Pub Date : 2024-04-25Epub Date: 2024-02-27DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00163-23
Jennifer Teshera-Levye, Heather D Vance-Chalcraft
The experience of transferring to a 4-year college, especially in STEM programs, can be particularly challenging for students. While much of the onus for preparing students for transfer has been placed on community colleges, the 4-year institutions to which students transfer have critical roles to play. With this in mind, we established the Pre-transfer Interventions, Mentoring, and Experience in Research (PRIMER) program to support students transferring into the biology department at our university. The design of this program is based around the key elements of Schlossberg's Transition Theory, focusing on the support and strategies elements of the theory. Through a weekly academic skill course, peer mentoring, and informal academic and social supports, our goals were for students to increase their involvement in the campus community and to increase their use of academic support resources. We used qualitative and quantitative assessments to compare sense of community and use of campus resources between students who participated in our program and others. We found that students in our program strongly increased their sense of community during the semester compared to other students and used campus resources at a higher rate. Our insights from the PRIMER program can help others in developing programs to support transfer students in biology departments.
转学到四年制大学,尤其是 STEM 课程,对学生来说是一个特别具有挑战性的经历。虽然社区学院承担着为学生转学做好准备的重任,但学生转入的四年制院校也发挥着至关重要的作用。有鉴于此,我们制定了转学前干预、指导和研究经验(PRIMER)计划,为转入我校生物系的学生提供支持。该计划的设计以施洛斯伯格的转学理论的关键要素为基础,重点关注理论中的支持和策略要素。通过每周一次的学术技能课程、同伴指导以及非正式的学术和社会支持,我们的目标是让学生更多地参与到校园社区中来,并更多地利用学术支持资源。我们通过定性和定量评估,比较了参加我们项目的学生和其他学生的社区意识和对校园资源的使用情况。我们发现,与其他学生相比,参加我们项目的学生在本学期的社区意识得到了很大的提高,使用校园资源的比例也更高。我们从 PRIMER 项目中获得的启示可以帮助其他人制定支持生物系转学生的项目。
{"title":"Peer mentorship and academic supports build sense of community and improve outcomes for transfer students.","authors":"Jennifer Teshera-Levye, Heather D Vance-Chalcraft","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00163-23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00163-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The experience of transferring to a 4-year college, especially in STEM programs, can be particularly challenging for students. While much of the onus for preparing students for transfer has been placed on community colleges, the 4-year institutions to which students transfer have critical roles to play. With this in mind, we established the Pre-transfer Interventions, Mentoring, and Experience in Research (PRIMER) program to support students transferring into the biology department at our university. The design of this program is based around the key elements of Schlossberg's Transition Theory, focusing on the support and strategies elements of the theory. Through a weekly academic skill course, peer mentoring, and informal academic and social supports, our goals were for students to increase their involvement in the campus community and to increase their use of academic support resources. We used qualitative and quantitative assessments to compare sense of community and use of campus resources between students who participated in our program and others. We found that students in our program strongly increased their sense of community during the semester compared to other students and used campus resources at a higher rate. Our insights from the PRIMER program can help others in developing programs to support transfer students in biology departments.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11044626/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140869267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-25Epub Date: 2024-03-15DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00197-23
Anqi Yang, Lisa McDonnell
Laboratory courses offer a unique opportunity, and sometimes challenge, to engage students in projects where they can experience ownership and authentic science practices. An important science practice is writing, which can lead to increased learning about concepts and science communication. Experiencing a sense of ownership in research can lead to various student outcomes, such as increased motivation, greater interest in research, and higher retention in STEM fields. Although previous work has extracted aspects of ownership from students' descriptions of research experiences, studies have not examined directly how students define and perceive ownership. In addition, we do not have a clear idea of whether a sense of ownership is related to student attitudes toward scientific writing in a lab course setting. To better understand the relationship between ownership and writing directly from students' perspectives, we used analysis of student responses to surveys and interviews in an upper-division laboratory course. Using a grounded theory approach for the analysis of 167 survey responses and 9 interviews, we found that students have varying perceptions of project ownership, with the most frequent being opportunities to contribute ideas and shape the project (autonomy), doing the work, and leadership. Students largely perceived that increased ownership had positive influences on their writing, such as increased understanding and thinking, freedom in writing, and increased motivation. Learning about how students perceive ownership in the context of a lab course is useful for considering how lab course structure may support the development of a sense of ownership and may influence how we can engage students in meaningful writing practices.
