Undergraduate Laboratory Course Research Articles

Circuit analogue of relativistic aberration of light using low-cost, low-complexity operational amplifier-based all-pass filters

We propose, simulate, and experimentally demonstrate a circuit analogue of a special relativity phenomenon known as relativistic aberration of light (RAL) by using a surprisingly simple, low-cost, and easily accessible electronic circuit-based all-pass filter. This work is useful for two audiences: (i) physicists who are interested in research on circuit analogues; and (ii) physics educators who are interested in using the research results to raise interest among students by incorporating analogue-based learning into undergraduate physics lecture and laboratory courses. For the first type of audience, we present a rigorous theoretical framework describing this RAL-on-an-electronic-chip analogy. We show by (i) analytical modelling, (ii) commercial circuit software simulation, and (iii) experiment that the electrical phase shift Φ of the output signal is analogous to the RAL angle, Ψ. This parameter opens up a path among researchers to model the effects of other relativistic phenomena with electronic circuits. For the second type of audience, we discuss the potential role of RAL-on-an-electronic-chip in physics education (both in lectures and laboratory) that combines students’ learnings of both physics and electronic circuits, at the same time. We also explore briefly its relevance to engineering education.

Full-field optical coherence tomography—An educational setup for an undergraduate lab

Optical coherence tomography, or in short OCT, is a measurement technique established in the early 1990s for the non-invasive imaging of interfaces in the bulk of biological tissues or other samples. A full-field OCT setup is built from a microscope combined with a Michelson interferometer, where the mirror in one arm is replaced by the sample. Using white light, which is temporally partially coherent, interference fringes disclose the presence of an interface whenever the lengths of both interferometer arms are nearly equal. Scanning one arm allows for a volumetric reconstruction of all interfaces inside the sample. While the importance of OCT in medicine is indisputable, it is hard to teach students the basic aspects of such technology as most available setups tend to be rather complex. It is our purpose to present a fully functional full-field OCT setup that is stripped-down to its essential components and to promote its use in an undergraduate lab course. The contribution is complemented by a description of the basic theory necessary to understand the working principle of OCT.

Student experiences of project-based learning in an analytical chemistry laboratory course in higher education

Abstract This study describes students’ experiences in project-based learning (PjBL) incorporated as part of a revised undergraduate analytical chemistry laboratory course. We examined which phases were the easiest as well as the most challenging and what student skills developed during the research project. The research data were collected between 2016 and 2018 via two questionnaires. They were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. One questionnaire focused on the whole course (in 2016–2018, n = 127) of which only the answers on the research project questions were analyzed. The other questionnaire focused on only the research project (in 2018, n = 42). Based on the results of our study, students felt that the research project was useful for their future laboratory experiments. Several sets working life skills as well as self-assessment skills were also developed during the project. These included skills related to laboratory work, group working, planning the research, problem solving and data collection. The students named the easiest phases to be the concrete laboratory experiments, making the seminar presentation, drawing up the research plan and reporting the results. As the most challenging phases, they named the design phase of the project, challenges related to experimental works and data collection. For example, students experienced uncertainty when gathering information and the whole project appeared challenging during the design phase. However, when students started to work, they saw that the work progressed smoothly if they had designed it well. When students have an opportunity to create their own research project, they acquire meaningful learning experiences.

Fermentation revival in the classroom: investigating ancient human practices as CUREs for modern diseases.

A course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) was designed to integrate key microbiological principles and techniques into an authentic research experience in a classroom setting and was implemented in an undergraduate microbiology laboratory course. Students conducted a 6-week study in order to determine the identity and quantity of unique probiotic species from various types of kefir. This course module followed an inquiry-based pedagogical approach in which students use the scientific process to investigate an unknown question with no predetermined outcome. During each lab, relevant microbiological topics and laboratory concepts were presented. Students then performed various laboratory techniques, reinforcing the lecture material with hands-on experience. In addition, students participated in reflection through group presentation of their results, bioinformatic analysis and literature review. Based on data collected from pre- and post-study survey responses, both student knowledge and attitudes towards the topics covered improved due to participation in this CURE. Importantly, this CURE can be implemented at many levels of education, requiring only minimal resources and common laboratory equipment.

Exploring delay dynamics with a programmable electronic delay circuit

Delay dynamics occur in a wide variety of natural and man-made systems. Even simple delay systems can generate complex dynamics whose exploration is rewarding. To allow such exploration as part of advanced undergraduate laboratory courses and be able to utilize systems that operate at convenient timescales, it is necessary to delay analog signals by several milliseconds. In this paper, we describe an implementation of a programmable digital circuit capable of delaying DC-coupled analog signals up to 262 ms at a 1 MHz sampling rate. The initial history of the system may also be arbitrarily programmed, enabling the study of transient behavior. As an application, we discuss the use of this programmable delay in a feedback circuit that produces period-four triangular solutions, in complete agreement with theoretical predictions.

Advancing Undergraduate Laboratory Education Using Non-Model Insect Species.

Over the past decade, laboratory courses have made a fundamental shift to inquiry-based modules and authentic research experiences. In many cases, these research experiences emphasize addressing novel research questions. Insects are ideal for inquiry-based undergraduate laboratory courses because research on insects is not limited by regulatory, economic, and logistical constraints to the same degree as research on vertebrates. While novel research questions could be pursued with model insect species (e.g., Drosophila, Tribolium), the opportunities presented by non-model insects are much greater, as less is known about non-model species. We review the literature on the use of non-model insect species in laboratory education to provide a resource for faculty interested in developing new authentic inquiry-based laboratory modules using insects. Broader use of insects in undergraduate laboratory education will support the pedagogical goals of increased inquiry and resesarch experiences while at the same time fostering increased interest and research in entomology.

