Vision and Innovation in Biology Education (VIBEnet)

Abstract

We hear repeated calls for future graduates to develop inter and multidisciplinary approaches as well as flexible and rigorous mathematical and computational modelling skills to deal with a complex world. What, then, are the current priorities for biology education in Australia? Unlike physics and chemistry, there is no single biological professional association to provide a forum for the discussion of undergraduate tertiary biology. The Vision and Innovation in Biology Education discipline network (VIBEnet) was formed to address this need within the tertiary biology community and to discuss: • key concepts and competencies that graduate biology students should understand and be able to demonstrate; • innovative curriculum and appropriate teaching strategies to help graduates achieve these outcomes, • appropriate assessment strategies to measure this achievement; and • sharing effective learning and teaching practices for undergraduate biology and mentoring the next generation of biology educators. Our Vision and Innovation Statement will articulate a collective understanding of tertiary biology education including the Biology Threshold Learning Outcomes for biology graduates. Common concepts which are emerging as the result of workshops and surveys attended by >60 academics include; characteristics of life, information flow, evolution and structure and function while competencies include inquiry, communication, critical thinking and quantitative skills.