Evolution of a self-renewing, participant-centered workshop series in BMB assessment.

We present as a case study the evolution of a series of participant-centered workshops designed to meet a need in the life sciences education community-the incorporation of best practices in the assessment of student learning. Initially, the ICABL (Inclusive Community for the Assessment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/BMB Learning) project arose from a grass-roots effort to develop material for a national exam in biochemistry and molecular biology. ICABL has since evolved into a community of practice in which participants themselves-through extensive peer review and reflection-become integral stakeholders in the workshops. To examine this evolution, this case study begins with a pilot workshop supported by seed funding and thoughtful programmatic assessment, the results of which informed evidence-based changes that, in turn, led to an improved experience for the community. Using participant response data, the case study also reveals critical features for successful workshops, including participant-centered activities and the value of frequent peer review of participants' products. Furthermore, we outline a train-the-trainer model for creating a self-renewing community by bringing new perspectives and voices into an existing core leadership team. This case study, then, offers a blueprint for building a thriving, evolving community of practice that not only serves the needs of individual scientist-educators as they seek to enhance student learning, but also provides a pathway for elevating members to positions of leadership.

[Practices of integrating the undergraduate and graduate teaching of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology].

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are the cornerstone courses of talent training in the field of life science. Taking these course as an example, this study explored reconstructing the knowledge framework, developing teaching cases, sharing teaching resources, innovating teaching means and establishing ideological education patterns. Supported by the scientific research achievements with discipline characteristics and online teaching platform, this research explored and practiced an integrated curriculum reform mode. This mode is guided by scientific research and education, based on the course development, and driven by communication and cooperation. A shared space of "exchange, practice, openness and informatization" was developed to achieve free and independent integration of undergraduate and graduate teaching motivated by learning knowledge, resulting in an effective student training.

Assessing how well students understand the molecular basis of evolution by natural selection.

Researchers have called for undergraduate courses to update teaching frameworks based on the Modern Synthesis with insights from molecular biology, by stressing the molecular underpinnings of variation and adaptation. To support this goal, we developed a modified version of the widely used Assessing Conceptual Reasoning of Natural Selection (ACORNS) instrument. The expanded tool, called the E-ACORNS, is explicitly designed to test student understanding of the connections among genotypes, phenotypes, and fitness. E-ACORNS comprises a slight modification to the ACORNS open-response prompts and a new scoring rubric. The rubric is based on five core concepts in evolution by natural selection, with each concept broken into elements at the novice, intermediate, and expert-level understanding. Initial tests of the E-ACORNS showed that (1) upper-level undergraduates can score responses reliably and quickly, and (2) students who were just starting an introductory biology series for majors do not yet grasp the molecular basis of phenotypic variation and its connection to fitness.

Practices of integrating the undergraduate and graduate teaching of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology / 生物工程学报

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are the cornerstone courses of talent training in the field of life science. Taking these course as an example, this study explored reconstructing the knowledge framework, developing teaching cases, sharing teaching resources, innovating teaching means and establishing ideological education patterns. Supported by the scientific research achievements with discipline characteristics and online teaching platform, this research explored and practiced an integrated curriculum reform mode. This mode is guided by scientific research and education, based on the course development, and driven by communication and cooperation. A shared space of "exchange, practice, openness and informatization" was developed to achieve free and independent integration of undergraduate and graduate teaching motivated by learning knowledge, resulting in an effective student training.

An experimental protocol for molecular biology lab at an Amazonian University.

Laboratory-based practical classes are an essential component in teaching molecular biology for undergraduate students. Universidad Regional Amazonica Ikiam is a higher education institution located in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, a high biodiversity place, including amphibians. Based on this, we have established a practical molecular biology program with eight sessions that contextualize the biodiverse surroundings of the University. This program stimulates synchronization of information between theory and practice and improves research skills. During these sessions, students are motivated to identify and characterize antimicrobial peptides from Ecuadorian frog skin secretions, using molecular biology techniques and biochemistry and microbiology knowledge. This practical course was held twice with a total of 56 students from the fifth semester of the biotechnology engineering. The evaluation of the practical program was carried out through a questionnaire applied to students using the Likert scale. Overall, this form of teaching had high receptivity and presented benefits for student learning. Interestingly, 80% of respondents strongly agreed that this course provided tools and knowledge for the development of their undergraduate dissertation. Therefore, practical courses tailored to the student's context can stimulate student learning and interest. Additionally, this experimental methodology is interdisciplinary and can be applied to other research fields and subjects.

