Integration of a zebrafish research project into a molecular biology course to support critical thinking and course content goals.

Publisher: John Wiley & sons Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 100970605 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1539-3429 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14708175 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Biochem Mol Biol Educ Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2002- : Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & sons
Original Publication: Oxford, UK : Elsevier, c2000-

Comprehension* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*; Biomedical Research/*education ; Molecular Biology/*education ; Problem-Based Learning/*methods ; Zebrafish/*genetics ; Zebrafish Proteins/*genetics; Animals ; Curriculum ; Educational Measurement ; Embryo, Nonmammalian/cytology ; Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods ; Laboratories ; Microscopy/methods ; Models, Biological ; RNA, Messenger/genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Research Design ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Students/psychology ; Thinking ; Zebrafish/embryology

Engaging undergraduates in research is essential for teaching them to think like scientists, and it has become a desired component of classroom and laboratory instruction. Research projects that span an entire semester expose students to a variety of concepts and techniques and allow students to use experiments to learn scientific principles, understand why specific techniques are applicable, critically analyze varied data, and examine how experimentation leads to acquiring knowledge. To provide an experience with these features, a semester long research project was integrated into a combined lecture and laboratory course, Molecular Biology. The project utilized the zebrafish model to examine gene expression during embryonic development and required students to develop and test hypotheses about the timing of expression of previously uncharacterized genes. The main goals for the project were to provide opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills required for conducting research and to support the content goals of the course. To determine whether these goals were met, student performance on the steps of the project and related pre-test and post-test questions was examined. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(6):565-573, 2016.
(© 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.)

Keywords: gene expression; integration of research into undergraduate teaching; molecular biology

0 (RNA, Messenger)
0 (Zebrafish Proteins)

Date Created: 20160528 Date Completed: 20170516 Latest Revision: 20170516

20240829

10.1002/bmb.20983

27229632