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Upgrading Introductory B iology Laboratory C ourse—Phase 2. Y. Ellen France, Ph.D. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, GCSU March 11, 2010. Introductory Biology Lab Sequence. Principles of Biology I (BIOL 1107): Molecular and Cellular Biology
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Upgrading Introductory Biology Laboratory Course—Phase 2 Y. Ellen France, Ph.D. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, GCSU March 11, 2010
Introductory Biology Lab Sequence • Principles of Biology I (BIOL 1107): Molecular and Cellular Biology • Principles of Biology II (BIOL 1108): Organismal Biology
Implementation of New Experiments in BIOL 1107 • Phase I – purchasing of new equipment needed for implementation (STEM 09) • Phase II – Development and implementation of several new experiments •• Objectives • To expose students to techniques that are up to date • To engage students in laboratory experiments and get them to be excited about doing science • To allow a better connection between the lecture content and the laboratory experiments to help their content learning
List of experiments performed in the lab (Fall 2009) 1-Scientific Investigation-Sexual Dimorphism 2-Unit Conversion and Data Analysis 3-DNA extraction from cheek cells 4- DNA restriction digest, RFLPand gel electrophoresis 5-Osmosis and Diffusion 6-Microbiology-examination of bacteria in yogurt 7- Protein Quantification using spectrophotometry and Bradford Assay * New experiments are in blue Survey Question : Would you like to see more more molecular and cellular experiments being performed in the introductory lab? Yes (78%) No (13%) No response (9%) (n=33)
Some student responses on Survey • “…DNA extraction was cool because it was extracted from my own cheek cells. It helped me understand DNA better due to the lab report and many discussions…” • “The gel electrophoresis lab was fun because it made sense and it felt like we were conducting an experiment like a real lab…” • “I liked the fact that we were able to break open our own cells and keep the DNA”. • “The electrophoresis was just really interesting to do, especially when you see on TV all the time”. • “I felt very professional and scientific when doing the DNA gel electrophoresis lab. It was cool!!”
Implementation of New Experiments in BIOL 1107 • Phase I – purchasing of new equipments needed for implementation (STEM 09) • Phase II – Development and implementation of several new experiments •• Objectives • To expose students to techniques that are up to date • To engage students in laboratory experiment and get them to be excited about doing science • To allow a better connection between the lecture content and the laboratory experiments to help them learning molecullar cellular contents from the lecture √ √ √
Special Thanks to • STEM Mini Grant Committee Members • Ms. Emily Parrish, lab coordinator, Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences • Dr. Michael Gleason, Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences • Ms. Judith Sanders, Administrative Assistant, Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences