Award Abstract # 0956129
RCN-UBE: Advancing Integration of Museums into Undergraduate Programs (AIM-UP!)

NSF Org: DEB
Division Of Environmental Biology
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Initial Amendment Date: May 3, 2010
Latest Amendment Date: October 13, 2015
Award Number: 0956129
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Douglas Levey
DEB
 Division Of Environmental Biology
BIO
 Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date: May 1, 2010
End Date: April 30, 2016 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $485,648.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $485,648.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2010 = $485,648.00
History of Investigator:
  • Joseph Cook (Principal Investigator)
    cookjose@unm.edu
  • Scott Edwards (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Eileen Lacey (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Charles Davis (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Stefanie Ickert-Bond (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of New Mexico
1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE
NM  US  87131-0001
(505)277-4186
Sponsor Congressional District: 01
Primary Place of Performance: University of New Mexico
1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE
NM  US  87131-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): F6XLTRUQJEN4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): CCLI-Type 2 (Expansion),
Transforming Undergrad Bio Ed
Primary Program Source: 01001011DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
04001011DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s): 1664, 9150, 9178, 9179, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 749200, 797200
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.074

ABSTRACT

AIM-UP! (Advancing the Integration of Museums into Undergraduate Programs) is a
research coordination network that produces new ways of incorporating the extensive archives and cyberinfrastructure of natural history museums into undergraduate education under five primary themes. These themes explore complex biotic associations across space and time, geographic variation, evolutionary dynamics of genomes, biotic response to climate change, and coevolving communities of pathogens and hosts as related to emerging diseases. AIM-UP! is refining existing efforts and developing new integrated approaches to collections-based training in large-scale questions using the combined and broadly-based expertise of educators, curators, collection managers, database managers, and scientists whose teaching and investigations span across various disciplines and relate to topics covering a wide spectrum of time and space. The network is 1) developing teaching and analytic tools in training students in the emerging fields of climate change, evolutionary genomics and molecular ecology; 2) developing of instructional tools for museum databases, such as ARCTOS, that are freely available to the public, teachers, and scientists via the AIM-UP! website; 3) developing an integrated network of educators working on specimen-based questions; 4) including diverse collaborators, including minority and female scientists, federal agency biologists, academics, international participants, and museums with large public audiences; 5) training undergraduate students in museum-based field and laboratory research; and 6) conducting outreach efforts targeted especially to underrepresented students with an emphasis on issues relevant to their communities. Network participants communicate through 1) an annual three-day all-hands working meeting at field stations and participating institutions; 2) workshops at scientific meetings; 3) frequent interaction via interactive internet services (e.g., video conferencing, Wiggio, AIM-UP! blog, ARCTOS blog); 4) short-term exchanges of museum educators for intensive content development; 5) a short course (two weeks) for undergraduate students at 1 host institution to beta-test new approaches, and 6) a fall semester seminar course at the University of New Mexico (available via webcasting to all network participants). While AIM-UP! began as a collaboration between the University of Alaska, Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of New Mexico as a way to integrate expertise and experiences across these institutions, it is currently being expanded to other educational institutions, federal agencies, and a large museum-based genetic consortium in Canada.

This project is supported jointly by the Biological Sciences Directorate and the Division of Undergraduate Education.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Cook, J.A., S. V. Edwards, E. Lacey, R. P. Guralnick, P. S. Soltis, D. E. Soltis, C. Welch, K. C. Bell, K. E. Galbreath, C. Himes, J. M. Allen, T. A. Heath, A. C. Carnaval, K. L. Cooper, M. Liu, J. Hanken, S. Ickert-Bond. "Natural History Collections as Emerging Resources for Innovative Undergraduate Education" Bioscience , 2014
Dunnum, J. L., and J. A. Cook. "Gerrit Smith Miller: His influence on the enduring legacy of natural history collections." Mammalia , v.76 , 2012 , p.365-373 10.1515
Ho, S-H. and J. A. Cook. "Co-Evolving Pedagogies." ARID: A Journal of Desert Art, Design and Ecology. , v.2 , 2013 , p.1-8
Ryan, MJ, Bolanos, F, Chaves, G "Museums help prioritize conservation goals" Science Express (online) , 2011 www.sciencemag.org/content/329/5997/1272/reply#sci_el_13658

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Advancing Integration of Museums into Undergraduate Education (AIM- UP!) was a Research Coordination Network (RCN) in Undergraduate Biology Education (UBE) that created a network across more than 50 institutions in 32 states over 6 years. The network facilitated discussion among a diverse set of undergraduate educators, curators, collection managers, database managers, scientists, and others (artists, federal resource managers) that was centered on emerging opportunities in specimen-based education. We explored and produced new ways of incorporating the extensive archives and cyberinfrastructure of natural history museums into undergraduate education under 5 annual themes: 1) Exploring Complex Biotic Associations Across Space and Time, 2) Art and Biology, 3) Evolutionary Dynamics of Genomes, 4) Biotic Response to Climate Change, and 5) Emerging Pathogens, Invasive Species, Loss of Biodiversity and other Societal Challenges. AIM-UP! stimulated ongoing efforts and developed new approaches (e.g., modules, videos) to collections-based training through regional thematic meetings, webinars, symposia, publications, workshops, presentations at scientific meetings, and an annual fall semester seminar course (aimup.unm.edu). Our network shared information and ideas, coordinated novel educational activities, fostered synthesis and new collaborations, and developed community standards that will help integrate and allow educators to exploit existing collections and the vast newly digitized museum databases that are now available.


Last Modified: 07/29/2016
Modified by: Joseph A Cook

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