{"title":"Student definitions of ownership and perceived ways ownership influences writing in a biology laboratory class.","authors":"Anqi Yang, Lisa McDonnell","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00197-23","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00197-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Laboratory courses offer a unique opportunity, and sometimes challenge, to engage students in projects where they can experience ownership and authentic science practices. An important science practice is writing, which can lead to increased learning about concepts and science communication. Experiencing a sense of ownership in research can lead to various student outcomes, such as increased motivation, greater interest in research, and higher retention in STEM fields. Although previous work has extracted aspects of ownership from students' descriptions of research experiences, studies have not examined directly how students define and perceive ownership. In addition, we do not have a clear idea of whether a sense of ownership is related to student attitudes toward scientific writing in a lab course setting. To better understand the relationship between ownership and writing directly from students' perspectives, we used analysis of student responses to surveys and interviews in an upper-division laboratory course. Using a grounded theory approach for the analysis of 167 survey responses and 9 interviews, we found that students have varying perceptions of project ownership, with the most frequent being opportunities to contribute ideas and shape the project (autonomy), doing the work, and leadership. Students largely perceived that increased ownership had positive influences on their writing, such as increased understanding and thinking, freedom in writing, and increased motivation. Learning about how students perceive ownership in the context of a lab course is useful for considering how lab course structure may support the development of a sense of ownership and may influence how we can engage students in meaningful writing practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11044641/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140132793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-25Epub Date: 2024-03-22DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00168-23
Jessica Duke, Emily A Holt
Psychological distance (PD) can be a barrier to how students perceive climate change impacts and severity. Localizing climate change using place-based approaches is one way instructors can structure their curricula to help combat students' PD, especially from a spatial and social viewpoint. We created a novel classroom intervention that incorporated elements of place-based education and the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science model that was designed to lower undergraduate biology students' spatial and social distance of climate change. Our research questions sought to determine whether students' PD changed following our intervention and whether variables beyond our intervention might have contributed to changes we identified. To measure the efficacy of our intervention, we administered a survey that contained several instruments to measure students' recognition and psychological distance of climate change pre- and post-intervention. We found that students' psychological distance to climate change decreased after participating in our classroom intervention. Additionally, course level was the only outside variable we identified as a predictor of students' post-activity scores. Participation in our activity lowered our students' spatial and social psychological distance, which could have impacts beyond the classroom as these students become the next generation of scientists and voters.
