31st Annual ABLE Conference

Presenter: Paul Hyde
Title: Podcasts in Biology Laboratory Education
Enrollment: Limited to 20
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

Podcasts can be an effective tool to complement class sessions by delivering original multimedia content to computers and mobile devices. A well-designed podcast assignment can improve understanding, retention, and lab preparedness. This session will take a hands-on approach as you discuss the possibilities and create your own podcast. We’ll start by showcasing exemplary models of the three primary podcast formats (audio only, audio and images, and video) and reviewing the podcasting experiences of biology faculty.

Using the University of Delaware’s new Student Multimedia Design Center and experienced instructors, you’ll take a podcast project from start to finish. Bring an idea for recording a script (or take one of ours) and we'll guide you through the steps involved to create an enhanced podcast package. The session will explore how to write effective scripts, how to select appropriate media (audio, images, text, video), how to optimize an audio recording, and options for having your podcast hosted online. The latest equipment will be available and recommendations will be provided for assembling your own podcast studio.

This session will also discuss planning guidelines, course integration and grading, and the advantages and disadvantages for using podcasts online. Participants will be separated into Windows and Macintosh computer sites to work through the hands-on exercises. Video podcasts will be demonstrated, but the exercises and project will focus on the enhanced podcast format that uses only audio and images.

Participants will be encouraged to gather images and audio impressions of the conference for the creation of a “podcast post card” during a mini-workshop on the last day of the conference.

Attendees can find updated information about this session at: http://www.udel.edu/smdc/training/able/

[Note: a follow-up mini workshop is anticipated. The mini workshop will allow participants from the major workshop to return at the end of the conference to complete their own “podcast post card” featuring their images and commentary from the conference.]

Presenter: A. Daniel (Dan) Johnson, Wake Forest University
Title: Teaching Bioethics and Professional Conduct Through Problem-Based Learning
Enrollment: Limited to 45
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

Members of the scientific community are expected to meet high standards of integrity, accuracy, and objectivity. Sadly, misbehavior and misconduct are being reported ever more often. In response, many federal agencies now require graduate students, post–doctoral fellows, and even undergraduates supported with grant dollars receive training in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). However, an effective program goes beyond just teaching students the “rules” of RCR or formal philosophical ideals; it provides a framework of functional ethical decision-making skills students can use to guide them when there are no formal rules.

How can instructors provide effective RCR/professional ethics training for undergraduate and graduate students, given the large differences in their goals and needs? One solution is a modular Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach. We have developed a PBL course that leads graduate students through a series of cases highlighting specific RCR and professional conduct issues. Cases illustrate situations students likely will face in their own training or early career, and are presented in a highly engaging format. By selecting different cases, the course can be adapted to meet the learning goals and suit the interests of a wide variety of audiences, from non-majors to graduate students.

In the first half of the workshop, participants will work through an abbreviated case in small groups, so they can experience the PBL process from the students’ perspective. In Part 2, participants will learn how cases are developed and the course is managed. During the workshop participants will compile a shared list of potential case topics suitable for undergraduates.

After completing the workshop, participants who want to obtain additional supporting materials, share resources, or collaborate on new case development or their own courses can join a shared electronic workspace maintained by the workshop presenters.

Presenters: Kristen Miller and Cara Gormally, University of Georgia
Title: Adopting Writing Intensive Strategies to Teach Biology in Laboratory Environments
Enrollment: Limited to 24
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

This major workshop is an extension of a mini-workshop given at ABLE 2008: “Strategies for Responding to Student Laboratory Writing Assignments.” Extensive research indicates that engaging students in the process of writing enables them to demonstrate greater understanding of content and concepts while also encouraging metacognitive strategies. However, course instructors are often averse to employing writing as a means of learning and assessment due to the anticipated time it takes to create effective writing assignments and then grade them. The Biology Division at the University of Georgia currently employs the guidelines of the Writing Intensive Program (WIP) in two introductory biology laboratory courses (one non-majors course and one majors course). WIP guidelines are designed to be adopted by any discipline and aim to help improve 1) students’ abilities to compose text, evaluate peers’ writing, and think critically about writing content; 2) instructors’ abilities to grade and give feedback to student writing; and 3) instructors’ own writing. This major workshop will consist of the following activities: 1) a presentation and discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of WIP guidelines; 2) opportunities for participants to practice using WIP responding strategies as they apply to different stages of student writing; 3) opportunities for participants to compare and discuss their current responding strategies as well as responses from teaching assistants (TAs) who have and have not experienced WIP training; 4) a discussion of the importance of training teaching assistants (TA) to communicate the writing process as it relates to science; and 5) a discussion of the “effectiveness” of employing WIP principles in introductory biology laboratories as self-described by both the undergraduates enrolled in these labs and the TAs teaching them and of TAs’ self-reported perceived benefits of receiving WIP training.

