CRE Proposal
McDonough & Fraley
Course-based Research Experiences in General Biology
HHMI-CRE proposal submitted by Virginia McDonough and Greg Fraley
February 15, 2013
Abstract
The Biology Department has embarked on an exciting curriculum reform that will reduce
the current three-semester introductory biology sequence down to two semesters. The lab
portion of the class, the focus of this proposal, will combine elements of “traditional” biology lab
along with innovative research experiences. The lab course will be broken down into five
modules, each focused on a different biological area; Ecology, Organismal Biology (Plant and
Animal units), Molecular Genetics, Cell Biology, and Evolution. The course has been approved
by the Curriculum Committee (Fall 2012) and is scheduled to begin in Fall 2013.
Our overall goal with the laboratory component of General Biology is to cultivate critical
thinking through structured multi-week lab modules that revolve around a theme or research
question. Students will apply current concepts and techniques to real world problems by asking
the most effective questions, formulating hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, and
interpreting results. The modules are designed in such a way that there is a natural connection
between disciplines within Biology for students to explore the multidisciplinary nature of
biological studies. We are confident that by using the strengths of concentrated five-week
modules, along with a clear connection between lecture and lab, we will not only be able to
prepare students for further study in biology, but also engage them in a unique way that will
facilitate a higher level of learning and understanding, which will help solve problems we face as
a global society.
In this proposal, we are requesting support for two students to work over the summer to
perform and evaluate the labs, identify trouble areas, and design solutions. Students will also
be composing a “teaching manual” to help in future preparations of the lab. Students will be
working directly with Drs. McDonough and Fraley on the project.
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Introduction
General Biology is the gateway to the Biology major, but also serves a wide diversity of
other students; for example, students who major in other fields, but are planning postbaccalaureate professional studies such as medical or dental school, or students who may take
the class to fulfill part of the College’s science requirement. The “typical” student taking General
Biology is a college freshman.
In order to better serve the students of Hope College, we have condensed our current
three-semester curriculum into two semesters. The lab portion of the class is being completely
redesigned to incorporate multi-week lab modules that revolve around a theme or research
question. The entire Biology Department has been involved in the design of the labs. The initial
planning of the experiments has been completed, however, the writing of the labs and details
concerning the actual experiments still have to be finished. In addition, we are currently
designing the assessment to support the modules. In order to make sure the labs work
smoothly, we wish to have a “test-run” this summer, with students performing the experiments
and trouble-shooting problem areas.
Research and Educational Descriptions of Individual Modules:
The first semester General Biology 1 laboratory units are Ecology, Animal Organismal Biology
and Plant Organismal Biology modules. The second semester General Biology 2 laboratory
units are Cell Biology, Genetics and Evolutionary Biology.
Ecology Module
We are creating a field-based lab module that will link the ecological levels of
organization- Populations, Communities, Ecosystems- by investigation of an overall “big picture
question”: How does a forest change, and what are the consequences of those changes to
species interactions and community structure?
The ecology experiments will focus on interactions of organisms with other organisms
and their environments and conduct field experiments and observations. Students will get
exposure to multiple environments, flora and fauna. Students will investigate concepts such as
leaf packs (long-term decomposition rates), microbe functional diversity, photosynthetic rates in
the field, leaf litter arthropod diversity, soil invertebrate diversity, genetic diversity in relation to
population parameters, geographic distance, habitat structure, soil CO2 emission in relation to
decomposition and measures of herbivory. Within this framework students will also investigate
processes at the population and community levels.
Animal Organismal Biology Module
The major theme for this module is environmental impacts on organismal biology. The
overarching goal of this lab module is to give students experience working with animals and to
teach them how relatively small changes in environment (either external or internal) can have
large ramifications on the physiology and/or anatomy of individuals that may ultimately impact
their reproductive viability. We will use one invertebrate model and at least one vertebrate
model in parallel experiments during this five-week module. For example, students will
investigate physiological changes in crickets and goldfish in response to environmental changes
such as food resources or exposure to hormones or pollutants. This unit will help students
make connections with ecology by investigating how structures and functions of animals play an
important role in their interactions with other organisms and environment at the population and
community level.
Plant Organismal Module
The major theme of this unit will be “Structure and Function of Plants: Linking Genotype,
Phenotype and Environment” with the goal to teach students about plant morphology, gas
exchange, production of fruits, and nutrition. Students will investigate a variety of plants that
flourish in different environments by performing experiments that examine how these plants
have optimized their structure and function for reproductive success. This unit will help students
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make connections with both ecology and animal organisms biology by investigating how
structures and functions of plants play an important role in their interactions with other
organisms and environment at the population and community level.
Cell Biology Module
The major theme of this module is “The Connection between Cell Biology and Human
Disease”. Students will learn basic cell biological principles by investigating membrane function
and structure, enzyme activity and cell structure. In this unit, students will see the relevance of
the topics to human health through a series of weekly exercises and final project that will make
that connection.
