http://www.biosciednet.org

Re-introducing BEN, a portal to free learning resources and tools for ABLE educators

Joanna VondrasekPiedmont Virginia Community College jvondrasek@pvcc.edu

Marianne Niedzlek-FeaverNorth Carolina State Universitymnfeaver@ncsu.edu

http://www.biosciednet.org

A resource for inquiry-based teaching and problem-based learning activities for lab and lecture

www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm

Promoting higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy

http://www.biosciednet.org

Based on concepts and skills endorsed by AAAS and NSF

www.visionandchange.org

http://www.biosciednet.org

All resources are peer reviewed and the majority are freely available (without subscription).

http://www.biosciednet.org

Problem: A new faculty member needs to QUICKLY prepare a lab exercise on cell division.Solution: In BEN Portal, enter search terms “mitosis meiosis lab” First search result: “The Wonders of Cell Division: Unraveling Mitosis and Meiosis” – J. Krueger

Description: Resource Type: Laboratory exercise, Image, Lesson plan Discipline: Cell biology Pedagogical Use: Teach Audience Level: Undergraduate lower division

Rate this Resource:1 = not useful, 5 = very useful 1 2 3 4 5 User Rating: 4 / 5 stars - 1 vote(s).13-14

http://www.biosciednet.org

Search result:

“2963 matches found for 'genetics lab‘”

Does anything look useful?

Problem: You’re tired of your old introductory genetics lab . . . Solution: In BEN Portal, enter search terms . . . “Genetics lab”

http://www.biosciednet.org

BEN is a collaborative network: Please take time to rate items if you use them!

Requires registering with BEN or partner organizations

http://www.biosciednet.org

Many organizations including ABLE are part of the BEN Collaborative.

For your lecture best practices, consider publication in journals such as:

Advances in Physiological Education - American Physiological Society

Microbiology Education - American Society for Microbiology

Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology - Ecological Society of America

http://www.biosciednet.org/portal/about/index.php

Many organizations including ABLE are part of the Ben Collaborative.

Download a summary of peer review processes from the portal (about BEN).

Use the links in the collaborators list (about BEN) to connect to journals of interest.

http://www.biosciednet.org/portal/about/index.php

http://www.apsarchive.org/ http://ecoed.esa.org/

VISION AND CHANGE REPORT: CONCEPTS• EVOLUTION - The diversity of life evolved over time by

processes of mutation, selection, and genetic change.

• STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION - Basic units of structure define the function of all living things.

• INFORMATION FLOW, EXCHANGE, AND STORAGE - The growth and behavior of organisms are activated through the expression of genetic information in context.

• PATHWAYS AND TRANSFORMATIONS OF ENERGY AND MATTER - Biological systems grow and change by processes based upon chemical transformation pathways and are governed by the laws of thermodynamics.

• SYSTEMS - Living systems are interconnecting and interacting.

VISION AND CHANGE REPORT: COMPETENCIES

• ABILITY TO APPLY THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE

• ABILITY TO USE QUANTITATIVE REASONING

• ABILITY TO USE MODELING AND SIMULATION

• ABILITY TO TAP INTO THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF SCIENCE

• ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES

• ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

TO PROMOTE VISION AND CHANGE :

BEN will identify 25 items in the collection that are based on each of the five concepts and 25 items that foster each of the six competencies.

Selected items will be high quality, interactive, student centered, and appropriate for an introductory biology course.

This will allow instructors to generate a list of useful resources that meet the Vision and Change guidelines.