If you teach:

  • Organismal & Evolutionary Biology (OEB)
  • Evolutionary Biology & Ecology (EEB)
  • Integrative Biology
  • Environmental Science
  • Environmental Studies
    …at the college or high school level…

…a drawing workshop from asIF will benefit your teaching!

DRAWING is an effective tool for the classroom, lab, and field.

You probably already ask your students to draw — draw dissections, draw through a microscope, draw in a nature journal. You know that drawing helps your students become better observers, engages students with visual learning styles, and reinforces science learning.

Biology is visual. We ask students to look at organisms to understand structures, relate structure to function, and make visual comparisons. We use visual characters to identify species, see evolutionary relationships, and understand how organisms respond to their environment. Drawing can reinforce these visual concepts. But…

…do you have the skills you need to help students draw effectively?

Biology faculty PD workshop, Black Rock Forest Consortium, NY

There is a growing body of evidence that drawing is an effective tool for student learning in undergraduate and high school biology. (See references here, here, here, here, here, and here.) It promotes active learning, sharpens observation, and enriches fieldwork skills. Non-representational drawing helps too. Conceptual diagrams, data visualization, and using drawing for science communication, can help students clarify complex biological concepts. (See more references here, here, here, here, and here.) In general, art-science activities increase engagement, foster creativity and innovation, and encourage interdisciplinary thinking. Art-science activities reach all kinds of minds, reaches broader groups of students, and can help build STEM identity.

You probably already recognize the benefits of drawing as a tool for the biology classroom, lab, and field, but may lack the skills to use drawing in your teaching. My workshops will empower you to use drawing with confidence.

I lead professional development workshops for biology and ecology faculty, for using drawing and other art practices as teaching tools in the classroom, lab, and field. The skills and activities are tailored to align with the 4DEE framework for ecology, the Vision & Change recommendations for biology, and the Next Generation Science Standards for high school life science.

Do you want to develop a 15-minute drawing activity that gets students engaged quickly? Or use nature journaling in the field, or scientific illustration in the lab? Or incorporate data visualization or other art for science communication in your lesson plans? I can share the skills to use these art-science teaching tools effectively.

Experience

I have taught drawing skills for biology and ecology for over two decades, at colleges and universities, high schools, biological field stations and marine labs, science museums and nature centers, and many other institutions. The image at the top of this page is a faculty professional development workshop for biology educators and field station & marine lab directors, in using art for science communication, at the annual meeting of the Organization of Biological Field Stations at CMU Field Station, Beaver Island, Michigan. The image below is a workshop at Cornell University EEB faculty, post docs, and graduate students, in using drawing as a teaching tool for biology. See my teaching page for a list of the many institutions where I have taught.

Flexible programs

I can set up a remote or in-person workshop for your biology or ecology faculty group, at a time frame that works for your group. I offer:

Remote workshops:

  • A series of remote mini workshops, for example during a sequence of lunchtime seminars.
  • A single remote mini course several hours long to cover a lot of material all at once.
  • Remote coaching / consulting with staff members one on one, specific to your needs.

In person workshops in the northeastern US:

  • I can visit your campus for a faculty PD workshop in person if your are in the northeastern US.
  • While I am at your institution for a faculty PD workshop, I can also teach students as a visiting artist with one or more of your classes.
  • I can teach a workshop for a mixed group, for example EEB/ OEB/ IB faculty, high school biolgy faculty, science museum education staff, and environmental educators at botanical gardens and public lands, etc.
Faculty professional development workshop at Cornell University EEB: Drawing as a teaching tool in undergraduate biology.

Let’s talk about art for science engagement.
Contact me at sciencecandance@gmail.com.

Nancy Lowe