Introducing immunohistochemistry to the molecular biology laboratory.

Widely used in research laboratories, immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a transferable skill that prepares undergraduate students for a variety of careers in the biomedical field. We have developed an inquiry-based learning IHC laboratory exercise, which introduces students to the theory, procedure, and data interpretation of antibody staining. Students are tasked with performing IHC using an "unknown" antibody and then asked to identify the cells or molecular structures within the nervous systems specific for that unknown antibody. In two lab sessions, students are exposed to handling of delicate brain slices, fluorescent microscopy, and data analysis using the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA), an online freely accessible database of mRNA transcript expression patterns in the brain. Here, we present guidelines for easy implementation in the classroom and assess learning gains achieved by the students upon completion of the IHC laboratory module. Students clearly displayed an increase in knowledge in data interpretation, procedural knowledge, and theory surrounding IHC. Thus, this module works as an inquiry-based learning based method to introduce IHC principles to undergraduate students.

Demonstrating core molecular biology principles using GST-GFP in a semester-long laboratory course.

Undergraduate laboratory courses are essential to teaching core principles in STEM. This course, Quantitative Biological Methods, provides a unique approach to teaching molecular biology research techniques to students, in a laboratory that is delivered in a sequence that parallels standard biomedical research laboratory protocols. Students attend a lecture where they are taught the essential principles of biomedical research, and a lab where they learn to use laboratory equipment, perform experiments, and purify and quantify DNA and proteins. The course begins with an introduction to laboratory safety, pipetting, centrifugation, spectrophotometry, and other basic laboratory techniques. Next, the lab focuses on the purification and analysis of glutathione S-transferase (GST) fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) from an Escherichia coli lysate. Students study this GST-GFP fusion protein and perform protein quantification, enzyme assays, chromatography, fluorescent detection, normalization, SDS-PAGE, and western blotting. Students then learn recombinant DNA technology using the GST-GFP vector that was the source of the fusion protein in the prior labs, and perform ligation, transformation of E. coli cells, blue/white screening, DNA purification via a miniprep, PCR, DNA quantification, restriction enzyme digestion, and agarose gel electrophoresis. Students write laboratory reports to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of the laboratory methods, and they must present and critically analyze their data. The lab methods described herein aim to emphasize the core molecular biology principles and techniques, prepare students for work in a biomedical research laboratory, and introduce students to both GST and GFP, two versatile laboratory proteins.

Synthetic biology as a tool to online teaching undergraduate level molecular biology.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, all on-campus activities were required to be adapted to a distance-learning format, which was especially challenging for practical courses. Molecular biology is a mandatory course for biology undergraduates at Universidade Federal Fluminense. To overcome the impossibility of practical activities, we proposed problem-solving synthetic biology assignments to review and consolidate the knowledge acquired in the molecular biology course. A survey indicated that the synthetic biology challenges were effective to promote students' active learning and worked as a proper substitute to the practical classes.

Problem solving in the time of coronavirus pandemic.

Problem solving, multiple-choice question-based educational tools have been used for decades in molecular cell biology courses at the University of Pécs Medical School, Pécs, Hungary. A set of these tests was published in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education between 2002 and 2015. Such tests using an experimental approach help students to understand how living cells function. Besides being tools of education, they can be used for examination purposes as well to assess higher levels of intellectual skills (interpretation and problem solving) acquired by the students. The test presented in this paper is based on parts of an original publication in which the authors described seminal observations on the function of a viral protein in the infection process of SARS-CoV-2. The test is aimed at helping the students to understand the methods used in the experiments, to analyze the data and to draw conclusions from them regarding certain aspects of the mechanism of coronavirus infection.

