Hypothesis testing as a laboratory exercise: a simple analysis of human walking,with a physiological surprise

This paper describes a laboratory exercise designed to provide students with experience testing a hypothesis by systematically isolating and controlling determinant variables. The study involves an analysis of walking and is performed by the students on a subject from within their lab group. The study requires use of a motorized treadmill, tape measure, stop watch, metronome, personal cassette player, and calculator. The exercise is designed to include factors that the students are familiar with, so they can focus on the isolation of variables without being confused about the process they are investigating. However, the exercise will not turn out as the students anticipate, meaning they will be forced to reevaluate the assumptions that formed the basis of their original hypothesis. This exercise is designed for a college-level course in exercise science, physiology, or biology but could easily be managed by a high school honors class with appropriate guidance.     

Growth measurement of surface colonies of bacteria using augmented reality

ABSTRACT

The provision of hands-on wet lab training for students to perform micro-organism proliferation experiments is useful for experiential skills development. However, the risk of laboratory-acquired infections arising from inadvertent ingestion, inhalation or skin penetration of these micro-organisms presents a safety concern. To obviate this risk, an augmented reality exercise requiring only a tablet/smartphone, and a petri dish with appropriate markers, was devised to allow students to study Escherichia coli colony growth on agar plates. Positive responses were obtained from a pilot study conducted with high school and undergraduate students on its use.     

PHYTOREMEDIATION IN EDUCATION: TEXTILE DYE TEACHING EXPERIMENTS

Phytoremediation, the use of plants to clean up contaminated soil and water, has a wide range of applications and advantages, and can be extended to scientific education. Phytoremediation of textile dyes can be used as a scientific experiment or demonstration in teaching laboratories of middle school, high school and college students. In the experiments that we developed, students were involved in a hands-on activity where they were able to learn about phytoremediation concepts. Experiments were set up with 20—40 mg L^?1 dye solutions of different colors. Students can be involved in the set up process and may be involved in the experimental design. In its simplest forms, they use two-week-old sunflower seedlings and place them into a test tube of known volume of dye solution. Color change and/ or dye disappearance can be monitored by visual comparison or with a spectrophotometer. Intensity and extent of the lab work depends on student's educational level, and time constraints. Among the many dyes tested, Evan's Blue proved to be the most readily decolorized azo dye. Results could be observed within 1–2 hours. From our experience, dye phytoremediation experiments are suitable and easy to understand by both college and middle school students. These experiments help visual learners, as students compare the color of the dye solution before and after the plant application. In general, simple phytoremediation experiments of this kind can be introduced in many classes including biology, biochemistry and ecological engineering. This paper presents success stories of teaching phytoremediation to middle school and college students.     

The Crime Lab Project

The Crime Lab Project takes an economical, hands-on, interdisciplinary approach to studying the career of forensics in the middle or high school classroom. The project requires a week of class time, uses common household items, can be applied to students with different levels of ability, and is considered durable. In addition, the project covers topics that address national science standards such as career development, the scientific method, lab procedures, teamwork, and scientific literary skills. Students also learn to distinguish between observations and conclusions.     

Carrying BioMath Education in a Leaky Bucket

In this paper, we describe a project-based mathematical lab implemented in our Applied Mathematics in Biology course. The Leaky Bucket Lab allows students to parameterize and test Torricelli's law and develop and compare their own alternative models to describe the dynamics of water draining from perforated containers. In the context of this lab students build facility in a variety of applied biomathematical tools and gain confidence in applying these tools in data-driven environments. We survey analytic approaches developed by students to illustrate the creativity this encourages as well as prepare other instructors to scaffold the student learning experience. Pedagogical results based on classroom videography support the notion that the Biology-Applied Math Instructional Model, the teaching framework encompassing the lab, is effective in encouraging and maintaining high-level cognition among students. Research-based pedagogical approaches that support the lab are discussed.     

