Workforce Development: Helping UMaine Faculty develop classroom activities that prepare students for skills needed in Mane’s science careers
Principal Investigator: Michelle Smith (Biology & Ecology, UMaine)
Partners: Mindi Summers (UMaine), Eric Jones (UMM), Jason Johnston (UMPI), Joseph Staples (USM), Judith Ladd Roe (UMPI), Karen Pelletreau (UMaine), Kim Borges (UMFK), Larry Feinstein (UMPI), Lisa Moore (USM), Nancy Prentiss (UMF), Peter Nelson (UMFK), Sandra Haggard (UMA), Sherrie Sprangers (UMM), Theresa Theodose (USM), Charles Wray (The Jackson Laboratory), David Edson (James W. Sewall Company), Campbell Scott III (OceansWide)
Abstract: UMaine biology students require preparation for a range of careers including healthcare, forestry, agricultural, natural resources management, and laboratory research. At the same time, employers are seeking applicants who have biology degrees and scientific skills to solve problems and foster economic development in the state of Maine. We propose to bring together faculty from all campuses in the UMaine System with Maine employers familiar with the workforce needs to develop, iteratively revise, and study the impacts of shared instructional activities used in introductory biology courses at all of the system campuses.