Connecting research and teaching introductory cell and molecular biology using an Arabidopsis mutant screen.

A complex research project was translated into a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), which was implemented in sections of an introductory Cell and Molecular Biology laboratory course. The research laboratory generated an engineered plant line producing a growth-inhibiting, lipid-derived plant hormone and mutagenized this line. Students in the CURE cultured the mutagenized plant population and selected and characterized suppressor mutants. They learned to observe phenotypes related to the biosynthesis and perception of the plant hormone and explored the genetic and biochemical basis of these phenotypes. As the students studied the relevant genetic, molecular and biochemical concepts during this CURE, they were able to translate this knowledge into practice and develop scientific arguments. This CURE was a successful collaboration between the teaching lab and the research lab. It benefited both parties as the students had a real-life, deep learning experience in scientific methodology, while the research lab gathered data and materials for further studies.

Integrating basic and applied researches of SARS-CoV-2 into the medical molecular biology teaching.

Molecular biology is an important course for medical postgraduates to understand the practice of modern molecular medicine. At present, molecular biology has been widely used in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of clinical medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic forced all universities suspending academic activities and online teaching all over the world, which is a kind of crisis and has become people's memory of the times. The efforts from all sectors of society, include government, research institutions, and enterprises, have gave medical students a profound impact. The integration of memory of the times into molecular biology teaching will enhance students' learning interest and understanding effect.

Innovations in education of the medical molecular biology curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a huge challenge to education systems. Most governments around the world have temporarily closed schools, universities, and colleges. At the same time, teachers and students are encouraged to use the online and distance learning programs and platforms as an alternative. In the present study, we proposed a series of innovative solutions in Medical Molecular Biology education during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, including a flipped classroom model, live streaming course, chat Apps, and scientific papers on COVID-19 as additional learning material. Our results demonstrated that these innovations not only help teachers to maintain the teaching process as usual but also be useful for protecting students from psychological trauma. Our study indicates that online education with a well-designed workflow for conducting provides an alternative approach for teachers to maintain quality education during the onset of the emerging crisis.

A guided-inquiry investigation of genetic variants using Oxford nanopore sequencing for an undergraduate molecular biology laboratory course.

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) has become an important tool in the biological sciences and has a growing number of applications across medical fields. Currently, few undergraduate programs provide training in the design and implementation of NGS applications. Here, we describe an inquiry-based laboratory exercise for a college-level molecular biology laboratory course that uses real-time MinION deep sequencing and bioinformatics to investigate characteristic genetic variants found in cancer cell-lines. The overall goal for students was to identify non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell-lines based on their unique genomic profiles. The units described in this laboratory highlight core principles in multiplex PCR primer design, real-time deep sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis for genetic variants. We found that the MinION device is an appropriate, feasible tool that provides a comprehensive, hands-on NGS experience for undergraduates. Student evaluations demonstrated increased confidence in using molecular techniques and enhanced understanding of NGS concepts. Overall, this exercise provides a pedagogical tool for incorporating NGS approaches in the teaching laboratory as way of enhancing students' comprehension of genomic sequence analysis. Further, this NGS lab module can easily be added to a variety of lab-based courses to help undergraduate students learn current DNA sequencing methods with limited effort and cost.

Mock grant application roleplay as an alternative to lab-based activities in molecular biology.

Many universities resort to online teaching due to COVID-19 pandemic. It is a challenging endeavor, especially in Molecular Biology courses that require lab access. Mock grant application roleplay is one alternative to lab-based activities. Students are engaged in three aspects: (i) targeted literature review, (ii) research proposal writing and (iii) 5-min project pitching. The design of this module is flexible and, other lab-based courses can adopt it. This module encourages undergraduate students to explore the lab techniques they learnt and concisely present their research proposal.

Teaching molecular techniques at home: Molecular biology labs that can be performed anywhere and enable hands-on learning of restriction digestion/ligation and DNA amplification.

