Fall Greetings BioQUESTer’s:
The National Association of Biology Teachers met at the beginning of the month in Baltimore, Maryland, and it was an exciting time for the BioQUEST community! We had so many BioQUESTers there presenting, learning, and discussing all things biology teaching. BioQUEST’s QB@CC project held two workshops, BioQUEST founder, John Jungck, ran a workshop, BioQUEST’s Director of Outreach and Strategic Engagement, Sam Donovan, assisted with two workshops, and the Executive Director, Sarah Prescott, and Deputy Director, Deb Rook, along with Sharon Homer-Drummond shared a poster. Want to see all our exciting adventures this week at #nabt23? Here's a Google album BQ Executive Director, Sarah made to capture some of the fun we had!
Did you present at NABT? Share your materials on QUBES and get a citation and DOI to add to your CV and T&P packages. Check out the resources already posted and see instructions on how to add yours!
P.S. If you’re coming across this newsletter on the QUBES website or on social media, you can subscribe here to keep in touch!
In this newsletter:
BioQUEST News
Partner Corner: News & Opportunities
Featured Publications
We are so proud of the amazing scholarly work that is coming out of our community. Congratulations to the authors and thank you for your work.
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PLOS ONE, November 2023
“An international consensus on effective, inclusive, and career-spanning short-format training in the life sciences and beyond”
Jason J. Williams, Rochelle E. Tractenberg, Bérénice Batut, Erin A. Becker, Anne M. Brown, Melissa L. Burke, Ben Busby, Nisha K. Cooch, Allissa A. Dillman, Samuel S. Donovan, Maria A. Doyle, Celia W. G. van Gelder, Christina R. Hall, Kate L. Hertweck, Kari L. Jordan, John R. Jungck, Ainsley R. Latour, Jessica M. Lindvall, Marta Lloret-Llinares, Gary S. McDowell, Rana Morris, Teresa Mourad, Amy Nisselle, Patricia Ordóñez, Lisanna Paladin, Patricia M. Palagi, Mahadeo A. Sukhai, Tracy K. Teal, Louise Woodley
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If you have published a paper related to your work with BioQUEST and/or the QUBES platform, please let us know (send the link to Molly)!
Partner Summit
Register now for the BioQUEST February 2024 Partner Summit!
To celebrate our partners’ accomplishments, to make their work and BioQUEST and the QUBES Platform's roles more visible, and to strengthen and connect our communities, we’re inviting partner leaders to the BioQUEST Partner Summit 2024. This virtual event will feature lightning talks from partner leaders to showcase the excellent work we’ve done together and opportunities for networking and discussion with leaders in the BioQUEST/QUBES community. Learn how other groups are using the QUBES platform, find new collaborators and resources, and brainstorm ways to overcome project challenges.
Are you the leader of a project that is not yet a BioQUEST partner? Join us to learn about the benefits of partnering with BioQUEST and meet fellow project leaders.
Partner News and Opportunities
Applications Open for OCELOTS Spring 2024 FMN
Instructors: Are you interested in adopting an online module that will internationalize your courses? OCELOTS modules focus on authentic research in tropical biology — case studies from all over the tropics. Apply now to join them for the OCELOTS Spring 2024 Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN), conducted by the OCELOTS Network (for facilitating Online Content for Experiential Learning of Tropical Systems) and BioQUEST.
Participants in this FMN will implement an OCELOTS online module in tropical biology in one of their undergraduate biology courses. Many modules incorporate interactive data tools. Participation in virtual sessions every other week will enable collaboration with, mentoring by, and other support from their team of tropical researchers and specialists in active learning methods, the 4DEE (Four Dimensional Ecology Education), media, and interactive data tools.
Applications are due December 1. Please visit their group page for additional information and instructions on how to apply.
