Important essay that must be read and considered

The American Interest has a very important essay by WALTER RUSSELL MEAD that needs to be read and digested in any discussion of education reform.

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/01/20/black-and-blue/comment-page-1/#comment-12968

The basic premise is that if we are to move from a different societal model, we must acknowledge the effects of the past on the minority approaches to society. Many blacks, especially those in the inner city, are very distrustful of local and state governments because of past discrimination that was only addressed by involvement of the federal government. If we are moving to a new model where there is less federal involvement, then this distrust must be addressed and there must be an open discussion of the basis for the distrust and those in local and state government must demonstrate that they can act responsibly for all the people in the absence of federal oversight!

Conservatives refuse to acknowledge this issue and they must; if they are to really convince the minority community that they will not revert back to old ideology with this new approach!

Cheating?

A recent large example of cheating on an exam in a large management course (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-11-12/news/os-ucf-cheating-investigation-retest-20101112_1_students-step-cheating-ucf-spokesman-grant-heston) has ignited a general discussion of academic misconduct. The facts surrounding this incident appears to be a little fuzzy but the administrative investigation is still underway, so we will learn more about the details.
One first glance, it seems that we have a professor who is using test bank questions to create his exam. This is a common practice, especially with large freshman level courses (unfortunately the size of these classes usually mean that multiple choice tests are used). These are common and most instructors use them but modify them to suite their own teaching style and the concepts they emphasized in class.
Students having a copy of the test bank questions mean that they have a distinct advantage over those who did not receive these questions. Academic misconduct can be viewed as the attempt to provide an distinct advantage over others. Most will view this as unfair and obviously wrong! Students who take advantage of these opportunity are simply confirming that they do not want to work as hard as everyone else. The real concern must be that these students will take this poor work ethic into the professional world and thus will be like those that put our economic system on the brink of ruin two years ago!

Welcome

My intention is to develop a site where those that teach biology at the secondary or college level can share ideas and concerns.  I teach biology at a regional university, ETSU in east Tennessee.  My courses range from a freshman level course designed for pre-service K-6 teachers to biology major courses in Cell Biology and Molecular Biology.  I have been involved in several externally funded grants related to developing curriculum, especially curriculum where math and biology has been integrated.  I was recently recognized for my commitment to teaching with both the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award and the University Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching for 2010/2011.

Join me as we explore how we can continuously improve our teaching of biology, one of the most dynamic disciplines of the 21st century!