(Biological Sciences (61) This project is creating a new textbook that uses guided analysis of related sets of journal articles as a basis for constructing biological understanding through deep analysis of individual lines of biological research. The method of accomplishing this task: Consider, Read, Elucidate, Analyze and Think of an Experiment (CREATE), helps students learn how to read and understand primary literature, and simultaneously challenges them to think for themselves, develop their own interpretations, and independently design new hypotheses and thought-experiments. The course also includes interviews with the scientists involved in the research, using interview questions contributed by students themselves. The broader impacts of the project are threefold: First, the CREATE method will foster the development of transferable understanding, as students are able to apply the approaches learned in the course to numerous other situations requiring analytical and interpretive skills. Second, we have chosen to highlight work coming from the labs of at least two highly successful female scientists. Women remain underrepresented at higher levels of academic science, and we believe that studying the work of, and learning about the experiences of, these women will provide inspiration to female students. Finally, the CREATE method provides all participating students, not only those who pursue research careers, with a deeper understanding of the scientific process. As decisions about scientific research have increasingly become part of public policy, we believe it is essential for undergraduate education to contribute to a scientifically literate populace. The project is an adaptation of Readings in Developmental Neurobiology (Purves and Patterson, 1982), a collection of journal articles published on neural development.
