Integration of Undergraduate Laboratory Experience by Use of a Common Experimental Organism: Caenorhabditis elegans

生物科学（61）本项目通过将一种常见的实验生物秀丽隐杆线虫（Caenorhabditis elegans）引入一系列跨越课程的生物学课程，整合本科生的实验室经验。使用一种常见的生物可以使实验室结构合理，这样学生就可以使用在较低水平课程中学到的知识和技术来解决较高级课程中的实验问题。实验室正在引入仪器，以便学生可以充分利用这种模式生物。这种方法是从美国国家科学基金会资助的项目中改编而来的，这些项目涉及在几门课程（9950647）中使用克隆基因，并与一个共同主题（9950879）进行综合实验，以及纽约大学一门名为“纽约大学课堂上的蠕虫”的课程。该项目的目标是：1。学生理解生物科学的整体性，并能将一个分支学科的知识应用到另一个分支学科的问题中。学生理解为什么秀丽隐杆线虫是行为、遗传学、分子和细胞生物学研究的合适模型；3. 学生有效地利用技术来研究秀丽隐杆线虫的行为、遗传学、分子和细胞生物学。这种综合的实验室经验培养学生的求知欲和解决问题的能力，这是追求科学事业所必需的。它提供了课堂研究经验，使用先进的方法与实验生物体证明的优点。该项目鼓励学生考虑选择秀丽隐杆线虫系统作为他们独立的本科研究项目。此外，由于项目中超过一半的学生成为生物教师，我们希望这些教师在他们的中学实验室中使用秀丽隐杆线虫作为实验生物。一个描述实验练习和项目评估的网页被张贴出来，作为大学教师和中学教育工作者在他们的课程中实施秀丽隐杆线虫实验的资源。

Biological Sciences (61) This project is integrating the undergraduate laboratory experience by introducing a common experimental organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, into a series of biology courses that span the curriculum. The use of a common organism allows laboratories to be structured such that students use knowledge and techniques learned in lower level courses to address experimental questions in more advanced courses. Instrumentation is being introduced in the labs so that students can take full advantage of this model organism. This approach is being adapted from NSF funded projects involving the use of a cloned gene in several courses (9950647) and integrated experiments with a common theme (9950879), and a course entitled "Worms in Class at NYU" at New York University. The objectives of the project are:1. Students understand the integrated nature of biological science and can apply knowledge from one subdiscipline to questions in a second subdiscipline, 2. Students understand why C. elegans is an appropriate model for the study of behavior, genetics, molecular and cell biology; 3. Students effectively use technology to study behavior, genetics, molecular and cellular biology of C. elegans.This integrated laboratory experience fosters in students the development of intellectual curiosity and problem solving skills essential for the pursuit of a scientific career. It provides classroom research experiences using cutting edge approaches with an experimental organism of proven merit. Students in the program are encouraged to consider choosing the C. elegans system for their independent undergraduate research projects. Additionally, since more than half of the students in the project become biology teachers, we expect these teachers to use C. elegans as an experimental organism in their secondary school laboratories.A web page describing laboratory exercises and project evaluation is posted as a resource for both college faculty and secondary school educators implementing C. elegans based laboratories in their curriculum.