{"title":"Place-based climate change: lowering students' psychological distance through a classroom activity.","authors":"Jessica Duke, Emily A Holt","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00168-23","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00168-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Psychological distance (PD) can be a barrier to how students perceive climate change impacts and severity. Localizing climate change using place-based approaches is one way instructors can structure their curricula to help combat students' PD, especially from a spatial and social viewpoint. We created a novel classroom intervention that incorporated elements of place-based education and the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science model that was designed to lower undergraduate biology students' spatial and social distance of climate change. Our research questions sought to determine whether students' PD changed following our intervention and whether variables beyond our intervention might have contributed to changes we identified. To measure the efficacy of our intervention, we administered a survey that contained several instruments to measure students' recognition and psychological distance of climate change pre- and post-intervention. We found that students' psychological distance to climate change decreased after participating in our classroom intervention. Additionally, course level was the only outside variable we identified as a predictor of students' post-activity scores. Participation in our activity lowered our students' spatial and social psychological distance, which could have impacts beyond the classroom as these students become the next generation of scientists and voters.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11044639/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140185962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-25Epub Date: 2024-04-09DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00020-24
Julio Molina Pineda, Amanda N Scholes, Jeffrey A Lewis
As one of the most famous fermented drinks in the world, beer is an especially relatable topic for microbiology courses. Here, we describe a short and easily adaptable module based on the antibacterial properties of hops used in brewing. By the 15th century, beer recipes included hops (the flower of the Humulus lupulus plant) as a bittering agent and antimicrobial. By the 19th century, the highly hopped Indian Pale Ale (IPA) became popular, and a modern myth has emerged that IPAs were invented to survive long ocean voyages such as from Britain to India. With that myth in mind, we designed a hypothesis-driven microbiology lab module that tests the plausibility of this brewing myth-namely that highly hopped beers possess enough antibacterial activity to prevent spoilage, while lowly hopped beers do not. The overall design of the module is to test the antimicrobial properties of hops using petri plates containing varying concentrations of hop extract. The module includes hypothesis generation and testing related to bacterial physiology and cell envelope morphology (hops are not equally effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria) and to mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (as beer spoilage bacteria have repeatedly evolved hop resistance). Pre- and post-assessment showed that students made significant gains in the learning objectives for the module, which encourages critical thinking and hypothesis testing by linking microbial physiology and antimicrobial resistance to an important and topical real-world application.
{"title":"A hypothesis-based hop microbiology laboratory module testing the plausibility of the mythical origin of the India Pale Ale.","authors":"Julio Molina Pineda, Amanda N Scholes, Jeffrey A Lewis","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00020-24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00020-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As one of the most famous fermented drinks in the world, beer is an especially relatable topic for microbiology courses. Here, we describe a short and easily adaptable module based on the antibacterial properties of hops used in brewing. By the 15th century, beer recipes included hops (the flower of the <i>Humulus lupulus</i> plant) as a bittering agent and antimicrobial. By the 19th century, the highly hopped Indian Pale Ale (IPA) became popular, and a modern myth has emerged that IPAs were invented to survive long ocean voyages such as from Britain to India. With that myth in mind, we designed a hypothesis-driven microbiology lab module that tests the plausibility of this brewing myth-namely that highly hopped beers possess enough antibacterial activity to prevent spoilage, while lowly hopped beers do not. The overall design of the module is to test the antimicrobial properties of hops using petri plates containing varying concentrations of hop extract. The module includes hypothesis generation and testing related to bacterial physiology and cell envelope morphology (hops are not equally effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria) and to mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (as beer spoilage bacteria have repeatedly evolved hop resistance). Pre- and post-assessment showed that students made significant gains in the learning objectives for the module, which encourages critical thinking and hypothesis testing by linking microbial physiology and antimicrobial resistance to an important and topical real-world application.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11044635/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140858740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The ubiquity and ease with which microbial cells disperse over space is a key concept in microbiology, especially in microbial ecology. The phenomenon prompted Baas Becking's famous "everything is everywhere" statement that now acts as the null hypothesis in studies that test the dispersal limitation of microbial taxa. Despite covering the content in lectures, exam performance indicated that the concepts of dispersal and biogeography challenged undergraduate students in an upper-level Microbial Ecology course. Therefore, we iteratively designed a hands-on classroom activity to supplement the lecture content and reinforce fundamental microbial dispersal and biogeography concepts while also building quantitative reasoning and teamwork skills. In a class period soon after the lecture, the students formed three-to-five-person teams to engage in the activity, which included a hands-on dispersal simulation and worksheet to guide discussion. The simulation involved stepwise neutral immigration or emigration and then environmental selection on a random community of microbial taxa represented by craft poms. The students recorded the results at each step as microbial community data. A field guide was provided to identify the taxonomy based on the pom phenotype and a reference to each taxon's preferred environmental niches. The worksheet guided a reflection of student observations during the simulation. It also sharpened quantitative thinking by prompting the students to summarize and visualize their and other teams' microbial community data and then to compare the observed community distributions to the idealized expectation given only selection without dispersal. We found that the activity improved student performance on exam questions and general student satisfaction and comfort with the biogeography concepts. Activity instructions and a list of needed materials are included for instructors to reproduce for their classrooms.
