Guided development of independent inquiry in an anatomy/physiology laboratory

Student-originated projects are increasingly utilized in the biology laboratory as a means of engaging students and revitalizing the laboratory experience by allowing them one to two weeks to collect data on a manipulated variable of their choice by use of an introduced technique. Such experiments fail as good models of investigative learning when they place more emphasis on novel ideas than on hypothesis testing, experimental design, statistical rigor, or use of the primary literature. In addition, students get used to the routine and tend to design the same type of simplistic experiments in each course unless challenged. Laboratories in a Comparative Anatomy and Physiology course at the University of St. Thomas were reorganized to encourage the development of investigative skills in a stepwise fashion throughout the semester. Initial labs concentrated on experimental design and statistical analysis, then use of the primary literature in interpretation of the data was emphasized, and finally, students were asked to design their experiments and analyze their data on the basis of models from the primary literature.     

Transposing from the Laboratory to the Classroom to Generate Authentic Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Large lecture classes and standardized laboratory exercises are characteristic of introductory biology courses. Previous research has found that these courses do not adequately convey the process of scientific research and the excitement of discovery. Here we propose a model that provides beginning biology students with an inquiry-based, active learning laboratory experience. The Dynamic Genome course replicates a modern research laboratory focused on eukaryotic transposable elements where beginning undergraduates learn key genetics concepts, experimental design, and molecular biological skills. Here we report on two key features of the course, a didactic module and the capstone original research project. The module is a modified version of a published experiment where students experience how virtual transposable elements from rice (Oryza sativa) are assayed for function in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. As part of the module, students analyze the phenotypes and genotypes of transgenic plants to determine the requirements for transposition. After mastering the skills and concepts, students participate in an authentic research project where they use computational analysis and PCR to detect transposable element insertion site polymorphism in a panel of diverse maize strains. As a consequence of their engagement in this course, students report large gains in their ability to understand the nature of research and demonstrate that they can apply that knowledge to independent research projects.     

An inquiry-based learning model for an exercise physiology laboratory course

We developed an inquiry-based learning model to better stimulate undergraduate students' cognitive development of exercise physiology laboratory concepts. The course core is the two independent research projects that students, working in small groups, complete during the last 9 wk of the semester. Student groups develop their own research question and hypothesis, design the experiment, collect and analyze the data, and report their findings to the rest of the class using presentation software. To help with success of the research projects, students are taken through a series of guided-inquiry laboratory activities during the initial 6 wk of the semester to develop laboratory skills and an understanding of the scientific process. Observations of student behaviors reflected a high level of enthusiasm and engagement in laboratory activities. Surveys, journal entries, and interviews indicated that students felt empowered by having ownership in their projects, which may be the key reason for the success of this model.     

Introducing experimental design by evaluating efficacy of herbal remedies (Do herbal remedies really work?)

This paper is based upon experiments developed as part of a Directed Research course designed to provide undergraduate biology students experience in the principles and processes of the scientific method used in biological research. The project involved the evaluation of herbal remedies used in many parts of the world in the treatment of diseases producing diarrhea as a major symptom. Methods used for testing the efficacy of these remedies vary greatly, and this provides an opportunity for inquiry in the classroom. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is used as the test organism. Survival of this worm is easily determined by assessing motility using a dissection microscope. The influence of two solvents commonly used for testing these treatments, M9 salt solution and purified water, on survival of worms is examined. The results were important to a graduate project evaluating the influence of these solvents on bioassay sensitivity testing partially purified extracts of the West African plant, Anogeissus leiocarpus, used for treatment of diarrhea. Directed research projects allow undergraduate biology students to become engaged in science and develop a deeper understanding of science process skills. The experiments can be extended to examine other variables as directed research projects or modified to use as experimental case examples as part of a laboratory exercise.     

Leading Students to Investigate Diffusion as a Model of Brine Shrimp Movement

Integrating experimental biology laboratory exercises with mathematical modeling can be an effective tool to enhance mathematical relevance for biologists and to emphasize biological realism for mathematicians. This paper describes a lab project designed for and tested in an undergraduate biomathematics course. In the lab, students follow and track the paths of individual brine shrimp confined in shallow salt water in a Petri dish. Students investigate the question, “Is the movement well characterized as a 2-dimensional random walk?” Through open, but directed discussions, students derive the corresponding partial differential equation, gain an understanding of the solution behavior, and model brine shrimp dispersal under the experimental conditions developed in class. Students use data they collect to estimate a diffusion coefficient, and perform additional experiments of their own design tracking shrimp migration for model validation. We present our teaching philosophy, lecture notes, instructional and lab procedures, and the results of our class-tested experiments so that others can implement this exercise in their classes. Our own experience has led us to appreciate the pedagogical value of allowing students and faculty to grapple with open-ended questions, imperfect data, and the various issues of modeling biological phenomena.     

