Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science
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The Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science (TIDES) in the College of Natural Sciences aims to catalyze, support, and showcase innovative, evidence-based undergraduate science education. TIDES was proposed in the CNS 2013 Strategic Plan (as the Texas Center for Science Discovery) as a way to continue and enhance the college's leading role in STEM education. With advisement from a cross-disciplinary group of faculty known for both their scientific and teaching accomplishments, TIDES is taking a three-pronged approach to achieve this mission: student programs, faculty programs, and education research and evaluation.
For Students: TIDES is fostering student programs that focus on experiential and engaged learning. The Institute's exemplar program, the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) matches 900+ students with their desired research projects each year. During the spring semester, these students work with faculty principal investigators and postdoctoral-level research educators to do cutting-edge science, mathematics, and technology research from discovering antibiotics to securing computer systems to understanding processes at work in stars. In order to expand research offerings to many more transfer and upper division students, TIDES has established a sister program to FRI, called the Accelerated Research Initiative. FRI and ARI students can showcase their work at the Undergraduate Research Forum and can continue research in the summer with support from introductory or advanced fellowships. TIDES is also conducting a landscape assessment as part of a plan to provide more industry and entrepreneurial learning opportunities for students.
For Current and Future Faculty: TIDES offers teaching development programs for current and future science and mathematics faculty. TIDES has developed a plan for a mentored teaching program for postdoctoral associates, which is now under consideration for extramural funding. TIDES hosts a monthly scientific teaching workshop series, and summer scientific teaching institutes for current and incoming faculty. TIDES is providing national-level leadership on research teaching by hosting working meetings of national groups of educators who are replicating FRI-like programs and developing their own research courses through which students learn to think like scientists and make contributions that have impact outside the classroom. These teaching development programs are complemented by a teaching resources portal, which features effective teaching strategies accompanied how-to advice and data showing efficacy.
Education Research and Evaluation: Systematically collecting and analyzing data to know what students are learning is a critical element of excellent teaching. TIDES staff work with CNS faculty to examine their students' learning, test new teaching strategies, and identify the right assessment tools. TIDES staff also consult and collaborate on evaluating the efficacy and impact of undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral STEM education programs. TIDES education research staff conduct internally and externally funded studies of science teaching and learning in higher education. The following are active areas of investigation in TIDES:
- Undergraduate outcomes of participating in research courses
- Mentoring of undergraduate life science researchers
- Undergraduate access to science research opportunities
- Undergraduate attitudes toward quantitative disciplines
TIDES is also conducting several education studies aimed at documenting the impacts of CNS undergraduate programs and understanding the causal mechanisms underlying effective programs, such as the FRI.
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Dhivya Arasappan
Research Scientist, Assistant Professor of PracticeDhivya joined the GSAF team in 2008 and primarily deals with analysis of Next-gen sequencing data.Jeffrey E Barrick
Associate ProfessorLorene Morrow Kelley Professorship in MicrobiologyMicrobial experimental evolution and synthetic biologyKaren S Browning
ProfessorMechanism And Regulation Of Eukaryotic Protein Synthesis. My research focuses on the initiation of protein synthesis in higher plants.Brandon Campitelli
STEM Instruction Consultant, Clinical Assistant ProfessorAssistant Professor of Instruction | STEM Instructional Consultant | Experiential Learning CoordinatorMark L Daniels
Professor of PracticeThe University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers FellowAndrew Ellington
ProfessorNancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Regents Chair in Molecular Biology | Wilson M. and Kathryn Fraser Research Professorship in BiochemistryWalter L Fast
Professor, Division Head - Chemical Biology and Medicinal ChemistryWilliam I. Dismukes Fellowship in PharmacyKeely D Finkelstein
Associate Professor of InstructionDads' Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship #2Education & Curriculum Design efforts in TIDES and Astronomy, research in galaxy evolution & star formation studies.Amanda Hager
Associate Professor of InstructionStuart W. Stedman Professorship in Plan II MathematicsThomas E Juenger
ProfessorC. L. Lundell Chair of Systematic Botany | Billy Carr Distinguished Teaching FellowshipAlbert J MacKrell
Assistant Professor of PracticeAl has directed the VIM stream since 2006, exploring the interactions between macromolecuales that control gene expression.Edward M Marcotte
Professor, Affiliated Faculty, Oden InstituteMr. and Mrs. Corbin J. Robertson, Sr. Regents Chair in Molecular Biology #1John T Markert
ProfessorElizabeth B. Gleeson Professorship in Physics | Distinguished Teaching ProfessorMagnetism and superconductivity in oxides and heavy fermion systems; high temperature superconductivityRisto P Miikkulainen
ProfessorArtificial Intelligence, Data Mining, Machine Learning, Natural ComputationMike Montgomery
Assistant Professor of Practice, Research ScientistLaboratory astrophysics; Asteroseismology of white dwarfs and other stars; stellar convection, crystallization, and evolutionNancy A Moran
ProfessorWarren J. and Viola Mae Raymer ChairInsect and bacterial genomics and evolution, SymbiosisEmily Que
Associate ProfessorJoseph J. & Jeanne M. Lagowski Regents Professorship in Inorganic ChemistryBioinorganic chemistry, chemical biology, metals in medicineAshay S RaneMy research devises defenses against computer security attacks. I am also the Research Educator for the System Security FRI stream.Stuart A Reichler
Associate Professor of PracticeInstructor- Scientific Inquiry Across the Disciplines; Program Coordinator- Scientific Inquiry Across the Disciplines; Waller Creek ResearchRuth I Shear
Professor of PracticeResearch Educator, Urban Ecosystems FRI Research Stream; Assessment & Accreditation Coordinator, FRIMichael P Starbird
ProfessorDistinguished Teaching Professor | The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers FellowTopology