Enhancing the Biochemistry Curriculum Through Project-based Laboratories

生物科学（61）由于现在生物学在生化水平上取得了重大进展，我们开设了生物化学专业，最近又增加了一名研究基因表达发育驱动变化的发育生物学家，该专业得到了加强。生物化学专业的课程是这样设计的，随着学生在专业上的进步，他们对课本的依赖会减少，对原始文献资料的使用会更自如。渐渐地，学生在课堂上成为真正的参与者，而不仅仅是消费者，直到最后，在他们的顶点研讨会课程中，学生和教师一起成为合作的学习者。这门课程为学生和教师带来了一个新的兴奋程度。目前的项目旨在改变生物化学专业的实验室设计和仪器，使这些学生在实验室中达到类似的高度的好奇心、独立性和信心。我们结合了三个基于项目的实验室体验，让学生在实验室中调查他们在课堂上发现的同样的问题。一个项目扩展了几门课程，并展示了几个学科如何共同促进对单一生物过程的理解。另一个项目揭示了如何使用新的生化工具来回答发育生物学中古老的问题。第三个项目展示了有机化学如何对我们理解生物体的调节过程变得越来越重要。高灵敏度的非放射性测定法在基础研究中得到广泛应用。这些正在被改编并引入到生物化学本科实验室的新研究领域。获得最先进的研究和忠诚的教师使学生能够发展沟通和团队合作技能，这将在他们的研究生职业生涯中受到高度重视。

Biological Sciences (61) Because of the significant advances in biology now being made at the biochemical level we have created a Biochemistry Major, which has been enhanced recently with the addition of a developmental biologist who studies developmentally-driven changes in gene expression. The courses within the biochemistry major are designed so that as students progress through the major they become less dependent on their textbooks and more comfortable with primary literature sources. Gradually, students become genuine participants, not just consumers, in the classroom until finally, in their capstone seminar course, students and faculty are cooperative learners together. This course has brought a new level of excitement for both students and faculty. The current project aims to change the laboratory design and instrumentation available to Biochemistry majors so that these students achieve a similar high level of curiosity, independence, and confidence in the laboratory. We are incorporating three project-based laboratory experiences that allow students to investigate the same questions in the laboratory that they find exciting in the classroom. One project extends through several courses and demonstrates how several disciplines collectively contribute to the understanding of a single biological process. Another project reveals how new biochemical tools are being employed to answer age-old questions in developmental biology. A third project demonstrates how organic chemistry has become increasingly important to our understanding of regulatory processes in organisms. Highly sensitive non-radioactive assays are being widely used in basic research. These are being adapted and being introduced into new areas of investigation for undergraduate laboratories in biochemistry. Access to state of the art research and committed faculty enables students to develop communication and teamwork skills that will be highly valued in their postgraduate careers.