The state of introductory biology following 16 years of pedagogical reform since Vision and Change for Biology Undergraduate Education.

Abstract

Nearly two decades ago, over 500 biology educators from across North America contributed to the creation of the Vision and Change for Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action report, with recommendations for the development of a deep understanding of core biological ideas and practices in undergraduate students and the integration of evidence-based practices into biology classrooms. Introductory biology courses provide a conceptual foundation in biology while also developing skills essential to both the transition from high school to university and general scientific literacy. Thus, alignment of introductory biology classrooms to Vision and Change is important for fostering biological and scientific literacy in all students, even those whose only exposure to biology is introductory courses. Following the dissemination of Vision and Change were numerous frameworks, resources, and instruments that support the implementation of these recommendations in undergraduate biology programs. Here, we synthesize the tools, evidence-based practices, and structural transformations that have been used to align introductory biology courses to Vision and Change with the aim of providing both an overview of the current landscape of introductory biology education and a starting point for institutions, who, like us, are evaluating their progress toward alignment with Vision and Change.