Using Active Learning to Teach Concepts and Methods in Quantitative Biology.
This article provides a summary of the ideas discussed at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology society-wide symposium on Leading Students and Faculty to Quantitative Biology through Active Learning. It also includes a brief review of the recent advancements in incorporating active learning approaches into quantitative biology classrooms. We begin with an overview of recent literature that shows that active learning can improve students' outcomes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education disciplines. We then discuss how this approach can be particularly useful when teaching topics in quantitative biology. Next, we describe some of the recent initiatives to develop hands-on activities in quantitative biology at both the graduate and the undergraduate levels. Throughout the article we provide resources for educators who wish to integrate active learning and technology into their classrooms.
*Department of Mathematics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; lwaldrop@email.unc.edu.
Lindsay D
LD
Waldrop
Department of Biology, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA;
Stephen C
SC
Adolph
Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA;
Cecilia G
CG
Diniz Behn
Department of Mathematics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA;
Emily
E
Braley
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA;
Joshua A
JA
Drew
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;
Robert J
RJ
Full
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA;
Louis J
LJ
Gross
Departments of Biological Sciences and Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA;
John A
JA
Jungck
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA;
Brynja
B
Kohler
Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA 92110, USA;
Jennifer C
JC
Prairie
Department of Mathematics, Pomona College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA;
Blerta
B
Shtylla
Departments of Biology and Mathematics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA lam9@email.unc.edu.
Laura A
LA
Miller
D001695:Biology / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000379:methods*; D013334:Students