An experimental test of an extended discretion laboratory approach for university general biology

This was an experiment to test the extended discretion laboratory approach (ED) versus a guided-inquiry (GI) approach for teaching biology in a university setting. It had previously been found productive in a high-school setting. The approach provides considerably less specific procedure for the students to follow than did a guided-inquiry approach and required relatively high independence. Four hundred sixty-nine students taking university introductory biology were randomly assigned to using either the ED learning approach or one characterized as guided inquiry for one semester. Three measures were taken to verify that instructional treatments followed the two approaches. All indicated qualitative and quantitative differences between ED and GI approaches in the direction predicted by the operational definitions. The criterion variables were (1) student scores on a multiple-choice laboratory exam, (2) student scores on laboratory reports, and (3) student scores on six laboratory quizzes given during the semester. The only criterion variable which showed significant differences between groups (laboratory-report scores) also showed significant group-by-instructor interaction. The hypothesis of no difference therefore stood unrejected for all criterion variables. Since the ED approach appears to produce equivalent learning gains in understanding of biology laboratory concepts compared to a guided-inquiry approach, this approach should still be considered for laboratory teaching, because it purports to train for discretionary use of resources during instruction in addition to the conventional development of laboratory concepts.     

面向虚拟仿真实验教学的高校公共实验室研究

为了整合全校虚拟仿真实验教学资源,建立开放共享机制,探索并实践了建设高校虚拟仿真实验教学公共实验室的设计理念、整体架构和技术方案。实验室采用开源、开放的设计思想与技术路线,充分体现了通用性、集成性、交互性与创新性。在面向全校各专业的虚拟仿真实验教学应用中已取得了一定的效果,对实验室设计的先进性进行了验证。     

高校生物教学实验室的开放问题与管理对策

该文分析了与科研实验室相比教学实验室在面向学生开放中的优势,指出了高校生物教学实验室开放后可能会出现安全隐患增加、运行经费紧张、管理难度加大和实验队伍不适应等问题,并就这些问题从健全制度、改善实验室条件、加强实验队伍建设等方面提出了相应的管理措施与应对策略。     

An experimental program in biology for non-specialists

An experimental program in biology for non-specialists was introduced at the University of Buenos Aires in 1968. Since the students for whom it is intended are in humanities, the course centers on man in relation to the universe. The course is made up of six fundamental units which are taught in classes but which are supplemented with reading and with group discussions directed by trained graduate instructors. Results are being evaluated and further innovations are being made.

---

Un programme experimental de biologie pour les non-specialistes

Résumé Un programme expérimental de biologie pour des non-spécialistes a été utilisé à l'Université de Buenos Aires en 1968. Etant donné que les étudiants à qui il est destiné étudient les lettres et les humanités, le cours a été centré sur les relations de l'homme à l'univers. Le cours consiste en six unités fondamentales qui sont enseignées dans des classes mais qui sont complétées par un programme de lecture et par des discussions de groupe sous le contrôle de moniteurs diplômés et formés à cette tâche. Les résultats sont soumis a une évaluation et d'autres innovations sont en cours.

---

---

The programme was devised with the assistance of the following people: L. Albalustri, L. Albornoz, J. J. Balatti, C. Calatroni, R. Carrillo, L. M. Casai, M. C. Castro, A. Catoni, F. J. Chaparro, F. Garcia Marcos, N. Ferrer, S. Lacosta and A. Villasegura.     

On understanding variability in data: a study of graph interpretation in an advanced experimental biology laboratory

Data analysis is constitutive of the discovery sciences. Few studies in mathematics education, however, investigate how people deal with (statistical) variability and statistical variance in the data to be interpreted. And even fewer, if any, focus on the uncertainties with which scientists wrestle before they are confident in the data they produce. The purpose of this study is to exhibit the work of coping with variability in one advanced research laboratory, as exemplified in a typical data analysis session. The study shows that when the scientists are confronted with novel data, their understanding of the variability does not arise in straightforward fashion, and a lot of normally invisible (interactional) work is required to constitute understanding. Tentative conclusions are provided for the implication to mathematics education.     

An integrated approach to biology

Zoology, being a basic bioscience, is essential for a better understanding of applied biological disciplines. A sound background in zoology can often be the key to success in modern day cutting-edge biological research. Students of zoology have many more interesting questions to ask now than ever before. Precisely when did humans take to clothing? How is losing body hair actually correlated to body louse speciation? What is so unique about a schistosome that enables it to parasitize two very different host species, to have a free living stage and show a broad range of host specificity in one life cycle? Genomics has already helped us to get the molecular expression profiles of many organisms. But to understand how all the information obtained at the molecular level fits into the scheme of things, we need a sound foundation in zoology. It is all the more fun studying zoology now with so many interesting questions to ask and ideas to explore.     

