Hands-on Versus Remediation: Alternative Strategies for a Community College Biology Preparatory Course

1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Carol A. Biernann ◽  
Gary B. Sarinsky
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Alternative Strategies ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Preparatory Course

scholarly journals ECS1@IYCr2014: Conveying a vision of modern crystallography

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C1311-C1311
Author(s):  
Roberta Oberti ◽  
Serena Tarantino ◽  
Michele Zema ◽  
Marco Milanesio ◽  
Rita Berisio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Modern Science ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Stable Periodic ◽  
Preparatory Course ◽  
The Common ◽  
Widespread Interest

The first edition of the ECA European Crystallography School (ECS1), to be held in Pavia (Italy) during the course of IYCr2014, has found good balance between two apparently diverging goals: (i) to help students and young researchers to find their way in modern science, while keeping a special focus on the molecular and crystalline structure to interpret properties and functionality of materials; (ii) to raise the social and academic awareness of the great advances that crystallography has allowed and will allow to many branches of sciences. Students may choose between two formulae, i.e. a 6-day course with lectures and hands-on sessions held by renowned scientists, covering the state-of-the-art of crystallographic methods, theories and applications, at the same time indicating their future perspectives and cutting-edge aspects, or a 10-day Erasmus Intensive Programme, including a 3-day preparatory course and granting 3 ECTS credits. IYCr2014 is a unique opportunity to stimulate and ignite widespread interest in crystallography; therefore, some frontier seminars will be open to University faculty members, students, and to the general public. Efforts will be made to create a nice and friendly environment, with the goal to provide chances for future collaborations. Students will be invited to bring a poster showing their research results, projects or scientific interests. This will allow students to discuss their ideas with experienced crystallographers and favour aggregation. The programme received good support from scientific institutions and vendors, and a great response from the students: more than 110 pre-registrations from 33 countries were already received at the time this abstract was prepared, showing that there is a real need for both fundamental and advanced teaching in crystallography. We hope that this format will be continued and improved so as to provide a stable, periodic rendezvous for students and researchers under the common theme of crystallography.

scholarly journals Hot- or Cold-Blooded? A Laboratory Activity That Uses Accessible Technology to Investigate Thermoregulation in Animals

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shem D. Unger ◽  
Mark A. Rollins ◽  
Christy M. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Animal Behavior ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Visual Learning ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Thermal Camera ◽  
Laboratory Activity ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Enhance Student Learning

Visualizing thermoregulation (endothermy vs. ectothermy) in animals can be challenging for students in undergraduate biology courses. Data-driven, hands-on laboratory activities can enhance student learning while reinforcing application of the scientific method. This article describes a visual-learning, inquiry-based activity that can be applied to introductory high school and college biology laboratories with the use of easily accessible technology (a smartphone and an inexpensive thermal camera attachment). Students generate hypotheses and qualitatively observe real-time thermal images of live endothermic and ectothermic animals. This activity is effective in engaging students by allowing them to visualize thermoregulation and body temperature. We provide suggestions for modifying the activity to further investigate animal behavior related to temperature regulation.

scholarly journals A Simple and Effective Protein Folding Activity Suitable for Large Lectures

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian White
Keyword(s):  
Protein Folding ◽  
Noncovalent Interactions ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
College Biology ◽  
The Core ◽  
Large Lecture ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Large Lecture Classes

This article describes a simple and inexpensive hands-on simulation of protein folding suitable for use in large lecture classes. This activity uses a minimum of parts, tools, and skill to simulate some of the fundamental principles of protein folding. The major concepts targeted are that proteins begin as linear polypeptides and fold to three-dimensional structures, noncovalent interactions drive this folding process, and the final folded shape of a protein depends on its amino acid sequence. At the start of the activity, students are given pieces of insulated wire from which they each construct and fold their own polypeptide. This activity was evaluated in three ways. A random sample of student-generated polypeptides collected after the activity shows that most students were able to create an appropriate structure. After this activity, students (n = 154) completed an open-ended survey. Their responses showed that more than three-quarters of the students learned one or more of the core concepts being demonstrated. Finally, a follow-up survey was conducted seven weeks after the activity; responses to this survey (n = 63) showed that a similar fraction of students still retained these key concepts. This activity should be useful in large introductory-level college biology or biochemistry lectures.

A Test of Effectiveness of Courseware in a College Biology Class

1992 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel More ◽  
Charles L. Ralph
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
Colorado State University ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Biology Class ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Laboratory Group ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Biology Laboratory

At Colorado State University we designed an experiment wherein approximately half of a class of 184 students in a semester, first-year biology class was placed in a traditional hands-on, experiential laboratory for two hours per week and the other half was placed in a facility with Macintosh computers to view courseware for the same time period. Computer-presented tutorial and simulation of biology laboratory concepts proved to be as good as or better than traditional approaches in increasing student academic performance. The courseware-using group performed better ( p < 0.05) than the traditional laboratory group in overall lecture examination scores, when the pretest scores of the two groups were factored in. Curiously, attitudes in regard to the use of the courseware showed a striking negative trend in this experiment.

scholarly journals Implementation of a Flipped Active-Learning Approach in a Community College General Biology Course Improves Student Performance in Subsequent Biology Courses and Increases Graduation Rate

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. ar30
Author(s):  
Ann Riedl ◽  
Fan Yeung ◽  
Tina Burke
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Graduation Rate ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
General Biology ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Biology Class ◽  
Biology Courses

A large-scale study on the efficacy of active learning in a community college biology class showed that students in active-learning sections earned higher exam scores, performed better in subsequent biology courses, and graduated at a higher rate compared with students from traditional sections.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document