scholarly journals Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience in a Senior Cell & Molecular Biology Laboratory Course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura L. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Biology Laboratory

scholarly journals A guided‐inquiry investigation of genetic variants using Oxford nanopore sequencing for an undergraduate molecular biology laboratory course

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Princess D. Rodriguez ◽  
Michael Mariani ◽  
Jamie Gay ◽  
Tyler C. Hogan ◽  
Eyal Amiel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Nanopore Sequencing ◽  
Guided Inquiry ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Oxford Nanopore ◽  
Biology Laboratory

Designing Authentic Undergraduate Research Experiences in a Single-Semester Lab Course

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 526-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Mennella
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Scheduled Time

The importance of a robust undergraduate research experience has been demonstrated time and again. However, too few undergraduates engage in genuine research and leverage this opportunity. Here, I present a laboratory course in cell and molecular biology that is designed to mimic a true research project. Students work through a 10-step experimental design culminating in the construction, expression, and visualization of microtubules fused to green fluorescent protein in baker's yeast. The steps of this project include the isolation of the tubulin gene from yeast genomic DNA, the cloning of that gene into an expression vector, the amplification of this plasmid in E. coli, and the expression of fluorescent tubulin in yeast. Controls and validation steps are embedded throughout the project, as they would be in a genuine research project. This laboratory course more closely resembles a one-semester undergraduate research experience than a typical lab course. However, because this course reaches a much larger number of students compared with undergraduate research opportunities, it provides students with a valuable research experience that remains confined to the scheduled time block of a typical lab course. In this way, many of the benefits of research are experienced by a large number of undergraduates.

scholarly journals Gene amplification by PCR and subcloning into a GFP-fusion plasmid expression vector as a molecular biology laboratory course

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Bornhorst ◽  
Michael A. Deibel ◽  
Amy B. Mulnix
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Gene Amplification ◽  
Expression Vector ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Biology Laboratory

scholarly journals Using Zebrafish to Implement a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience to Study Teratogenesis in Two Biology Laboratory Courses

Zebrafish ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapnalee Sarmah ◽  
Grady W. Chism ◽  
Martin A. Vaughan ◽  
Pooja Muralidharan ◽  
Jim A. Marrs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Biology Laboratory

scholarly journals Implementation of a Project-Based Molecular Biology Laboratory Emphasizing Protein Structure–Function Relationships in a Large Introductory Biology Laboratory Course

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Treacy ◽  
Saumya M. Sankaran ◽  
Susannah Gordon-Messer ◽  
Danielle Saly ◽  
Rebecca Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Lens Protein ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Eye Lens Protein ◽  
Biology Laboratory

In introductory laboratory courses, many universities are turning from traditional laboratories with predictable outcomes to inquiry-inspired, project-based laboratory curricula. In these labs, students are allowed to design at least some portion of their own experiment and interpret new, undiscovered data. We have redesigned the introductory biology laboratory course at Brandeis University into a semester-long project-based laboratory that emphasizes concepts and contains an element of scientific inquiry. In this laboratory, students perform a site-directed mutagenesis experiment on the gene encoding human γD crystallin, a human eye lens protein implicated in cataracts, and assess the stability of their newly created protein with respect to wild-type crystallin. This laboratory utilizes basic techniques in molecular biology to emphasize the importance of connections between DNA and protein. This project lab has helped engage students in their own learning, has improved students’ skills in critical thinking and analysis, and has promoted interest in basic research in biology.

scholarly journals Adding CURE to Traditional Labs

2021 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-54
Author(s):  
Erika C. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Lesson Design ◽  
Specific Detail ◽  
Small Streams ◽  
Relevant Topic ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
Final Manuscript ◽  
Biology Laboratory

This project involves students in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) as part of the traditional introductory biology laboratory course. Recently, research has shown that student engagement in authentic research has significant positive impacts on students, such as development of science literacy and reasoning skills. Being recently featured in the news, microplastics are a timely, interesting, and relevant topic for students. The authentic research conducted by students was the first attempt at quantification of microplastics in the Great Plains, which garnered further student excitement and engagement. Surface water and substrate samples were collected at 23 locations from small streams, rivers, ponds, and reservoirs in fall 2018. Authentic research, as broadly defined in the pedagogical context, is research conducted primarily by students. In the context of this project, authentic research is specifically defined as research done primarily by students in which the students are asking questions, designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and writing a final manuscript that was submitted, and accepted, as a peer-reviewed publication. This project could be incorporated at the high school or university level, for biology major or nonmajor courses. The purpose of this paper is to serve as a how-to, sharing the lesson design with specific detail on student responsibilities.

In To Africa: Teaching Nanoscience to Undergraduates in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 1320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian H. Augustine ◽  
Orde Q. Munro
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

ABSTRACTThere has been considerable interest in developing curricular programs and materials for teaching undergraduate courses in nanoscience in the United States and other developed countries in the past decade. Materials science and nanoscience research programs are growing in developing countries in South America, Africa and Asia. However, there still exists a significant disconnect between the research efforts in developing countries and undergraduate coursework. This report will focus on the teaching of an upper-division one semester lecture/laboratory course developed at James Madison University (JMU) called “The Science of the Small: An Introduction to the Nanoworld” taught in the School of Chemistry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg (UKZN-PMB), South Africa in 2009 through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program. We report insights into the preparation needed to teach a cutting-edge laboratory course in South Africa. Also addressed will be some of the challenges of teaching an instrument-intensive laboratory course in a developing country, academic preparation of the typical native isiZulu-speaking UKZN undergraduate student compared to a typical U.S. student, and pre and post attitudes and content assessment of students who were enrolled in the course. Further discussed will be observations of post-apartheid science and math education in South Africa, and the beginning of a pilot program bringing South African undergraduate students to the U.S. to gain undergraduate research experience.

scholarly journals From proposal to poster: course-based undergraduate research experience in a physiology laboratory course

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-463
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Rennhack ◽  
Valerie S. VanRyn ◽  
James M. Poteracki ◽  
Erica A. Wehrwein
Keyword(s):  
Human Physiology ◽  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Michigan State University ◽  
State University ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Laboratory Course ◽  
Draw Conclusion ◽  
Physiology Laboratory ◽  
Analyze Data

The laboratory course is an excellent venue to apply content, practice inquiry, improve critical thinking, practice key clinical skills, and work with data. The use of inquiry-based course projects allows for students to propose open ended questions, form a hypothesis, design an experiment, collect data, analyze data, draw conclusion, and present their findings. This comprehensive experience is ideal for a capstone (senior level) laboratory course that is the culmination of 4 yr of study in the degree. At Michigan State University, the capstone laboratory has incorporated a formal course-based research experience in human physiology. The rationale and logistics for running such an experience are described in this paper.

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