DNA Barcoding: Integrating Active Research Experiences into Undergraduate Education
Abstract
The traditional undergraduate program of study incorporates a selection of classes that represent a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines. Unfortunately few curricula successfully integrate concepts in all sub-disciplines, leaving undergraduates discouraged by an apparent lack of application or connectedness between class subjects. At Georgia Gwinnett College we have initiated a comprehensive research program that attempts to redress this problem by bridging classes within one discipline in an effort to engage undergraduate students in a long-term analysis of biodiversity. Our approach is inclusive- lower and upper-division undergraduates coordinate class research projects for a common goal, and longitudinal- research data collected will be maintained and supplemented each semester and year in an online biodiversity database (DNA Barcoding Project). The biodiversity research bridge we have initiated brings students from different classes and levels of instruction together with faculty in a research project aimed at chronicling the changing face of the local environment in biological terms. Though we have concentrated on one discipline there is no reason to assume other disciplines could not take advantage of similar research connections.
Location
Atrium/Concourse
Recommended Citation
Russell, James; D'Costa, Allison; Runck, Clay; Barrera, Alessandra; Haining, Robert; Schlueter, Mark; and Barnes, David, "DNA Barcoding: Integrating Active Research Experiences into Undergraduate Education " (2012). SoTL Commons Conference. 74.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2012/74
DNA Barcoding: Integrating Active Research Experiences into Undergraduate Education
Atrium/Concourse
The traditional undergraduate program of study incorporates a selection of classes that represent a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines. Unfortunately few curricula successfully integrate concepts in all sub-disciplines, leaving undergraduates discouraged by an apparent lack of application or connectedness between class subjects. At Georgia Gwinnett College we have initiated a comprehensive research program that attempts to redress this problem by bridging classes within one discipline in an effort to engage undergraduate students in a long-term analysis of biodiversity. Our approach is inclusive- lower and upper-division undergraduates coordinate class research projects for a common goal, and longitudinal- research data collected will be maintained and supplemented each semester and year in an online biodiversity database (DNA Barcoding Project). The biodiversity research bridge we have initiated brings students from different classes and levels of instruction together with faculty in a research project aimed at chronicling the changing face of the local environment in biological terms. Though we have concentrated on one discipline there is no reason to assume other disciplines could not take advantage of similar research connections.
