To view Powerpoint presentations from the symposium, click here.
To view the conference schedule, click here.
From the Co-Principal Investigators
Effective science education for undergraduate students who are not specializing in the scientific disciplines continues to be a widespread goal in our nation's colleges and universities. For the past three years, eight schools within the Faculty Resource Network have shared in developing an innovative curriculum entitled Molecules of Life. This curriculum examines how the intersection of chemistry and biology is providing unprecedented insights into the molecular basis of life. A major focus of the curriculum is an investigation of how pharmaceuticals function on a molecular level to achieve their therapeutic effects. Our approach enables non-science majors to appreciate the rapid scientific advances in this interdisciplinary field and to evaluate its impact on society.
This curriculum development project is supported by the National Science Foundation through an award entitled Molecules of Life: A Partnership to Enhance Undergraduate Education for Non-Majors (DUE-0443014). The project is based at New York University and directed by Neville Kallenbach (PI) and Trace Jordan (co-PI). Its success has depended on close collaboration with seven partner institutions - Chicago State University, Chaminade University, Fairfield University, Nassau Community College, Spelman College, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
The project has also benefited from a strong assessment component, organized by Dr. Jennifer Lewis (University of South Florida) and also supported by an NSF award (DUE-0443026). We have demonstrated a significant impact of the curriculum on the development of students' spatial skills (which are important for visualizing molecular structures) and their content knowledge about enzymes and drug design.
This Dissemination Conference (March 14-15, 2008) served as a national forum in which all participants in the project were able to share their educational materials, experiences, and insights with a larger audience. It also provided an opportunity to address some broader issues in science education and the development of effective strategies for teaching both majors and non-majors. The conference keynote speakers were Karen Oates (Deputy Director, Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation) and Diane Ebert May (Professor of Plant Biology, Michigan State University). The remainder of the program included a wide variety of plenary presentations, breakout sessions, and poster presentations. The breakout sessions included presentations on project assessment, STEM education for underrepresented populations, successful strategies for improving the teaching and learning of science, and research experiences for undergraduate populations.
A total of 68 faculty instructors attended the conference, drawn from 33 different educational institutions in 16 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The diverse range of schools included community collges, four year colleges, and state and private universities. Faculty representatives from 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and from 6 campuses of the University of Puerto Rico system, which serves Hispanic students.
Trace Jordan
Morse Academic Plan, New York University
Neville Kallenbach
Department of Chemistry, New York University
Contact information
Please direct inquiries to the Faculty Resource Network (frn@nyu.edu, or 212-998-2090). For more details on the conference, or for additional information about the Faculty Resource Network and our member institutions, please consult http://www.nyu.edu/frn.