The most frequent comment Steve Rissing heard from colleagues when he moved to Ohio State three and a half years ago to head the Introductory Biology Program (IBP) was that the undergraduate General Education Curriculum courses needed more attention. Rissing, who also is a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology, knew that non-biology majors, as a group, were traditionally ignored at most universities. As a member of several national and state advisory panels for science education, he was concerned about the problem.

From its inception, IBP's goal was educating future citizens to make intelligent policy decisions, but changes were needed to reach this goal. In redesigning the IBP, Rissing's mission was to give students not only the basics of biology, but also the insight and self-confidence regarding the issues to make fully-informed decisions possible.

One way the program focuses on important scientific issues in the formation of public policy is to assign New York Times articles to students at each lecture. Class discussions include such things as the proposed 2003 Federal ban on all human cloning research. "This is significant legislation, and I expect my students to understand it," Rissing said. "The human cloning ban is synonymous with stem cell research. The success of the program lies in its ability to show students the intersection between science and public policy."

The IBP facilitates close interaction between undergraduate and graduate students, which is rewarding for both groups. "We encourage the graduate teaching assistants to bring their students into their research," Rissing said. "The graduate students benefit as well, integrating them into the mission of the IBP."

The IBP taps into the creativity of colleagues and staff, using guest faculty lecturers to introduce students to a range of issues from genetic engineering of crops to tracing the molecular structure of common pathogens.

Entomology professor Susan Fisher is an exemplar of faculty commitment and creativity applied to teaching undergraduate non-majors. Fisher's spring quarter Biology 101 course, which she dubbed "The Basics and Beauty of Biology," incorporated a series of special presentations that bridged the arts and sciences. Dance students performed Dancing DNA to reenact protein synthesis. Using volunteers from the audience, the dancers made a protein bond, choreographing their way through division and reproduction in the life of a single cell.

Explaining basic biological concepts, such as the function of DNA, in multiple, alternative media and dimensions is a good example of the developing field of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is a new paradigm for teaching and learning, using a research-based set of principles and new media technologies to maximize learning opportunities for every student by responding to individual learner differences.

In addition to "Dancing DNA," Fisher's students experienced Biorap, subtitled DNA Replication and Protein Synthesis with a Beat, which took biology to the streets with its hip-hop style. The computerized orchestral performance of "The Music of Life" by James Croson coded amino acids through music and gave students a chance to hear what testosterone sounds like! Ohio State Poet Laureate and English Professor David Citino read Ladders, a poem he created specifically for this class about the building blocks of life. As Fisher stated, "It just seems natural to me to incorporate the language of Shakespeare and the genius of Bach into discussions of biology."

The special presentations have two functions: first, to make what can be dry, text-book stuff-from the non-major perspective-more lively and fascinating, and second, to affirm visually the beauty of biology. "Autumn leaves, after all, speak to us of wonder and of beauty just as surely as they do of decomposing chlorophyll. My thinking is that if I can harness elements of the former, I have a better chance of explaining the latter," said Fisher, who wants to take full advantage of the fact that biology is beautiful, and is about life, after all.

The special presentations have two functions: first, to make what can be dry, text-book stuff--from the non-major perspective--more lively and fascinating, and second, to affirm visually the beauty of biology.

Energized by spring quarter's success, Fisher dreamt of the future. On the first day of class autumn quarter, she returned to wow students again, with a multimedia extravaganza, where participants could hear, see, touch, and even taste biology. On the menu: a string quartet, one of whose members was none other than Dean Joan Herbers; a video featuring the mating dance of the cranes and a food fete consisting of biologically-decorated food items with signs indicating their kingdom, phylum, class.

Student response to the innovations of the IBP has been positive; Rissing views this response as an indication of how successful the program is at teaching students-future citizens-to discern the relevance of biology and science legislation, to make basic connections between science and their lives and to have a little fun along the way. And, the efforts appear to have paid off. Today, Ohio State is ahead of the curve nationally in teaching basic biology to non-majors, as a recent National Research Council report confirmed.

Meanwhile, Rissing hopes to work with the National Public Broadcasting Corporation to televise Fisher's Dancing DNA project. "The IBP continues to lead the way in science education nationally," Rissing said. "We're going to build on this, so you're going to see more types of these projects."

-Natalie Corvington and Sandi Rutkowski

Dancing DNA comes alive on Bio 101 lecture stage

Cirque du Biologie: live music, stunning visuals and an edible phylla tour