Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Journal / Book Title
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education
Abstract
We present as a case study the evolution of a series of participant-centered workshops designed to meet a need in the life sciences education community—the incorporation of best practices in the assessment of student learning. Initially, the ICABL (Inclusive Community for the Assessment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/BMB Learning) project arose from a grass-roots effort to develop material for a national exam in biochemistry and molecular biology. ICABL has since evolved into a community of practice in which participants themselves—through extensive peer review and reflection—become integral stakeholders in the workshops. To examine this evolution, this case study begins with a pilot workshop supported by seed funding and thoughtful programmatic assessment, the results of which informed evidence-based changes that, in turn, led to an improved experience for the community. Using participant response data, the case study also reveals critical features for successful workshops, including participant-centered activities and the value of frequent peer review of participants' products. Furthermore, we outline a train-the-trainer model for creating a self-renewing community by bringing new perspectives and voices into an existing core leadership team. This case study, then, offers a blueprint for building a thriving, evolving community of practice that not only serves the needs of individual scientist-educators as they seek to enhance student learning, but also provides a pathway for elevating members to positions of leadership.
DOI
10.1002/bmb.21789
Montclair State University Digital Commons Citation
Tyler, Ludmila; Kennelly, Peter J.; Engelman, Shelly; Block, Kirsten F.; Bobenko, Jennifer C.; Catalano, Jaclyn; Jones, Jesica A.; Kanipes-Spinks, Margaret I.; Lim, Yang Mooi; Loertscher, Jennifer; Olafimihan, Tejiri; Reiss, Hailey; Upchurch-Poole, Territa L.; Wei, Yufeng; Linenberger Cortes, Kimberly J.; and Moore, Victoria Del Gaizo, "Evolution of a self-renewing, participant-centered workshop series in BMB assessment" (2024). Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 623.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/chem-biochem-facpubs/623
Rights
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.
Published Citation
Tyler, L., Kennelly, P. J., Engelman, S., Block, K. F., Bobenko, J. C., Catalano, J., Jones, J. A., Kanipes-Spinks, M. I., Lim, Y. M., Loertscher, J., Olafimihan, T., Reiss, H., Upchurch-Poole, T. L., Wei, Y., Linenberger Cortes, K. J., Moore, V. D. G., & Dries, D. R. (2024). Evolution of a self-renewing, participant-centered workshop series in BMB assessment. Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 52(1), 58–69. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21789