Mark A. Wallert

Bringing the Excitement and Motivation of Research to Students; Using Inquiry and Research-Based Learning in a Year-Long Biochemistry Laboratory: Part II--Research-Based Laboratory--A Semester-Long Research Approach Using Malate Dehydrogenase as a Research Model.

Research‐based learning in a teaching environment is an effective way to help bring the excitement and experience of independent bench research to a large number of students. The program described here is the second of a two‐semester biochemistry laboratory series. Here, students are empowered to design, execute and analyze their own experiments for the entire semester. This style of laboratory replaces a variety of shorter labs in favor of an in depth research‐based learning experience. The concept is to allow students to function in independent research groups. The research projects are focused on a series of wild‐type and mutant clones of malate dehydrogenase. A common research theme for the laboratory helps instructors administer the course and is key to delivering a research opportunity to a large number of students. The outcome of this research‐based learning laboratory results in students who are much more confident and skilled in critical areas in biochemistry and molecular biology. Students with research experience have significantly higher confidence and motivation than those students without a previous research experience. We have also found that all students performed better in advanced courses and in the workplace.

Integrating Standard Operating Procedures and Industry Notebook Standards to Evaluate Students in Laboratory Courses.

To enhance the preparedness of graduates from the Biochemistry and Biotechnology (BCBT) Major at Minnesota State University Moorhead for employment in the bioscience industry we have developed a new Industry certificate program. The BCBT Industry Certificate was developed to address specific skill sets that local, regional, and national industry experts identified as lacking in new B.S. and B.A. biochemistry graduates. The industry certificate addresses concerns related to working in a regulated industry such as Good Laboratory Practices, Good Manufacturing Practices, and working in a Quality System. In this article we specifically describe how we developed a validation course that uses Standard Operating Procedures to describe grading policy and laboratory notebook requirements in an effort to better prepare students to transition into industry careers.