{"title":"Is everything everywhere? A hands-on activity to engage undergraduates with key concepts in quantitative microbial biogeography.","authors":"Natalie Vandepol, Ashley Shade","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00170-23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00170-23","url":null,"abstract":"The ubiquity and ease with which microbial cells disperse over space is a key concept in microbiology, especially in microbial ecology. The phenomenon prompted Baas Becking's famous \"everything is everywhere\" statement that now acts as the null hypothesis in studies that test the dispersal limitation of microbial taxa. Despite covering the content in lectures, exam performance indicated that the concepts of dispersal and biogeography challenged undergraduate students in an upper-level Microbial Ecology course. Therefore, we iteratively designed a hands-on classroom activity to supplement the lecture content and reinforce fundamental microbial dispersal and biogeography concepts while also building quantitative reasoning and teamwork skills. In a class period soon after the lecture, the students formed three-to-five-person teams to engage in the activity, which included a hands-on dispersal simulation and worksheet to guide discussion. The simulation involved stepwise neutral immigration or emigration and then environmental selection on a random community of microbial taxa represented by craft poms. The students recorded the results at each step as microbial community data. A field guide was provided to identify the taxonomy based on the pom phenotype and a reference to each taxon's preferred environmental niches. The worksheet guided a reflection of student observations during the simulation. It also sharpened quantitative thinking by prompting the students to summarize and visualize their and other teams' microbial community data and then to compare the observed community distributions to the idealized expectation given only selection without dispersal. We found that the activity improved student performance on exam questions and general student satisfaction and comfort with the biogeography concepts. Activity instructions and a list of needed materials are included for instructors to reproduce for their classrooms.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140689086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Didem Vardar-Ulu, Saif Eldeen Ragab, Swati Agrawal, Shuchismita Dutta
Molecular case studies (MCSs) are open educational resources that use a storytelling approach to engage students in biomolecular structure-function explorations, at the interface of biology and chemistry. Although MCSs are developed for a particular target audience with specific learning goals, they are suitable for implementation in multiple disciplinary course contexts. Detailed teaching notes included in the case study help instructors plan and prepare for their implementation in diverse contexts. A newly developed MCS was simultaneously implemented in a biochemistry and a molecular parasitology course at two different institutions. Instructors participating in this cross-institutional and multidisciplinary implementation collaboratively identified the need for quick and effective ways to bridge the gap between the MCS authors' vision and the implementing instructor's interpretation of the case-related molecular structure-function discussions. Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive and engaging experience that has been used effectively in teaching molecular sciences. Its accessibility and ease-of-use with smart devices (e.g., phones and tablets) make it an attractive option for expediting and improving both instructor preparation and classroom implementation of MCSs. In this work, we report the incorporation of ready-to-use AR objects as checkpoints in the MCS. Interacting with these AR objects facilitated instructor preparation, reduced students' cognitive load, and provided clear expectations for their learning. Based on our classroom observations, we propose that the incorporation of AR in MCSs can facilitate its successful implementation, improve the classroom experience for educators and students, and make MCSs more broadly accessible in diverse curricular settings.