Applications Open for BioGraphI Spring 2024 FMN
The BioGraphI (Biologists and Graph Interpretation) project is now accepting applications from interested faculty to participate in their Spring 2024 Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN). During this semester-long professional development opportunity, participants will learn how to prepare and implement their own BioGraphI modules into their courses. BioGraphI modules are designed to address data literacy skills while fostering diversity in undergraduate biology classrooms. These modules are lessons about graph and data interpretation that feature the scientific contributions of counterstereotypical biologists who are members of underrepresented groups. BioGraphI lessons include video interviews with these biologists, allowing students to hear directly from counterstereotypical scientists about their discoveries. For more information, please visit their website.
Applications for the Spring FMN are due on December 1, 2023.
Applications Open for the Teaching Ecology for All Undergraduate Audiences 2024 Faculty
Mentoring Network
The Transforming Ecology Education to 4D (TEE) project is excited to host a Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN) in Spring 2024. The Teaching Ecology for All Undergraduate Audiences FMN aims to help educators adapt their teaching for undergraduate courses to incorporate the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework.
Benefits of Participating include:
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A stipend of $1,000 for full participation at all virtual sessions
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Receive ESA Education Scholar recognition
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Become eligible for additional travel support of up to $2,200 to organize and present a workshop for educators on your education product.
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And much more!
Applications are due December 3rd. Visit their Group Page to find more information and to apply.
Applications Open for the BEDE Network Spring 2023 FMN
Are you interested in integrating data science skills into your undergraduate biology or environmental science classes? Could you benefit from support in formalizing data science learning outcomes that are already part of your courses? Join the Biological and Environmental Data Education Network (BEDE Net) Faculty Mentoring Network for the Spring 2024 session.
Participants in this FMN will apply a newly developed ‘data science in biology’ curriculum map to identify appropriate data science learning outcomes for their classes. They will then develop a learning module to be used in their courses, using backward design pedagogy to ensure alignment between student learning outcomes, assessments, and class activities. Applications are due by January 8, 2023.
RIOS Accepting Applications for Funded Working Groups
The RIOS Community is calling all colleagues and peers in Open Education, Open Pedagogy, Open Educational Resources and STEM Education to consider developing a Working Group. This is an opportunity for colleagues to come together and collaborate on addressing a challenge in STEM and Open Education.
They are always accepting proposals on a rolling basis. Working Groups are intended to meet regularly (weekly or biweekly) for no more than 3 months. Working Group leaders will be mentored and supported by a RIOS team member.
So far they have funded working groups on topics like: Reclaiming the Language of Advocacy, Broadening Representation and Recognition in STEM curricula with OERs, A Culturally Responsive Instructor Training Curriculum and more! Submit a proposal and visit their site to learn more about Working Groups.
Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (RUME) Survey
The RUME (Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education) working group, supported by QB@CC (Quantitative Biology at Community Colleges) are reaching out to college faculty who teach mathematics and/or statistics courses to participate in a research study examining the usage of real-world applications in mathematics and/or statistics college courses. The purpose of this study is to characterize the use of real-world application problems by mathematics faculty in their courses and the reasons for using (or not using) application problems.
Participation in this study involves completing a short online survey, followed by an online or in-person interview. All of your information will be collected confidentially and only the study researchers will be able to access your identifying information. Your participation in this study is voluntary. You may decline to answer any question and you have the right to withdraw from participation at any time.
If you are interested in participating, please click on this link.
Teachers’ self-efficacy For Inclusive Teaching Survey
Alec Cattell, Associate Director of the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center and Director of the Ethics in Teaching & Learning program at Texas Tech University in the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center in collaboration with Tara Stevens, a professor from the College of Education at Texas Tech, are conducting a research study on the measurement of teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive teaching.
Please consider participating in this research study about your self-efficacy for using inclusive teaching practices. Your participation is completely voluntary, and there are no direct benefits for your participation, but they appreciate your time and effort. You will be asked to rate your confidence that you can use specific teaching practices. They will also request information about your inclusiveness training and teaching background.
The survey should take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete, and you can stop at any point and skip any questions you prefer not to answer. There are no foreseeable risks to your participation. To protect your confidentiality, no names will be collected.
