Molecular Genetic Analysis Applied to Evolution, Ecology, and Systemic Biology: An Extended Laboratory Course

我们提出了一个本科生教师强化项目，该项目将在接下来的两年中每年提供一次为期12天的分子遗传学和进化生物学短期实验室强化课程，并在每年1月提供4天的后续课程，以及持续的技术和材料支持。在我们拟议的本科教师强化项目的设计和开发中，使用了从之前的十个国家Chautauqua课程演变而来的非常成功的既定形式。每年将从来自社区学院、四年制文科学院和大学、综合性大学和研究型大学的教师组成的全国申请者池中挑选22名教师。参与者将通过讲座和演示学习分子生物学的基础知识，他们还将进行一系列实验，以发展聚合酶链式反应扩增、限制性内切酶分析和各种凝胶分离技术的技能。在由来自社区学院和四年制院校的混合教员组成的4-5人的研究小组中，参与者将调查“主题”研究项目。研讨会主讲人将讨论他们对原核生物、脊椎动物、无脊椎动物和植物系统的研究，以及他们在分子技术方面的应用。教师将通过将课程中的练习应用于各自机构的本科实验室课程来实施他们所学的分子技术。训练有素的教员将获得这些技术所提供的非凡能力，从地球上的任何一个分类群获取自然种群的基因组，从而在他们自己的机构中创建独特的实验室课程。旧金山州立大学的教职员工和教学支持技术员将在暑期课程结束后支持学员将分子技术和分析纳入本科教学。参与者还将培养在研究中使用分子技术的技能和信心。讲习班将用于开发小学和中学教育中使用的实验室单元和练习。

We propose an Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement project that will provide for each of the next two years, an intense twelve-day laboratory short course in Molecular Genetics & Evolutionary Biology in the summer with a 4-day follow-up session each January, and on-going technical and material support. A highly successful established format that evolved from ten prior national Chautauqua courses was used in the design and development of our proposed Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement project. Twenty-two faculty will be selected each year from a national applicant pool comprised of faculty from community colleges, 4-year liberal arts colleges and universities, comprehensive universities, and research universities. Participants will learn the fundamentals of molecular biology through the presentation of lectures and demonstrations, and they will also conduct a series of experiments to develop skill in PCR amplification, restriction enzyme analysis, and various gel separation techniques. In research groups of 4-5 composed of a mix faculty from community colleges and four-year institutions, the participants will investigate "thematic" research projects. Seminar speakers will discuss their research on procaryote, vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant systems, and their application of molecular techniques. Faculty will implement the molecular techniques that they learn by adapting the exercises from the course into undergraduate laboratory courses at their respective institutions. Trained faculty will have gained the extraordinary capabilities afforded by these techniques to access the genomes of natural populations from any taxa on earth and thus create unique laboratory curricula at their own institutions. The SFSU faculty and Instructional Support Technician will support participants after the summer course in the incorporation of molecular techniques and analysis in undergraduate instruction. Participants will also develop skill and confidence with molecular techn iques to use in their research. The workshop will be used to develop laboratory modules and exercises for use in primary and secondary education.