CAREER: Biology Integrated with Mathematics to Optimize Development of Approaches to Learning Sensemaking

In both research and medicine, there has been a shift toward greater use of mathematical expressions to describe and test predictions involving biological phenomena. Thus, college and university faculty members have increased the focus on quantitative reasoning in biology courses to better prepare students for the workplace. As future scientists, students will encounter complex and novel problems that will require the application of robust quantitative reasoning. Therefore, traditional approaches in biology that teach students step-by-step procedures to solve problems algorithmically will limit students' learning and their ability to thrive in scientific research settings. A better approach is to engage students through sensemaking that requires students to make connections between the variables and operations in mathematical expressions and the scientific phenomena. This project will study what sensemaking opportunities are currently provided to undergraduate biology students, how students engage in sensemaking processes, and what teaching methods support student learning of sensemaking of mathematical expressions in biology. The results of the studies will then be used to design new materials to teach mathematical sensemaking in biology courses, and to conduct workshops to help other college instructors develop their own mathematical sensemaking units.

This project will advance knowledge of how undergraduate students can be supported to productively engage in sensemaking of mathematical expressions in the context of biological problems. First, using qualitative analyses of classroom observations and faculty interviews across multiple institutions, the project team will describe the sensemaking opportunities currently provided in biology courses. Second, using students' survey and quantitative problem-solving responses, the researchers will develop a model of students' sensemaking of mathematical expressions in biology. Using structural equation modeling, this model will assess the impact of factors including the type of mathematical expression, student demographics and attitudes about mathematics. The model will also include potential outcomes including correctness of and approaches to quantitative problem solving. By combining the student and instructor level findings, the project team will then (1) develop, implement, and refine exemplar modules designed to enhance students' sensemaking of mathematical expressions in introductory biology courses; and (2) design, implement and evaluate the impact of workshops to support college instructors in developing units to facilitate students' sensemaking of mathematical expressions in biology.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-wide activity that supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. This CAREER project is supported by NSF's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.