Overall Description of Project. The impact of the biological sciences on modern life cannot be overestimated. Rapid developments in the disciplines of molecular biology (particularly genomics and proteomics) and organismal biology (especially related to invasive species and ecosystem-level changes) make compelling cases for the need to understand biology and its potential societal impacts. At the University of Tennessee, our Biology faculty aims to educate informed citizens, future teachers and the next-generation biomedical researchers and practitioners. Yet, we educators have anecdotal experience with graduating students who have an impressive knowledge base, but who lack critical thinking skills. We now propose steps to redress this discrepancy. We believe that properly educated biology majors should have well-developed analytical and quantitative skills, that they should have a firm grasp of the conceptual and philosophical framework of the scientific pursuit, that they should be savvy regarding information technology, and that they should be effective at communicating their knowledge of science to their peers and the wider public.

In order to empower our students with mastery of these critical thinking tools, we propose a three-step plan to change biology training on our campus, shifting our focus from fact-centered learning to skill learning and inquiry-based approaches. First, a centerpiece of our plan is the founding of a Biology Resource Center (BRC) that will operate as a training and guidance center for current and future faculty as we redirect our teaching efforts. The BRC represents an interdisciplinary effort, with support from biology, philosophy, education and communications units on campus providing faculty expertise and teaching assistants. The faculty and staff affiliated with the BRC will be responsible for buttressing our core curriculum with problem-based learning modules that will explore fundamental concepts in biology. Second, a new introductory biology course will steer student effort away from mere memorization of facts. We will focus instead on the conceptual underpinnings of science, the scientific method, inquiry as a foundation for learning, and the communication of ideas. The design of this course has grown out of a highly successful "research skills" course that was piloted with previous HHMI support as an upper-level course and that will be adapted as an lower-level course to develop these skills at the outset. Third, we embrace a broad-reaching undergraduate research program as one of the best methods to reinforce the joys and rigor of scientific inquiry and better to prepare students for careers in the biological sciences.

In proposing these three aims for funding by HHMI, we have projected our costs and worked with the university administration to build the support that will sustain this program after its establishment. We provide letters of support that document over $1 million in matching funds from the University over the four-year period, with an ongoing commitment of over $400,000 per year at the termination of the award to maintain the BRC and continue curriculum enhancements. In our previous HHMI-funded program, we made special opportunities available to a small subset of students. The success of that program informed us of how well students responded to opportunities to hone their quantitative and conceptual skills. Therefore, in planning for new initiatives, we have used past experience to compile a comprehensive list of learning objectives in the areas of quantitative competency, conceptual skills, and effective communication, which we now intend to bring to a broader audience:

Our initiatives take advantage of existing expertise on campus and capitalize on a vision for a robust educational program that emphasizes these areas and strengthens the research and teaching mission of our University.

The University of Tennessee--Current Emphases on Research and Teaching. Our program exists in a supportive local context. The University of Tennessee is positioned as the premier research campus in the state-funded university system in Tennessee. In its most recent Report on General Education (March 2001), one of the two stated outcomes for graduates of UT is: "Building Basic Skills: Because the hallmark of the educated person is the ability to think independently, students must be trained to acquire, evaluate and use information." This goal is particularly important in science and is emphasized in this proposal. Indeed, the University has recognized the increasingly important role that the biological sciences play in modern life by supporting members of the Division of Biology in their teaching and research efforts. The Biology major offers four tracks aligned with the four departments within the Division – Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, Botany, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Microbiology. Faculty in the Division have strong research programs that encompass the major biological disciplines from the ecosystem level to structural biology. External grant funding per year has ranged between $6.0 and 8.3 million between 1995 and 2000.

In addition, the University has recently recognized two Centers of Excellence (in Structural Biology and in Environmental Biotechnology) and has pledged over $10 million in support to these centers over the next four years. Another highlight is the Graduate Program of Genome Science and Technology, which is co-sponsored by the Division of Biology at UT and the Life Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and which trains PhD and MS students at the interface between molecular genetics and computational biology. An opportunity that complements the problem-based learning approaches described in this application is a grant funded by Dupont Corporation to work with K-8 science teachers to implement inquiry-based learning at the pre-college level.

