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

Special Thanks

• Fellow academic staff in School of Biological Sciences

• Postgraduate demonstrators

• Technical support staff associated with teaching labs

With special thanks to and in Memory of Joyce Regan