1. Products / Reflections / …
NW Biology instructors Conference 2016
In pursuit of unity: creating shared vision and aligning outcomes
George Fox University
Jeffrey Duerr, James Smart, and Laura Hartley
VISION – To identify, support, and assess a shared vision of learning outcomes for undergraduate biology majors.
MAIN GOAL– To collectively establish program learning outcomes and map current curriculum to those outcomes.
Photos should be at least 300dpi, but not more than 5-12 mgs each. Your poster is set to be enlarged 200% so do not change the page size to fit another poster size. Posters (3’ x 4’) will be printed at WWU using the same purchase order at the same time. Please your poster as a PPT file to by Joann Otto at WWU by April 1, Please contact Joann Otto with questions about poster printing. Also please put your institution “logo” on your poster.
Please note that this template is provided to simplify your effort to prepare a poster for the NW Biology meeting. You can change the font size, colors, column widths, add photos, institutional logos, graphics, etc. This template can also be used as a starting point and you can be as creative as you want in your poster. However, we would like to have all of the posters the same size and we will be printed at the same time, at the same print shop in order to easily pay for printing with one purchase order.
ACTIONS
BARRIERS & CHALLENGES
Assessments:
Presently, assessments include written student reports through which student competency may be determined.
End of course surveys are under development.
Development of departmental assessment as part of the University assessment program.
Share V&C philosophy and rationale.
Invite a PULSE ambassador to come speak to faculty about V&C.
Agree to align program outcomes with V&C competencies.
Create curriculum map to examine where and how learning outcomes are present in current curricula.
.Dominant barrier to adoption of V&C is lack of recognition by some faculty that V&C mandate is even necessary.
RESOURCES & ALLIES
Dean of Arts & Sciences – attended PULSE workshop to learn how best to support biology faculty during this time of change.
University Provost – committed to curricular and pedagogical innovation.
PULSE coach/Ambassador – practical advice and encouragement.
SUSTAINABILITY
STRENGTHS & LEVERAGE
Our hope is that documented improvement in student learning will act help persuade skeptics and inspire further action by early adopters.
.Collegiality within program, shared sense of calling & care for students, PULSE network & resources.
Products / Reflections / …
FUTURE GOALS
1. Implementation of all V&C core concepts and competencies in our introductory majors course.
2. Development and deployment of reliable assessment tools to gauge student mastery of core concepts and competencies.
Products:
Established learning outcomes for second semester of General Biology
Added two inquiry-based group projects to General Biology laboratory.
Converted 50% of Cell Biology laboratory to inquiry-based projects.
This work was supported in part by an NSF RCN UBE award #