Presenters: Isabelle Barrette-Ng and Don MacMillan, University of Calgary
Title: Toward a Deeper Understanding: Linking Mendelian genetics with molecular genetics using Web-based bioinformatics tools
Enrollment: Limited to 25
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

In most universities and colleges, the traditional model of teaching introductory genetics begins with a description of classical Mendelian genetics that is followed by a somewhat abrupt transition to modern topics of molecular genetics. Bioinformatics, if covered at all in an introductory course, is usually presented as an add-on topic towards the end of the course. We re-evaluated this traditional model and asked whether the teaching of traditional Mendelian and molecular genetics topics could be improved by integrating the use of bioinformatics tools into the existing curriculum. To address this question, we implemented a month-long, inquiry-based, experiential learning laboratory exercise. In this exercise, students investigated classical and molecular genetics aspects of a genetically inheritable disease using basic bioinformatics science tools such as Pubmed, OMIM and BLAST, as well as more practical and applied tools such as the Google Patents search engine. Our experiences in implementing this inquiry-based, experiential learning approach in a large (>500 students), second-year undergraduate, introductory genetics course for biology majors revealed a number of challenges and opportunities. A particularly important element in the success of our experiment in large enrollment classes was a comprehensive plan to use the university library’s resources and expertise. This enabled us to develop an interactive, hands-on workshop to expose students to bioinformatics tools that was reinforced throughout the classroom lecture component of the introductory genetics course. This exercise led to a high level of student satisfaction and a more integrated introduction to classical and molecular genetics.

Presenters: Jane Caldwell and Kristi Teagarden, West Virginia University
Title: Inquiry-Based Investigation on the Genetics and Molecular Biology of Corn Albinism
Enrollment: Limited to 16
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

This inquiry-based exercise spans two weeks in lab. Students examine the molecular biology and inheritance of the trait of “albinism” (chlorophyll deficiency) in corn. Students examine 3 week old corn plants grown from a monohybrid cross, in which the recessive gene is for chlorophyll deficiency. The nature of the original cross is not revealed to the students. Students form hypotheses about the cause of the albino trait, including the number of genes involved, how they are inherited, and what the effect on the protein composition will be. During the lab exercise students count the number of plants and calculate ratios. They use these data and Punnett squares to examine inheritance, and also examine the effects of sample size by comparing ratios calculated from different numbers of plants. They also extract full cellular protein from white and green leaves, and run those extracts on a gel. Students compare extracts from white versus green corn to determine how many proteins were involved in causing the trait. They compare their results from genetic analysis and gel electrophoresis to validate or revise their original hypotheses. From this lab, students learn the basics of genetics, gel electrophoresis, and sample size in an inquiry-based format. This lab is intended for non-science majors, and has been streamlined to occur over two, two-hour lab periods in consecutive weeks—but can easily be adapted for more advanced classes. Such adaptations could include (1) more extensive involvement in reagent and sample preparation, (2) more involvement in preparing, running, and loading the gel, and (3) examination of the original literature on chlorophyll deficiency, to determine which specific gene is involved.

Presenter: Brenda Leicht, The University of Iowa
Title: Using "Reverse Genetics" to Learn the Biological Function of a Gene
Enrollment: Limited to 20
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

With the completion of the genome sequencing projects of many model genetic organisms, the next major task is to determine the function of all of the genes. Reverse genetics is a powerful approach to achieve this goal. In this approach, functional study of a gene starts with the gene sequence rather than a mutant phenotype. Using techniques such as insertional mutagenesis, a gene's function is altered and the effect on the organism is analyzed. Because its genome has been completely sequenced, the small dicotyledonous plant Arabidopsis thaliana is particularly amenable to reverse genetics. Moreover, many Arabidopsis resources are publicly available and plants are easy to grow. The Arabidopsis research community has generated a large collection of T-DNA insertion lines and the Salk Institute Genome Analysis Laboratory (SIGnAL) has used high-throughput sequencing methods to identify the sites of T-DNA insertion within the genome. The T-DNA insertions not only alter the genes into which they insert but serve as tags for identifying the sites of insertion. As part of a laboratory course in Genetics and Biotechnology, we have developed an exercise in which students use the TAIR and SIGnAL websites to identify T-DNA insertion mutations in a gene of interest. Using the SIGnAL website, they design PCR primers that will distinguish plants that are homozygous for, heterozygous for, or completely lacking the T-DNA insertion. Seed stocks of insertion lines for the gene of interest are obtained from the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center at Ohio State, grown to seedling stage and DNA is extracted from the leaves of individual plants for genotyping by PCR. This exercise not only introduces students to the power of reverse genetics, it reinforces basic concepts in gene segregation through the genotyping of individual T3 plants from insertion lines.

