Talking Techniques | Skills-based teaching and microcredentialing in STEM

This episode of Talking Techniques deviates slightly from specific lab technologies to instead discuss techniques and methods we use for teaching and testing life sciences.

To do this, I’m speaking to two pioneers of unconventional teaching and testing approaches to STEM education. Angela Consani (left) is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Bioscience Core Skills Institute (KS, USA). This skills-first microcredential program provides certification for lab skills in techniques, safety and quality control, using performance-based practical testing.

Natalie Kuldell (right) is the Founder and Executive Director of Biobuilder (MA USA), a nonprofit organization, set up to increase interest, understanding and engagement in STEM by converting lab research projects in into teachable modules aimed primarily at the pre-graduate level to give students the practical skills needed for a career in the life sciences.

Together, we’ll question the current system of STEM education and training and whether it captures all the potential talent that could be channeled into the life sciences, best serving all the roles available in the industry.

Contents:

• Introductions: 00:00-03:00
• Introducing BioBuilder: 03:00-07:00
• What industry wants from skills-based testing: 07:00-11:25
• How well current university degrees meet these requirements: 11:25-15:40
• Designing curriculums to meet the requirements of industry and updating life science education to meet the demands of a new world: 15:40-21:55
• The practicalities of a skills-based curriculum: 21:45-23:50
• Conducting skill based testing: 23:50-28:40
• Testing BioBuilder’s curriculum: 28:40-32:00
• Can skills-based courses really provide the underlying knowledge needed to flourish in a career in STEM: 32:00-37:00
• How the biotech industry is responding to skills-based teaching and testing: 37:00-46:00
• The interplay between testing and learning and industry: 46:00-51:20
• Outro: 51:20-54:00