Teaching and learning workshop – Landing the redesign process for the BSc-degree in biology

At the Department of biological sciences (BIO), University of Bergen, the HKDIR-funded project “Student active research and transferable skills in redesign of the biology education” has been concluded. As a collaboration between bioCEED, BIO and the UiB Learning Lab, its main purpose was to strengthen student active learning and alignment of key aspect of courses included in the BSc-degree in biology. The process has spanned three years and included course teachers, administrative staff, students, and faculty in shaping the degree according to these shared goals.

To wrap up this project, the core team hosted a workshop on 23 May 2023 dedicated to the course intended learning outcomes (ILOs) and their relationship with the purpose of the revised BSc-degree. The workshop emphasised how mandatory BSc-courses in the degree progressively facilitate the development of science-related and transferrable skills through a shared vision for the degree. Therefore, the role of the project members present was to facilitate conversations among course teachers on how they jointly grant students the opportunities for learning skills and at what level through the BSc-degree.

The main outcome of the workshop was a curriculum map that describes the spectrum of science-related and transferrable skills that the mandatory BIO-courses emphasise in teaching- and learning activities. Furthermore, this curriculum map displays how those skills relate to the overall purpose of the degree in terms of programme-level learning outcomes. Combined with available information on disciplinary content knowledge in the courses, this input provides a basis for updating course ILOs for a clearer expression of course content. Finally, the programme-level learning outcomes previously developed in collaboration with the departmental disciplinary groups will be submitted for approval in the biology study programme board in September.