Making Science Relevant
What should non-science majors learn about biology?
Data suggest that most college biology classes as currently taught do little to make science useful for students’ lives. This is especially important for non-science majors, who are the vast majority (82%) of college students. We’re creating a vision for what classes for non-majors could look like.
Gormally C. & A. Heil. 2022. A Vision for University Biology Education for Non-science Majors. CBE-LSE. 21(4). https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-12-0338
Heil, A,* P Brickman, C Gormally. Accepted, 2021. Low-level learning: leaving behind non-science majors. Journal of College Science Teaching.
Reading Comics to EnGage Students In BIOLOGy Learning
Comics have the potential to spark deep, personal interest in science topics--which we know from research provides motivation for future engagement in science.
Gormally C. 2020. Using comics to make science come alive. CourseSource.
© Cara Gormally
Making Evidence-Based Comics to share Learning
Students research their own questions about critical socio-scientific issues, such as infertility, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Then, students create projects summarizing what they learn about socio-scientific issues via comics. Through this process, they learn to communicate complicated science in everyday language, with simple visuals.
Gormally C. 2020. The Comics Project: Synthesizing and communicating science with comics. CourseSource.
Project-Based Applied Learning
In this curriculum, students have opportunities to tackle real-life problems by investigating claims made in the media—for example, evaluating the worst food in America. Through these projects, students have opportunities to practice key skills such as conducting effective literature searches, identifying valid scientific arguments, evaluating research design, and interpreting quantitative data.
Brickman P, Gormally C, Francom G, Jardeleza SE, Schutte VGW, Jordan C, Kanizay L. 2012. Media-savvy scientific literacy: Developing critical evaluation skills by investigating scientific claims. The American Biology Teacher 74(6): 374-379.