Equipment for an Inquiry-Based, Quantitative Undergraduate Neurobiology Laboratory

一个本科生神经生物学实验室I正在升级，以允许基于计算机的数据采集和分析，以及允许学生进行细胞内记录。这两项改进促进了对神经生物学概念和技术的探索，并通过促进实验室课程中的学生向仅讲授课程的神经生物学学生进行演示，扩大了实验课程的影响。此外，利用所需设备进行的练习提供了探索问题和说服技能的练习，因为学生将设计实验，收集数据，并为他们的同龄人准备结果演示。基于计算机的数据采集和分析系统允许对数据进行量化，从而显著改进了实验室，减少了建立实验的时间，并允许学生专注于研究中的概念。此外，该设备还为学生的研究项目提供便利。这些实验室的改进最初影响了几组学生：那些在实验室上课的学生，那些在没有实验室的情况下参加讲座课程的学生，以及希望进行本科生研究的学生。希望这个项目也将改善大学所有生物专业本科生的实验室体验，因为被发现成功的技术被其他教师采用。

An undergraduate neurobiology laboratory i being upgraded to allow computer-based data acquisition and analysis, as well as allow students to perform intracellular recordings. These two improvements promote exploration of neurobiological concepts and techniques, and broaden the impact of the laboratory course by facilitating demonstrations by the students in the laboratory course to neurobiology students in the lecture-only class. Additionally, the exercises made possible with the requested equipment provide practice with problem-probing and persuasion skills, as the students will design experiments, collect data and prepare presentations of their results for their peers. The computer-based data acquisition and analysis system significantly improves the laboratory by permitting quantification of data, decreases the time to set up experiments, and allows students to focus on the concepts under investigation. In addition, this equipment facilitates student research projects. These laboratory improvements are initially impacting several groups of students: those in the laboratory course, those taking the lecture course without the laboratory, and students who wish to perform undergraduate research. It is hoped that this project will also improve undergraduate laboratory experiences for all biology majors at the University, as the techniques found to be successful are adopted by other instructors.