Presenter: Robert J. Kosinski, Clemson University
Title: Using Yeast Fermentation to Suggest and Then Challenge a Model
Enrollment: Limited to 24
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

In the simplest version of this activity, students mix up a yeast suspension and then inoculate it into glucose solutions of several concentrations. Because the yeast are very crowded, oxygen disappears and fermentation of the sugar soon starts producing large amounts of CO2. This CO2 production can be measured by observing the size of the bubble of gas that forms in the top of the closed fermentation chamber. As long as no gas escapes from the vial and the rate of gas production is rapid, the amount of gas visible is directly proportional to the amount of sugar in solution. Use of glucose dipsticks confirms that the glucose concentration in the solution declines from high to undetectable once gas production stops. This suggests a simple model of yeast fermentation—glucose in solution is converted into CO2 in the gas bubble. To challenge this simple model, students can perform parallel experiments in which the glucose concentration remains high but the yeast concentration is varied. This discloses that below approximately 25% of the usual yeast concentration, gas production appears to cease although glucose still declines. This may be caused by the fact that relatively uncrowded yeast remain aerobic and do not experience the Pasteur Effect (increase in metabolism under anaerobic conditions). The yeast consequently have such a low rate of CO2 evolution that the rate of gas evolution is equal to the rate of gas dissolution in the solution, and no visible gas appears. Thus the experiment both creates a simple quantitative model, and then challenges it with more complex considerations of control of yeast metabolism and the dynamics of gaseous CO2 in a yeast culture.

Presenter: Janice Bonner, College of Notre Dame of Maryland
Title: Staining and Observing Cells in the Cell Cycle
Enrollment: Limited to 18
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

The cell cycle is a topic covered in many introductory biology courses. Laboratory exercises frequently consist of either observing prepared slides of plant and animal cells or preparing root tip squashes and observing the cells. This workshop presents a more thought-provoking method of introducing students to staining and observing cells in the cell cycle.

Students are presented with a scenario in which a food crop is thought to be affected by a soil fungus. It is suspected that the fungus secretes a lectin-like compound into the soil. An alumna of the college, a mycologist involved in the situation, has sent two sets of root tips of the plant—one exposed to the fungus and one unexposed—with the request that students in the introductory course determine whether the rate of mitosis has been affected by the exposure. Students learn that lectins are known to accelerate mitosis. They explore how observations of non-living root tip cells can yield information about the rate of cell division. They hypothesize that if mitosis is speeded up, there will be fewer cells in mitosis in the exposed root tips than in unexposed tips. In a blind study, they use the Feulgen-Schiff reaction to stain the two sets of tips and count the number of cells in interphase and in each stage of mitosis. They use class data to compare the percentage of cells in mitosis in the two sets of tips and determine whether the difference is significant by carrying out a chi-square analysis. This activity can be carried out in a 3-hour laboratory period if adequate pre-lab preparation is done by students. To prepare for this laboratory exercise, two sets of onion root tips are prepared; one set of tips is exposed to lectin for the final days of root tip growth.

Participants will be given the opportunity to experience this laboratory exercise as a student in an introductory biology course. They will be led through a discussion of the problem found in the scenario. They will be presented with the question: How can you determine whether mitosis is proceeding quickly or slowly if you are only observing dead root tip cells? They will be led through an analogy that helps them to make the connection between the time needed to complete an activity and the number of actors carrying out that activity. Time will be allotted for groups of participants to stain and squash the two sets of root tips and obtain sufficient class data for analysis. Participants will be led through steps of data analysis to convert total number of cells in each cycle stage to percentage of cells. They will be led through setting up a contingency table and carrying out a chi-square analysis.