Because of the unique position of UT as an affordable yet research-intensive campus in Tennessee, some of the brightest and most dedicated high school graduates come to study here. Given the underlying economic and commercial structure of Tennessee, most college freshmen are rather unfamiliar with the wide array of innovative career choices offered in life science outside of the traditional MD and nursing tracks. Our program will expose students to other options for careers in biomedical sciences by emphasizing undergraduate research and enacting changes in the biology curriculum that foster quantitative and conceptual learning and the ability to communicate biology to the public. Our students will be better prepared for advanced degrees and research careers.

Independent research experiences reinforce students' theoretical knowledge base, enhance quantitative competency, improve scientific communication skills, and attract talented undergraduate students to life science and biomedical research careers (1). We endorse a broad-scope undergraduate research program that will coordinate with the existing Biology Division Honors Program, which has emerged from the prior HHMI-funded Threshold Program. In this way, we will expand undergraduate research to a larger pool of qualified students. Biology faculty at UT are already heavily involved in guiding undergraduate research participation, with between 80 and 100 students out of a total of approximately 400 Biology majors involved in research at any given time. Chief merits of undergraduate research participation include:

Under this initiative, we will institute a Grants Program for student research during the fall and spring semesters and stipends for Summer Research Associates. Funding under either of these two initiatives will be conditional on the student's participation in the course Communicating Biology (Section IVB), which has evolved from the previous HHMI-enabled Seminar in Research Support Skills, or taking the new Philosophy of Biology course (Section IVC) offered in the Department of Philosophy. Students supported in these research programs also will participate in the weekly Undergraduate Biology Colloquium (supervised by Albrecht von Arnim) that is patterned after the HHMI-sponsored Threshold colloquium and has been expanded to a larger group of students.

A. Grants Program for Undergraduate Research Fellows ($1,000 each; 30 available per year). Funds will be used for supplies and service fees in students' independent research projects. Coordinated by the BRC, this program will be available on a competitive basis to students conducting research in laboratories beginning as early as their sophomore year. Applications will be accepted from students who have completed at least one semester of faculty-supervised research or have enrolled in Communicating Biology or Philosophy of Biology. Applicants will provide a CV and answer a questionnaire (for assessment purposes, see section VI). They also will write a brief proposal that describes the scientific problem to be addressed, an outline of the research plan, and a budget for projected costs. The faculty mentor will attach a letter of recommendation. These awards will be available to UT students for conducting independent research with scientists at UT, UT Medical Center, ORNL, the Knoxville Zoological Garden, or the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

The grant application process will encourage independent thinking about a research problem and will reinforce scientific communication skills. The financial support will allow undergraduates to access state-of-the-art equipment such as NMR spectrometers, confocal or electron microscopes, DNA sequencers, computerized growth rooms, ecophysiological equipment and computer labs for intensive data analysis. In support of this program, the University will sponsor service contracts on major pieces of equipment for the duration of the grant and beyond at a level of $60,000 per year.

B. Summer Research Associates (20 per year). Undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing research under the guidance of UT faculty over the summer will be encouraged to apply for stipends to support their work. Stipends will be available for 10 weeks of full-time work over the summer, with HHMI providing $2,500 towards a total stipend that may total up to $4,000 with matching funds from the mentor. Each student will also receive a budget of $1,000 for supplies. Applications will be accepted from students throughout their undergraduate education, provided that the student has previous experience in research. Ten positions will be available for rising sophomores and juniors, and ten positions will be available for rising seniors. A summer research experience is an intensive way to experience the "culture" of scientific inquiry, and it allows for the best hands-on training possible. However, financial support must accompany the summer research even for highly motivated students. Undergraduate students at UT typically hold jobs, especially over the summer. Without adequate compensation, summer research is rarely an attractive option for those struggling to pay tuition.

