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Assessing student skills in laboratory and research experiences (348.4)
Author(s) -
Caldwell Benjamin
Publication year - 2014
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.28.1_supplement.348.4
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , grasp , workforce , medical education , psychology , the internet , graduate students , computer science , mathematics education , pedagogy , medicine , world wide web , artificial intelligence , economics , programming language , economic growth
Undergraduate students completing biochemistry and molecular biology programs need not only a firm grasp on the essential concepts of the field, but they also need the skills to use and communicate that knowledge. Through a series of workshops supported by an RCN‐UBE grant, ASBMB has been working to build a network of BMB faculty to identify the essential skills students should have upon completing their undergraduate training. Over the course of two years workshop participants identified key skills BMB students should possess in order to move into the workforce or go on to graduate or professional schools. Having the ability to work reliably in the laboratory is an obvious target. Students should know how to develop a hypothesis, design experiments using appropriate methods and controls and be able to analyze and interpret data. They should be able to search for and capably read primary literature, and as well as knowing how to use data bases and internet based resources. In addition to these skills, students should have a firm understanding of to work safely in a laboratory. They should also know how science is communicated to a variety of audiences (peers and lay people). Gauging the ability of students to perform tasks and skills and the state of effective skills based assessment tools for measuring student capabilities in the laboratory and beyond will be discussed. Supported by NSF Grant 0957205.