Abstract
High quality undergraduate education is central to the success of all life scientists. Several major bioscience educational issues are the targets of much debate, research, funding, publications, and reports (e.g. Vision and Change). Surprisingly, these issues are considered by modern bioscience instructors as unresolved despite historical reports that claim the contrary. Here we illustrate with evidence how, more than 50 years ago, Sam Postlethwait successfully instituted strategies to address several issues in plant biology education with his audio-‐tutorials. These strategies succeeded in individualizing instruction of students with diverse educational backgrounds in large classes, incorporating authentic and active learning, integrating lab and lecture to teach about research, developing science competencies, and advancing curriculum and faculty change informed by empirical data. We contend that modern educators could greatly benefit by building on the historical advancements of the past, to ensure they do not waste their efforts re-‐ inventing the wheel.
Keywords
education, inquiry, laboratory, faculty development, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE)
Date of this Version
11-26-2014
Volume
65
Issue
1
First Page
90
Last Page
100
DOI
10.1093/biosci/biu188
Recommended Citation
Pelaez, N.J., Anderson, T.R., & Postlethwait, S.N. (2014). A vision for change in bioscience education: Building on knowledge from the past. BioScience, 65(1), 90-100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu188
Comments
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in BioScience following peer review. The version of record, Pelaez, N.J., Anderson, T.R., & Postlethwait, S.N. (2014). A Vision for Change in Bioscience Education: Building on Knowledge from the Past. BioScience, 65(1), 90-100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu188, is available online at: http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/biu188?ijkey=eHz185j6oCjsLn1&keytype=ref.