分子案例研究(MCS)是一种开放式教育资源,它采用讲故事的方式,让学生在生物学和化学的交界处参与生物分子结构与功能的探索。虽然分子案例研究是为具有特定学习目标的特定目标受众开发的,但它们适合在多种学科课程背景下实施。案例研究中包含的详细教学说明可帮助教师规划和准备在不同情境中的实施。在两所不同院校的生物化学和分子寄生虫学课程中,同时实施了新开发的多媒体辅助教学系统。参与这一跨院校和多学科实施的教师共同发现,需要快速有效的方法来弥合MCS作者的设想与实施教师对案例相关分子结构-功能讨论的解释之间的差距。增强现实(AR)是一种互动和引人入胜的体验,已被有效地用于分子科学教学。智能设备(如手机和平板电脑)的可及性和易用性使其成为一种极具吸引力的选择,可加快和改善分子结构与功能教学法的教师准备和课堂实施。在这项工作中,我们报告了将随时可用的 AR 对象作为检查点纳入监控监听系统的情况。与这些 AR 对象的互动促进了教师的准备工作,减轻了学生的认知负担,并为他们的学习提供了明确的预期。根据我们的课堂观察,我们建议将 AR 纳入多学科教学法可以促进其成功实施,改善教育工作者和学生的课堂体验,并使多学科教学法更广泛地应用于不同的课程设置中。
{"title":"Using augmented reality in molecular case studies to enhance biomolecular structure-function explorations in undergraduate classrooms.","authors":"Didem Vardar-Ulu, Saif Eldeen Ragab, Swati Agrawal, Shuchismita Dutta","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00019-24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00019-24","url":null,"abstract":"Molecular case studies (MCSs) are open educational resources that use a storytelling approach to engage students in biomolecular structure-function explorations, at the interface of biology and chemistry. Although MCSs are developed for a particular target audience with specific learning goals, they are suitable for implementation in multiple disciplinary course contexts. Detailed teaching notes included in the case study help instructors plan and prepare for their implementation in diverse contexts. A newly developed MCS was simultaneously implemented in a biochemistry and a molecular parasitology course at two different institutions. Instructors participating in this cross-institutional and multidisciplinary implementation collaboratively identified the need for quick and effective ways to bridge the gap between the MCS authors' vision and the implementing instructor's interpretation of the case-related molecular structure-function discussions. Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive and engaging experience that has been used effectively in teaching molecular sciences. Its accessibility and ease-of-use with smart devices (e.g., phones and tablets) make it an attractive option for expediting and improving both instructor preparation and classroom implementation of MCSs. In this work, we report the incorporation of ready-to-use AR objects as checkpoints in the MCS. Interacting with these AR objects facilitated instructor preparation, reduced students' cognitive load, and provided clear expectations for their learning. Based on our classroom observations, we propose that the incorporation of AR in MCSs can facilitate its successful implementation, improve the classroom experience for educators and students, and make MCSs more broadly accessible in diverse curricular settings.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140698384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Mastenbrook, E. Pathak, C. Beaver, R. Stull, B. J. Koestler
Nicotine is a major alkaloid in tobacco plants and an addictive component of tobacco products. Some bacteria grow on tobacco plants and have evolved the ability to metabolize nicotine. As part of our microbiology teaching lab, we used minimal media with nicotine as the sole carbon source to isolate nicotine-degrading bacteria from tobacco leaves and commercial tobacco products. Students then identified these bacteria using 16S rRNA sequencing and biochemical assays and assessed their ability to catabolize nicotine using UV spectroscopy. Students were able to isolate and identify 14 distinct genera that can metabolize nicotine. This modification of the commonly used unknown project gave students firsthand experience using selective media, and students got the opportunity to work with largely uncharacterized microbes with a real-world connection to public health, which increased student engagement. Students had the opportunity to think critically about why nicotine-degrading microorganisms associate with tobacco plants, why there are different bacteria that use the same specialized metabolism, and how these organisms are isolated from other bacteria using selective media.