Student engagement in direct instruction,undergraduate microbiology laboratories

Introductory laboratory courses are a standard component of undergraduate science programmes and historically taught using direct instruction/confirmatory lab models. Previous studies have shown that inquiry-based labs enhance student engagement in science courses. However, research on how direct instruction introductory lab courses effectively engage undergraduate students is lacking. This study, therefore, using a mixed model design, examined student engagement in an introductory direct instruction microbiology lab. Data was collected through self-report surveys, classroom observations, and interviews at a Midwestern, post-secondary institution in the USA. The findings suggest that students found the lab activities engaging. This study provides baseline data which describes student engagement and student perspectives in a direct instruction undergraduate microbiology lab course. This baseline data can be used in further research against which comparisons can be made when studying other types of lab teaching interventions.     

Planning a lab lesson on the law of thermal conduction with learning by preparing to teach design

Lab activities have been innovated and progressed to fulfill the purpose that students need to experience physics concepts through hands-on and minds-on interactions. However, student-centered and conceptual activities in physics labs are challenged with time and material constraints that degrades the merits of the learning environment. This study adopts a pedagogical design, “learning by preparing to teach”, to address the challenges with conducting a satisfactory number of activities in physics labs and therefore promoting student hands-on and minds-on experiences with the activities. Eight activities covering the conceptual variables of thermal conduction in a two-hour lab session were studied by freshmen students at a university. To implement the pedagogical design, the students were arranged into the learning and teaching groups that paved way to a lab design that student was first learners and then teachers. Lab activities were configured that each group studied a certain set of activities. Upon completing the activities, members of the learning groups were designated to the teaching groups in which students cooperated to achieve conceptual objectives of the lab. The results showed that a usual lab duration becomes effective to cover numerous activities.     

An introductory biology lab that uses enzyme histochemistry to teach students about skeletal muscle fiber types

One important goal of introductory biology laboratory experiences is to engage students directly in all steps in the process of scientific discovery. Even when laboratory experiences are built on principles discussed in the classroom, students often do not adequately apply this background to interpretation of results they obtain in lab. This disconnect has been described at the level of medical education (4), so it should not be surprising that educators have struggled with this same phenomenon at the undergraduate level. We describe a new introductory biology lab that challenges students to make these connections. The lab utilizes enzyme histochemistry and morphological observations to draw conclusions about the composition of functionally different types of muscle fibers present in skeletal muscle. We report that students were not only successful at making these observations on a specific skeletal muscle, the gastrocnemius of the frog Rana pipiens, but that they were able to connect their results to the principles of fiber type differences that exist in skeletal muscles in all vertebrates.     

Ecological Concepts Taught with Small Lawn Grass Gardens

Adding a strong conclusion can alter a cookbook lab into an inquiry lab by challenging the student to defend relevant data and clearly communicate his or her findings. A well-organized scoring guide makes it easier for students to understand what is involved in writing a strong conclusion. Examples of student writing that are accompanied with the scoring guide are shown. A framed conclusion for younger grades or special-needs students is also included.     

Decreased scholastic achievement in overweight middle school students

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether overweight students achieved a lower relative degree of scholastic achievement compared to nonoverweight students. Subjects consisted of 6th and 7th grade students enrolled in a large public middle school in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We compared grade point averages (GPAs), nationally standardized reading scores, school detentions, school suspensions, school attendance, tardiness to school, physical fitness test scores, and participation on school athletic teams among nonoverweight, at risk for overweight, and overweight students. Overweight students achieved lower grades (P<0.001) and lower physical fitness scores (P<0.0001) than their nonoverweight peers. Overweight students demonstrated a 0.4 letter grade lower GPA (on a 4.00 scale) and 11% lower national percentile reading scores than their nonoverweight peers. The overweight students also demonstrated significantly more detentions, worsened school attendance, more tardiness to school, and less participation on school athletic teams than their nonoverweight peers. Our study suggests that body mass is an important indicator of scholastic achievement, attendance, behavior, and physical fitness among middle school students, reiterating the need for healthy lifestyle intervention and prevention measures.     

