The QUBES (Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis) project is announcing two new FREE opportunities for faculty to learn effective and fun approaches to teach mathematics and modeling to biology/ecology students.
These opportunities are Faculty Mentoring Networks, in which small groups of faculty from around the country meet online to learn, share, implement, test, and refine new educational approaches. QUBES Faculty Mentoring Networks provide faculty with "extended duration, low intensity" mentoring and peer interactions during the challenging classroom implementation stage of instructional reform, not just beforehand in a summer workshop. Erin Bodine from Rhodes College is hosting a faculty mentoring network on using student- friendly (non-calculus) models in biological applications ranging from population growth and species interactions to natural selection and population genetics. The focus will be on discrete difference equations and other approachable but useful mathematical model types. Learn more and apply here: https://qubeshub.org/groups/discretefmn_f2017 (Application Deadline September 30). Second, Holly Gaff from Old Dominion University is hosting a faculty mentoring network on using manipulatives and physical models to help learners break through prior fears and develop an appreciation for how mathematical reasoning informs problem solving, inference, and precise communication in biology. The focus will be on hands-on, active learning approaches to introducing modeling. Learn more and apply here: https://qubeshub.org/groups/beanbagbiology (Application Deadline September 15). In both cases, participants will earn recognition from a national educational initiative (i.e. a letter for your faculty annual report/ line for your CV), and have opportunities for professional products to result from their work (e.g., educational publications or presentations at biology education conferences). Both networks will feature lots of ecological applications of modeling. Neither network requires or presumes mathematical or modeling expertise, and both will provide instructional approaches suitable for introductory biology or ecology courses. High school and community college instructors are encouraged to apply. Check out these faculty mentoring opportunities and other quantitative biology education resources and ideas at https://qubeshub.org. Best, Jeremy Wojdak Radford University, Department of Biology QUBES (Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis) [email protected]
