hroughout the large lecture hall, clusters of students are arguing, gesturing, and jotting down notes. At the lectern, professor Jo Handelsman waits quietly for the commotion to subside. The beginning of class? No, this is the class, and the way it is being taught points toward an important new emphasis in biology education: a focus on not only what students know but how they think. For the past several years, Handelsman, a plant pathologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been using interactive teaching in all her classes. After a brief introduction to the day's topic, she jots down a question or issue on the board. She then has the students in the lecture hall break into small groups and discuss the question among themselves. After a few minutes she calls the class back to order and has the groups briefly present their ideas, which she jots on the board. "It's so simple, but it's the most powerful learning technique I've used," she says. Handelsman's approach is one of a number of innovative teaching techniques that are finding their way into biology departments. Some rely on the ability of students to work together and teach each other. Others use new information technologies to encourage interactive learning and foster the development of learning communities. The common theme is to move beyond the passive learning that characterizes lectures toward more active, engaged forms of learning. This second chapter of "Beyond Bio 101" looks at a number of practical strategies for innovative teaching, from active learning techniques like those used by Jo Handelsman to a new set of introductory courses at Bryn Mawr College, from pioneering technologies that foster electronic learning to new ways of teaching students about writing, working in groups, and scientific ethics. It also puts these curricular changes in context, examining ongoing efforts at curriculum redesign, the implications of curricular changes for students who take the MCATs and GREs, the enduring questions surrounding biology for non-majors, and the necessary infrastructure for change.

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Jo Handelsman guides her students through classroom exercises. Changes In The Classroom Active Learning Practical Strategies Introductory Courses Curriculum Redesign MCATs and GREs Electronic Learning Writing, Groups, Ethics Biology for Non-Majors Infrastructure for Change A World Of Opportunity Laboratory Experience Faculty in the Crossfire Women and Minorities The Many Paths to Success