Tonight after an eventful and painful day (eye infection!), I tried to watch another ASMCUE 2022 session. The recorded ten-minute session was entitled: “How Can We Be Assured Our Water is Safe? A Lab Exercise to Teach the Scientific Method,” and David Singleton from York College was the presenter. At York College, BIO 230 is a microbiology course taken by pre-health students. To improve engagement and increase ownership, Singleton considered what the essential skills are for these students. Collaboration and the ability to interpret various tests were also key objectives Singleton wanted. They ended up focusing on sewage treatment at a local facility! The first week of the labs is devoted to brainstorming and by week 3 participants collect data. The experimental design lab session was conducted online during the pandemic. This session has the goal of defining concepts such as experimental group, control group (positive and negative) and independent & dependent variables. The class works in groups to evaluate an example. Singleton mentioned that the rubric is very detailed and encourages revision. Singleton also warned that the flexibility can result in significant prep work for the instructor. The assessment aligns with the departmental goal of “quantitative fluency.” Singleton was excited that the lab outcomes included several positive outcomes about how beneficial collaboration was and how much fun they had with the experience. Singleton used Benchling as the electronic lab notebook system. I am now curious about what data students obtain and plot and the methods used to generate this information.
