Biology Program, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, USA.
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2021 Jan;49(1):115-128. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21402. Epub 2020 Jul 27.
The rapid development of molecular biotechnology presents a curricular challenge for educators trying to provide students with relevant coursework. A comprehensive biology education should also include opportunities for students to develop intellectual and technical skills through authentic research experiences. Integrating relevant and interesting research projects into their classes, however, can be a challenging task for instructors. To address these varied demands, we redesigned our existing molecular cloning course to incorporate an independent research project assessing calcium signaling. In the revised course, students use traditional and recombination-based cloning strategies to generate bacterial and mammalian expression vectors encoding CaMPARI, a novel fluorescent calcium indicator. Bacterially-expressed CaMPARI is used in protein quantification and purification assays. Students must also design their own research project evaluating the effect of chemotherapeutic agents on calcium signaling in a mammalian system. Revised and novel labs were designed to be modular, facilitating their integration into the course over 2 years. End-of-semester student evaluations were compared between years revealing a significant difference in students' perception of the course's difficulty between years. This change in attitude highlights potential pedagogical considerations that must be examined when introducing new material and activities into existing courses. Since calcium signaling is important for cellular process across diverse species, instructors may be able to develop research projects within their respective areas of interest. Integration of authentic research experiences into the curriculum is challenging; however, the framework described here provides a versatile structure that can be adapted to merge diverse instructor interests with evolving educational needs.
分子生物技术的快速发展给试图为学生提供相关课程的教育工作者带来了课程挑战。全面的生物学教育还应该为学生提供通过真实研究经验发展智力和技术技能的机会。然而，将相关且有趣的研究项目纳入他们的课程对于教师来说可能是一项具有挑战性的任务。为了满足这些不同的需求，我们重新设计了现有的分子克隆课程，纳入了一个评估钙信号的独立研究项目。在修订后的课程中，学生使用传统和基于重组的克隆策略生成编码 CaMPARI 的细菌和哺乳动物表达载体，CaMPARI 是一种新型荧光钙指示剂。细菌表达的 CaMPARI 用于蛋白质定量和纯化测定。学生还必须设计自己的研究项目，评估化学治疗剂对哺乳动物系统中钙信号的影响。修订后的和新的实验室设计为模块化，便于在 2 年内整合到课程中。学期末的学生评估在两年之间进行比较，结果显示学生对课程难度的看法存在显著差异。这种态度的变化突出了在将新材料和活动引入现有课程时必须考虑的潜在教学问题。由于钙信号对不同物种的细胞过程都很重要，教师可以在各自感兴趣的领域内开发研究项目。将真实的研究经验纳入课程具有挑战性；然而，这里描述的框架提供了一个通用的结构，可以适应将不同的教师兴趣与不断发展的教育需求融合在一起。
