Trends in Teaching Experimentation in the Life Sciences

Part I. Vision and Initiation Phase: Envisioning What, When, and How Students Learn about Biological Experimentation.- 1. The problem with teaching experimentation: Development and use of a framework to define fundamental competencies for biological experimentation.- 2. Using data to identify anticipated learning outcomes for new and existing curricula.- 3. ACE-Bio experimentation competencies across the biology curriculum: When should we teach different competencies and concepts?.- 4. Integrating the five core concepts of biology into course syllabi to advance student science epistemology and experimentation skills.- Part II. Operationalizing and Planning: Designing Instruction to Promote Learning of Biological Experimentation.- 5. Backward designing a lab course to promote authentic research experience according to students' gains in research abilities.- 6. Using the ACE-Bio Competencies resource as a course planning tool to guide students in independent research.- 7. Experiments in data mining: Using digitized natural history collections to introduce students to data science.- 8. A framework for teaching and learning graphing in undergraduate biology.- Part III. Implementation and Student Engagement: Guiding Learners to Do Experiments and Use Representations in Biological Research.- 9. Teaching undergraduate students how to identify a gap in the literature: Design of a visual map assignment to develop a grant proposal research question.- 10. Virtual Microscope: Using simulated equipment to teach experimental techniques and processes.- 11. Introductory biology students engage in guided inquiry: Professional practice experiences develop their scientific process and experimentation competencies.- 12. Feedback and discourse as a critical skill for the development of experimentation competencies.- 13. Engaging students with experimentation in an introductory biology laboratory module.-

Dr. Nancy Pelaez is a Professor Emerita of Biology who founded the Biology Education Area as one of six research focus area in the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University. She holds a B.S. in Biology summa cum laude from Tulane University, a k-12 California teaching credential in both Life Science and Physical Science from Mills College, and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from Indiana University School of Medicine as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow. With more than 45 refereed publications in the field, Pelaez, who was elected Chair of Section Q (Education) for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), has been honored with the American Physiological Society Guyton Educator of the Year Award, a Fulbright Award to Vienna, Austria, and as AAAS Fellow.

Dr. Stephanie M. Gardner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University. She earned her doctorate in Physiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted her postdoctoral training in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As a Visiting Assistant Professor at Dickinson College and Purdue University, her research interests shifted toward biology education. Her research group examines how students and faculty engage in science practices including mechanistic reasoning and creating visualizations to understand and communicate data and experimental concepts. Dr. Gardner leads professional development workshops around inclusive and innovative instruction for faculty and graduate students. She is the co-director of the CURE - Purdue faculty development program to increase access to research for more and diverse undergraduate students. She has served on several biology education research journal editorial boards including as a monitoring editor at CBE-Life Sciences Education since 2018.

Dr. Trevor R. Anderson is a biochemistry education researcher and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry in the