Education Research

NEXUS at UMBC
nexus.umbc.edu

The goal of the UMBC NEXUS project has been to develop and disseminate validated competency-based modules and assessment tools that integrate quantitative thinking into the introductory biology topics. This online website serves as the resource for the ten comprehensive UMBC NEXUS inquiry-based modules, which can be used in whole or in part, in class, in discussion sections, or as homework.

NEXUS Institute for Quantitative Biology (NIQB) IUSE Project
https://niqb.umbc.edu/

This project is a collaboration between the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), Howard Community College (HCC), and Montgomery College (MC). This collaboration  to established the following communities:

  1. Curricular Alignment Team: Faculty will comprehensively review curricula to identify areas for action across four courses in the biology core curriculum and identify common areas where quantitative content can be incorporated.
  2. NEXUS Institute in Quantitative Biology (NIQB) Community: Faculty will work collaboratively to develop/revise, implement, assess and disseminate competency-based, active learning quantitative biology modules.
  3. Faculty Development Community: To promote faculty training on evidence-based teaching approaches and the pedagogical use of modules by offering a common teaching certificate program across the five institutions.