Inquiry-based Experiments in Bioinformatics

生物序列信息的爆炸性增长创造了对熟练检索，管理和分析科学数据的个人的需求。根据美国国立卫生研究院的报告，“五年前在计算机上花很少时间的研究人员报告说，他们现在在显示器前花费90%的研究时间”。尽管对具有计算机技能的生物学家的需求急剧增加，但学习这些技能的本科生人数却没有增加。很少有学生学习如何使用计算机作为研究工具。生物教学已经落后，主要是由于缺乏“课堂准备”的材料提供给大学和高中教师。通过该项目，正在与国家生物技术信息中心（NCBI）合作创建基于计算机的实验室实验。正在开发原型教学材料，教学生如何使用NCBI的数据库和生物信息学工具，同时强调生物学的基本概念，进行新的实验。预计使用生物信息学作为基于探究的研究工具的学生将更好地了解现代生物学和新的研究技能。社区大学、四年制大学和高中的教师正在正式评估和测试实验室练习。

Biological Sciences (61) The explosive growth of biological sequence information has created a demand for individuals skilled in retrieving, managing, and analyzing scientific data. According to the NIH, "Researchers who five years ago spent little time on computers report that they now spend 90% of their research time in front of their monitors"(1). Although the need for biologists with computer skills has increased dramatically, the number of undergraduates learning these skills has not. Few students learn how to use computers as a research tool. Biology teaching has lagged behind, largely, through the lack of "classroom-ready" materials available to college and high school instructors. Through this project, computer-based laboratory experiments are being created in collaboration with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Prototype instructional materials are being developed to teach students how to use NCBI's databases and bioinformatics tools to perform novel experiments while emphasizing fundamental concepts in biology. It is anticipated that students that use bioinformatics as a tool for inquiry-based research will have a better understanding of modern biology and new research skills. Laboratory exercises are being formally evaluated and tested by faculty from community colleges, four-year institutions, and high schools.