A core component of our proposal is the creation of a Biology Resource Center (BRC) to coordinate training of current and future faculty and reinforce the interdisciplinary nature of the biological sciences in the modern world. The short- and mid-term goals for the center reflect our plans to modify undergraduate teaching in Biology. Similar resources have been developed elsewhere, e.g. the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education at the University of Delaware (http://www.udel.edu/inst/). The vision underlying our efforts is based on the following cardinal ideas:

A proactive tactic to address these shortfalls in undergraduate biology education will be the establishment of the Biology Resource Center at UT. Through the center, we will promote the diverse interactions between sciences that are essential in modern research, and we will de-emphasize the barriers that traditionally separate the disciplines. The mission of the BRC is threefold: (i) to support professional development of current and future faculty, (ii) to pioneer curricular initiatives that emphasize inquiry-based approaches (see section IV), and (iii) to coordinate the undergraduate research program (section II). By definition, the BRC will be trans-disciplinary, involving biologists, philosophers, communications experts, and education specialists.

This effort, encompassing three colleges (Arts & Sciences, Communication and Education), reflects the wide-ranging impact of Biology. Letters of support from these units indicate the broad appeal of establishing the BRC on this campus. Faculty from the Division of Biology, the Department of Philosophy, the College of Communications and the College of Education will serve as consultants for the center. Cynthia Peterson (Biology), Massimo Pigliucci (Biology and Philosophy), Jonathan Kaplan (Philosophy), Mark Littmann (Communications) and Lynn Cagle (Education) constitute the working group that has championed this concept with the administration. These consulting faculty will earn release time for their leadership and participation in BRC activities. After the first two years of operation, membership on the team of consulting faculty will rotate among a large group of other faculty interested in working on innovative educational initiatives. We will rely heavily on faculty on our campus who have made great strides in both the quantitative and inquiry-based learning approaches, particularly on Lou Gross (http://ww.tiem.utk.edu/~gross/bioed/) and Les Hickok (http://cfern.bio.utk.edu). With support from NSF, Dr. Gross has developed web-based quantitative modules as a companion to the general biology course material. Dr. Hickok has been supported by two major NSF grants in his development of a model plant system (C-FernÆ) focused on facilitating learning though inquiry approaches in both group/classroom and independent research settings.

The BRC will be managed by a full-time, PhD-level director with a primary interest in science education. We have identified qualified candidates both here at UT and externally; therefore, we expect a successful search identifying competitive candidates. A second essential role within the staff will be filled by a full-time information technology (IT) expert. Furthermore, the BRC will rely on teaching assistants from biology, philosophy, education, and communications. The director will have the primary responsibility for coordinating the center's activities. This individual will interact with key faculty who teach in the core biology curriculum. The core courses will be augmented in the first phase of our four-year plan by addition of modules on communication, conceptual approaches and quantitative methods. The IT expert will maintain technically viable computer labs and will update software as necessary. More importantly, the IT consultant will provide up-to-date expertise with software development and will assist faculty in the deployment of online and in-lab activities emphasizing the concepts/skills that are central to this proposal. The TAs assigned to the Center will facilitate the day-to-day work involved in meeting the BRC goals. The BRC will pursue the following activities to address the identified educational issues at all levels of the academic structure, from undergraduate students to faculty:

A. Faculty Development: The BRC will offer organized workshops to help faculty "retool" and introduce them to current topics in education. Examples include ways to implement problem-based learning, the use of IT to mount web-based activities, appropriate use of peer evaluation, etc. There will be opportunities for individual consulting with BRC staff to work on specific ways to weave quantitative tools, conceptual thinking and communication skills into the faculty's current teaching efforts. The BRC will thus assist the faculty gradually to shift the emphasis in their courses from content to concepts and skills. Initial efforts will involve designing semi-independent modules that can be substituted for part of the standard content in core curriculum in Biology. The Center will also assist the faculty by providing IT consultation and direct help (teaching assistants) for these efforts.

