Interdisciplinary Training in Mathematical Biology through Team-based Undergraduate Research and Courses

Miller, Jason E.; Walston, Timothy

doi:10.1187/cbe.10-03-0046

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Willing subjects collected and recorded their plasma glucose concentrations every twenty minutes following the ingestion of orange juice for the duration of the two-hour lab period. A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 14 The numerical solution to the differential equations was plotted along with the data. Sliders were created for the unknown parameters to obtain reasonable estimates.…”

Section: Glucose-insulin Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimenting with Mathematical Biology

Sanft¹,

Angelelli

2015

PRIMUS

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St. Olaf College recently added a Mathematical Biology concentration to its curriculum. The core course, Mathematics of Biology, was redesigned to include a wet laboratory. The labs required students to collect data and implement the essential modeling techniques of formulation, implementation, validation, and analysis. The four labs investigated population growth, enzyme kinetics, glucose-insulin feedback and random walks/diffusion. Based on assessment data, having the lab and class juxtaposed was an effective way to reinforce mathematical concepts and encourage collaboration among students with different majors. We discuss key factors that permitted this course's development, the continuing challenges, and how this model might be adapted to other venues.

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Section: Glucose-insulin Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interdisciplinary programs in Mathematical Biology, Computational Biology, Quantitative Biology and Biomathematics exist at some institutions [14,19]. Introductory courses have been revamped [5,7,9,23,27], and interdisciplinary courses [2,3,7,10,25] and course modules [22,24] have been developed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimenting with Mathematical Biology

Sanft¹,

Angelelli

2015

PRIMUS

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“…Some educators have developed entire research projects, courses, or course series (e.g., Edelstein-Keshet, 2005 ; Chiel et al. , 2010 ; Duffus and Olifer, 2010 ; Miller and Walston, 2010 ; Rheinlander and Wallace, 2011 ). For example, the SYMBIOSIS curriculum at East Tennessee State University is a tightly integrated, three-course sequence that replaces the standard Introductory Biology, Introductory Statistics, and Calculus I requirements.…”

Section: Teaching Strategies: How Do We Teach Quantitatively?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching quantitative biology: goals, assessments, and resources

Aikens¹,

Dolan²

2014

MBoC

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More than a decade has passed since the publication of BIO2010, calling for an increased emphasis on quantitative skills in the undergraduate biology curriculum. In that time, relatively few papers have been published that describe educational innovations in quantitative biology or provide evidence of their effects on students. Using a “backward design” framework, we lay out quantitative skill and attitude goals, assessment strategies, and teaching resources to help biologists teach more quantitatively. Collaborations between quantitative biologists and education researchers are necessary to develop a broader and more appropriate suite of assessment tools, and to provide much-needed evidence on how particular teaching strategies affect biology students' quantitative skill development and attitudes toward quantitative work.

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“…One way to address these challenges is by integrating math and biology coursework at multiple points along an undergraduate curriculum (Bialek and Botstein, 2004;Chiel et al, 2010;Depelteau et al, 2010;Duffus and Olifer, 2010;Miller and Walston, 2010;Aikens and Dolan, 2014;Eaton and Highlander, 2017). In our experience, however, few introductory biology lab courses emphasize the breadth of quantitative skills commonly used in biology research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Microbial Culturing With Mathematical Modeling in an Introductory Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

et al. 2020

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Quantitative techniques are a critical part of contemporary biology research, but students interested in biology enter college with widely varying quantitative skills and attitudes toward mathematics. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) may be an early way to build student competency and positive attitudes. Here we describe the design, implementation, and assessment of an introductory quantitative CURE focused on halophilic microbes. In this CURE, students culture and isolate halophilic microbes from environmental and food samples, perform growth assays, then use mathematical modeling to quantify the growth rate of strains in different salinities. To assess how the course may impact students' future academic plans and attitudes toward the use of math in biology, we used pre-and post-quarter surveys. Students who completed the course showed more positive attitudes toward science learning and an increased interest in pursuing additional quantitative biology experiences. We argue that the classroom application of microbiology methods, combined with mathematical modeling using student-generated data, provides a degree of student ownership, collaboration, iteration, and discovery that makes quantitative learning both relevant and exciting to students.

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Interdisciplinary Training in Mathematical Biology through Team-based Undergraduate Research and Courses

Cited by 16 publications

References 11 publications

Experimenting with Mathematical Biology

Experimenting with Mathematical Biology

Teaching quantitative biology: goals, assessments, and resources

Combining Microbial Culturing With Mathematical Modeling in an Introductory Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

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