RCN-UBE Incubator: Integrating Bio-inspired Innovation into Life Science Education Through Interdisciplinary Communities of Practice

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving undergraduate biological education through inclusion of biologically inspired design and innovation principles and learning experiences. Bio-inspired design incorporates our knowledge of biological systems into research and development to solve problems and develop technical inventions and innovations.

Bio-inspired innovation, which has been responsible for the development of new materials, medicines, and other materials that benefit society, has become an increasingly important component of the biological field. However, understanding and applying biologically inspired solutions may be underutilized in educational contexts. The question this project will address is, how might undergraduate science education include the understanding and application of bio-inspired design and innovation in higher education coursework?

This question will be addressed through the creation and collaboration of a research network focused on developing and sharing pedagogical practices for infusing bio-inspired innovation in undergraduate biology. This RCN-UBE incubator network brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts from across biology, engineering, and education to address the challenges and opportunities of integrating biologically inspired innovation into undergraduate biology and STEM teacher preparation programs by identify key challenges and opportunities followed by the development of preliminary pedagogical materials and a 5-year plan for growth of the network.

The overarching project goal is to improve undergraduate biological education through the infusion of bio-inspired innovation in undergraduate biology programs and undergraduate teacher preparation programs. This will be accomplished through the creation of an RCN-UBE incubator network of experts from biology, engineering and education to (1) Identify challenges, opportunities, and existing / desired resources for integrating bio-inspired innovation in undergraduate biology education, (2) Identify challenges and opportunities for improving diversity and inclusion of educators and students in bio-inspired innovation in education, (3) Develop a set of case studies, a synthesis of best pedagogical practices, and sample resources for integration of bio-inspired design into post-secondary education, and (4) Develop a 5-year plan for growth of the network and its work.

By strengthening the human and intellectual capital for integrating bio-inspired innovation into undergraduate biology, this networking initiative will: 1) Facilitate efforts by faculty to emphasize the connections between biology and engineering design with their students; 2) Improve the overall representation and practice of modern biology as interdisciplinary in nature; 3) Result in enriched educational experiences for a more diverse and inclusive group of undergraduates through pro-active focused outreach and network expansion of faculty working with students from underrepresented groups; 4) Improve the life science training of undergraduate students in pre-service teacher programs and improve educational outcomes across the K-16 STEM pipeline; and 5) Catalyze new efforts and opportunities for biology students and professionals to work with others in adjacent STEM fields.

This project is being jointly funded by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).

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.