the MCAT. MCAT term density of GE texts equals or exceeds that of their corresponding majors text. Most American universities require a GE curriculum to promote a core level of academic understanding among their graduates. This includes civic scientific literacy, recognized as an essential competence for the development of public policies in an increasingly scientific and technological world. Deriving GE biology and related science texts from majors texts designed to meet very different learning objectives may defeat the scientific literacy goals of most schools’ GE curricula. PMID:24006392

Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy: Enhancing a Traditional Undergraduate Biochemistry Laboratory Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Russell L.; Seal, Erin L.; Lorts, Aimee R.; Stewart, Amanda L.

2017-01-01

The undergraduate biochemistry laboratory curriculum is designed to provide students with experience in protein isolation and purification protocols as well as various data analysis techniques, which enhance the biochemistry lecture course and give students a broad range of tools upon which to build in graduate level laboratories or once they…

Group Work and Undergraduate Accounting Students: A Bourdieusian Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teviotdale, Wilma W.; Clancy, David; Fisher, Roy; Hill, Pat

2017-01-01

This study investigated students' views and experiences of group work in a vocationally oriented undergraduate accounting and finance degree course in an English post-1992 university. In this context tutors prepare students for the profession and for the workplace, and the development of team-working skills is a core element in the curriculum.…

Integrating Mobile Robotics and Vision with Undergraduate Computer Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cielniak, G.; Bellotto, N.; Duckett, T.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the integration of robotics education into an undergraduate Computer Science curriculum. The proposed approach delivers mobile robotics as well as covering the closely related field of Computer Vision and is directly linked to the research conducted at the authors' institution. The paper describes the most relevant details of…

Aging in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Faculty Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heyman, Janna C.; Gutheil, Irene A.; White-Ryan, Linda; Phipps, Colette; Guishard, Dozene

2008-01-01

This descriptive study of undergraduate faculty (N = 177) ascertained the extent to which aging content is taught and faculty are interested in aging. The research was the result of a collaboration among an area agency on aging, an alliance of academic and community leaders, and a university-based research center. While approximately 43% of the…