[December, 2015] A group of twenty modules linking mathematics and
biology for use in high school classrooms is now available for free
download 
from
the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP). The modules were
developed in two DIMACS-led projects with support from the National
Science Foundation (NSF).
Publication of the modules is the culmination of a decade-long
effort, involving many researchers and teachers responsible for
writing and reviewing the modules, as well as teachers from across
the country tasked with testing the modules in their classrooms. The
result is a set of twenty well-vetted modules that can be flexibly
adapted for use in a variety of courses at a variety of grade levels
in both biology and mathematics.
The interdisciplinary nature of the modules makes them amenable to
individual or team teaching and offers students a contemporary view
of science as a multidisciplinary enterprise. Each module is
self-contained, has a student version and a teacher version, and
provides instructional materials for approximately five 40-minute
class meetings. The modules include web based interactive materials
that provide additional opportunities for teachers and students to
learn the material both inside and outside of classrooms.
Modern biology is increasingly seen not only an experimental and
observational science, but also as a data and information science.
Mathematical biology can be loosely defined as the use of
mathematical sciences (broadly including computer science,
mathematics, and statistics) for answering biological questions. The
names of subfields at the interface of the mathematical and
biological sciences—bioinformatics, biostatistics, computational
ecology, etc.—attest to the critical interplay of the constituent
disciplines. As these interdisciplinary fields took root in colleges
and universities, undergraduate and graduate students gained access
to topics at the interface of the mathematics and biology, but these
topics had not yet made it into the high schools.
It was this void that Fred
Roberts (director of DIMACS at the time) sought to fill with
several pioneering projects. Beginning with a SGER (Small Grants for
Exploratory Research) grant from NSF in 2004 to investigate ways to
connect the mathematical and biological sciences in high school
classrooms and another grant to hold a conference on
the topic, associated activities blossomed at DIMACS. They led
to a new DIMACS Volume on “BioMath in the
Schools,” edited by Roberts and DIMACS faculty member, Midge Cozzens.
They
also laid the foundation for two larger NSF-funded projects, led by
Roberts and Cozzens, for full-scale development of biomath modules
and courses. The “Bio-Math Connection” (BMC) project developed an
initial set of fifteen modules between 2006 and 2010, particularly
addressing themes in mathematical epidemiology, ecology, and
computational biology. The recently completed “Challenge of
Interdisciplinary Education: Math-Bio” (IMB) project added five
additional modules and thoroughly edited the entire set of twenty
modules to unify style and assure content at the twelfth-grade
level. The latter step was critical to answer the call by teachers
for building modules-based courses.
The newly published modules can be used individually or combined to
form new courses in biomath. As the materials have become available
a variety of new courses are emerging. These include one- and
two-semerster courses, offered as science courses in some schools
and math courses in others. COMAP announced the availability of the modules to high school math
and biology departments in mid-September. Since the announcement,
modules have been downloaded by 85 schools in 28 states.
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