Educational Sessions at Annual Meetings

The annual meetings of scientific societies in the life sciences provide an opportunity for members to exchange scientific knowledge and engage in the scholarly dissemination of research. In recent years, many of these societies have also instituted education sessions that include workshops, posters, papers, lectures, roundtable discussions, and exhibits. The sampling of activities described herein illustrates the rich variety of offerings.

Annual meetings reflect the nature of the societies' membership; some are evenly balanced among research, teaching, and public service, while others emphasize only one aspect of scholarly activity.

Several societies devoted primarily to undergraduate biology education, for example, program their annual meetings for sharing expertise, philosophies, and resources germane to teaching undergraduate students.

A number of societies offer travel grants to encourage faculty to participate in the national meetings, particularly in the education sessions. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology offers travel grants to faculty who teach at primarily undergraduate institutions. The American Society for Microbiology and the American Society of Plant Physiologists award travel grants to scientists just starting their careers. The American Physiological Society provides travel funds for minority faculty who teach a high proportion of students from underrepresented minority groups.

The American Bryological and Lichenological Society holds annual meetings in conjunction with other professional societies. The 1997 program included a symposium on "Recent Advances in Bryology and Lichenology for Undergraduate Teaching."

Education workshops are a regular feature of the general meetings of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The 1997 meeting included the workshop, "Using Inquiry to Teach Undergraduate Biology." Targeted to finishing graduate students and new faculty members, the workshop introduced biology-related, inquiry-oriented activities and sample exercises. Designated poster sessions on teaching are part of the institute's annual meetings.

The American Physiological Society sponsors courses on physiology topics during its annual meetings. Courses are designed to provide both an intensive overview of content in a particular area and opportunities to review new teaching methods and materials for physiology instruction. They are targeted for non-specialists who have teaching responsibilities in the refresher course's content area. The 1998 course on renal physiology, for example, included sessions on teaching strategies and computer simulations and exhibits of teaching resource materials. Each annual meeting of the society also includes designated posters and symposia on teaching physiology.

The annual meetings of the American Phytopathological Society schedule sessions dedicated to undergraduate education. The 1997 meeting included table topics on "Innovations in Teaching to Generalists" and "Innovations in Teaching to Plant Pathology Students" and a discussion of "Teaching Plant Pathology on a Shoestring."

In 1998, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology began featuring biochemical education as a program track at its annual meeting. Included were sessions on teaching and learning biochemistry inside and outside the large class setting, assessing teaching efforts, student research in undergraduate institutions, problem-based learning in undergraduate biochemistry, undergraduate study abroad, and poster presentations. In conjunction with the 1997 meeting, the society sponsored a satellite meeting on biochemical education. Plenary sessions were complemented by hands-on workshops on computer visualization, educational grantsmanship, and educational uses of the Internet.

At each of its annual meetings, the American Society for Cell Biology sponsors a daily "Educational Initiatives in Cell Biology" forum. These talks focus on how meeting participants can promote cell biology education at their home institutions. Designated poster sessions and workshops on undergraduate science education are a regular part of the national meetings.

The education committee of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology coordinated a display booth at its 1997 annual meeting that showcased CDs, videotapes, and Internet resources germane to undergraduate education.

In addition to educational symposia held during each general meeting specifically for undergraduate teaching faculty, the American Society for Microbiology sponsors an annual task-oriented conference for undergraduate microbiology faculty in conjunction with its national meeting. The fifth undergraduate microbiology education conference, "Frontiers in Microbiology Education," was held in 1998, continuing the ongoing development of exemplary curricular resources for microbiology courses. Participants shared curriculum resources through plenary sessions, discussions, exhibits, and poster sessions, with designated sessions for innovations in instructional technology and content enrichment.

The resident education division of the American Society of Agronomy carries on an active program of paper sessions at each annual meeting. The 1997 meeting included a symposium on "Environmental Education: Replacing Sentiment with Science" and a session and panel discussion on "Curriculum Development and Student Recruitment."

The national meetings of the American Society of Plant Physiologists include a designated education session, whereby successful teaching, curricular, and laboratory models are shared through poster presentations. A special education event is held each year; the 1997 education workshop was on "Our Theories of Learning and How They Affect our Ability to Teach our Students."

The Association for Biology Laboratory Education holds annual meetings that are primarily devoted to laboratory workshops for improving participants' teaching in the biology laboratory. The presenters have developed interesting, innovative, and reliable exercises, approaches, or systems for teaching in the undergraduate laboratory. The workshop provides all the information a potential instructor would need to implement the presented laboratory. Regional workshops aim to encourage individuals who prefer local meetings and also provide opportunities for sharing teaching materials, methods, and philosophies that promote active learning.