B. Training of Teaching Assistants: An important activity of the Biology Resource Center will be the training and development of our graduate teaching assistants as future faculty. At present, there is little attention given to equipping our GTAs to be good teachers, so this MUST be addressed in order to implement effective teaching using problem-based approaches. The goal is to help GTAs acquire the basic skills they need to teach labs and discussion groups incorporating the objectives outlined above. Each fall a "kick off" event will be held as an intensive off-site weekend retreat that incorporates a variety of formats for training—lectures; workshops; small group discussions; inquiry-based activities; information access demonstrations; role-playing, etc. The retreats will provide much-needed basic training in teaching that has been sorely lacking for our TAs employed to teach introductory and middle-level labs and discussion sessions. Previously trained TAs will return to provide a bridge between the new graduate students and the BRC staff and to ease the transition toward a new way of thinking about teaching. Formal training sessions will also be held 1-2 additional times per semester. Graduate students will be organized into smaller groups (10-12) that will meet monthly with a faculty mentor. All graduate students will participate in these activities each year. This provides a natural peer mentoring opportunity, as senior students become better teaching assistants.

C. Training of Undergraduate Students: This will be achieved by a combination of two activities. On one hand, the Center will offer topical sessions on science communication, philosophy of science, quantitative biology and information science. These sessions will be coordinated with regular courses that are offered on campus in introductory and semi-advanced classes. A value-added aspect of these activities is that we can eventually offer these courses to a broader community (e.g. K-12 teachers) for outreach with our problem-based learning approaches. A second opportunity for strengthening undergraduate competency in these areas will be provided on an individual basis. BRC Staff will have office hours during which undergraduate students can arrange for help by appointment. Students will be provided with pointers and resources that they can use to equip themselves to learn new concepts/skills.

An important activity that will be spearheaded by the Biology Resource Center is the development and implementation of new curricular initiatives. We are committed to revising our approach to undergraduate education by reinforcing active learning on the part of our students from the beginning of their training. In addition to an emphasis on developing quantitative and conceptual modules to enhance the current core curriculum in the early phases of the program (as described under the BRC, section III), we propose a new course—Biology 125, a first-year course that will firmly ground our majors with the needed quantitative, conceptual and communication skills. We also plan to continue with a version of our upper-level interdisciplinary course that was the product of previous HHMI support; this Communicating Biology course provides for a more mature development of expertise in these areas. A recent addition to our curriculum that will be emphasized is Philosophy of Biology.

In these new efforts, we build on the proven efficacy of similar problem-based learning approaches now used in several universities across the country. We propose the following objectives that capitalize on unique resources available at the University of Tennessee:

A. New Introductory Course for Majors: Biology 125. We will develop a new introductory biology course to emphasize development of these skills in the context of collaborative learning and discovery. Although we could title this course "Doing Biology," it will NOT be a methods course in the sense of learning how to do specific techniques such as measuring pH, fixing and preserving animals and plants, or applying statistical tests. Instead, Biology 125 will introduce the resource tools and provide the initial conceptual and experiential skills that will permit our majors to progress through our biology curriculum as independent learners and eventually experimental investigators.

Logistics & Technology. The major challenge facing virtually all state university introductory biology courses is logistics. Large numbers of students take these courses, and large numbers are generally not optimal for the collaborative, investigative, problem-based learning that we propose. This type of course requires both space and personnel (faculty and graduate teaching assistants) that could exceed our resources if not planned for effective and efficient use. We do not minimize these problems, and we realize that compromises must be made. Importantly, we have secured from the University laboratory space that will be dedicated to Biology 125. A reality within which we must operate is that we cannot run this course solely in a laboratory/discussion format. We simply cannot handle 1500 student hours per week, even with the new space promised; nor do we have enough teaching assistants for this load. Therefore, students will register in separate sections, and we contemplate staggering laboratory sections to use space most effectively. For example, we entertain a model in which each student section will have laboratory one week out of every three weeks. During the weeks when a section does not attend laboratory, there will be group exercises as well as individual assignments. Additionally, we propose undergraduate tutors/teaching aides to facilitate peer learning. We will use "computer labs-on-a-cart " (http://www.apple.com/uk/education/cart/index.html) in the teaching laboratories. This flexible and portable arrangement facilitates using the same laboratory space for both bench activities and problem-solving exercises that are interactive, web-based activities. The technologically equipped classroom is an essential part of the modern learning environment, and the media that is developed to accompany the course will provide a means to extend the problem solving beyond the hours of organized lab instruction. In support of this program, UT will underwrite the cost of portable computer labs.