Genetics Module
The theme of this module is to make the connection of “Genotype to Phenotype” through
molecular investigation of trait determination. While variation in living creatures is all around us,
the body size of the domestic dog is remarkably plastic. Consider the extremes from a “tea cup ”
yorkie (2 pounds adult weight) to Zeus, a Great Dane who weighs in at a mighty impressive 230
lbs. A single gene has been identified that contributes to a significant portion of the size
variation. This gene encodes the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor. We propose to isolate
DNA from many dogs, determine their size at the shoulder, and sequence this gene. We will
then look for variation in this gene and correlation between the alleles and the dog size.
Evolutionary Biology Lab Module
This unit will examine evolution as a unifying concept of all areas of biology. Students
will be investigating how phylogenies are inferred, how evolutionary mechanisms work, and
genetic population structure. To learn about phylogeny, students will investigate primate
relationships through morphological and molecular data. They will then construct the most
parsimonious cladograms to fit their results. To learn about genetic population structure and
mechanisms of evolution, students will focus on using a widely available wild organism, the
earthworm (e.g., Lumbricus terrestris). These organisms are ubiquitous, and can be isolated
from field samples easily (we will take advantage of the many sites available locally through the
Lake Macatawa watershed region). Sampling from multiple locations separated by geographic
barriers like river systems, will demonstrate concepts of population genetics and mechanisms of
microevolution. Evolutionary biology will help students gain a broad understanding of biological
diversity at molecular, cellular, organismal, population, and community levels, and hone their
ability to synthesize knowledge from multiple disciplines to examine a specific problem.
Staffing/facilities/resources needed for development and implementation.
We request support for two students for summer 2013 to work full time (10 weeks)
setting up, running and trouble-shooting the labs. We have identified two outstanding students
who are excited to work on this project: Meredith Whitehead and Jennifer Hielkema. They are
both Biology Education majors. The opportunity to be part of curriculum design will be a great
asset in their development as educators. The students will interact with each module leader as
they work on the labs, however, Dr. Greg Fraley will directly supervise them. All necessary
supplies will be paid for by the Biology Department.
In addition, we request a small stipend for support of workshops during the semester
and a lab orientation meeting over the summer for both regular and term faculty. The summer
meeting will bring everyone up to speed through a one-day workshop that will cover the
philosophy of the course and main points of each module. It will serve as the final update and
some experimental techniques will be practiced.
Long-term plan for Staffing/facilities/resources.
As the new courses will be replacing our old Biol 240/260/280 classes, after
implementation, no additional staff or facilities will be required, as long as Hope College class
size remains constant. However, the overlap of old and new curriculum in Fall 2013 will present
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a special challenge to the department. In this single semester, we will be offering both the new
Biol 105 class and the old Biol 280 class (for students who began the old biology introductory
sequence in Fall 2012). We are requesting additional term positions to be able to cover these
sections through regular channels.
Timeline
All members of the department have been assigned to “mini-mittees”, small groups of
three or four members to design the lab modules. Mini-mittees have been meeting through Fall
2012 in order to brainstorm and generate the themes/experiments/ideas for their modules.
Three departmental retreats are planned to fully inform the entire department about each
module and to develop the curriculum and assessment.
1) Friday, February 8: Introduction and development of plan of attack to complete lab
development before Fall, 2013. What ideas have been developed by the minimittees? Each convener will present the main theme of their module and the planned
experiments. What ideas do we have for assessment (student and course)?
2) Friday, March 15: Updates: specific experiments and theme for each module. What
innovative approach to teaching critical thinking will be taught? Assessment will also be
a focus in this meeting.
3) Friday, April 26: Finalize assessment concepts (student and course), specific project
ideas for each module, plan for summer to have students troubleshoot and help prep lab
manuals.
Summer 2013-Students and faculty work through labs, trouble-shooting and writing the labs up
as a manual. A teacher’s guide will also be developed to help in future preparation.
Fall 2013-Begin teaching!
Assessment plan
Specific CURE features included in the lab modules shown to increase learning gains
are: Some input into the research process, working in small groups, being responsible for
project, reading primary literature, collecting and analyzing data, presenting results in multiple
format styles (oral, poster, written).
We will utilize the CURE Assessment Program at the beginning of Bio105, at the end of
the Bio 105 semester (1st, Fall), and again at the end of the Bio106 (2nd, Spring) semester.
These data will be used to assess the lab modules’ efficacy in teaching the students the
scientific method and critical thinking.
During each of the laboratory modules, we will teach students about the scientific
method, hypothesis development, hypothesis testing and experimental design, data analyses; in
sum, we hope to improve the students’ skills at critical thinking. Students will be assessed on
their ability to maintain a laboratory notebook, and on regular laboratory exams. Exams will
assess the students’ ability to perform tasks associated with critical thinking: e.g. stating a
hypothesis, experimental design, development and interpretation of graphical data, statistical
analyses, as well as scientific communication. The latter assessments will be completed by
written assignments (e.g. written laboratory reports) and oral presentations.
Dissemination of results
Several methods of dissemination are possible; Biology may host an internal discussion of the
module development and implementation for interested Hope College faculty. Several of the
labs that are under development are novel, and may be described and published in an
appropriate forum such as “American Biology Teacher”, or “Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Education”.
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