| Abstract Detail
Education & Outreach Hawke, Scott [1], Stavrianeas, Stasinos [2], Tallman, Gary [3]. An investigative laboratory for integrated plant and animal physiology at the sophomore-level at Willamette University. Physiological Dynamics in Animals and Plants (http://www.willamette.edu/cla/biology/biol244/) is an integrated, sophomore-level physiology course required of biology majors. Early course lectures stress differences in macro-physiological mechanisms used by plants and animals for internal transport and gas exchange, energy transduction, and nutrient processing. Subsequent lectures emphasize commonalities in cellular physiological mechanisms such as regulation of membrane electric potential and signal transduction. The first six weeks of lab exercises introduce students to computerized data acquisition techniques in plant and animal physiology. Over the final eight weeks, student teams carry out research investigations of their own design. Each team must develop a testable hypothesis; design experiments to test the hypothesis; collect and analyze data; present project results in a course symposium; and write a summary paper. The lab assessment plan includes pre- and post-course student self-assessment, student assessment of lab team members, and assessment of students by professors. Desired student learning outcomes are development of abilities to acquire data with a computer; overcome technical problems in the lab; correct flawed experimental designs; solve scientific problems; recognize and analyze patterns among data; critically evaluate experiments; draw reasoned conclusions from data; interpret physiological studies; and draw appropriate parallels between plant and animal physiology. Ca. 150 students have completed assessment instruments; preliminary results will be presented. Use of course equipment in various K-12 outreach programs will also be discussed. Funded by grant 0309545 from NSF’s Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement Program.
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Related Links:
Web page for Physiological Dynamics in Animals and Plants
1 - Willamette University, Biology
2 - Willamette University, Exercise Science
3 - Willamette University, Biology, 900 State Street, Salem, OR, 97301, USA
Keywords:
integrated physiology
physiology education
introductory course
undergraduate
outreach
laboratory
course assessment.
Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P46001
Abstract ID:48 |
