Addressing the math gap in biology

Toby Carter, Principal Lecturer and Faculty Director of Learning, Teaching and Assessment

A Higher Education Academy (HEA) funded workshop is taking place at the Nuffield Foundation today to help address the widening "math gap" in biology in the UK.

While the biosciences are becoming rapidly more quantitative, a number of recent reports have highlighted the lack of appropriate maths skills in those arriving to study biological degrees at University.

The workshop has been organised by Dr Dawn Hawkin, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Anglia Ruskin and Dr Jenny Koenig, from Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge. It is designed to connect, inspire and empower the academic community to address this worrying skills shortage and to enhance the impact of higher education on the major review of post-16 maths education currently taking place.

Dr Toby Carter, Principal Lecturer and Faculty Director of Learning, Teaching and Assessment, who will be running a session on 'teaching modelling using software tools' at the workshop, said:

"This workshop addresses a major issue of growing concern to educators, employers and policy makers and the involvement of Anglia Ruskin staff is recognition of the contribution we have made to the area of BioMath education over the last two decades."

For more information see the programme below or contact Dr Dawn Hawkins: dawn.hawkins@anglia.ac.uk

Biosciences Workshop: "BioMaths Challenges" (95 Kb)

Anglia Ruskin University

Faculty of Science & Technology

Addressing the math gap in biology