Author(s):
Need: We are exploring an overarching research question: What is the role of the introductory biology lab in the general education curriculum? Despite a long history of being seen as a fundamental part of a liberal arts general education curriculum, the goals that labs serve have not been clearly articulated, nor differentiated from the goals articulated for lectures. In the current climate of declining funding, labs are becoming optional, enrollments are increasing, and delivery methods are increasingly including completely distance lab experiences. Thus, identifying the highest priority experiences for students will be crucial in shaping the future of higher education, especially the science experiences of non-science majors.Guiding Question: Our project is taking place in two phases. Phase 1 is a Delphi study that engaged a panel of disciplinary experts in using a vetted consensus-building method to identify the role and goals of science labs in introductory biology for non-majors. Phase 1 is completed, and the paper describing the results is currently in review. Phase 2 is a gap analysis, using the Delphi study findings as the “optimal state” we are exploring gaps between the expert ideal and current practices using syllabus review, practitioner survey, and focus group interviews. The syllabus review completed and the manuscript is in preparation. The practitioner survey is ongoing, and we are collecting focus group data at the annual meetings of NWBio, NABT and SABER in summer and fall of 2024.Outcomes. We have one paper currently in review (phase 1 Delphi study results), with another paper with an expected submission in summer of 2024, on the results of the syllabus review that is part 1 of phase 2. We have presented our results at NWBio and NABT, and will present at the SABER national meeting. Broader Impacts: We have involved approximately 200 faculty to date in discussion and reflection around the role of labs. We have purposefully engaged biology educators spanning an array of institution types, faculty expertise levels, and functions including administrators, faculty and instructors. By focusing on the role of labs for non-majors, our project has the potential to advance a framework for optimizing the role and objectives for labs in the undergraduate curriculum. In practice, we expect the data will be used to create more meaningful and purposeful laboratory experiences, and the findings willbe potentially transformative for liberal arts and general education science curricula. Clear articulation of lab goals and objectives will allow a data-based discussion of the place of labs in the liberal arts curriculum, as the new shape of higher education evolves in the near future.
Coauthors
Dayna DeFeo, University of Alaska Anchorage
