BioHUB: An internet HUB for the Conceptual Assessment in Biology (CAB) community

Background/Question/Methods

The new BioHUB project is creating an internet HUB for the growing community of faculty and researchers developing and using Conceptual Assessments in Biology (CABs) to inform curriculum and instruction and transform biology education. Conceptual assessments were first developed in the 1980’s (e.g., Force Concept Inventory) and have been effectively used by physicists to implement major changes in introductory physics teaching. Biology faculty moved forward more slowly, but are now actively developing and using CABs. This project aims to catalyze CAB developers and users to work toward a common goal of creating a centralized BioHUB where CABs can be obtained by faculty, administered on line, and discussed. The Conceptual Assessments in Biology HUB (BioHUB) is being developed in collaboration with “ciHUB” (concept inventory HUB) website creators at Purdue University College of Engineering. Currently ciHUB.org hosts conceptual assessments in engineering, physics, and statistics. The BioHUB will provide a central and accessible location for CAB information, dissemination, discussion, and research. It will provide instructors in college as well as grades 7-12 with easy access to CABs, offer assistance with optional administration and scoring of CABs, and provide guidance for interpretation and use of CABs in exploring students’ prior knowledge, interactive teaching, and assessing learning gains.

Results/Conclusions

Because biology courses vary, biologists from around the world have been developing a collection of conceptual assessments (30 so far and more are in development), each focused on challenging core topics such as natural selection, genetics, or osmosis/diffusion. Each CAB requires years to develop and evaluate. Widespread dissemination and serious evaluation are the critical next steps. We are populating the site with CABs now and encourage participation from the ecology education community. The BioHUB will provide a virtual meeting space for users and developers, and support effective CAB dissemination and automatic scoring. The goal is that these resources will provide information to improve biology instruction and strengthen biology curricula. We encourage all biology faculty to participate and provide feedback to help assure site functionality and disseminate information about the BioHUB and its use.