Search

The American Society for Microbiology's curricular guidelines for Introductory Microbiology highlighted key laboratory skills in the isolation, visualization and identification of microorganisms as core learning objectives in the discipline. Since the publication of these guidelines in 2012, there has been a paucity of diagnostic assessment tools in the literature that can be used to assess competencies in the microbiology laboratory. This project aimed to establish a laboratory competency examination for introductory microbiology, with tasks specifically aligned to laboratory skills and learning outcomes outlined in curricular guidelines for microbiology. A Laboratory Competency Examination assessing student skills in light microscopy, Gram-staining, pure culture, aseptic technique, serial dilution, dilution calculations and pipetting was developed at The University of Queensland, Australia. The Laboratory Competency Examination was field-tested in a large introductory microbiology subject (∼400 students), and student performance and learning gains data were collected from 2016 to 2017 to evaluate the validity of the assessment. The resulting laboratory assessment is presented as an endpoint diagnostic tool for assessing laboratory competency that can be readily adapted towards different educational contexts.

Inquiry-driven learning, research internships and course-based undergraduate research experiences all represent mechanisms through which educators can engage undergraduate students in scientific research. In life sciences education, the benefits of undergraduate research have been thoroughly evaluated, but limitations in infrastructure and training can prevent widespread uptake of these practices. It is not clear how faculty members can integrate complex laboratory techniques and equipment into their unique context, while finding the time and resources to implement undergraduate research according to best practice guidelines. This review will go through the trends and patterns in inquiry-based undergraduate life science projects with particular emphasis on molecular biosciences-the research-aligned disciplines of biochemistry, molecular cell biology, microbiology, and genomics and bioinformatics. This will provide instructors with an overview of the model organisms, laboratory techniques and research questions that are adaptable for semester-long projects, and serve as starting guidelines for course-based undergraduate research., (© FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)