Implementation of an Undergraduate Integrated Biology and Chemistry Course
Authors: Jayson G. Balansag
Abstract:
An integrated biology and chemistry (iBC) course for freshmen college students was developed in University of Delaware. This course will prepare students to (1) become interdisciplinary thinkers in the field of biology and (2) collaboratively work with others from multiple disciplines in the future. This paper documents and describes the implementation of the course. The information gathered from reading literature, classroom observations, and interviews were used to carry out the purpose of this paper. The major goal of the iBC course is to align the concepts between Biology and Chemistry, so that students can draw science concepts from both disciplines which they can apply in their interdisciplinary researches. This course is offered every fall and spring semesters of each school year. Students enrolled in Biology are also enrolled in Chemistry during the same semester. The iBC is composed of lectures, laboratories, studio sessions, and workshops and is taught by the faculty from the biology and chemistry departments. In addition, the preceptors, graduate teaching assistants, and studio fellows facilitate the laboratory and studio sessions. These roles are interdependent with each other. The iBC can be used as a model for higher education institutions who wish to implement an integrated biology course.
Keywords: Integrated biology and chemistry, integration, interdisciplinary research, new biology, undergraduate science education.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1131744
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1224References:
[1] National Research Council (2009). “A new biology for the 21st century.” Washington, D.C.: National Acad. Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12764/a-new-biology-for-the-21st-century on February 18, 2017.
[2] National Research Council, Committee on Undergraduate Biology Education to Prepare Research Scientists for the 21st Century (2003). “BIO2010: transforming undergraduate education for future research biologists,” 1st edition. Washington, D.C.: National Acad. Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/10497/bio2010-transforming-undergraduate-education-for-future-research-biologists on February 25, 2017.
[3] Murray, J., Atkinson, E., Gilbert, B., & Kruchten, A. (2014). “A novel interdisciplinary science experience for undergraduates across introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses.” Journal of College Science Teaching, 043(09). doi:10.2505/4/jcst14_043_06_46 Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43631759 on February 17, 2017.
[4] Purvis-Roberts, K. L., Edwalds-Gilbert, G., Landsberg, A. S., Copp, N., Ulsh, L., & Drew, D. E. (2009). Accelerated integrated science sequence (AISS). an introductory biology, chemistry, and physics Course. Journal of Chemical Education,86(11), 1295. doi:10.1021/ed086p1295 Retrieved from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed086p1295 on February 8, 2017.
[5] Gentile, L., Caudill, L., Fetea, M., Hill, A., Hoke, K., Lawson, B., Lipan, O., Kerckhove, M., Parish, C., Stenger, K., & Szajda, D. (2012). Challenging disciplinary boundaries in the first year: a new introductory integrated science course for STEM majors. Journal of College Science Teaching, 41(5), 44-50. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43748557 on February 17, 2017.
[6] Interdisciplinary Science Learning Laboratories (2017). Supporting sustainable student success: integrated biology and chemistry courses. University of Delaware.
[7] Laverty, G. (2016). BISC207 introductory biology I syllabus. University of Delaware.
[8] Laverty, G. (2017). BISC208 introductory biology II syllabus. University of Delaware.
[9] Fajardo, J. (2016). CHEM107 integrated general chemistry I. University of Delaware.
[10] Fajardo, J. (2017). CHEM108 integrated general chemistry II. University of Delaware.
[11] Abdella, B. R., Walczak, M. M., Kandl, K. A., & Schwinefus, J. J. (2011). Integrated chemistry and biology for first-year college students. Journal of Chemical Education,88(9), 1257-1263. doi:10.1021/ed1001834 Retrieved from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed1001834 on February 8, 2017.
[12] Office of the University Registrar (2017). Schedule of classes. University of Delaware.
[13] Office of the University Registrar (2017). Student academic plans. University of Delaware.