Known structure, unknown function: An inquiry‐based undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course

A single semester molecular biology laboratory has been developed in which students design and execute a project examining transcriptional regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three weeks of planning are allocated to developing a hypothesis through literature searches and use of bioinformatics. Common experimental plans address a cell process and how three genes that encode for proteins involved in that process are transcriptionally regulated in response to changing environmental conditions. Planning includes designing oligonucleotides to amplify the putative promoters of the three genes of interest. After the PCR, each product is cloned proximal to β-galactosidase in a yeast reporter plasmid. Techniques used include agarose electrophoresis, extraction of DNA from agarose, plasmid purification from bacteria, restriction digestion, ligation, and bacterial transformation. This promoter/reporter plasmid is then transformed into yeast. Transformed yeast are cultured in conditions prescribed in the experimental design, lysed and β-galactosidase activity is measured. The course provides an independent research experience in a group setting. Notebooks are maintained on-line with regular feedback. Projects culminate with the presentation of a poster worth 60% of the grade. Over the last three years, about 65% of students met expectations for experimental design, data acquisition, and analysis. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):145-151, 2017.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semester‐long inquiry‐based molecular biology laboratory: Transcriptional regulation in yeast

Oelkers

2016

“…Efforts to do this have ranged from connecting experiments to community concerns and inquiry‐based laboratories in which understanding chemical principals is reinforced by student involvement in experimental design. The latter method has been shown to have positive outcomes, with a specific inquiry‐based learning model called a classroom‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) now popular in advanced laboratory courses …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An idea to explore: A collaboration and cross training in an extended classroom‐based undergraduate research experience between primarily undergraduate and research‐intensive institutions

Pufall¹,

Wilson

2020

Providing students with training in advanced laboratory skills is an essential part of scientific education. At the same time, engaging students in research is becoming equally important. Classroom-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged to fill this need, and can take many forms. In this article we describe reengineering an advanced organic synthesis laboratory at a primarily undergraduate institution into a CURE. This objective of this CURE is to provide small molecules relevant to an ongoing research program at a research-intensive institution. This new model cross trains students and provides a new structure for a CURE that could be adapted to other partnerships and institutions. K E Y W O R D S cooperative/collaborative education, integration of research into undergraduate teaching, original models for teaching and learning, teaching and learning techniques methods and approaches Miles A. Pufall and Anne M. Wilson contributed equally to this work.

“…CURE activities have demonstrated positive impacts on many different factors, across academic levels and scientific disciplines, ultimately leading to student persistence in science . Some recently published protein biochemistry CURE examples include: studying protein mutations in tumor and cancer‐related proteins , investigating the effect of mutating non‐conserved protein regions , and characterizing proteins of known structure but unknown function . Some CUREs have been purposely designed in a modular fashion to allow for different implementation strategies .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anticipated learning outcomes for a biochemistry course‐based undergraduate research experience aimed at predicting protein function from structure: Implications for assessment design

Irby

Pelaez

Anderson

2018

Several course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been published in the literature. However, only limited attempts have been made to rigorously identify the discovery‐type research abilities that students actually develop during such experiences. Instead, there has been a greater focus on technical or procedural‐type knowledge or general CURE skills that are too comprehensive to effectively assess. Before the extent of discovery‐type learning outcomes can be established in students (termed verified learning outcomes or VLOs), it is important to rigorously identify the anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) and to then develop student assessments that target each ALO to reveal the nature of such student learning. In this article we present a matrix of 43 ALOs, or course‐based undergraduate research abilities (CURAs), that instructors anticipate students will develop during a recently‐developed biochemistry CURE focusing on the prediction of protein function from structure. The CURAs were identified using the process for identifying course‐based undergraduate research abilities (PICURA) and classified into seven distinct themes that enabled the characterization of the CURE and a comparison to other published inventories of research competencies and CURE aspects. These themes and the CURE protocols aligning to the CURAs were used to form the ALO matrix that was, in turn, used to inform the design of an assessment that revealed evidence that a student had developed some of the targeted CURAs. Future research will focus on further assessment development that targets other identified CURAs. This approach has potential applications to other CUREs both in biochemistry and other science disciplines. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(5):478–492, 2018.