We anticipate that the major challenge will not be the laboratory but the lecture. We must make use of traditional facilities for our plan: i.e., students will be sitting in rows of seats firmly screwed down to the floor – not always an optimal environment for group-based collaborative learning and instruction. Nonetheless, even this unfavorable geography can be used for "quick think breaks" in lecture, where students solve a problem individually or with 2-3 surrounding students.

Skills. Our primary goal for college education is to develop an individual's intellectual maturity. A motivation for this introductory course is the frequent observation that our junior and senior majors do not communicate well, have insufficient quantitative skills for analysis, evaluation and interpretation of biological data, and do not know how to ask experimental questions. Therefore, we want to provide foundations that will ultimately raise the level of subsequent upper-level courses. In the sciences, critical and analytical thinking is essential to making reasoned judgments about complex problems. Higher-order thinking is essential to enjoying science and scientific inquiry. In lecture we will deal with the scientific method and what differentiates it from the non-sciences/pseudosciences. (Drs. Pigliucci and Kaplan have just added an upper-division undergraduate course (Section IVC) dealing with this topic. Their expertise will be invaluable when translating to lower-division courses.) We will consider the concept of objectivity and its relationship to scientific theory, scientific explanations and scientific predictions, and we will look at experiments and their relationship to theory.

The focus of Biology 125 will be on development of conceptual skills, and also on acquiring an understanding of why these skills are important and necessary in science in general (and in biology in particular). These skills will be taught in both the lecture and laboratory. They can be reinforced by homework assignments to be conducted both individually and in collaborative groups in the weeks when students are not attending laboratory. Assignments will be subjected to peer evaluation. Strategies for composition and management of collaborative groups and peer evaluation have been addressed previously (12,13).

In addition to thinking skills, we will introduce our students to written and spoken communication skills, graphical and web-based information dissemination, and information retrieval methodology. We will emphasize clarity and conciseness, starting with the simple description of an idea and statement of a problem, and extending to writing reports and proposals and interpreting science for the public. Students will critique each other's writing and presentations. Practical experience will be given with information retrieval by computer, access to on-line web aids, and the production of visuals and reports on computers. Developing facility with these computer and web-based tools will permit students to maximize their rate of learning in subsequent exposure to biological principles and problems. Students will be taught how to recognize an information need, how to identify and access various types of information sources, how to evaluate information and information sources, and how to use information appropriately with an awareness of legal and ethical issues.

Another goal in Biology 125 is to develop an understanding of the ways in which quantitative reasoning underlies biology, thereby reducing students' math anxiety level. We also wish to instill the value of mathematics to biology in reducing the volume of information necessary to analyze a biological problem. In developing math thinking/quantitative reasoning, biology majors will better understand mathematical tools and how they can be applied in their problem solving. As noted previously, Lou Gross has taken the lead at our university in developing quantitative modules to accompany the basic biology series; we will continue to develop these learning tools. Also, we will use selected simulation examples from the Bioquest Curriculum Consortium's Library and the Ecobeaker software. Our goal in Biology 125 is less to teach biological content than to demonstrate to our prospective majors the level of understanding of a system that can be gained through making use of such simulation exercises.

Course Format. Lectures will present representative and simple biological problems in the context of developing skills for quantitative analysis, communication and asking experimental questions. Traditional didactic approaches will be mixed with opportunities for short "quick think breaks" involving mini-problem solving in small groups. Roving graduate assistants and undergraduate teaching aides in the lecture hall will help keep students on target.