人类血型性状综合遗传大实验的设计与教学实践

综合大实验能够训练学生灵活应用理论知识并掌握实验技能,成为当前实验课教学改革的重要方式。本文以人类的ABO血型性状为实验对象,设计了“人类ABO血型分子基因分型与群体遗传平衡分析”大实验。实验中提取同学唾液中黏膜细胞的DNA,经过PCR扩增目的片段、酶切及电泳分离一系列分子遗传技术分析,鉴定出每位同学的基因型;然后以全班同学为一个类似孟德尔群体调查ABO血型的各种基因型频数,用Popgene软件分析各种群体遗传参数。通过开放教学不仅让学生掌握了分子遗传实验技术和群体遗传分析技术及软件应用,还让学生自主设计方案优化分子技术环节,提高学生驾驭知识的能力。通过5年的教学探索与实践,建立了稳定的分子遗传实验体系,能够清楚地检测出ABO血型的6种基因型：I^AI^A、I^Ai、I^BI^B、I^Bi、I^AI^B、ii;综合了分子遗传与群体遗传的实验教学,统计全班同学6种基因型的频数,直接计算3个复等位基因的频率,进而应用软件分析群体遗传各种参数;实现了学生自主设计并完成实验的开放式实验教学;大实验教学获得了学生的好评,取得了很好的教学效果。该大实验可直接应用于生物类专业的遗传学实验教学,其中的教学理念和方法还可推广应用于其他生物学实验教学。     

Introduction to “Moral (and Other) Laboratories”

“Moral (and other) laboratories” is a special issue that draws on Cheryl Mattingly’s notion of the “moral laboratory” to explore the uncanny interface between laboratory ethnography and moral anthropology, and to examine the relationship between experience and experiment. We ask whether laboratory work may provoke new insights about experimental practices in other social spaces such as homes, clinics, and neighborhoods, and conversely, whether the study of morality may provoke new insights about laboratory practices as they unfold in the day-to-day interactions between test tubes, animals, apparatuses, scientists, and technicians. The papers in this collection examine issues unique to authors’ individual projects, but as a whole, they share a common theme: moral experimentation—the work of finding different ways of relating—occurs in relation to the suffering of something or someone, or in response to some kind of moral predicament that tests cultural and historically shaped “human values.” The collection as a whole intends to push for the theoretical status of not merely experience itself, but also of possibility, in exploring uncertain border zones of various kinds—between the human and the animal, between codified ethical rules and ordinary ethics, and between “real” and metaphorical laboratories.     

构建网络实验室 促进微生物学实验教学与管理

探讨网络实验室的构建与微生物教学与管理的实践。实践证明,利用网络实验室,可以提高学生对实验的熟悉程度,弥补实验室已有硬件条件的局限,以仿真实验弥补传统实验教学的不足。同时,网络实验室能拓展学生的实验技能、有效加强毕业环节的过程管理与提高指导毕业实践的时效性,并提高真实实验室的运行效率。利用实验室网站,可以展示学生的实验结果、学习成就,以提升学生的成就感。     

An investigative laboratory course in human physiology using computer technology and collaborative writing

Active investigative student-directed experiences in laboratory science are being encouraged by national science organizations. A growing body of evidence from classroom assessment supports their effectiveness. This study describes four years of implementation and assessment of an investigative laboratory course in human physiology for 65 second-year students in sports medicine and biology at a small private comprehensive college. The course builds on skills and abilities first introduced in an introductory investigations course and introduces additional higher-level skills and more complex human experimental models. In four multiweek experimental modules, involving neuromuscular, reflex, and cardiovascular physiology, by use of computerized hardware/software with a variety of transducers, students carry out self-designed experiments with human subjects and perform data collection and analysis, collaborative writing, and peer editing. In assessments, including standard course evaluations and the Salgains Web-based evaluation, student responses to this approach are enthusiastic, and gains in their skills and abilities are evident in their comments and in improved performance.     

