A $600,000 award from the National Science Foundation has been made to the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) to expand the Biology Scholars Program, a national leadership initiative for college faculty to improve undergraduate biology education based on evidence of student learning. In just two years, the Biology Scholars Program has brought together more than 60 biologists to engage in and advance the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in biology. Support from the National Science Foundation advances the program’s residencies in classroom assessment, science education research, and scholarly publishing. Support additionally empowers Scholars to become SoTL mentors and leaders in professional societies.
The Biology Scholars Program comprises a continuum of three independent, but intertwined, professional development residencies for biologists to succeed in their journeys into SoTL. Each residency empowers participants to resolve their own classroom and teaching challenges. It includes two face-to-face events — a four-day kickoff institute and a one-day capstone leadership workshop — as well as virtual activities, including readings and writings; peer-to-peer discussions and mentoring; and on-campus, regional, and/or national presentations and publications.
