Solving the mysteries of bioscience
Foundational Science Fuels Breakthroughs
Inspiring Next-Generation Scientists
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Preview the speakers and workshops below to gain further insight into symposium programming.
Main EVENT WEBSITE ATTENDEE INFORMATION
Symposium Workshops
Getting Started in Education Research
Facilitator: Melissa Aikens, Ph.D. & Elli Theobald, Ph.D.
Description: Do you have an education problem or question that you’d like to investigate but aren’t quite sure how to get started? This workshop will introduce you to the basics of education research and prepare you to conduct your own inquiry into student learning. We’ll explore different forms of education research before diving into the nuts and bolts of study design. During the workshop, participants will formulate an education question to investigate, create a plan for data collection, and identify appropriate quantitative or qualitative methods that can be used to analyze the data. Small group discussions will be utilized to provide feedback on study designs. Participants will leave this workshop with an understanding of the important elements of an education research project and a plan to guide the implementation of their own investigative study.
Integrating Programming into Biology and Neuroscience Courses
Facilitator: Ashley Juavinett, Ph.D.
Description: In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to multiple ways of integrating programming into their courses, from teaching Python fundamentals to analyzing cutting-edge datasets. After briefly motivating programming education in biology and neuroscience, I’ll provide an overview of Python fundamentals and cover low effort, minimal overhead tools to introduce programming practice to students. Then, we’ll focus on programmatically interacting with Allen Institute data. Finally, we’ll explore ways to teach more advanced topics using project-based learning with publicly-available datasets. Along the way, participants will grow in their knowledge of Python, programming tools, and the benefits of these skills for their students. Participants do not need any coding background to benefit from this workshop.
Affiliation: University of New Hampshire
Talk Title: Building Quantitative Skills in Biology Students: Adding Student Motivation to the Equation
Abstract: Quantitative skills are an essential core competency for undergraduate life science students. To succeed as scientists in today’s data-rich world, students need to learn how to interpret and construct graphs, apply statistical analyses to data, and understand how to use and interpret mathematical models of biological phenomena. However, learning these skills can be challenging for students, as it requires them to engage with quantitative problems and persist through difficulties. Theory posits that student effort and persistence on a task depends on their perception of the task’s value and their confidence in their abilities to successfully complete it. So how can we help life science students see the value of quantitative skills and build their confidence in these skills? In this talk, I will focus on how we can foster student motivation for quantitative tasks, discussing research on how teaching practices impact student values and self-beliefs that contribute to motivation. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to provide instructors with evidence-based pedagogical approaches to teaching quantitative skills in order to equip life science majors with the skills they need to be successful in their careers.
