1. Modeling from molecules to moose Teaching students to develop agent-based simulations in biology Elizabeth F. Ryder 1, Joseph R. Boyd 1, Timothy B. Marsden 1, Meagan E. Sullender 1, Brian T. White 2 1 Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2 UMass Boston NSF TUES Award 1140672

2. Motivation Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education (AAAS, 2010) Biology should be taught more conceptually Students need experience with modeling, simulation, and systems approaches to biology. Simulation in Biology course Agent-based modeling: systems approach Similar concepts in different areas of biology: ecology, cell biology, molecular biology StarLogoTNG: Gentle introduction to programming and simulation that is immediately relevant to biology

3. Goals Students in Simulation in Biology will: Gain a deep understanding of biological content and the connections among different fields in biology. Gain experience with use of simulation in science; hypothesis testing and predicting Make connections between mathematics, computer science, and biology Show increased ‘systems thinking’; understand ‘emergent properties’ of systems

4. Simulation in Biology class Logistics Boot camp, practice simulation, project, blog Class time mostly working in groups

5. Student project: Schistosomiasis

6. Evaluation, Dissemination & Acknowledgments Evaluation Faculty development Implementation of Simulation in Biology at UMass Boston, Summer 2014 Instructor is an ecologist with little programming background Dissemination ‘kit’ Tutorials, Boot camp problems, teacher’s guide Practice projects with guidelines and code Acknowledgments Eric Klopfer and colleagues, MIT WPI students NSF TUES Award