Science One: Integrating Mathematical Biology into a First-Year Program (original) (raw)
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A New Undergraduate Curriculum in Mathematical Biology at the University of Dayton
researchgate.net
The beginning of modern science is marked by efforts of pioneers to understand the natural world using a quantitative approach. As Galileo wrote, "the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics." The traditional undergraduate course curriculum is heavily focused on individual disciplines like biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics with lesser emphasis on interdisciplinary courses. This fragmented teaching of sciences in the majority of universities leaves biology outside the quantitative and mathematical approaches and vice versa. The landscape of biomedical science has transformed dramatically with ad-* Corresponding Author
Cell Biology Education, 2004
Too often, biology has been considered by both students and faculty as the ideal major for the scientifically inclined but mathematically challenged, even though the advantage of quantitative approaches in biology has always been apparent. Increasingly, biologists are utilizing mathematical skills to create simulations or manage and query large data sets. The need for basic mathematical and computer science (CS) literacy among biologists has never been greater. But does this require a fundamental change in the organization of the undergraduate biology curriculum? What is the utility of math/CS in different areas of biology? How can we best provide math/CS instruction to biologists so that the utility is appreciated? Do all biology students require a stronger math/CS foundation, or only those interested in research careers? Given the speed at which technology changes, what is the best preparation? Three different points of view are offered below. Dr. Roger Brent, President and Director of the Molecular Sciences Institute, reflects on the "innumeracy" common among biologists and argues that significant insights into biological problems may be gained from better mathematical intuition.
Mathematical Biology Education: Changes, Communities, Connections, and Challenges
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
Mathematical biologists have been leaders in many of the programmatic efforts over the past 60 years to reform both mathematics and biology education. This issue brings together a review of initiatives that have been particularly effective as well as addressing challenges that we need to face. In planning the issue, we discussed how the variety of methods to cover mathematics for biology students have changed since the Cullowhee Conference on Training in Biomathematics held in 1961 at Western Carolina (see Rashevsky 1962) and the NRC/NAS publication of Bio 2010. When Bio 2010 initially appeared, a special conference at NIH organized by MAA brought together three funders: NSF, NIH, and HHMI to address the challenges and an edited collection of responses appeared in book format: "Math and Bio 2010: linking undergraduate disciplines" (2005) edited by Steen. Since the re-activation of the Educational Committee of the Society for Mathematical Biology in 1996, authors have been invited to submit educational articles to the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, but this is the first special issue on education. The timing for this issue is propitious because it has been ten years since a National Academy of Sciences symposium celebration of the NRC/NAS (2003) publication Bio 2010. While three major publications resulted from that symposium: (1) a special issue of cbe Life Science Education (2010) edited by Jungck and Marsteller; (2) a special issue of Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena (2011) edited by Jungck and Schwartz; and (3) Undergraduate Mathematics for the Life Sciences: Models, Processes, and Directions (2013) edited by Ledder, Carpenter, and Comar, there has been a significant change in the past decade and many resources were not described in
We describe a unique Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Veterinary students summer program at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The program focused on interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics. Participants were selected to work on projects with a biology mentor and a mathematics mentor in an environment that promoted collaboration outside of the students' respective disciplines. There were four research projects with teams of four participants and two faculty mentors. The participants consisted of a mixture of 10 undergraduates in biology-and mathematics-related disciplines, four veterinary students, and two high-school teachers. The activities included lectures on both the biological and mathematical backgrounds of the projects, tutorials for software, and sessions on ethics, graduate school, and possible career paths for individuals interested in biology and mathematics. The program was designed to give students the ability to actively participate in the scientific research process by working on a project, writing up their results in a final report, and presenting their work orally. We report on the results of our evaluation surveys of the participants.
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Inspired by BIO2010 and leveraging institutional and external funding, Truman State University built an undergraduate program in mathematical biology with high-quality, faculty-mentored interdisciplinary research experiences at its core. These experiences taught faculty and students to bridge the epistemological gap between the mathematical and life sciences. Together they created the infrastructure that currently supports several interdisciplinary courses, an innovative minor degree, and long-term interdepartmental research collaborations. This article describes how the program was built with support from the National Science Foundation's Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biology and Mathematics program, and it shares lessons learned that will help other undergraduate institutions build their own program.
New math for biology is the old new math
Cell biology education, 2004
Too often, biology has been considered by both students and faculty as the ideal major for the scientifically inclined but mathematically challenged, even though the advantage of quantitative approaches in biology has always been apparent. Increasingly, biologists are utilizing mathematical skills to create simulations or manage and query large data sets. The need for basic mathematical and computer science (CS) literacy among biologists has never been greater. But does this require a fundamental change in the organization of the undergraduate biology curriculum? What is the utility of math/CS in different areas of biology? How can we best provide math/CS instruction to biologists so that the utility is appreciated? Do all biology students require a stronger math/CS foundation, or only those interested in research careers? Given the speed at which technology changes, what is the best preparation? Three different points of view are offered below. Dr. Roger Brent, President and Director of the Molecular Sciences Institute, reflects on the "innumeracy" common among biologists and argues that significant insights into biological problems may be gained from better mathematical intuition.
Infusing quantitative approaches throughout the biological sciences curriculum
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2013
A major curriculum redesign effort at the University of Maryland is infusing all levels of our undergraduate biological sciences curriculum with increased emphasis on interdisciplinary connections and quantitative approaches. The curriculum development efforts have largely been guided by the recommendations in the NRC BIO 2010 report and have resulted in revisions to courses in biology, mathematics, and physics over a period of 10 years. Important components of this effort included (1) developing online modules to infuse more mathematical content into six biology courses taken by biological sciences majors during their first two years of study, (2) strengthening the interdisciplinary connections of ancillary courses in mathematics and physics to support the development of quantitative skills in biological contexts, and (3) creating more quantitatively intensive courses for the final two years of the bachelors of science program. These efforts, carried out by a large, multidisciplinary team of faculty, have resulted in increased coherence in the undergraduate biological sciences curriculum, increased quantitative skills in first and second year students, and a greater appreciation among graduates for the essential relationship between mathematics and modern biology.