Introducing bioinformatics-focused concepts and skills in a biology classroom is difficult, especially in introductory biology classrooms. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) facilitate this process, introducing genomics and bioinformatics through authentic research experiences, but the many learning objectives needed in scientific research and communication, foundational biology concepts, and bioinformatics-focused concepts and skills can make the process challenging. Here, the pairing of specifications grading with a bioinformatics-focused CURE developed by the Genomics Education Partnership is described. The study examines how the course structure with specifications grading facilitated scaffolding of writing assignments, group work, and metacognitive activities; and describes the synergies between CUREs and specifications grading. CUREs require mastery of related concepts and skills for working through the research process, utilize common research practices of revision and iteration, and encourage a growth mindset to learning—all of which are heavily incentivized in assessment practices focused on specifications grading.
Storyboarding for Biology
We introduce biology to the artist’s design tool, the storyboard. This versatile organizing and visualizing artistic platform is introduced into the biology classroom to aid in an inventive and focused discovery process. Almost all biological concepts are dynamic, and storyboards offer biology, lecture, wet and computational labs, flexibility, inventiveness, and an opportunity for students to slow down the so-called steps of biological processes and moderate their observations. Storyboarding is a thoughtful and reflective discovery device with enormous potential to break with traditional biology classroom experiences and return to the root of the educational process: storytelling. It will encourage teachers to embark on the remodeling of the biological curriculum with specific technical skills that students and teachers should consider developing to make the STEAM experience tailored to the uniqueness of biological systems. Storyboards offer hands-on, illustrative, and interactive conversations about biology concepts. They are an “unplugged” and contemplative experiences, organizing frameworks for personal expression focused on biological wonders.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10354810
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The American Biology Teacher
- Volume:
- 84
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 0002-7685
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 328 to 335
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2022.84.6.328
