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BIOL 411 Lab

BIOL 411 Lab. About the course. BIOL 411 newly redesigned as an Inquiry course Meets new Discovery Program requirements Attributes of Inquiry course Compose open-ended questions that lead to further investigation into increasingly focused problems and issues

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BIOL 411 Lab

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  1. BIOL 411 Lab

  2. About the course • BIOL 411 newly redesigned as an Inquiry course • Meets new Discovery Program requirements • Attributes of Inquiry course • Compose open-ended questions that lead to further investigation into increasingly focused problems and issues • Develop understanding and perspective taking. • Clarify standards of thinking through identifying, comparing, and evaluating different interpretations (hypotheses, explanations) of a given phenomenon. • Create effective communicators: present in clearly organized written and oral form the results of the investigation into questions or problems they have posed.

  3. Lab grade is 25% of entire BIOL 411 grade • 40% for four lab reports • 20% for weekly participation in small group activities and for attendance • 10% for one oral presentation given during lab sessions • 15% for quizzes administered in lab session. • 15% for “My Proposed Experiment” forms • No make-ups for missed labs

  4. Schedule for the semester • Four learning modules/units • Week 1: explore topic, develop lab skills, formulate experiment • Week 2: conduct experiment, record data, preliminary analysis • Week 3: discuss results, develop conclusions, oral & written communication of work ***Module 4 will have four weeks to complete, discuss, and present

  5. Unit 1: Designing Experiments • Textbooks and scientific papers do not reflect the actual practice of science • Scientific knowledge is constantly being refined, re-considered, and sometimes accepted “truths” are overturned

  6. The scientific method is cyclical • Observe • Create hypothesis • Design experiment • Analyze results • If hypothesis supported… • If hypothesis rejected…

  7. Observations • Looking for systematic patterns in a biological phenomenon • How to make observations (i.e., collect data is crucial (more later…)

  8. Testable hypothesis • Hypothesis is a potential explanation for a phenomenon • Testable hypothesis makes predictions that can be tested • Testable hypotheses result in one of two outcomes: • Disproven • Supported (but never proven!)

  9. Components of experimental design • Proper design of experiments is critical • Control group: • Positive control • Negative control • Experimental group • Set up to test your hypothesis • Two types of variable in an experiment • Independent variable (what is being manipulated) • Dependent variable (what is being measured)

  10. Collecting data • Summarizing raw data • Table records the initial observations • Visual presentation helps to identify trends • Random versus reproducible • Replication of experimental and control conditions is essential

  11. Goals for today • Studying movement of termites to determine whether they follow trails and under what conditions • Exercise 1: becoming familiar with the behavior of termites through observation and some initial tests • Exercise 2: Generate testable hypotheses based on initial observations. • Before leaving today: fill out “My Proposed Experiment” and turn in to instructors • Next Week: perform your experiment, collect data and analyze results

  12. Assignment for next lab session • Meet as a group (electronically or in person) to define the testable hypothesis and the experimental design for your experiment. This hypothesis and plan should be a consensus of all group members. You may write collectively a single statement that defines the hypothesis and the experimental plan which each of you can submit.

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