Using a course-long theme for inquiry-based laboratories in a comparative physiology course

I developed an inquiry-based laboratory model that uses a central theme throughout the semester to develop in undergraduate biology majors the skills required for conducting science while introducing them to modern and classical physiological techniques. The physiology laboratory uses a goal-oriented approach, with students working cooperatively in small groups to answer basic biological questions. The student teams work to develop skills associated with experimental design, data analysis, written and oral communication, science literacy, and critical thinking. The laboratory curriculum is a research-based model that offers the advantage of students asking open-ended questions by use of a variety of techniques. For the students and instructor alike, this presents an exciting and challenging approach for learning physiology and basic biological principles. Another advantage of this laboratory model is that it is flexible and adaptable; the central theme can be any that the instructor chooses, and the goals and techniques developed are based on student and instructor needs and interests. Students who have completed this model at Loyola College in Maryland have become equipped with the skills essential for any area of the biological sciences and, most importantly, showed elevated excitement and commitment to learning.     

Multiweek cell culture project for use in upper-level biology laboratories

This article describes a laboratory protocol for a multiweek project piloted in a new upper-level biology laboratory (BIO 426) using cell culture techniques. Human embryonic kidney-293 cells were used, and several culture media and supplements were identified for students to design their own experiments. Treatments included amino acids, EGF, caffeine, epinephrine, heavy metals, and FBS. Students researched primary literature to determine their experimental variables, made their own solutions, and treated their cells over a period of 2 wk. Before this, a sterile technique laboratory was developed to teach students how to work with the cells and minimize contamination. Students designed their experiments, mixed their solutions, seeded their cells, and treated them with their control and experimental media. Students had the choice of manipulating a number of variables, including incubation times, exposure to treatment media, and temperature. At the end of the experiment, students observed the effects of their treatment, harvested and dyed their cells, counted relative cell numbers in control and treatment flasks, and determined the ratio of living to dead cells using a hemocytometer. At the conclusion of the experiment, students presented their findings in a poster presentation. This laboratory can be expanded or adapted to include additional cell lines and treatments. The ability to design and implement their own experiments has been shown to increase student engagement in the biology-related laboratory activities as well as develop the critical thinking skills needed for independent research.     

Specific effects and biofeedback versus biofeedback-assisted self-regulation training

In any field, clear and logical conceptualizations are the basis of accurate models → correct research design → correct results → correct conclusions → advancement in the field. Faulty conceptualizations → faulty models → faulty research design → faulty results → faulty conclusions → confusion. In analyzing the conceptualizations of “biofeedback” as expressed by John Furedy (1987) in, “Specific versus Placebo Effects in Biofeedback Training: A Critical Lay Perspective,” we focus on two issues: Does biofeedback have a treatment effect? Is biofeedback necessary for the training effect? In discussing issue (1) we describe the multiple meanings of “biofeedback” and raise the fundamental question: Is biofeedback a treatment? We argue that faulty conceptualizations of clinical biofeedback (1) assume that the treatment in clinical biofeedback is “biofeedback” with specific effects, (2) assume that the scientific basis of biofeedback is dependent upon demonstrations of these specific effects through double-blind designs that distinguish “specific” from “placebo effects,” and (3) trivialize clinical research by attempting to determine the usefulness of biofeedback information — usefulness that is already understood logically by professionals and consumers and demonstrated by clinical studies in the laboratory and in the clinic. We further argue that accurate conceptualizations of clinical biofeedback (1) identify self-regulation skills as the treatment with specific effects of physiological change and symptom reduction, and (2) describe the use of information from biofeedback instruments as scientific verification of self-regulation skills. Finally, the scientific basis of clinical biofeedback is based on (1) evidence from experimental and clinical control studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of self-regulation skills for symptom alleviation, and (2) the use of biofeedback instruments to verify the acquisition of self-regulatory skills, thus fulfilling the scientific dictum of verifiability.     

Inquiry-based laboratory course improves students' ability to design experiments and interpret data

We redesigned our intermediate-level organismal physiology laboratory course to center on student-designed experiments in plant and human physiology. Our primary goals were to improve the ability of students to design experiments and analyze data. We assessed these abilities at the beginning and end of the semester by giving students an evaluation tool consisting of an experimental scenario, data, and four questions of increasing complexity. To control for nontreatment influences, the improvement scores (final minus initial score for each question) of students taking both the laboratory and the companion lecture course were compared with those of students taking the lecture course only. The laboratory + lecture group improved more than the lecture-only group for the most challenging question. This evidence suggests that our inquiry-based curriculum is achieving its primary goals. The evaluation tool that we developed may be useful to others interested in measuring experimental analysis abilities in their students.     

“Prey Play”: Learning about Predators and Prey through an Interactive,Role-Play Game

“Prey Play” is an interactive role-play activity that provides fifth-grade students with opportunities to examine predator–prey interactions. This four-part, role-play activity allows students to take on the role of a predator and prey as they reflect on the behaviors animals exhibit as they collect food and interact with one another, as well as limiting factors. Through this activity, students will enhance their communication and observation skills and showcase their creativity.     

