Brian Couch

Assistant Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Title: “Bio-MAPS: Programmatic assessments to guide curricular transformation”

Abstract: The Vision and Change report provides instructors with a nationally agreed upon framework of core concepts that all undergraduate biology students should master by the time they graduate from college. Although establishing these learning outcomes was a critical first step, it is equally important that departments be able to assess student mastery of these concepts across their curriculum. We will present the General Biology-MAPS (GenBio-MAPS) instrument, which is aimed at assessing general biology students’ understanding of the core concepts of biology. Questions on the GenBio-MAPS assessment consist of a stem followed by 4-5 true/false statements. Departments then pool data from student cohorts at specific time points to assess changes in conceptual understanding across the curriculum. We will discuss results from the final version and how this assessment can be used by two-year and four-year programs to guide curricular transformation.  

Refreshments will be served in the Molecular Biology Building Atrium at 3:45 p.m.

Hosts: Alexis Campbell (BBMB) and Clark Coffman (GDCB)