Establishing a Research Culture in Introductory Biology

我们建议用四个新的基于发现的实验室取代目前一半以上的生物学入门实验室练习，这些实验室将明确要求学生在现代分子技术与传统生物学相结合的背景下制定和测试假设。在我们新的分子群体遗传学，植物化学防御，形态学和分子系统发育，生物声学行为实验室，学生将制定自己的假设，然后使用电泳，高效液相色谱和计算机模拟测试这些假设。总之，这些练习将有助于建立生物学导论的研究文化，要求所有本科专业发展假设形成，实验设计，统计分析和解释的技能，使用现代分子技术测试相关的生态和进化问题。

We propose to replace more than half of current Introductory Biology laboratory exercises with four new discovery-based laboratories that will explicitly require students to formulate and test hypotheses in the context of combining modern molecular techniques with traditional organismal biology. In our new Molecular Population Genetics, Plant Chemical Defense, Morphological and Molecular Phylogeny, and Bioacoustic Behavior laboratories students will formulate their own hypotheses and then test those hypotheses using electrophoresis, High Performance Liquid Chromatography and computer simulations. Together, these exercises will help establish a research culture in Introductory Biology by requiring all undergraduate majors to develop the skills of hypothesis formation, experimental design, and statistical analysis and interpretation to test relevant ecological and evolutionary questions using modern molecular techniques.