Acquisition of Environmental Chambers for the Enhancement of Research Activity in the Undergraduate Biology Curriculum

俄克拉荷马州东北州立大学的文森特·科布博士、克雷格·克利福德博士、唐娜·史密斯博士和莫妮卡·麦克林博士获得了一笔赠款，用于在他们的生物课程中发展基于问题的实验室经验。 此外，这笔赠款将促进学生和教师的研究。 为了支持这些目标，将购买11个环境室，这将使学生和教师调查温度和光照对植物和动物的影响。 生物学专业的学生在大学培训的早期将获得实验设计和数据分析方面的指导。 这将开始在一般植物学实验室的入门级。 实验过程将进一步纳入高级课程。 在植物生理学，动物生理学和昆虫学等高级课程的学生将参加更先进的以调查为中心的实验室，研究温度和光照对植物和动物的影响。 一旦学生在课堂上熟悉了这些工具，他们将更有可能与教师导师一起参与独立研究。 虽然环境室是简单的仪器，但它们控制着许多生物体最重要的两个环境变量，温度和光线。 在入门级，一般植物学的学生将在小组工作，开发实验。 购买的四个腔室将是拟南芥生长腔室。 拟南芥被认为是植物研究的黄金标准。 许多遗传变异可用于这种小芥菜样植物，使其成为学生实验的绝佳模型。 在高级课程中，实验室将使用环境室来控制环境条件，从而允许学生设计和执行自己的实验。 可能的方法包括利用生长激素的细胞信号通路对植物中的基因突变进行分类，或者确定不同营养饮食对昆虫生长和繁殖的影响。 独立的学生和教师的研究将涉及检查温度对变温动物，如爬行动物的影响。 其中包括胚胎发育率、形态异常频率、运动能力和生理表现。理科学生需要大量的实践经验来掌握科学和实验的本质。 有了这笔赠款，NSU将通过使课堂实验室更具实验性来加强学生的课程，并将促进学生和教师的研究。 在设计和进行涉及操纵温度和光作为变量的实验的经验将使学生更好地了解科学过程，并帮助他们建立信心，追求科学事业。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Vincent Cobb, Dr. Craig Clifford, Dr. Donna Smith and Monica Macklin at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma to develop problem-based laboratory experiences in their Biology curriculum. In addition, this grant will promote student and faculty research. To support these objectives, eleven environmental chambers will be purchased which will allow students and faculty to investigate the effects of temperature and light on plants and animals. Biology majors will get instruction in experimental design and data analysis early in their university training. This will begin at the introductory level in General Botany Laboratory. The experimental process will be further integrated into the curriculum at the upper level. Students in upper level courses such as Plant Physiology, Animal Physiology, and Entomology will participate in more advanced investigation-centered laboratories that examine the effects of temperature and light on plants and animals. Once students have gained familiarity with these instruments in classes, they will be more likely to participate in independent research with a faculty mentor. Although environmental chambers are simple instruments, they control two of the most important environmental variables for many living organisms, temperature and light. At the introductory level, General Botany students will work in small groups to develop experiments. Four of the purchased chambers will be Arabidopsis Growth Chambers. Arabidopsis is considered the gold standard for plant research. Many genetic variants are available of this small mustard-like plant making it an excellent model for student experimentation. In the upper level courses, laboratories will use environmental chambers to control environmental conditions, thus allowing the students to design and execute their own experiments. Possibilities include sorting genetic mutations in plants using cell signaling pathways for growth hormones or determining the effect of different nutritional diets on insect growth and reproduction. Independent student and faculty research will involve examining the effect of temperature on ectothermic animals, such as reptiles. Among the factors to be examined will be embryonic developmental rate, morphological abnormality frequency, locomotor ability, and physiological performance.Students in the sciences need numerous hands-on experiences to grasp the true nature of science and experimentation. With this grant, NSU will strengthen its students' curriculum by making class laboratories more experimental and will also promote student and faculty research. Experience in designing and carrying out experiments involving the manipulation of temperature and light as variables will give students a better understanding of the scientific process and help them to develop the confidence to pursue careers in science.