高校生物实验室废弃物分类处理研究与实践

通过分析生物实验室废弃物分类处理的现状,探讨了其分类处理的难点问题,提出了生物类实验室废弃物分类办法、处理方法和管理建议。在上海交通大学生命科学技术学院的教学实验室和科研实验室进行了实验室废弃物分类处理的试点实践,取得了较好的管理效果,可供其他实验室的废弃物管理借鉴。     

新加坡大学实验室管理及实验队伍建设情况调研

了解国外大学已有的成功经验对于提高我国大学实验室建设、规划及管理水平具有重要参考价值.结合实际访问及资料调研,介绍了新加坡国立大学和新加坡南洋理工大学科研实验平台和本科教学实验室及实验室安全管理方面的有益经验,对于提高我国高校实验室管理和实验队伍建设水平具有借鉴意义.     

The effects of feedback from students to university instructors: An experimental study

This article reports the results of an experimental study of the effects of students' evaluative feedback to university instructors. Data obtained indicated that feedback from students did not have any significant effects on the instructors' teaching performance and their perception of teaching. Some limitations of the study are discussed with suggestions for further exploration of the problem.     

Implementation of a project-based molecular biology laboratory emphasizing protein structure-function relationships in a large introductory biology laboratory course

In introductory laboratory courses, many universities are turning from traditional laboratories with predictable outcomes to inquiry-inspired, project-based laboratory curricula. In these labs, students are allowed to design at least some portion of their own experiment and interpret new, undiscovered data. We have redesigned the introductory biology laboratory course at Brandeis University into a semester-long project-based laboratory that emphasizes concepts and contains an element of scientific inquiry. In this laboratory, students perform a site-directed mutagenesis experiment on the gene encoding human γD crystallin, a human eye lens protein implicated in cataracts, and assess the stability of their newly created protein with respect to wild-type crystallin. This laboratory utilizes basic techniques in molecular biology to emphasize the importance of connections between DNA and protein. This project lab has helped engage students in their own learning, has improved students' skills in critical thinking and analysis, and has promoted interest in basic research in biology.     

中国高校生物实验教学体系与模式探讨

通过对我国生物实验教学发展历程的简单回顾,分析总结传统生物实验教学中的利弊,在广泛吸收现阶段各高校生物实验教学改革成果的基础上,探讨新形势下生物实验教学的建设与发展.     

Assessment of the psychosocial environment of university science laboratory classrooms: a cross-national study

A strong tradition in educational research has involved several widely-used instruments assessing student or teacher perceptions of characteristics of actual or preferred classroom psychosocial environment. Existing instruments, however, are unsuitable for one of the most important settings in science teaching, namely, the science laboratory class. Consequently, the present research aimed to develop and validate a new instrument, the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI), which is specifically suited to science laboratory environments at the higher education level. The SLEI assesses students' or teachers' perceptions of five dimensions of actual or preferred classroom environment, namely, Student Cohesiveness, Open-Endedness, Integration, Rule Clarity, and Material Environment. A distinctive feature of the design of the study was that the instrument was field tested and validated cross-nationally in six different countries, namely, the USA, Canada, Australia, England, Israel, and Nigeria. The total sample consisted of 1720 students in 71 university laboratory classes. Various item and factor analyses guided the evolution of a refined version, and attested to each SLEI scale's internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, factorial validity, predictive validity (i.e., ability to predict student outcomes), and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classes. An important finding was that the SLEI is equally valid for use in its actual and preferred versions, and for the individual or the class mean as the unit of analysis. As well, separate within-country analyses confirmed the validity and usefulness of the SLEI in each of the six countries involved in the field testing. Overall, the study attested to the general advantages of employing cross-national designs in learning environment research.     

How to improve argumentation comprehension in university students: experimental test of a training approach

Instructional Science - The ability to comprehend informal arguments is essential for scientific literacy but students often lack structural knowledge about these arguments, especially when the...     

高校实验室综合管理系统的开发

通过对高校实验室管理信息化的分析,开发了一个包含实验室基础管理、建设管理、安全管理、仪器管理和开放管理5个功能模块为一体的实验室综合管理系统。该系统实现了实验室信息一目了然、建设规划清晰、安全管理规范、仪器充分共享和开放井然有序的流程化管理,提高了实验室管理工作效率和管理水平。