Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics

Bringing discovery-based research into undergraduate laboratory courses increases student motivation and learning gains over traditional exercises that merely teach technique or demonstrate well-documented phenomena. Laboratory experiences are further enhanced when they are designed to challenge stu...

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Autor principal:	Carolyn F. Weber
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2014
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3545c77c416043e294ab398c4cce4338
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3545c77c416043e294ab398c4cce43382021-11-15T15:15:37ZHormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.7341935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/3545c77c416043e294ab398c4cce43382014-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.734https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885Bringing discovery-based research into undergraduate laboratory courses increases student motivation and learning gains over traditional exercises that merely teach technique or demonstrate well-documented phenomena. Laboratory experiences are further enhanced when they are designed to challenge student perspectives on topics relevant to their lives. To this end, a laboratory module on antibiotics and hormones, which are generally discussed in the context of human health, was developed for students to explore the multifaceted roles of antibiotics and hormones in nature (e.g. interspecies communication) via reading primary scientific literature and performing discovery-based experiments. The main objective of this module was to increase the general biological literacy of students as determined by their ability to connect the Five Core Concepts of Biological Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education: A Call to Action, 2011) to the topics “hormones” and “antibiotics” in pre- and postmodule surveys. After discussing unpublished research findings, cell biology students performed experiments demonstrating that: 1) fungi may promote fern growth via hormone production, 2) novel bacterial isolates in the genus Streptomyces produce antifungal compounds, and 3) subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations may enhance soil bacterial growth. The third finding provided evidence supporting a hypothesis framed in a scientific article that students read and discussed. Student perspectives on premodule surveys focused on roles of hormones and antibiotics in the human body (e.g. development, fighting infection), but their broadened postmodule perspectives encompassed the roles of these molecules in organismal communication and possibly the evolution of multicellularity.Carolyn F. WeberAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 15, Iss 2, Pp 277-286 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Carolyn F. Weber Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics
description	Bringing discovery-based research into undergraduate laboratory courses increases student motivation and learning gains over traditional exercises that merely teach technique or demonstrate well-documented phenomena. Laboratory experiences are further enhanced when they are designed to challenge student perspectives on topics relevant to their lives. To this end, a laboratory module on antibiotics and hormones, which are generally discussed in the context of human health, was developed for students to explore the multifaceted roles of antibiotics and hormones in nature (e.g. interspecies communication) via reading primary scientific literature and performing discovery-based experiments. The main objective of this module was to increase the general biological literacy of students as determined by their ability to connect the Five Core Concepts of Biological Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education: A Call to Action, 2011) to the topics “hormones” and “antibiotics” in pre- and postmodule surveys. After discussing unpublished research findings, cell biology students performed experiments demonstrating that: 1) fungi may promote fern growth via hormone production, 2) novel bacterial isolates in the genus Streptomyces produce antifungal compounds, and 3) subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations may enhance soil bacterial growth. The third finding provided evidence supporting a hypothesis framed in a scientific article that students read and discussed. Student perspectives on premodule surveys focused on roles of hormones and antibiotics in the human body (e.g. development, fighting infection), but their broadened postmodule perspectives encompassed the roles of these molecules in organismal communication and possibly the evolution of multicellularity.
format	article
author	Carolyn F. Weber
author_facet	Carolyn F. Weber
author_sort	Carolyn F. Weber
title	Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics
title_short	Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics
title_full	Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics
title_fullStr	Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics
title_full_unstemmed	Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics
title_sort	hormones and antibiotics in nature: a laboratory module designed to broaden undergraduate perspectives on typically human-centered topics
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/3545c77c416043e294ab398c4cce4338
work_keys_str_mv	AT carolynfweber hormonesandantibioticsinnaturealaboratorymoduledesignedtobroadenundergraduateperspectivesontypicallyhumancenteredtopics
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Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics

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