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The Diagnostic Question Cluster (DQC) project integrates education research and faculty development to articulate a model for the effective transformation of introductory biology and ecology teaching. Over three years, faculty members from a wide range of institutions used active teaching and DQCs, a type of concept inventory, as pre- and posttests to assess students' understanding of concepts about energy and matter across biological scales of organization. Surveys of the instructors indicated a substantial use of DQCs and active teaching, and nearly all of those faculty members participating in the research saw significant student gains and a large positive effect size between the pre- and posttests. Important programmatic components included reliable research-based conceptual questions and the associated active-learning exercises; formative examination of preinstruction data, including the students' written answers; a professional society for recruitment, workshops, and dissemination; progressive faculty growth over three years; and cooperative communities of practice. We propose that research-based conceptual inventories can be effective tools in faculty-development programs offered through biology professional societies.

Over the last decade or so, faculty in a wide range of disciplines have become more interested in and open to the scholarship of teaching and learning. That scholarship has taken many forms, including personal accounts of experimentation and change, descriptions of recommended practices, and quantitative research on students' gains. In this article, the authors describe a particular type of pedagogical scholarship, "practitioner research," in which faculty research their own teaching. With support from a grant from the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement program, the authors recently led a practitioner-research project in which a group of ecologists who teach introductory courses in environmental science and ecology conducted research on their own teaching. They share information about their project here in the hope that others will consider this type of scholarship. (Contains 1 note.)

Last year, Hampshire College established a new center for teaching and learning (CTL). Since then, identifying areas of focus, designing and carrying out programs, and figuring out how to evaluate [...]

College teachers can glean a lot from involvement in programs and workshops with K-12 school teachers. K-12 teachers tend to be prepared to devote more time to teaching workshops than college teachers and therefore have more knowledge about teaching theories and methods. More college teachers might be prepared to look at their teaching methods if they were aware of the research role of workshops on teaching.

To test whether increased nitrogen loading from watersheds leads to increased rates of benthic regeneration, we measured rates of ammonium release in three estuaries of Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts (Childs River, [...]

Biology majors often take introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses during their first two years of college. The various and sometimes conflicting discourse about and explanations of matter and energy in these courses may contribute to confusion and alternative conceptions (those that differ from scientific consensus) in biology learners. An important area of biology education research -- students' alternative conceptions -- has produced a lengthy list of alternative conceptions related to students' understanding of matter and energy flow through biological systems through processes such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration. By synthesizing the research literature and conducting interviews of science faculty members, we have identified similarities and differences in matter and energy discourse and teaching in these different science disciplines. This study can help biology instructors recognize and appreciate the ways in which instructors present concepts related to energy and matter in their courses and alter their discourse and teaching practices to promote learning and minimize confusion among their students. INSET: Interview responses regarding students conceptions of matter.... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Diagnostic Question Cluster (DQC) project integrates education research and faculty development to articulate a model for the effective transformation of introductory biology and ecology teaching. Over three years, faculty members from a wide range of institutions used active teaching and DQCs, a type of concept inventory, as pre- and posttests to assess students' understanding of concepts about energy and matter across biological scales of organization. Surveys of the instructors indicated a substantial use of DQCs and active teaching, and nearly all of those faculty members participating in the research saw significant student gains and a large positive effect size between the pre- andposttests. Important programmatic components included reliable research-based conceptual questions and the associated active-learning exercises; formative examination of preinstruction data, including the students' written answers; a professional society for recruitment, workshops, and dissemination; progressive faculty growth over three years; and cooperative communities of practice. We propose that research-based conceptual inventories can be effective tools in faculty-development programs offered through biology professional societies. INSET: What faculty in the large effect-size category said about.... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology’ (TIEE) is a peer-reviewed electronic publication designed to help ecology faculty improve their teaching. The Ecological Society of America (ESA) electronically hosts TIEE, which is an important part of the Society's contribution to the BioScience Education Network, a pathway of the National Science Digital Library. A central part of each TIEE ‘Issue’ (mainly for use in lectures) and ‘Experiments’ (for inquiry-based labs) are published figures, genuine datasets, and open-ended investigations. Surveys and interviews show that users teach both at liberal arts colleges (61%) and research universities (26%), and that TIEE provides a much-needed outlet for peer-reviewed education scholarship. Over 75% of respondents to our survey (n = 59) adapted TIEE materials for their courses and 30–50% used TIEE as a model for changing their method of teaching. In addition, over 60% said that publishing in TIEE would be valued in reappointment or tenure decisions. Evaluation findings and recent interest in ‘scientific teaching’ has prompted us to establish a team of faculty who are doing research on their own teaching. We are testing the hypothesis that these faculty will become more invested in, and more successful at, changing the way they teach. Our future plans for TIEE include expansion of this research component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the vertical distribution of ammonium, a key limiting nutrient in marine ecosystems, in the water column at the Childs River, an estuary of Waquoit Bay. Sampling of vertical profiles of ammonium through the water column at dawn and dusk over bare sediments and in areas where dense macroalgal mats were present.

The scale and importance of Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action challenges us to ask fundamental questions about widespread transformation of college biology instruction. I propose that we have clarified the "vision" but lack research-based models and evidence needed to guide the "change." To support this claim, I focus on several key topics, including evidence about effective use of active-teaching pedagogy by typical faculty and whether certain programs improve students' understanding of the Vision and Change core concepts. Program evaluation is especially problematic. While current education research and theory should inform evaluation, several prominent biology faculty-development programs continue to rely on self-reporting by faculty and students. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty-development overviews can guide program design. Such studies highlight viewing faculty members as collaborators, embedding rewards faculty value, and characteristics of effective faculty-development learning communities. A recent National Research Council report on discipline-based STEM education research emphasizes the need for long-term faculty development and deep conceptual change in teaching and learning as the basis for genuine transformation of college instruction. Despite the progress evident in Vision and Change, forward momentum will likely be limited, because we lack evidence-based, reliable models for actually realizing the desired "change."