COVID 19 has changed about every aspect of life including how we teach in higher education. Laboratory experiments vital for learning hands-on techniques are limited due to social distancing requirements and increased numbers of distance-learning students. The solution to loss of hands-on activities has been to compensate with virtual laboratory modules. Although virtual labs are engaging and offer a simulated hands-on approach to teaching essential molecular techniques, these simulations do not replace hands-on experience. I designed two molecular biology laboratory exercises in response to the current teaching limitations that can be completed 'at-home' and enable low cost hands-on instruction of essential molecular techniques in any distance-learning environment including during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Development of a Certification Exam to Assess Undergraduate Students' Proficiency in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Core Concepts.

With support from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), a community of biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) scientist-educators has developed and administered an assessment instrument designed to evaluate student competence across four core concept and skill areas fundamental to BMB. The four areas encompass energy and metabolism; information storage and transfer; macromolecular structure, function, and assembly; and skills including analytical and quantitative reasoning. First offered in 2014, the exam has now been administered to nearly 4000 students in ASBMB-accredited programs at more than 70 colleges and universities. Here, we describe the development and continued maturation of the exam program, including the organic role of faculty volunteers as drivers and stewards of all facets: content and format selection, question development, and scoring.

Introducing SELEX via a semester-long course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE).

With the growing importance of the field of RNA biology, undergraduates need to perform RNA-related research. Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) has become an important method in RNA biology. The principles of SELEX were applied to a semester-long course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which two rounds of in vivo functional selection of regions of a viral RNA were performed. As the labwork had an unknown outcome, students indicated that they were excited by the work and became invested in the experience. By completing two rounds of SELEX, the students repeated molecular methods (e.g., RNA extraction, RT-PCR, agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, cloning, and sequence analysis) and reported that repetition reinforced their learning and helped them build confidence in their lab abilities. Students also appreciated that they did not learn a "technique-per-week" without context, but rather they understood why certain methods were used for certain molecular tasks. Results from a 19-question multiple-choice assessment indicated increased comprehension of theory underlying methods performed. Details regarding experimental methods and timeline, and assessment and attitudinal results from three student cohorts, are described herein.

Does the absence of SARS-CoV-2 specific genes always exclude the infection? How to interpret RT-PCR results?-The scenario of interactive online workshop.

The aim of this online workshop is to familiarize biomedical faculties students with the principle of RT-PCR method. The following assumption is made, students participating in the workshop: are already familiar with the principle of PCR reaction, can distinguish PCR from RT-PCR, know the basic possibilities of using the above techniques. During the online workshop participants are supposed to learn the interpretation of PCR and RT-PCR results and to understand the crucial importance of controlling the reaction conditions. The workshop involves active students' learning, critical analysis of the data, group discussion, brainstorming method, involvement of e-tools such as pool everywhere or e-learning platforms, as well as interpreting the real-life example results that allows putting the topic in the proper future work-related tasks. The final part of the workshop focuses on the analysis of the RT-PCR results performed in order to confirm or exclude the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in potentially infected individuals. The students are expected to see the practical/work-related part of the knowledge gained during the workshop.

A beginner's guideline for low-cost 3D printing of macromolecules usable for teaching and demonstration.

The structure and function of biomolecules relationship is the hallmark of biochemistry, molecular biology, and life sciences in general. Physical models of macromolecules give students the possibility to manipulate these structures in three dimensions, developing a sense of spatiality and a better understanding of key aspects such as atom size and shape, bond lengths and symmetry. Several molecular model systems were developed specifically to represent particular classes or groups of molecules and hence lack the flexibility of a universal solution. Three-dimensional printing could nevertheless provide such a universal solution, as it can be used to create physical models of biomolecular structures based on the teacher's or demonstrator's needs and requirements. Here, insulin was used as a model molecule and several depiction and printing parameters were tested in order to highlight the technical limitations of the approach. In the end, a set of settings that worked is provided which could serve as a starting point for anyone wishing to print his or her own custom macromolecular model on the cheap.