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The initial aim of the BioMolViz project was to produce a repository of validated, visualization-based assessment questions that any instructor could use. However, as assessment-writing workshops began, it became clear that participants varied in their ability to create molecular visualizations. Some could easily generate precise custom images for new assessments using modeling programs, while others could not and wanted to be trained to do so. Through an NSF grant supplement, BioMolViz was able to incorporate two virtual modeling program training sessions for faculty. We developed a two-day online workshop that trained participants to navigate the Protein Data Bank, find resources for structures, and model a macromolecule of their choice. In breakout rooms, participants specialized in one of three popular molecular modeling programs (PyMOL, ChimeraX, or iCn3D). The wealth of training materials developed and used for the workshops remained in an online folder until members of the BioMolViz working group began designing formative assessments that utilized molecular modeling. Upon revisiting the materials, the working group noted there were enough resources to develop an online manual to help instructors take the first steps toward bringing molecular modeling into their classrooms. Group members organized activities into chapters and identified concepts that required elaboration to be translated from a workshop format to an open educational resource (OER). Here, we present the structure of the book Teaching with Molecular Visualization: A BioMolViz Guide for Educators. With chapters authored by over a dozen different members of the working group based on their specific expertise, the OER is a model for a network-wide collaboration for broad dissemination of educational material outside of the traditional publication avenue. This work showcases how a near-forgotten wealth of resources provided the basis for a creative work shaped by authors across numerous institutions and strengthened the BioMolViz community. 

BioMolViz is a community of practice dedicated to improving biomolecular visualization instruction. Guided by a framework of learning objectives for biomolecular visualization skills, our initial project goal was to create a repository of validated assessments to evaluate students’ visual literacy. In 2018, the team was awarded one year of seed funding, which led to a four-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. This support allowed BioMolViz to flourish into a community of educators in professional development workshops and working groups, where teams of participants aimed to design effective and accessible assessments to evaluate students’ biomolecular visual literacy. As the project advanced, we piloted these items in classrooms across the United States. Through a small-scale classroom testing study, we compared student and instructor perceptions of assessment difficulty, while large-scale testing revealed performance patterns that reinforced the need to understand distinct student perspectives. This led us to evaluate students’ problem-solving strategies through surveys and semi-structured interviews. Based on this work, we argue that a reimagining of the curriculum can begin with faculty, but must include productive student partnerships to enact effective change. We offer our repository of visual literacy assessments, the BioMolViz Library, as an instructor resource shaped by the student perspective, and present a new instructor training resource recently produced by our working group. As we approach the close of our funding cycle, we offer our ideas and invite conversations on fostering long-term sustainability for our robust community of practice, under all future resource models.