The university is developing an undergraduate cell biology course that promises to be a relevant and exciting course to encourage students to continue their studies and pursue careers in the biological sciences and to provide them with the skills to do so. Through this project, the university is developing advanced microscopy laboratories that utilize many of the best and most exciting techniques in cell biology, research. Recent advances in microscopy have provided researchers with new views of cell biology, and a wide variety of fluorescent probes are now available to study cellular structure and function in living or fixed cells. These techniques and instrumentation are brought into the undergraduate teaching labs in a sophomore core course in cell biology. Laboratory exercises using fluorescence microscopes equipped with contrast enhancing optics and an imaging processing system are being developed; the students use this equipment in experiments to examine the current models and theories in cell biology. For unlimited viewing, the microscopes have a color video projection system to allow students to project their cell preparations to the rest of the class for examination and discussion. With the video projection and recording system, interactive and collaborative learning is encouraged. Individual and small group work, peer teaching, and experimental projects, all of which are very effective teaching techniques, are all provided. Students perform experiments of their own design and present their results orally and in written reports.
