Building Capacity for Inclusive Excellence Curriculum Strategies in the Biological Sciences

1. Building Capacity for Inclusive ExcellenceCurriculum Strategies in theBiological Sciences Laura Beaster-Jones Marcos E. Garcia-Ojeda Jennifer O. Manilay Assessment as Research Symposium March 8, 2017

2. Overview of the UC MercedBiological Sciences Major Molecular Cellular Organ Individual Population Molecular and Cell Biology Human Biology “Emphasis Tracks” Microbiology and Immunology Developmental Biology Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

3. The Biological Sciences Major at UCM • Most popular on campus • 32% of the total freshman Fall 2015 class • 67% of all freshmen in the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) in Fall 2016) • Instructors: • 29 tenure-track faculty (Fall 2016) • Research faculty • Teaching faculty • Non-tenure track faculty (# varies) • Appointed for academic year and summer sessions

4. Assessment of BIO Program Learning Outcomes • Goal: at least 80% of our students will have “medium” or higher proficiencyin each of the five Program Learning Outcomes by graduation • Approach: faculty-created rubrics to assess proficiency in the student learning outcomes • Direct evidence (e.g. exam questions, lab reports and student work) • Indirect evidence (e.g. student exit surveys)

5. Conclusion: there is room for improvement

6. Vision • Use outcomes assessment data to identify our students’ educational needs to succeed in the BIO major • To assess their success rates in a meaningful and impactfulmanner • Utilize recent biology education research on how to better serve UCM’s particular student population

7. UCM Student Demographics • 67% first generation (FG) college students • 54% underrepresented minorities (URM) • 44% of URM are also FG • 51% women • 32% are STEM majors • 29% FG; 29% URM • 28% FG from the local Merced community • 40% Hmong; 41% Filipino

8. Plan: Revise the Curriculum! • Utilize science educational research to design new teaching and learning approaches for faculty and students that could improve student learning outcomes • Create a student-centered biology program that promotes engagement through active learning and community building • Aligned with UCM’s mission: excellence in research, teaching and public service, embracing diversity and fostering interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations in the pursuit of scholarly knowledge, beginning with our undergraduate students.

9. Need: Resources https://www.hhmi.org/news/hhmi-invites-91-schools-participate-next-phase-inclusive-excellence-initiative

10. Project Aims • Strategies to improve our students’ attainment BIO Program Learning Outcomesthat focus on principles of inclusive excellence in science education: • Aim 1. Enhance student support services and resources for BIO majors • Aim 2. Achieve participation of all BIO faculty in programs focused on inclusive excellence teaching practices • Aim 3. Initiate the full conversion of our introductory biology laboratory courses to Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs).

11. Aim 1: Enhance student support services and resources for BIO majors • Focus: student ownership of learning and enhancement of already existing support services • Expand student learning communities • Provide financial support for additional Peer Tutors in the STEM Center specifically for BIO majors • Build diverse mentoring networks to foster learning and dialogue • increase access of motivated students unfamiliar with academic culture to transformative experiences in higher education • “hierarchical mentoring” • Assist the STEM Center to host mentoring workshops on issues of racism, sexism, gender identity, homophobia, and implicit biases in academia

13. Aim 2: Achieve participation of all BIO faculty in programs focused on inclusive excellence teaching practices • Focus: transform biology courses from an instruction paradigm to a learning paradigm • Create and institutionalize a faculty development program towards inclusive teaching practices in biology • Monthly workshops, summer workshops • “Biology Faculty Explorations in Scientific Teaching” designed at San Francisco State University • Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning at UC Merced • Inspire inclusive excellence teaching methods as a core UCM value (promotion and tenure) • Develop a program to recruit successful BIO students and train them as Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs). • “How I Got Here”: faculty-student support communities

14. Aim 3:Initiate the full conversion of our introductory biology laboratory courses to Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). • Our long-term goal is to create and institutionalize CURE opportunities to reach a large number of students with diverse backgrounds and entry points. • CUREs are authentic research experiences in the classroom • CUREs can improve student’s confidence, self-efficacy, laboratory skills, and knowledge about research, and also diversify scientific research Our goal is to transition the introductory biology lab sequence to include inquiry based labs (IBLs) and then into a full academic year CURE, with varied research modules directly linked to UCM BIO faculty research.

15. Talented Students (67% FG, 55% URM) Research-Trained Faculty • Provides feedback to faculty • Student Support Services • Active Engaged Learning • Expand Tutoring • Expand Mentoring Networks • Faculty Pedagogy Training • Learn teaching strategies for active learning and inclusive practices • Encourages student success • Improved Student • Learning Outcomes • via • Inclusive Excellence and • Institutional Change • Builds on Active Learning • Reinforces course concepts • Provides data for faculty • Connects students to research • Curriculum Reform: CUREs • Hands-on authentic experiences • Inquiry –based and discovery-embedded • All undergraduates participate

16. Assessment Plans • Analyze undergraduate teaching in relationship to BIO Program Learning Outcomes • Surveys, interviews, observations • COPUS (Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM) • Teaching Behaviors Inventory (TBI) • Survey faculty before and after teaching workshops UCM Guiding Principles for General Education • Analyze effects of faculty-student communities on student motivation • Map to UCM “Guiding Principles” • Analyze effect of CUREs • Current rubrics in place • CUREnet: https://curenet.cns.utexas.edu

17. Building Capacity for Inclusive Excellence Curriculum Strategies in the Biological Sciences Thanks to: Amy Moffat SNS Student and Program Assessment Petia Gueorguieva STEM Resource Center James Zimmerman Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning Andres Hernandez Research Development Services Biological Sciences Faculty at UC Merced Juan Meza Elizabeth Whitt, Thomas Peterson UC Merced Administration Laura Beaster-Jones Assistant Teaching Professor Marcos Garcia-Ojeda Associate Teaching Professor Faculty Assessment Organizer Kimberly Tanner Professor of Biology Director, SEPAL San Francisco State University Jennifer O. Manilay Associate Professor Undergraduate Program Chair for Biological Sciences Email: jmanilay@ucmerced.edu

19. Biology Mentored Research Experienceat UCM Aim 3: All Students in “Experience in Mentored Biology Research” (EMBR) Course CURE Lead Faculty Research focused, engaged in active learning with students (Aims 2 and 3) Peer Research Mentors Role models for first year students (Aims 1 and 3) Research Educators Ph.D. instructors and mentors for students; partner with faculty (Aims 1 and 3) Inclusive Excellence as an Institutional Value at UCM