Challenge Area 12: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education (STEM). Specific Challenge Topic 12-OD-104, innovative approaches to STEM education. Our goal is to develop an undergraduate biology laboratory module that is superior to materials that are currently available for teaching scientific thought and engaging students, yet is simple enough in its execution that instructors will be likely to adopt it in large enrollment lower level biology courses (where the teaching of scientific thought is most often deficient). The specific materials that we will develop are DNA markers for Fast Plants (rapid cycling Brassica rapa) and a laboratory module called the Paternity Testing with Fast Plants Lab. In this lab, students will conduct matings to create a paternity dispute and then use DNA markers to identify the father of the offspring. Fast Plants are obligate outcrossers (the do not self-pollinate) and the strains used are genetically diverse, so the data that the students obtain accurately reflects human genetic data. While there are other DNA analysis and paternity testing simulations available, our materials will be distinct in that the student's the experience will be actual experiment. Students will be working with live organisms rather than prepared samples. To facilitate true experimentation, we will develop Fast Plant strains with polymorphism for the DNA markers so that each student in a class can obtain unique results that will challenge their analytical thinking skills. To make sure that our lab module is actually used by instructors, we will design the markers (PCR-RFLP and VNTR) and accompanying protocols so that work can be performed under the time and budget limitations of a typical undergraduate teaching lab. After we develop these materials, we will perform a pilot assessment of them as a lab experience for students in our university's introductory biology course. We hypothesize that our lab module will be better suited to use the the Learning Cycle style of teaching. The Learning Cycle method has been tested rigorously for its effectiveness in a variety of disciplines, including genetics, and found to be effective. Our contribution is to develop materials that allow a college biology instructor to use this method for teaching. This proposal is in response to Specific Challenge Topic 12-OD-104, innovative approaches to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The human health significance of our project is in the training of the next generation of health professionals and informed consumers. Undergraduate science education, especially at the introductory level often fails to engage students or teach scientific reasoning, but rather emphasizes rote memorization, but the materials we will develop will engage students and facilitate the teaching of the scientific reasoning.
This proposal is in response to Specific Challenge Topic 12-OD-104, innovative approaches to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The human health significance of our project is in the training of the next generation of health professionals and informed consumers. Undergraduate science education, especially at the introductory level often fails to engage students or teach scientific reasoning, but rather emphasizes rote memorization, but the materials we will develop will engage students and facilitate the teaching of the scientific reasoning.
| Wendell, Douglas L; Vaziri, Anoumid; Shergill, Gurbaksh (2016) The Gene Encoding Dihydroflavonol 4-Reductase Is a Candidate for the anthocyaninless Locus of Rapid Cycling Brassica rapa (Fast Plants Type). PLoS One 11:e0161394 |
