Having worked as a scientist and educator in three distinct settings - secular university, theologically conservative Christian university and now a Catholic university, I have encountered a range of attitudes surrounding the compatibility of science and faith. One especially sensitive touchpoint between biology and faith is human evolution. In my experience, effective evolution education requires an understanding of, and respect for, the plurality of faith expressions present in the classroom. In this workshop, I will introduce the ReCCEE (Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education) framework (Barnes and Brownell, 2018) and participants will have the opportunity to adapt the framework for use in their own discipline.

There is currently a crisis in medicine – the alarming rise of bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment with antibiotics. Perhaps equally frightening is the ecological crisis caused by the rapid degradation and loss of soil worldwide, with effects on food production, climate, and biodiversity. In a cooperative research and educational program known as Tiny Earth, instructors and students around the world are exploring diverse soil habitats in search of new antibiotics and making remarkable progress. It this presentation, I will share outcomes of my work as a Tiny Earth instructor over the past nine years, which fall into the categories of i) scientific discovery ii) transformative education iii) fostering a love for God and neighbor.    

Incorporating the Tiny Earth CURE into my microbiology and genetics courses has provided a fruitful pathway for  students to conduct further inquiry in my undergraduate research lab. I will share examples of student projects and describe how collaboration with TECH has accelerated our work.