Fig 1.
Each EDUCE module consists of introduction, practice, application, and communication. Early, introductory modules are focused on introduction and practice, while later, more advanced modules challenge students to apply their developing data science skills to higher dimensional data with emphasis on visualization, interpretation, and communication. EDUCE, Experiential Data science for Undergraduate Cross-Disciplinary Education.
Table 1.
EDUCE courses in MICB.
Fig 2.
EDUCE curriculum in microbiology.
Students enter the program in MICB 301 or equivalent coursework at the BCIT. Some students take additional 300-level courses, MICB 322 and 323. Then, all students progress to 1 or more elective 400-level courses with prescribed outlets for communication of results. BCIT, British Columbia Institute of Technology; EDUCE, Experiential Data science for Undergraduate Cross-Disciplinary Education; MICB, microbiology; UJEMI, Undergraduate Journal of Microbiology and Immunology.
Table 2.
EDUCE course requirements for microbiology majors.
Fig 3.
The EDUCE initiative is led by MICB in the Faculty of Science. However, TAs, consultants, collaborators, and other support come from across the campus community and include 10 departments from 3 faculties (Science, Applied Science, and Medicine). Team members include multiple training levels that work together to develop and deploy content in both courses and cocurricular activities. EDUCE, Experiential Data science for Undergraduate Cross-Disciplinary Education; MICB, microbiology; TA, teaching assistant; UBC, University of British Columbia.
Fig 4.
Student interest and experience in data science.
Student responses from matched pre- and post-surveys in MICB 301 indicating self-reported (A) interest (N = 143–146) and (B) experience (N = 136–143) in data science areas including bioinformatics and computer science. Due to changes in survey format, numerical responses from 2018 to 2019 were converted to categorical groups from 2017 to 2018 as none (0), low (1–3), medium (4–7), and high (8–10). Arrows and p-values indicate significant response changes by Monte Carlo symmetry tests for paired contingency tables. MICB, microbiology.