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A problem‐based strategy for the experimental module design in life science
Author(s) -
farh lynn
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a864-a
Subject(s) - computer science , class (philosophy) , sample (material) , set (abstract data type) , process (computing) , interpretation (philosophy) , flowchart , mathematics education , artificial intelligence , mathematics , programming language , chemistry , chromatography
Training the students in becoming familiar with basic techniques is an important goal for all the undergraduate lab courses, but the ability to apply these techniques to solve a real‐world question is even more crucial for their career development. In order to give the students a taste on how a real problem is solved, I have developed problem‐based module experiments start from a real life or research question. Here I present one such module which involves employing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the key technique. The module started from the question !§How to identify the lactobacillus species in my yogurt drink! ¨ . Students were asked to find a molecular approach to distinguish the differences among these species. In brief, students need to look for the possible species in a yogurt drink from literature, collect cells from the yogurt drink, extract the genomic DNA, design a set of primers for species differentiation, perform PCR, analyze the PCR products, and interpret the result. Given that a number of computer analyses are required for the whole process, a dry lab protocol was formulated for the students as guidance, which also illustrates the powerfulness of bioinformatic tools nowadays. Moreover, since each student group chose their own sample, there is no standard answer for this experiment. A trouble‐shooting flowchart therefore created to facilitate data interpretation. Students in my class reflect their appreciation about these problem‐based modules and think the designed experiments will help them with technical application and problem‐solving. (This work is supported by grant NSC 94‐2511‐S‐153‐004‐)