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.     

A Moment of Mindfulness: Computer-Mediated Mindfulness Practice Increases State Mindfulness

Three studies investigated the use of a 5-minute, computer-mediated mindfulness practice in increasing levels of state mindfulness. In Study 1, 54 high school students completed the computer-mediated mindfulness practice in a lab setting and Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) scores were measured before and after the practice. In Study 2 (N = 90) and Study 3 (N = 61), the mindfulness practice was tested with an entirely online sample to test the delivery of the 5-minute mindfulness practice via the internet. In Study 2 and 3, we found a significant increase in TMS scores in the mindful condition, but not in the control condition. These findings highlight the impact of a brief, mindfulness practice for single-session, computer-mediated use to increase mindfulness as a state.     

Educational Malpractice: The Impact of Including Creationism in High School Biology Courses

College students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included creationism were significantly more likely to invoke creationism-based answers on questions derived from the Material Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument than were students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included evolution but not creationism. On average, students who were taught neither evolution nor creationism in their high school biology courses exhibited intermediary responses on the MATE instrument. These results suggest that (1) high school teachers’ treatments of evolution and creationism have a lasting impact and (2) the inclusion of creationism in high school biology courses increases the probability that students accept creationism and reject evolution when they arrive at college. These results are discussed relative to the impact of high school biology courses on students’ subsequent acceptance of evolution and creationism.     

Health Education and Cigarette Smoking: A Report on a Three-Year Program in the Winnipeg School Division, 1960-1963

The smoking habits of Winnipeg school students were surveyed before and after a three-year program of health education on the hazards of smoking, directed to 8300 out of 48,000 students. The program consisted of informal approaches to students in elementary schools and a formal program of talks, lectures, films, and student participation for older students.There were fewer students at all ages who had never smoked a cigarette at the time of the second survey. There was a slight decrease in the number of regular smokers in high school, most marked in the school where the program was enthusiastically received and student participation was most active. A direct relationship between parental smoking and that of the student, and an inverse relationship between academic achievement and student smoking, were shown on both surveys. The majority of students believed that smoking caused lung cancer and other hazards to health, although this was less marked among smokers.The results indicated that an intensive program of health education directed to the teenagers in school was a potentially useful approach to the problem of cigarette smoking.     

Effects of selected nonmusical characteristics and band festival participation,scores, and literature difficulty

The purpose of this study was to examine potential validity concerns regarding the use of music festival scores as an element of value-added assessment practices mandated by federal education policy. Nonmusical school and band characteristics of band size, school enrollment, school percentage of minority enrollment, and school percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch were compared to concert band festival participation, scores, and literature selection. Results of a one-way ANOVA revealed that schools with lower enrollments and higher percentages of minority students and students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch programs were less likely to participate in a concert band festival. MANOVA results using composite festival score and literature difficulty as dependent variables indicated a significant three-way interaction for school size, free/reduced-price lunch category, and band size, with an additional interaction for minority category and school enrollment. Significant main effects were found for band size and for school enrollment. Composite festival scores were found to be higher for schools with a lower percentage of minority students and larger band sizes. Smaller bands, as well as bands from schools with lower enrollment and higher percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, tended to perform less difficult literature. These results suggest that policymakers should recommend caution in the use of festival results for teacher evaluation purposes.     

How to work with children and animals: A guide for school‐based citizen science in wildlife research

Engaging school students in wildlife research through citizen science projects can be a win–win for scientists and educators. Not only does it provide a way for scientists to gather new data, but it can also contribute to science education and help younger generations become more environmentally aware. However, wildlife research can be challenging in the best of circumstances, and there are few guidelines available to help scientists create successful citizen science projects for school students. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges faced when developing school‐based citizen science projects in wildlife research by synthesising two sources of information. First, we conducted a small, school‐based citizen science project that investigated the effects of supplementary feeding on urban birds as a case study. Second, we reviewed the literature to develop a database of school‐based citizen science projects that address questions in wildlife ecology and conservation. Based on these activities, we present five lessons for scientists considering a school‐based citizen science project. Overall, we found that school‐based citizen science projects must be carefully designed to ensure reliable data are collected, students remain engaged, and the project is achievable under the logistical constraints presented by conducting wildlife research in a school environment. Ultimately, we conclude that school‐based citizen science projects can be a powerful way of collecting wildlife data while also contributing to the education and development of environmentally aware students.     