The procedure involves a brief presentation of a system, organism or problem by the instructor. The students then engage in an initial process of brainstorming ideas (hypotheses). There follows a summary of the collective knowledge of the group about the subject/system/problem. The students will then be asked to generate a list of information they feel they need in order to make further progress with the problem. An action plan would be generated, consisting of tasks that are assigned to different individuals and identification of potential learning resources (drawing on tools they gain from the lecture/discussion component of Biology 125). Next is a period of information gathering, discussion of the concepts and information learned, and a reformulation of the hypothesis or alternative hypotheses. The steps in the process might be repeated until the groups feel that they have settled on an approach that adequately answers the question they posed. Each class will experience problems that involve data collection and analysis in the problem-based section of the lab because the opportunity to design and carry out multiple experiments is important to experiencing the process of discovery. The instructor will clarify difficult concepts, help the student to see interrelationships between the problems they have explored, and show how their narrow search into the natural world applies to broader biological principles.

Later in the course, we will shift from a problem-based learning approach to expanded project-based learning, which is the format encountered in undergraduate research experiences and ultimately in scientific careers. Students will be expected to search the biological literature on a subject with the ultimate challenge of carrying out a project, from methods development to evaluation and conclusion. Examples of project-based learning experiences that easily might be carried out in Biology 125 labs include: environmental effects on development in the C-FernÆ (Dr. Hickok's research system and educational tool), the nature of competitive interactions using Tribolium beetle cultures or floating aquatic mats (e.g. Lemma), tests for genetic dominance and complementation of traits in slime molds (Physarum species), problems related to genetics and physiology in rapid-cycling Brassica plants, the relationship between food availability and life cycle in the slime molds, and the role of asymmetric traits in sexual selection using insects or spiders as experimental subjects.

B. Communicating Biology (Biology 452/Communications 452). The improvements we seek in the core biology curriculum will better equip our students to think, solve problems, handle math, perform research, and teach. All those capabilities are enhanced if our students can also communicate effectively—communicate to the public and reporters, communicate to other scientists, and communicate to their peers. It is therefore useful—and unusual—for our students, as part of their undergraduate biology training, to be competent in science writing, technical writing, speech communication, and information sciences.

Communication skills help students in their graduate work and in their scientific careers:

The Division of Biology and the School of Journalism will continue work together to provide students with training in science communication through a one-semester course. A similar course was offered in the Division of Biology's Threshold Program, previously funded by HHMI, and student evaluation of the science communication units was highly favorable. This team-taught interdisciplinary course will be coordinated by Mark Littmann, holder of an endowed professorship in science writing, who will oversee the unit on science writing (writing about science for the general public). Russel Hirst, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Technical Communication Program, will supervise for the unit on technical communication (writing about science for technical journals or grants). John Haas, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Speech Communication, will be responsible for the unit on speech communication (speaking at conferences and in the classroom about science). Elizabeth Aversa, Professor and Director of the School of Information Sciences, will teach the unit on information sciences, helping biology students to seek out and appraise information from data bases and the Internet.

C. Philosophy of Biology. The study and practice of biology raise both empirical and conceptual questions. It is unfortunate that the focus of most biology education is on the empirical questions, with the conceptual questions rarely directly confronted. These questions emerge from the detailed analysis of particular concepts and problems in biology, and studying these questions can put the study and practice of the biological sciences into a broader perspective. This is a unique focus of our program.

Philosophy of Biology (Philosophy 462) encourages students to explore the relationship between the conceptual framework and the formal techniques (both mathematical and experimental) used in the biological sciences. Concepts and issues regularly covered in the Philosophy of Biology course include:

In struggling with these kinds of questions, students gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the complexities of biology, and begin to see more of the "big picture." For students who intend to pursue graduate education in the biological sciences, a course in the Philosophy of Biology provides a rare opportunity to reflect on the relationship between some of the major concepts and their empirical work.

