Carnegie Mellon   RAIRE Award

Integrated Cell Biology:
A lab course derived from current research

1. Course Design

The Department of Biological Sciences has established a new laboratory course for upper class biology majors called Integrated Cell Biology (03-345). The course is broken into three modules whose content derives directly from recent and ongoing experimental research in cell and developmental biology. Each module focuses on a different organism and a different stage of development. This course intends to develop students' technical skills and to deepen their understanding of cellular processes and the progress of embyonic development.

So that the course is as much like real research as possible, many different techniques are used to address a single overriding experimental question within each module. Each of the modules includes extensive work visualizing the structure of cells or the progress of developing embryos as well as a range of molecular and biochemical methods for the analysis of the processes within the cells. For example, the goal of module II is to define the specific temporal and spatial patterns of gene expression for several genes known to be important to the blastula and gastrula stages of sea urchins. To achieve that end, students synthesize riboprobes for in situ hybridization, isolate mRNA from several different stages for analysis by RT-PCR, and immunostain fixed embryos with fluorescent antibodies. Students capture individual and time lapse images of the developing urchins with phase contrast microscopes linked to video cameras and computer work stations. This visual data is annotated by each student and made available to the entire class by "publishing" it on a server that is accessible from their homes, dorm rooms and university computer clusters. All other data is sent in digital form to the same server.

This course allows students to develop high level cognitive skills and advanced technical skills in a supportive setting. Throughout the course, students have to practice problem solving, integration of diverse data, correlation and comparison, independent decision-making, coordination with colleagues, and project design. Quizzes, problem sets and exams are intended to make the required skills explicit and to provide the necessary practice. Each module includes a student seminar covering the concepts, cell biology and current research specific to the module. The content and activities ensure that the students' experience is as challenging - and frustrating! - as real research.

2. Evaluation of the Course

The first year of this course (Winter term, Jan-May 1998) was considered a pilot course, and with some small modifications the first regular course was completed in the Winter term of 1999 with 18 students in two sections, each meeting about 10 hours per week. These two experiences have made it clear to those who developed the course that some changes in the content and organization should be made. For example, additional quizzes and problem sets are needed to stimulate more practice with quantitative skills and evaluation of data sets. Some experimental work needs to be broken into smaller units, so that the intellectual skills appropriate to the tasks and the outcome can be treated in a more explicit way. Specific rules for "publishing " are needed so that each student's data is more carefully evaluated and summarized; submissions to the server need to be made on a regular schedule. Modifications or substitutions will have to be made to some experiments that have been especially frustrating or unproductive. These changes will be in place by the Winter 2000 term.

3. Participation in the RAIRE Grant

We have used Integrated Cell Biology and Experimental Molecular Biology & Genetics, which precedes it in the Biology curriculum, as prototypes of research derived laboratory courses. These courses have been monitored by professional evaluators to assess content, teaching methods, the learning environment, and the student experience. The students have participated in studies of students' attitudes about learning and knowledge. Laboratory manuals, testing material and student research reports have been used in these evaluations. The outcome of those studies and additional evaluations during the next winter term will be compiled for the final report of the RAIRE Grant.

Linda Kauffman, who developed Integrated Cell Biology and a number of other research activities in the Dept. of Biological Sciences over the last 20 years, is reporting her recent experience with Integrated Cell Biology and its revisions as an opportunity to document and summarize the way in which research material can be turned into a course for undergraduates. This new course is an appropriate model because it is not yet as refined and reliable as a more mature course would be; the tension between reliable experiments and the excitement of more risky ones is still very evident. Evaluation and revision over the coming year will serve the goals of the RAIRE grant and enrich our understanding of how current research activities can be incorporated into undergraduate education.


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