Addition of Investigative Labs and Modern Data Acquisition to Physiology Labs at All Levels of the Curriculum

从生物学专业毕业的学生必须非常熟悉生物学研究的过程和内容。他们应该能够整合信息并使用多层次的分析。此外，他们应该能够自如地使用各种数据采集工具。具有科学素养的非专业学生还必须了解科学研究的过程，以及基本概念。本项目旨在加强生物学课程中各级生理学的研究性实验室。此外，由于大多数生物实验室强调数据收集，而分析是由学生单独完成的，因此现代数据采集和分析技术正在被纳入课堂，以促进分析。学生积极参与自己的学习，并参与实验设计和执行的各个方面，包括假设生成，实验设计，使用现代设备收集和分析数据，以及以各种格式呈现结果。在生物学导论、比较生理学和非专业人类生理学这三门课程中，增加或加强了两个研究性实验室。在高级神经生物学课程中，实验室正在完全重组，包括三个神经生物学基本概念的半研究性实验室，随后是一个更长的探究式项目。通过加强各个层次的课程，该系正在帮助培养学生更好的批判性思维技能，以及理解科学的过程和每个层次的基本概念。此外，很大一部分选修生物学的学生正在接触更现实的科学、更多以发现为导向的实验室和更现代化的科学设备。

Students graduating in biology must be intimately familiar with both the process and content of biological investigations. They should be able to integrate information and use multiple levels of analysis. In addition, they should be comfortable using a variety of data acquisition tools. Scientifically literate non-majors must also understand the process of scientific investigations, as well as fundamental concepts. This project is enhancing the investigative laboratories in physiology at all levels of the biology curriculum. Additionally, because most biology laboratories emphasize data collection while analysis is done individually by the students, modern data acquisition and analysis techniques are being incorporate that promote analysis in class. Students are active participants in their own learning, and are involved in all aspects of the experimental design and execution, including hypothesis generation, experimental design, data collection and analysis using modern equipment, and presentation of results in a variety of formats. In three courses, Introductory Biology, Comparative Physiology, and the Human Physiology course for non-majors, two investigative laboratories are being added or enhanced. In the upper-level neurobiology course, the laboratory is being entirely restructured to include three semi-investigative laboratories ion fundamental concepts in neurobiology, followed by a longer inquiry-based project. By enhancing courses at all levels of the curriculum, the department is helping develop students better critical-thinking skills as well as understanding the process of science and the fundamental concepts of each level. In addition, a large proportion of the students taking biology are being exposed to more realistic science, more discovery-oriented laboratories, and more modern scientific equipment.