Brown Bag Lecture

The Role of Interactive Mathematical Biology in Curricular Reform

Presented by John Jungck

November 2, 1999 
12:00 - 1:00pm 
Room 259 Educational Sciences Building 

Mathematics has played exceptionally important roles throughout the history of biology. More biology students take calculus than any other single constituency. Too frequently, textbook authors have not appreciated mathematics in biology curricula
because they assume that biology students have inadequate mathematical preparation. This practice is problematic since it (1) deskills many biology students, (2) is inconsistent with course requirements, (3) misrepresents contemporary biological research, and (4) underprepares students to read many articles or to contribute to many areas of biology. However, the recent calculus and biology reform movements have empowered students to actively investigate many famous mathematical models in biology.

Although recent publications are replete with various models, the power of mathematical models in biology can be represented in a succinct list of achievements. Hence, the equations that changed biology and a brief description of their historical
importance are presented here with BioQUEST software instantiations to draw attention to mathematical models that have been intrinsic to significant discoveries in biology.

John Jungck is a professor of biology at Beloit College, director of the BioQUEST project, and a national leader in the appropriate use of learning technologies. For some three decades, Jungck has been working to develop technology tools and
uses that to foster active learning in postsecondary biology classes. As an NISE Fellow on the College Level One Team, Jungck is producing the metadata page (a set of typologies that will be used to index the Institute for Learning Technology Web site).