CBS student take measurements during Nature of Life at Itasca.
The College of Biological Sciences recently was highlighted in The National Academies Press in its recent publication, Integrating Discovery-Based Research Into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Report of a Convocation. This publication discusses the benefits and challenges of undergraduate research — particularly, independent research — and how to best involve students in these opportunities.
Integrating Discovery-Based Research Into the Undergraduate Curriculum notes the Nature of Life and Nature of Research programs’ impact on the student experience in CBS. “Together, the courses and their associated follow-on research experiences demonstrate how large numbers of students at an institution can be involved in these kinds of discovery-based activities,” the report notes. It goes on to explain how these courses lead right into the Foundations of Biology sequence in helping students prepare for research.
“Before they even walk onto campus, we’re talking to them as if they are emerging biologists, and we treat them as colleagues,” says Robin Wright, head of the Department of Biology Teaching and Learning. “We’re trying to create a fabric in which every student is embedded, and if there’s anything bad that happens or anything good that happens, people will know.”
The report is available online at the National Academies Press website.
“We’re trying to create a fabric in which every student is embedded, and if there’s anything bad that happens or anything good that happens, people will know.”