{"title":"Breaking the habit: isolating nicotine-degrading bacteria in undergraduate microbiology teaching labs.","authors":"J. Mastenbrook, E. Pathak, C. Beaver, R. Stull, B. J. Koestler","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00152-23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00152-23","url":null,"abstract":"Nicotine is a major alkaloid in tobacco plants and an addictive component of tobacco products. Some bacteria grow on tobacco plants and have evolved the ability to metabolize nicotine. As part of our microbiology teaching lab, we used minimal media with nicotine as the sole carbon source to isolate nicotine-degrading bacteria from tobacco leaves and commercial tobacco products. Students then identified these bacteria using 16S rRNA sequencing and biochemical assays and assessed their ability to catabolize nicotine using UV spectroscopy. Students were able to isolate and identify 14 distinct genera that can metabolize nicotine. This modification of the commonly used unknown project gave students firsthand experience using selective media, and students got the opportunity to work with largely uncharacterized microbes with a real-world connection to public health, which increased student engagement. Students had the opportunity to think critically about why nicotine-degrading microorganisms associate with tobacco plants, why there are different bacteria that use the same specialized metabolism, and how these organisms are isolated from other bacteria using selective media.","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140714728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Meghan Dillon, Julia Gerstman, Alexandria Scarcella, Meghan Mantz, Courtney Kleeschulte, Caitlin J Light
Calls to increase undergraduate involvement in research have led to a significant increase in student participation via course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). These CUREs provide students an authentic research experience, which often involves dissemination of research by public speaking. For instance, the First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program at Binghamton University is a three-semester CURE sequence that prepares students for scientific research and effective communication of their findings. After one semester of research, students from the FRI program are tasked with presenting their research to hundreds of faculty members, staff, friends, and family at the annual FRI poster session. However, our students, and undergraduates in general, report high anxiety and fear around public speaking such as this. To better prepare our students for public speaking at a research poster session, we developed a workshop that includes a novel role-play activity to mimic a fast-paced poster session or conference in order to address students' fears and increase confidence levels. The role-play activity gives students iterative practice such that they are prepared for the realities of a poster session including variation of poster attendees. During the activity, students switch roles between presenter and audience member. In the role of an audience member, students are given Pokèmon-like role-playing cards that explain the traits and abilities of various types of poster-goers that students might come across (faculty in and out of discipline, staff, family, friends, etc.). Students improvise and enact their card-assigned role as they engage with their classmates who are practicing their poster presentations. To assess student outcomes, students were given three surveys: pre-activity, post-activity, and post-poster presentation. Immediately following the activity, 64% of students reported the highest level of confidence, and following the poster session, 93% of students reported extreme confidence in their poster presentation abilities. These data show that this role-play activity can help address student confidence and better prepare students to communicate their research.
{"title":"Let's talk posters: a novel role-playing activity to prepare undergraduate researchers for poster presentations.","authors":"Meghan Dillon, Julia Gerstman, Alexandria Scarcella, Meghan Mantz, Courtney Kleeschulte, Caitlin J Light","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00178-23","DOIUrl":"10.1128/jmbe.00178-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Calls to increase undergraduate involvement in research have led to a significant increase in student participation via course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). These CUREs provide students an authentic research experience, which often involves dissemination of research by public speaking. For instance, the First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program at Binghamton University is a three-semester CURE sequence that prepares students for scientific research and effective communication of their findings. After one semester of research, students from the FRI program are tasked with presenting their research to hundreds of faculty members, staff, friends, and family at the annual FRI poster session. However, our students, and undergraduates in general, report high anxiety and fear around public speaking such as this. To better prepare our students for public speaking at a research poster session, we developed a workshop that includes a novel role-play activity to mimic a fast-paced poster session or conference in order to address students' fears and increase confidence levels. The role-play activity gives students iterative practice such that they are prepared for the realities of a poster session including variation of poster attendees. During the activity, students switch roles between presenter and audience member. In the role of an audience member, students are given Pokèmon-like role-playing cards that explain the traits and abilities of various types of poster-goers that students might come across (faculty in and out of discipline, staff, family, friends, etc.). Students improvise and enact their card-assigned role as they engage with their classmates who are practicing their poster presentations. To assess student outcomes, students were given three surveys: pre-activity, post-activity, and post-poster presentation. Immediately following the activity, 64% of students reported the highest level of confidence, and following the poster session, 93% of students reported extreme confidence in their poster presentation abilities. These data show that this role-play activity can help address student confidence and better prepare students to communicate their research.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11044625/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140319473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-27eCollection Date: 2023-12-01DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00242-22
Mihaela Bejenari, Line Nielsen, Eva Mie Lang Spedtsberg, Mikkel Rank Nielsen, Tobias Bruun Pedersen, Jens Laurids Sørensen
Recombinant plasmids are essential tools in molecular biotechnology, and reliable plasmid assembly methods have, therefore, become a prerequisite for the successful cloning and transfer of genes. Among the multitude of available plasmid assembly strategies, in vivo homologous recombinational cloning in yeast has emerged as a cost-effective and relatively simple method. Since we use this method routinely in our group for assembling large plasmids with secondary metabolite gene clusters and for direct heterologous production of polyketides in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we developed an exercise module for undergraduate students where they would get hands-on experience with these molecular practices. The exercises target several molecular techniques, including PCR, restriction enzyme digestion, and yeast recombinational cloning. The students will learn about plasmid assembly and yeast transformation methods by performing these experiments while inherently acquiring new skills valuable for their subsequent laboratory work or projects.
