BIOQUEST CURRICULUM CONSORTIUM

The BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium is a community of scientists, teachers and learners who are interested in promoting biology education that reflects realistic scientific practices. The BioQUEST “3P’s” philosophy engages students in problem posing, problem solving and peer persuasion. This philosophy aligns well with education research that has found an emphasis on student centered learning, active and inquiry based learning, research experiences, and reflective writing to be effective educational practices. BioQUEST has shared this philosophy with thousands of college and high school faculty over the past 31 years, across the US and internationally. BioQUEST has a rich history of developing software, computer simulations, and models as well as curriculum materials, with a continuing emphasis on quantitative reasoning and developing scientific research skills. Recent BioQUEST projects have taken a turn toward implementing effective evidence based pedagogical approaches largely through professional development activities. Currently, BioQUEST is part of the QUBES project, a project designed to enhance quantitative biology education. BioQUEST will play a key role in the innovative virtual faculty learning communities developed to increase the adoption and implementation of evidence based pedagogies. Over the years, BioQUEST has offered professional development workshops for faculty at various scientific and education conferences around the country and internationally, as well as specialized workshops related to grants or sponsored by other organizations. We partner with a variety of professional societies to provide workshops for their members. One of our strengths is our ability to partner with different organizations and help them achieve their educational goals. The list of BioQUEST projects demonstrates this collaborative approach and the success of BioQUEST in building valuable community based projects (http://bioquest.org/projects/).