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Bridging the undergraduate curriculum using an integrated course-embedded undergraduate research experience (ICURE).

ABSTRACT: The traditional undergraduate program of study incorporates a selection of classes that represent a broad spectrum of subdisciplines. Unfortunately, few curricula successfully integrate concepts in all subdisciplines, giving undergraduates the misconception that there is a lack of application or connectedness between class subjects. An integrated course-embedded research experience (ICURE) was initiated to redress this problem by bridging classes within one discipline in an effort to engage undergraduates in a long-term analysis of biodiversity. The approach was both inclusive and longitudinal: 1) the ICURE bridge brought students from different classes and levels of instruction together with faculty members in a research project with a common goal-chronicling the changing face of the local environment in biological terms; and 2) research data collected were maintained and supplemented each semester and year in an online biodiversity database. Analysis of content and attitudinal gains suggested the integrated research protocol increased student comprehension and confidence. Results are discussed in terms of future amendments to instructional design and potential research applications. Though this program was concentrated on one discipline, there is no reason to assume other disciplines could not take advantage of similar research connections.

SUBMITTER: Russell JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4353079 | biostudies-other | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Bridging the undergraduate curriculum using an integrated course-embedded undergraduate research experience (ICURE).

Russell James E JE D'Costa Allison R AR Runck Clay C Barnes David W DW Barrera Alessandra L AL Hurst-Kennedy Jennifer J Sudduth Elizabeth B EB Quinlan Erin L EL Schlueter Mark M Iskhakova Liliya A Haining Robert R

CBE life sciences education 20150301 1

The traditional undergraduate program of study incorporates a selection of classes that represent a broad spectrum of subdisciplines. Unfortunately, few curricula successfully integrate concepts in all subdisciplines, giving undergraduates the misconception that there is a lack of application or connectedness between class subjects. An integrated course-embedded research experience (ICURE) was initiated to redress this problem by bridging classes within one discipline in an effort to engage unde ...[more]

PMID: 25681416

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Project description:Genetic analysis in model systems can provide a rich context for conceptual understanding of gene structure, regulation, and function. With an intent to create a rich learning experience in molecular genetics, we developed a semester-long course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to disrupt specific genes in the zebrafish. The course was offered to freshman students; nine students worked in four groups (two to three members per group) to design, synthesize, and test the nuclease activity of the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)/sgRNAs for targeted disruption of specific genes in the zebrafish. Each group worked with a gene with an already known mutant phenotype that can be visually scored and a gene that had not been studied in zebrafish previously. Embedded in the course were a series of workshop-styled units or tutorials, including tours to core facilities. The focus was on introducing and developing skills that could be accommodated within the span of a semester. Each group successfully cloned at least one plasmid-encoding CRISPR/sgRNA template, visually analyzed injected embryos, and performed genotyping assays to detect CRISPR-Cas9 activity. In-class discussions, a final end-of-semester written test, and group oral presentations were assessed for an understanding of the CRISPR-Cas9 system, application of the CRISPR-Cas9 system as a gene manipulation tool, and experimental methods used to create plasmid vectors and synthesize sgRNA. In addition, poster presentations were evaluated by faculty, graduate students, and senior undergraduate students at a University research exposition. Self-reflections in the form of group conversations were video recorded. All students (9/9) distinctly showed learning gains after completing the activity, but the extent of the gains was variable, as seen from results of a written test and poster presentation assessment. Qualitative analysis of evaluations and self-reporting data indicated several gains, suggesting that all students found many aspects of the CURE valuable and gained project-specific (conceptual) and transferrable skills (science process and science identity).

Project description:Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an effective means of transforming the learning and teaching of science by involving students in the scientific process. The potential importance of the microbiome in shaping both environmental health and disease makes investigations of microbiomes an excellent teaching tool for undergraduate microbiology. Here, we present a CURE based on the microbiome of the bean beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus), a model system for undergraduate laboratory education. Despite the extensive research literature on bean beetles, little is known about their microbiome, making them an ideal system for a discovery-based CURE. In the CURE, students acquire microbiological technical skills by characterizing both culturable and unculturable members of the beetle gut-microbial community. Students plate beetle gut homogenates on different media, describe the colonies that are formed to estimate taxonomic diversity, extract DNA from colonies of interest, PCR amplify the16S rRNA gene for Sanger sequencing, and use the NCBI-nBLAST database to taxonomically classify sequences. Additionally, students extract total DNA from beetle gut homogenates for high-throughput paired-end sequencing and perform bioinformatic and statistical analyses of bacterial communities using a combination of open-access data processing software. Each activity allows students to engage with studies of microbiomes in a real-world context, to apply concepts and laboratory techniques to investigate either student or faculty-driven research questions, and to gain valuable experiences working with large high-throughput datasets. The CURE is designed such that it can be implemented over either 6-weeks (half semester) or 12-weeks (full semester), allowing for flexibility within the curriculum. Furthermore, student-generated data from the CURE (including bacterial colony phenotypic data, full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences from cultured isolates, and bacterial community sequences from gut homogenates) has been compiled in a continuously curated open-access database on the Bean Beetle Microbiome Project website, facilitating the generation of broader research questions across laboratory classrooms.

Dataset Information

Bridging the undergraduate curriculum using an integrated course-embedded undergraduate research experience (ICURE).

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Bridging the undergraduate curriculum using an integrated course-embedded undergraduate research experience (ICURE).

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