Department of Life Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2022 Nov;50(6):580-591. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21662. Epub 2022 Sep 2.
The need for changing how science is taught and the expansion of undergraduate research experiences is essential to foster critical thinking in the Natural Sciences. Most faculty research programs only involve a small number of upper-level undergraduate students each semester. The course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) model enables more students to take ownership over an independent project and experience authentic research. Further, by creating projects that fit into a curriculum's learning goals and student-oriented outcomes, departments help strengthen critical thinking skills in the classroom. Here, we report on the incorporation of a synthetic biology CURE into a mid-level cellular biology course and two advanced level genetics/molecular biology courses. Synthetic biology involves systematic engineering of novel organisms, such as bacteria and plants, to work as functional devices to solve problems in medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing. The value of synthetic biology and its ultimate utility as a teaching tool relies on reusable, standard genetic parts that can be interchanged using common genetic engineering principles. This Synthetic biology CURE effectively achieves five essential goals: (1) a sense of project ownership; (2) self-efficacy: mastery of a manageable number of techniques; (3) increased tolerance for obstacles through challenging research; (4) increased communication skills; and (5) a sense of belonging in a larger scientific community. Based upon our student assessment data, we demonstrate that this course-based synthetic biology laboratory engages students directly in an authentic research experience and models important elements of collaboration, discovery, iteration, and critical thinking.
改变科学教学方式和拓展本科生科研经验对于培养自然科学领域的批判性思维至关重要。大多数教师的研究项目每学期仅涉及少数高年级本科生。基于课程的本科生科研体验（CURE）模式使更多学生能够自主承担独立项目并体验真实的研究。此外，通过创建符合课程学习目标和以学生为导向的成果的项目，各系有助于加强课堂上的批判性思维技能。在这里，我们报告了将合成生物学 CURE 纳入中级细胞生物学课程以及两门高级遗传学/分子生物学课程的情况。合成生物学涉及对细菌和植物等新型生物体进行系统工程设计，以作为功能性设备来解决医学、农业和制造业中的问题。合成生物学的价值及其作为教学工具的最终效用依赖于可重复使用的标准遗传元件，这些元件可以使用常见的遗传工程原理进行互换。这个合成生物学 CURE 有效地实现了五个重要目标：（1）项目所有权意识；（2）自我效能感：掌握数量可控的技术；（3）通过具有挑战性的研究提高对障碍的容忍度；（4）提高沟通技巧；（5）在更大的科学社区中找到归属感。根据我们的学生评估数据，我们证明这种基于课程的合成生物学实验室使学生直接参与真实的研究体验，并模拟了协作、发现、迭代和批判性思维的重要要素。
