Heather Allison: Helping students take control of their laboratory learning
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Transcript of Heather Allison: Helping students take control of their laboratory learning
DR. H.E. ALLISON
SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
HELPING STUDENTS TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR
LABORATORY LEARNING
Background
• School separated practical and lecture-based
teaching
• Students, in the main, disliked practical
classes
• Most students report highlight of their
honours year is their project
• Why the discrepancy?
• Enrolled in the PGC TL HE
What students liked and disliked
Liked
Practicals
Working with staff &
demonstrators
Disliked
Practicals
Doing “pointless experiments”
without understanding “why” or
sometimes even how they
work
Long & boring
Poor use of time
Honours Project
Unsure of themselves at
the start of the project
Honours Project
Working on their own project
(ownership)
Freedom to design experiments
The ability to carry a project from
one stage to the next
Interacting with staff & post-
graduates/ post-docs
Design an All-Encompassing
Microbiological Practical
• Not supported by lecture material – freestanding
• 6wk module, running 1 full day/wk
• Required for microbiology students, open to anyone
• Should help prepare future honours students to safely work on 3rd year projects
• Try to combine “good” elements of honours project in a classroom setting
• Provide students with a feeling of ownership and purpose
• Encompass best teaching and learning practices as far as possible
Design:
Ensure that students are capable of:
• Handling basic laboratory equipment
• Aseptic technique
• Handling microorganisms
• Understanding laboratory hazards and risk
assessment
Design:
Provide a platform for students to run their own projects:
• Limited experience
• Large demand on supervisory capabilities
• Student must receive lots of detailed instruction and
guidance, but still retain the “feeling of independence”
Enhance Experience
Week Morning Lunch Afternoon
1
9:00-9:30
Talk HEA
9:30-12:00 Threonine
Deaminase Assay
12:15-13:00
Workshop AJM
13:00-
14:00
14:00-17:00 Independent
projects
2
9:00-12:15 Bacteriophage Titration &
Plaque Picking
12:15-13:00
Workshop JEM
13:00-
14:00
14:00-17:00 Independent
Projects
3
9:00-9:45
workshop on
Poster and Doc.
Prep. HEA
10:00-13:00 Independent Projects13:00-
14:00
14:00-17:00 Independent
Projects
49:00-9:45
Workshop JEM
10:00-13:00 Independent Projects 13:00-
14:00
14:00-17:00 Independent
Projects
5
9:00-12:15 Differential and Selective
Media
12:15-13:00
Workshop DLS
13:00-
14:00
14:00-17:00 Independent
Projects
6
9:00-10:00 Talk
AJM10:30-13:00 Project Presentations
13:00-
14:0014:00-? Project Present.
New Situations
• Designed in first year to accommodate 38 students
• Last year, 67 students were enrolled in the module
• Upcoming year may bring an additional 50 students
• Staff have limited time to cope with this module
Better organisation
Supervision
If all students are doing the same thing, hazards are:
• Easy to identify
• Easier to prevent
• Potential timescale
Each group of students is potentially doing something
different:
• Students can be guided towards certain goals
• Students can be exposed to COSHH (control of
substances hazardous to health)
Student Experience
Greatest complaints are :
• Feeling “lost and confused” about projects in the first 1-3 weeks
• Feeling like there isn’t enough time
• Not being able to spend enough time on the project
• Wanting to work in the lab extra days without being able to do so
Get to know the academic staff very well:
+20 summer studentships
Requires Good Postgraduate
Demonstrator Training• Good for the post-gradaute demonstrator
• Scientific process
• Thinking on your feet
• Academic staff present for immediate guidance
• Regular weekly meetings
• Long term goals
• Short term goals
• Problem areas
• Safety concerns
• Strategies for dealing with problems
• Scientific
• Interpersonal
Demonstrator Notebooks
• Each demonstrator write up “goals” for 2-3
research groups (Thursday afternoon)
• E-mail electronic version to me (Friday afternoon)
• I highlight specific “challenges”
• We meet on the Monday before Thursday practical
• Technical support staff highlight difficulties
• Problems are identified, discussed and strategies
put into place
• Technical support are consulted on and informed of
appropriate strategies