Implementing a Project-Based Genetic Laboratory

为了提高学生对遗传学的理解，他们对遗传概念的长期保留，以及他们独立思考，工作和分析科学问题的能力，Adelphi University的遗传学实验室课程正在进行实质性修改。修订后的课程强调开放式的基于项目的学习，并包括两个项目，一个侧重于遗传学和分子生物学。在第一个项目中，由詹姆斯麦迪逊大学的乔纳森门罗博士开发的植物生理学实验室的适应性，分离拟南芥的突变体，并在遗传和生理上进行表征。在第二个项目中，由芝加哥大学的Daphne Preuss博士开发的实验室的改编，使用分子标记绘制拟南芥突变。在这两个项目中，学生以小组形式研究具有挑战性的问题。在导师的指导下，他们掌握技术技能，理解和追求遗传问题的方法，并使用科学文献来开发自己的一套实验。这些以探究为基础的项目增加了学生在课程中的智力参与，从而提高了学生的学习。阿德尔菲研究、评估和规划办公室的同事正在评估课程改进的结果。通过讲习班、讨论和介绍以及在一次全国会议上向科学部门和阿德尔菲社区传播成果。

Biological Sciences (61)In an effort to improve students' understanding of genetics, their long-term retention of genetic concepts, and their ability to think, work, and analyze scientific problems independently, the genetics laboratory course at Adelphi University is being substantially modified. The revised course emphasizes open-ended project-based learning, and consists of two projects, one focusing on genetics and one on molecular biology. In the first project, an adaptation of a plant physiology lab developed by Dr. Jonathan Monroe of James Madison University, mutants of Arabidopsis are isolated and characterized genetically and physiologically. In the second project, an adaptation of a lab developed by Dr. Daphne Preuss of the University of Chicago, an Arabidopsis mutation is mapped using molecular markers. In both projects, students work in small groups on challenging problems. Under the instructor's guidance, they master technical skills, understand and pursue approaches to genetic problems, and use the scientific literature to develop their own set of experiments. These inquiry-based projects increase student intellectual involvement in the course and thereby should improve student learning. Colleagues in the Adelphi Office of Research, Assessment, and Planning are assessing the outcomes of the course improvements. Results are being disseminated to the science departments and Adelphi community through workshops, discussions, and presentations, and at a national conference.