Conference Scope

The biological understanding of our world, from the DNA in cells to the effect of our actions in the biosphere, has advanced rapidly. Our changing world presents exciting opportunities for Life Discovery and challenges for teaching, study and learning. The branches of biology that deal with plants, animals, behavior, ecology and evolution, collectively referred to as organismal and environmental biology, hold many keys to understanding life in a changing world.

This conference will highlight the leading science, curriculum design and implementation and data exploration in a research-rich biology education for high school and undergraduate students.

A major goal of the conference is to foster communities of practice and encourage the sharing of best practices in biology education across grades. The Education Share Fair will be a central event for participants to contribute to a collection of lesson ideas as well as teacher-friendly scientific resources including photo collections, figures and charts and datasets etc. leading to publication in the LifeDiscoveryEd Digital Library.

Participants at this conference will:

• Discover the science of life in a changing world
• Swap ideas for a robust biology classroom
• Build partnerships with scientists and educators
• Explore digital resources and new technologies

Conference Objectives

• Highlight evidence-based research for 21st century biology education
• Promote the use of digital resources and new technologies for scientific literacy, with attention to underrepresented audiences
• Foster communities of practice and partnerships among scientists and educators
• Promote a culture of publishing in education through the sharing of classroom-friendly resources in LifeDiscoveryEd Digital Library
• Inform educators about strategies for promoting careers in organismal and environmental biology

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A consortium of four scientific societies with a collective membership of nearly 20,000 have banded together to organize this inaugural conference that will highlight the leading science, data exploration, curriculum design and implementation in a research-rich education for grades K-16.

• Ecological Society of America (ESA),
• Botanical Society of America (BSA),
• Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE),
• and Society for Economic Botany (SEB).

This consortium will jointly manage the LifeDiscoveryEd Digital Library and serve as curators of Society-specific collections within the digital library.

2013 Planning Committee

The vision and organization of this event would not be possible without the effort and determination of this group of individuals.

• Tom Meagher, Professor, Biology, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
• Sunshine L. Brosi, Assistant Professor, Frostburg State University, MD
• Jeffrey R. Corney, ESA Education Section chair, Managing Director, Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, University of Minnesota, MN
• Louise Mead, Director of Education, BEACON, Michigan State University, MI
• Kristin Jenkins, Education and Outreach Program Specialist, NESCent, NC
• DC Randle, Biology Teacher, St. Francis High School, MN
• Jennifer Rhode Ward, ESA Education Scholar, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC

2013 ESA Staff

• Teresa Mourad, Director of Education and Diversity Programs, Ecological Society of America
• Andrea McMillen, Education Programs Coordinator, Ecological Society of America
• Kristin Haas, Education Intern, Ecological Society of America
• Yoomee Kim, Education Intern, Ecological Society of America

2013 Conference Collaborators

Organizations who promote the conference to their professional networks

List of Conference Collaborators

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