Tracking Adaptation and Investigating Learning Outcomes for Reforming Mathematics for Life Sciences

This project aims to serve the national interest by investigating conditions under which mathematics departments adopt and adapt evidence-based instructional materials for improving STEM education. To date, most research into dissemination of modeling curricula focuses on barriers and failures. This project plans to complement this work by studying successful adaptation processes at multiple sites and will produce an Evolution Blueprint. The Evolution Blueprint will summarize successful case studies and serve as a tailored resource to support faculty and institutions seeking to adopt the modeling curriculum. The focal instructional materials are from UCLA's Life Sciences 30 course, which teaches the importance of modeling feedback loops, positive and negative, in ecology, physiology, and molecular biology, all without a calculus prerequisite. The project seeks to examine the adaptability of these materials to new settings and deepen the field's understanding of how evidence-based curricular materials can be successfully disseminated. By understanding the conditions that facilitate successful dissemination off innovative curricular materials, future work can put them in place. In this way, the project contributes to improving the introductory mathematics experience for life science majors. The project will bring together mathematicians, mathematical biologists, and educational researchers to address a critical problem in STEM education related to the dissemination and uptake of evidence-based curricular materials and pedagogies. The project aims to achieve three goals: (i) identify and understand the contextual features that facilitate or impede successful implementation of a modeling-based curriculum, (ii) advance understanding of how ongoing, dynamic institutional conditions shape the adaptation of a modeling curriculum in response to local needs, and (iii) lay the groundwork for a multi-site impact study by developing assessment tools to measure broader learning outcomes. The project will draw on qualitative methodologies to document stakeholders' perceptions of the impact of the instructional materials, including the experiences of mathematics and science faculty, teaching assistants and tutors, and students. The project will develop local causal models that explain how and why aspects of the curricular materials are adapted to suit the instructional context. The NSF IUSE:EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. 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.