{"title":"Yeast recombinational cloning for heterologous biosynthesis of polyketides: a molecular microbiology laboratory module for undergraduate students.","authors":"Mihaela Bejenari, Line Nielsen, Eva Mie Lang Spedtsberg, Mikkel Rank Nielsen, Tobias Bruun Pedersen, Jens Laurids Sørensen","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00242-22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00242-22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recombinant plasmids are essential tools in molecular biotechnology, and reliable plasmid assembly methods have, therefore, become a prerequisite for the successful cloning and transfer of genes. Among the multitude of available plasmid assembly strategies, <i>in vivo</i> homologous recombinational cloning in yeast has emerged as a cost-effective and relatively simple method. Since we use this method routinely in our group for assembling large plasmids with secondary metabolite gene clusters and for direct heterologous production of polyketides in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>, we developed an exercise module for undergraduate students where they would get hands-on experience with these molecular practices. The exercises target several molecular techniques, including PCR, restriction enzyme digestion, and yeast recombinational cloning. The students will learn about plasmid assembly and yeast transformation methods by performing these experiments while inherently acquiring new skills valuable for their subsequent laboratory work or projects.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10720416/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138812165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-21eCollection Date: 2023-12-01DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00087-23
Alison Wallace, Theresa Barosh, Ellen Brisch, Paul Laybourn, Meena M Balgopal
Logistical challenges in large enrollment classes are often mentioned as obstacles to active learning. Writing is an integral part of being a scientist and is often one of the first tools considered by STEM instructors to increase student engagement, but iterative writing assignments in large classes require creativity on the part of the instructor. We found an association between writing-to-learn assignments designed to be consistent with inclusive learning pedagogies and student performance measures in a large enrollment undergraduate biology course. They provide ample opportunity for deliberate practice and inclusive engagement, components of the "heads and hearts" hypothesis posed to explain the variation in active learning impacts on the performance of minoritized students.
{"title":"Boosting student performance with inclusive writing-to-learn assignments through graphic organizers in large enrollment undergraduate biology courses.","authors":"Alison Wallace, Theresa Barosh, Ellen Brisch, Paul Laybourn, Meena M Balgopal","doi":"10.1128/jmbe.00087-23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00087-23","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Logistical challenges in large enrollment classes are often mentioned as obstacles to active learning. Writing is an integral part of being a scientist and is often one of the first tools considered by STEM instructors to increase student engagement, but iterative writing assignments in large classes require creativity on the part of the instructor. We found an association between writing-to-learn assignments designed to be consistent with inclusive learning pedagogies and student performance measures in a large enrollment undergraduate biology course. They provide ample opportunity for deliberate practice and inclusive engagement, components of the \"heads and hearts\" hypothesis posed to explain the variation in active learning impacts on the performance of minoritized students.</p>","PeriodicalId":46416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10720555/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138812157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}