A. Administrative Organization. The implementation of the initiatives described above will be overseen by the program director, Dr. Cynthia Peterson, with a steering committee comprised of the team of consulting faculty (Drs. Pigliucci, Kaplan, Littmann and Cagle) who will initially staff the BRC and who have contributed to the development of these new initiatives. Other members on the steering committee include the Director of the Division of Biology, the Director of the BRC, the IT Consultant for the BRC, and a GTA representative from the BRC. An administrative assistant will be responsible for managing the office, handling correspondence, communicating with participating faculty and students, and handling fiscal matters in conjunction with the Biology Business Office. Monthly meetings of the steering committee will be held. The steering committee will meet twice a semester with the group of faculty who teach in the core Biology courses, including Drs. Peterson, Handel and Riechert, who will be teaching Biology 125 in its pilot phase. Since participation as a consulting faculty member for the BRC will be rotated among the Biology faculty after the second year of funding, opportunities are present for broad participation and significant input from our peers. The yearly GTA training retreat (Section III) will also provide an opportunity for updates on the new initiatives to the Division of Biology faculty. The retreat will provide an open discussion forum for new ideas and troubleshooting as the plan proceeds.

B. Time-Line for Initiatives. Our goals in the three areas described above have been projected over a four-year award period that takes advantage of funding from HHMI and significant support from UT that is phased in gradually so that the requirements for the University to provide sustaining funds at the end of the grant period can be realized.

In the first year, we will establish the Biology Resource Center and will recruit a director and IT specialist. We will implement new initiatives for undergraduate research and will begin with course development for Biology 125, including planning for new laboratory exercises, reporting and communications skills, quantitative modules, etc. During this year, we will consult with faculty who teach in the biology "core" to develop several problem-based learning modules that will be incorporated into the current curriculum. GTA and faculty training by the BRC will begin during this first year. We will work with the UT Institute for Assessment and Evaluation to develop valid assessment tools for this experiment. The new Communicating Biology course will be offered, and Philosophy of Biology will continue as an upper-level offering.

In the second year, these efforts will continue, and the BRC will be in full swing with its outreach to current and future faculty. We plan to pilot Biology 125 by offering two sections of the course. By year three, we plan to offer Biology 125 at half capacity, and by year four, the course will be offered to all of our incoming undergraduate biology majors (~500/year). The assessment plan will be implemented from the second year onward. The BRC will work actively in the final years of funding to develop an overarching plan for incorporating problem-based learning and quantitative skills across the curriculum in anticipation of expanding the program fully to our upper-division courses and to increase public outreach through the BRC to promote inquiry-based learning in regional K-12 schools.

Ongoing evaluation across the four-year life of the project will be conducted by the Institute For Assessment And Evaluation (IAE), College of Education, University of Tennessee. IAE is a research and development community of faculty, doctoral students, and persons working in all areas of assessment and evaluation. Among IAE’s current grants and contracts are evaluation of Tennessee’s school-to-career initiative (5-year continuous evaluation), evaluation of two NSF sponsored curriculum development projects on the UT campus, and evaluation of the development, implementation, and dissemination of an innovative introductory course in computer programming at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts (a FIPSE project). Director of the evaluation of the project proposed herein will be Dr. Russell French, Director of IAE. Specific aspects of data collection and analysis will be handled by other IAE faculty and doctoral students, as needed.

Evaluation Design. Intended outcomes of the work proposed by the Biology faculty are four:

The evaluation design must encompass all four objectives and the activities enabling their accomplishment. In collaboration with the project team, the IAE evaluation team will develop several research questions that will frame the evaluation over the life of the project. Examples of questions are:

Obviously, none of these questions can be answered in a single year. They are ongoing questions requiring ongoing data collection and annual reports that track success or failure, problem resolution, progress toward accomplishment of objectives, etc. over four years. To respond to any one of the research questions, data from multiple sources are required. Data sources pertinent to the research questions presented above include faculty, administration and student surveys and interviews. Once the final research questions for this evaluation are in place, a data source sheet will be developed as a guide to design of data collection instruments and procedures, annual activities, tasks, and timelines, data analyses and formulation of annual reports.