Learning how scientists work: experiential research projects to promote cell biology learning and scientific process skills

Facilitating not only the mastery of sophisticated subject matter, but also the development of process skills is an ongoing challenge in teaching any introductory undergraduate course. To accomplish this goal in a sophomore-level introductory cell biology course, I require students to work in groups and complete several mock experiential research projects that imitate the professional activities of the scientific community. I designed these projects as a way to promote process skill development within content-rich pedagogy and to connect text-based and laboratory-based learning with the world of contemporary research. First, students become familiar with one primary article from a leading peer-reviewed journal, which they discuss by means of PowerPoint-based journal clubs and journalism reports highlighting public relevance. Second, relying mostly on primary articles, they investigate the molecular basis of a disease, compose reviews for an in-house journal, and present seminars in a public symposium. Last, students author primary articles detailing investigative experiments conducted in the lab. This curriculum has been successful in both quarter-based and semester-based institutions. Student attitudes toward their learning were assessed quantitatively with course surveys. Students consistently reported that these projects significantly lowered barriers to primary literature, improved research-associated skills, strengthened traditional pedagogy, and helped accomplish course objectives. Such approaches are widely suited for instructors seeking to integrate process with content in their courses.     

Biological methods: a novel course in undergraduate biology

We describe a novel course in first year undergraduate practical biology, which introduces students to the principles and practice of a variety of biological techniques. In addition, students develop conceptual skills in experimental design, problem solving, gathering and analysis of data and report writing. The course provides a theoretical foundation and repeated practice of a range of laboratory tasks. Students proceed to higher levels of study with experience in the application and use of basic spectrophotometry and light microscopy, the estimation of unknowns from standard curves, volumetric work including the performance of serial dilutions, and gram stains and the maintenance of bacterial cultures. The unit content can be modified to suit specific curriculums without loss of efficiency or impact.     

Medical students as medical educators: opportunities for skill development in the absence of formal training programs

All physicians, at some point in their career, are responsible for the education of their peers and junior colleagues. Although medical students are expected to develop clinical and research skills in preparation for residency, it is becoming clear that a student should also be expected to develop abilities as a teacher. A handful of institutions have student-as-teacher programs to train medical students in education, but most students graduate from medical school without formal training in this area. When such a program does not exist, medical students can gain experience in education through participation in peer teaching, course design, educational committees, and medical education scholarship. In doing so, they attain important skills in the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs. These skills will serve them in their capacity as medical educators as they advance in their careers and gain increasing teaching responsibility as residents, fellows, and attending physicians.     

A design-oriented STEM activity for students’ using and improving their engineering skills: the balance model with 3D printer

Abstract

This study involves the development and implementation of a STEM activity containing 3?D printer technology, which is commonly used in STEM education. Out of school STEM courses were organized with seven middle school students studying in the 7th grade and the activities in the course were carried out with a 3D printer. One of the activities in the course is the Balance model. The study reveals the skills students used in the Balance Model activity, which is a 3D STEM activity. The students’ engineering skills were effective through the STEM activity, and they actively used skills such as planning, designing, explaining the design process, creating a realistic product, and testing and evaluating product performance. In addition, it was concluded that the students use their academic and technical skills effectively. The study presents in detail the preparation and implementation process of this activity, which we think may help educators uncover and improve students’ engineering skills.     

Biotechnology apprenticeship for secondary-level students: teaching advanced cell culture techniques for research

The purpose of this article is to discuss small-group apprenticeships (SGAs) as a method to instruct cell culture techniques to high school participants. The study aimed to teach cell culture practices and to introduce advanced imaging techniques to solve various biomedical engineering problems. Participants designed and completed experiments using both flow cytometry and laser scanning cytometry during the 1-month summer apprenticeship. In addition to effectively and efficiently teaching cell biology laboratory techniques, this course design provided an opportunity for research training, career exploration, and mentoring. Students participated in active research projects, working with a skilled interdisciplinary team of researchers in a large research institution with access to state-of-the-art instrumentation. The instructors, composed of graduate students, laboratory managers, and principal investigators, worked well together to present a real and worthwhile research experience. The students enjoyed learning cell culture techniques while contributing to active research projects. The institution's researchers were equally enthusiastic to instruct and serve as mentors. In this article, we clarify and illuminate the value of small-group laboratory apprenticeships to the institution and the students by presenting the results and experiences of seven middle and high school participants and their instructors.