Bernard facilitates NAS Mountain West Summer Institute

Aimee Bernard, senior instructor in biology at the University of Colorado Denver, was a facilitator at the National Academies of Sciences 2012 Mountain West Summer Institute July 30 – Aug. 3. The Summer Institute is the direct result of a key recommendation from the 2003 National Research Council report, “Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists,” which called for programs of professional development to engage faculty at research-intensive institutions in taking greater responsibility for high-quality undergraduate biology education.

The report emphasizes the importance of new pedagogical approaches to teaching based on emerging evidence about how people learn and a greater emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching. Teams from research colleges and universities from across the Mountain West assembled for five days of presentations, discussions, intensive group work and other activities focused on enhancing undergraduate education, with themes of active learning, assessment and diversity.