Design and implementation of a genomics field trip program aimed at secondary school students

With the rapid pace of advancements in biological research brought about by the application of computer science and information technology, we believe the time is right for introducing genomics and bioinformatics tools and concepts to secondary school students. Our approach has been to offer a full-day field trip in our research facility where secondary school students carry out experiments at the laboratory bench and on a laptop computer. This experience offers benefits for students, teachers, and field trip instructors. In delivering a wide variety of science outreach and education programs, we have learned that a number of factors contribute to designing a successful experience for secondary school students. First, it is important to engage students with authentic and fun activities that are linked to real-world applications and/or research questions. Second, connecting with a local high school teacher to pilot programs and linking to curricula taught in secondary schools will enrich the field trip experience. Whether or not programs are linked directly to local teachers, it is important to be flexible and build in mechanisms for collecting feedback in field trip programs. Finally, graduate students can be very powerful mentors for students and should be encouraged to share their enthusiasm for science and to talk about career paths. Our experiences suggest a real need for effective science outreach programs at the secondary school level and that genomics and bioinformatics are ideal areas to explore.     

An inquiry into protein structure and genetic disease: introducing undergraduates to bioinformatics in a large introductory course

This inquiry-based lab is designed around genetic diseases with a focus on protein structure and function. To allow students to work on their own investigatory projects, 10 projects on 10 different proteins were developed. Students are grouped in sections of 20 and work in pairs on each of the projects. To begin their investigation, students are given a cDNA sequence that translates into a human protein with a single mutation. Each case results in a genetic disease that has been studied and recorded in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. Students use bioinformatics tools to investigate their proteins and form a hypothesis for the effect of the mutation on protein function. They are also asked to predict the impact of the mutation on human physiology and present their findings in the form of an oral report. Over five laboratory sessions, students use tools on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Web site (BLAST, LocusLink, OMIM, GenBank, and PubMed) as well as ExPasy, Protein Data Bank, ClustalW, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, and the structure-viewing program DeepView. Assessment results showed that students gained an understanding of the Web-based databases and tools and enjoyed the investigatory nature of the lab.     

Survey on cellular phone usage on students in Thailand

The number of cellular phone subscribers is increasing every year and there have been reports of health disorders related to the high-frequency radio waves. This paper considers the dependence of Thai university and high school students on cellular phones. A survey form (cellular phone dependence questionnaire: CPDQ) was distributed to 181 female and 177 male Thai university students and to 240 female and 140 male Thai high school students. The surveys were collected, Cronbach alpha coefficient was calculated, and a factor analysis was performed using the principal factor method and varimax rotation. The total scores were 16.54 to 20.04 and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.808 to 0.930. According to a factor analysis of 20 scored items, 4 factors were extracted for both male and female high school students, and the cumulative correlation coefficients of the male and female groups were 64.85% and 62.70%, respectively. Five factors were extracted for male university students and 6 factors were extracted for female university students, and the cumulative correlation coefficients were 58.08% and 57.91%, respectively. The W value results of the Shapiro-Wilk W-test for male university students, female university students, male high school students and female high school students were 0.969, 0.984, 0.964, and 0.913 respectively, thus verifying the normality of the score distributions.The total scores for the Thai university students were higher than the scores for the Thai high school students. The factor analysis of female high school students confirmed a large difference compared to male university students, male high school students, and Japanese female university students. (The Japanese students were surveyed in an earlier study by Toda et al.). Also, the CPDQ total score was high, which indicated a strong tendency toward dependence.