The National Association of Biology Teachers conducts several workshops annually for college and precollege educators. As part of its “Shoestring Biotechnology for that Disappearing Budget” program, the association brings educators together to test new models that adapt sophisticated biotechnology techniques to inexpensive, hands-on, and investigative classroom activities.

The annual meetings of the Association of College and University Biology Educators feature invited speakers and member presentations, workshops on laboratory and field techniques, and discussions on teaching-related issues. Other presentations cover a wide range of topics, from what it means to be a biology major to field trip logistics and learning via the web. These meetings bring biology educators together to network, socialize, and exchange ideas with their colleagues about teaching biology in colleges and universities.

Recent annual meetings of the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs have showcased presentations on enhancing undergraduate and graduate education in neuroscience, especially through collaborations among academic departments and through the emergence of electronic curricula and electronic publishing.

Workshops and field trips at the national meeting of the Botanical Society of America cover undergraduate teaching techniques and student research experiences. The teaching section organizes symposia to share expertise pertinent to biology education. Several other sections also schedule papers on teaching particular content areas.

The Council on Undergraduate Research sponsors biennial national conferences that are instrumental in bringing institutions together to collectively develop and strengthen undergraduate research programming. The council also hosts "April Dialogue" conferences that enable members to meet with government officials and representatives from granting agencies to discuss funding for science education programs and undergraduate research. Special institutes, such as the 1998 institute on "Concerns of Mid-Career Faculty," provide a venue to address common, timely issues.

The annual program of the Ecological Society of America includes symposia, contributed papers, poster sessions, hands-on workshops, and roundtable discussions on key issues in undergraduate education. Recent workshop topics have been: "Preparing to Teach C A Job Skills Workshop for Graduate Students" and "Teacher-Collaborative, Open-Ended Investigations."

General meetings of the Entomological Society of America include conferences and workshops on teaching. A 1997 workshop helped graduate students improve their skills for classroom instruction. The conferences on teaching include seminars, demonstrations, and hands-on activities on teaching entomology, especially to undergraduate audiences. At these conferences, society members who are excellent researchers but have little time to keep up with current teaching approaches can learn of innovations in teaching entomology.

In partnership with Project Kaleidoscope, the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience sponsored a 1998 workshop to introduce undergraduate neuroscience faculty to a broad range of laboratory exercises designed to support investigative, discovery-based laboratory experiences for undergraduates. The laboratory experiences, ranging from molecular neuroscience to behavioral neuroscience, aim to whet the curiosity of undergraduates and to provide them with a sound basis for the fundamentals of neuroscience.

The national convention of the National Association of Biology Teachers is devoted to the teaching of biology. The program provides opportunities to receive research and technological updates, participate in hands-on workshops, attend symposia, join field trips, discuss common concerns, and discover creative ways to enrich curricula. The association also sponsors seminars and workshops around the country to improve teachers' knowledge of such current topics as computers and technology in the classroom and biotechnology teaching.

Participants at conventions of the National Science Teachers Association attend a wide variety of hands-on workshops and short courses aimed toward fostering innovative teaching methods. The conventions include extensive exhibits of teaching materials by companies and organizations from across the country.

Annual meetings of the Society for College Science Teachers, a divisional affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association, include a forum and paper presentations on various topics related

to undergraduate science education. Representative sessions at the 1998 meeting were: "A Model Science Literacy Course," "Assessing the Impact of Instructional Technology in Science Education," and "Designing Independent Laboratories."

Education workshops are integral to the general meetings of the Society for Developmental Biology. In 1997, the society held a special developmental imaging workshop, with a designated session on "Computers and Imaging in Teaching and Training." Other recent offerings were "Teaching Developmental Biology in Problem-Based Learning Curricula" and "Integrating Plant Developmental Biology into Animal-Based Courses."

The first annual education workshop of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology was held in 1998 as part of the society's annual meeting. One of the workshop's goals was to promote innovative teaching and learning techniques. Topics included the Internet as a resource for teaching biology, computer graphics and illustration for the biologist, and computer software programs to enhance student learning.

The Society for Neuroscience has a special poster session devoted to "The Teaching of Neuroscience." Submission of abstracts to this special teaching poster session does not affect the submission restrictions on research poster abstracts. Authors of teaching posters are encouraged to supplement their presentations with materials for distribution.

During the 1997 undergraduate session on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research, student Mac H. Alford discussed his research with Senator Thad Cochran (R.-Miss.). His research mentor was Dr. Robert G. Hamilton, Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi College, Clinton, Miss. (not pictured). The poster session was part of the council’s annual forum to promote funding for science education.