Presenters: Seung M. Hong and Gary Laverty, University of Delaware
Title: Fundulus Melanophores: From Physiology to Cell Biology
Enrollment: Limited to 20
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

Background color adaptation in lower vertebrates is a great subject for investigative physiology laboratory classes. The complete color change is relatively fast and reversible. Moreover, the control mechanisms for this physiological color change are complex and diverse among species, allowing many follow-up studies. Dermal melanophores in the killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus), in particular, are responsible for darkened dorsal skin against a black background and can be easily observed for indexing under low magnifications. To complement these animal observations, isolated scales can be studies in vitro addressing questions about cell signaling and cytoskeletal motor proteins. For the workshop, we propose to conduct three experiments; 1) Differential time course for darkening and paling of dorsal skin in fishes subjected to black or while background, 2) Observation of dermal melanophores in dorsal scales from dark or pale fish, and 3) Effects of K+ rich saline on melanosome movement in dermal melanophores. The observed data will be analyzed and discussed in regards to possible regulatory mechanisms for physiological color changes in this species. In addition, the conclusions and implications will be transformed into research questions as well as possible experimental designs for future studies. These experimental approaches correlate phenomena observed in the whole organism with microscopic events taking place at the cell level, and present students with opportunities to investigate a variety of regulatory mechanisms at the interface of physiology and cell biology.

In this session, we will begin each experiment with prediction exercises in which the participants have an opportunity to think ahead and write as a group activity the expected outcome of the experiment based on the previous literature. Then we will conduct the experiment in groups. The last component of the session will be a reflection exercise in which we analyze the experimental data and propose possible future studies for independent research projects.

The best way to experience this study is to perform the three experiments in sequence. However, there is a possibility that the whole process might take longer than 3 hours depending on the number of the participants as well as the facility situation. In that case, we will assign each group an experiment as a group project and conduct the experiments simultaneously. Also we will work on prediction and reflection exercises as a class activity possibly led by each group.

Presenters: Kathleen Nolan, Tara Glover, Allen Burdowski, Islam Aly, Franchette Viloria, and Eugene DiDnoato, St. Francis College
Title: From Herbivory to Egg Counting: The Use of Digital Microscopy and Image J to Capture Image and Analyze Data for Ecology Projects
Enrollment: Limited to 18
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

Ecology labs can be enhanced by the use of digital photomicroscopy and the free software program, Image J. Images of leaves that have undergone damage by herbivory by insects can be captured with a Motic digital camera and analyses such as total area of damage can be conducted using Image J. Another use of Image J is cell counting. Gravid (egg-bearing) Palaemonetes spp. shrimp can be collected in the wild (or collected and shipped live by Gulf Specimen Marine Lab). Eggs can be counted more accurately with the assistance of Image J, and egg counts (fecundity) can be compared across species and location. These two projects are just two of many projects that could be conducted with the assistance of this technology. Participants in this workshop will scan leaves and count eggs from frozen gravid shrimp, take pictures and analyze data with Image J.

Presenter: Debby Luquette
Title: Competition - Why are "Weeds" So Successful?
Enrollment: Limited to 24
Session 1, 8:30am - 11:30am
Session 2, 2pm - 5pm

The students engaged in this exercise, designed for non-majors and first-semester environmental science students, have often had very little lab experience. This exercise looks at plant competition in which two garden plants stand in for two common weeds; spinach and black mustard stand in for lamb’s-quarters (Chenopodium album) and garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis) respectively. By the time they carry out this lab exercise, many students have encountered garlic mustard, an exotic species and noxious weed. Both wild species germinate and grow in the same conditions in late summer, though lamb’s-quarter flowers in the fall and garlic mustard, a winter annual, blooms the following spring. This exercise looks at the growth characteristics of their early weeks, when both allocate resources to roots and shoots. The students determine if there is any difference in allocation of resources to shoot or root growth of black mustard and spinach, each grown by themselves in pots. They will compare these characteristics to black mustard and spinach grown together, at the same density as the plants grown by themselves, to see if they is some difference in resource allocation when they are in a competitive situation.

For many of these students writing a lab report is a novel experience, and the second purpose for this exercise is to prepare students to analyze a more complex lab problem and write a formal lab report in the coming weeks. This exercise asks them to interpret data and make graphs. The questions in the discussion portion of this lab exercise are meant to serve as a model to help guide students through the type of questions they should ask themselves in the following exercise in the semester’s lab sequence.