Innovations for Enhanced Instruction of Animal Nutrition and Reproductive Biology

该项目解决的问题是学生缺乏现代化的，可靠的设备，主要用于动物营养和动物繁殖与发育实验室课程的本科教学。目标是制定实验室课程，通过了解科学方法，培训学生应用生物学原理解决畜牧业问题，并提供重要的个人使用设备的机会，使学生能够检验假设，并获得现代实验程序的技术经验。 该计划包括扩大两个学科的实验室课程，包括关于生长中羔羊的营养生理学（动物营养学）的实质性课堂实验以及关于配子和胚胎生理学（动物生殖与发育）的一系列个人或小组项目。这两种经验包括学生参与发展假设和设定具体目标;报告以科学格式编写。目标受众主要是动物科学专业的大二和大三学生。 本项目对本科教育的意义和影响与接触实验动物科学的学生人数可能会大幅增加有关。所有的470名学生，加上适量的非专业，采取至少一个所描述的课程。这些创新的成功评估是由学生和教师同行评审进行的，结果可能会在美国动物科学学会和生殖研究学会的年会上传达给科学同行，每个学会都有专门的本科教学会议。

The problem addressed by this project is the lack of student access to modern, dependable equipment that is primarily dedicated to undergraduate teaching of laboratory courses in Animal Nutrition and Animal Reproduction and Development. Objectives are to develop laboratory curricula that give students training in the application of biological principles to solve problems in animal agriculture through an understanding of the scientific method and to provide significant individual access to items of equipment that enable students to test hypotheses and gain technical experience with modern experimental procedures. The plan includes the expansion of the laboratory classes in the two disciplines to include a substantial class experiment on the nutritional physiology of growing lambs (Animal Nutrition) and an array of individual or small-group projects on gamete and embryo physiology (Animal Reproduction and Development). Both experiences include significant student participation in developing hypotheses and setting specific objectives; reports are written in scientific format. The target audience is predominantly sophomore and junior undergraduates majoring in Animal Science. The significance and impact of this project for undergraduate education are related to the number of students whose exposure to experimental animal science may be substantially increased. All of the 470 students, plus a moderate number of nonmajors, take at least one of the courses described. Evaluation of the success of these innovations is conducted by student and faculty peer review, and results may be communicated to scientific peers at annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and the Society for the Study of Reproduction, each of which has sessions devoted to undergraduate instruction.