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We're getting away from descriptive memorization and into doing the scientific method and real-world science.
Dr. Eric Miller, professor and interim head of NC State's Department of Microbiology
Studies show students who get involved in research earlier stay in science and perform better in their studies, said NC State's Dr. Sue Carson (right).
By Mick Kulikowski, News Services
Most people spend their lives trying to avoid viruses.
But viruses are at the heart of a new learn-by-doing introductory course in genomics at NC State. The course will use bacterial viruses, or phages, to teach students about the world of DNA and the real-world techniques scientists use to extract information from genetic codes in living things.
Just think of phage as the 21st-century lab rat in a class that is less about traditional ways of teaching and learning – lectures and lab assignments – and more about doing real science, said the lead investigators on the project, Dr. Sue Carson, teaching assistant professor of plant biology, and Dr. Eric Miller, professor and interim head of the Department of Microbiology.
NC State is one of 12 colleges and universities recently selected to the National Genomics Research Initiative, a project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the nation's largest and most important science education and medical research philanthropies. The goal of the initiative is to improve undergraduate science education. Twelve other institutions of higher learning were selected last year as the first cohort of participants; 36 colleges and universities will ultimately participate in the four-year program. NC State will offer the two-semester classes for three years beginning in fall 2009.
In the first semester of the first-year inquiry class, the students will isolate phages from locally collected soil samples. Given the diversity of phages, each one is almost certain to be unique, giving students the opportunity to name their newly isolated life form. Students then spend the rest of the term purifying and characterizing their phage and extracting its DNA.
Between semesters, the purified DNA will be sent to the Joint Genome Institute-Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where it will be sequenced. In the second term, the students will receive files containing their phage's DNA sequence. The students will then use bioinformatics tools to identify genes and hypothesize about gene functions.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute pays for the class' necessities, including supplies and software, as well as the costs of genome sequencing and electron microscopy.
The course will be offered through a partnership between the university's biotechnology program and the Department of Microbiology. It will be the first biotechnology course offering for first-year students, Carson said. Miler adds that most students who take the introductory class in microbiology, Microbiology 351, are juniors, so the new class will introduce students to the world of microbiology much earlier than usual.
Carson says the class will also fill a need to expose first-year students to research-intensive projects, providing a springboard into life as a scientist at an earlier age. Studies show, she added, that students who get involved in research earlier stay in science and perform better in their studies.
"This class is learn by doing, but it also means learn by caring," Carson said. "There's more enthusiasm when students feel a sense of ownership of a real research project and are engaged in active learning."
Miller said science will also take a step forward as students from across the country isolate unique phages, some of which might ultimately have important connections to health or environmental issues. Sequence information gleaned by the students will contribute to databases maintained at the Joint Genome Institute and GenBank.
Miller and Carson added that the class will also be assessed for effectiveness when compared with, for example, students in an introductory science class taught using the traditional lecture and lab format. Measurements comparing grade point average; how students learn scientific concepts and research methods; and attitudes toward science education and postgraduate plans will be gathered at the conclusion of the program.
"We're getting away from descriptive memorization and into doing the scientific method and real-world science," Miller said.
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