Epistemology, socialization, help seeking, and gender-based views in in-person and online, hands-on undergraduate physics laboratories

Undergraduate physics laboratory course structures have been identified in policy reports for novel design innovations to meet the needs of a diverse and growing student population. To this end, an online, hands-on laboratory option was implemented at a large, public university for introductory physics students using the iOLab device. To determine whether students in this new course structure had similar perspectives to their in-person counterparts in terms of select attitudinal measures, a quasiexperimental, observational quantitative study was undertaken to measure students’ epistemological views as well as their beliefs about socialization and help seeking in online and in-person laboratory environments. Undergraduate students who were enrolled in calculus-based introductory physics (N=998) were surveyed in the second half of the semester to elicit their epistemological beliefs about physics laboratory work and their views on social engagement and academic help seeking in the laboratory. Parametric and nonparametric comparisons of central tendency were employed to measure differences between students in the in-person and online laboratories, as well as gender differences and associated interaction effects. Students showed no overall differences in attitudes related to epistemological and help seeking beliefs. There were significant differences related to views of socialization; students taking in-person physics laboratories valued socialization more than students taking the course online. Gender differences in epistemological and help seeking beliefs were identified overall, however, these differences were no longer significant when examining the interactions of laboratory type and gender. This finding suggests that self-selection into laboratory type may diminish gender gaps in affective domains by allowing students to choose the laboratory structure that meets their learning and logistical needs. In terms of physics epistemology, socialization and help seeking in the laboratory may not be as important to students’ perceptions of physics knowledge acquisition as previously thought. This study provides insights into the feasibility of online, hands-on laboratory experiences to meet the affective goals articulated in in-person laboratories, as well as institutional recommendations for advising students to select courses that match their individual learning styles.Received 23 February 2020Accepted 15 July 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020116Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasDiversity & inclusionEpistemology, attitudes, & beliefsLearning environmentPhysics Education Research

Jigsaw method improves learning and retention for observation-based undergraduate biology laboratory activities

ABSTRACT Complementing biology lecture courses with laboratory sections is nearly universal at undergraduate institutions, yet many topics in biology do not easily lend themselves to experiment-based laboratory activities. Topics such as comparative anatomy, evolution and systematics are often taught as passive, observation-based laboratories. In this experiment, we modified and tested the efficacy of a team-based learning approach called the ‘Jigsaw’ method in 14 sections of an undergraduate Vertebrate Biology laboratory course at Iowa State University. Specifically, we implemented the modified Jigsaw method in seven lab sections and taught seven lab sections in the traditional lecture and observation style, comparing mean quiz score between the experimental and control sections after accounting for variation due to instructor and year. We revealed significantly higher average quiz scores for students in the experimental sections as compared to the control sections. Herein, we describe the details of our modified Jigsaw implementation that can be applied to other such biology laboratory courses. Thus, we provide further support for the use of team-based learning approaches such as the Jigsaw method and specifically show that undergraduate biology laboratory courses can be improved by implementing such activities in lieu of a clear experimental approach to laboratory courses.

Revisiting Distance Learning Resources for Undergraduate Research and Lab Activities during COVID-19 Pandemic

The rapid transition in teaching format due to COVID-19 gives rise to many challenges, especially for research and lab activities since they may require a different approach with more constrained resources compared with lecture-based courses, in which various virtual communication platforms have now been employed. As essential parts for student’s active learning, effective strategies to perform undergraduate research and lab courses during the current circumstance need to be carefully designed. To address this challenge, we have revisited different distance learning resources and implemented four critical methods in undergraduate research activity in our research groups, including question-driven literature review, visualizing experiments from virtual scientific resources, performing safe and simple home-lab experiments, and learning new computational tools. These approaches provide versatile opportunities for remotely engaging students in research and lab activities besides just participation in group meetings and scientific webinars. We believe insights gained from revisiting and implementing these resources could have a long-term positive impact for improving teaching and mentoring infrastructure for undergraduate lab activities post-COVID-19.

Visualization of Acoustic Standing Waves in a Closed Pipe Based on an Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometer

We visualize acoustic standing waves supported in a closed-end square pipe based on an electronic speckle pattern interferometer and measure the wavelengths of the acoustic standing waves for undergraduate physics lab courses. Generating four acoustic standing waves of frequencies below the cutoff frequency governed by the physical dimensions of the pipe, we obtain the distribution of the irradiance difference of the speckle patterns in the interferogram and compare that to the result of a theoretical calculation. In addition, we estimate the wavelengths of the acoustic standing waves by measuring the distances between adjacent nodes of the speckle patterns. We show that the experimental results and the results of the theoretical calculations are in good agreement. This work facilitates the understanding of electronic speckle pattern interferometers and their applications in visualizations of acoustic waves for undergraduate physics laboratories.

A Constructively Aligned First-Year Laboratory Course

The first-year undergraduate laboratory course in chemistry at the University of Bristol has been changed in an attempt to have students focus on learning practical skills, rather than on their exp...

A course-based undergraduate research experience examining neurodegeneration in Drosophila melanogaster teaches students to think, communicate, and perform like scientists.

As educators strive to incorporate more active learning and inquiry-driven exercises into STEM curricula, Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are becoming more common in undergraduate laboratory courses. Here we detail a CURE developed in an upper-level undergraduate genetics course at Yeshiva University, centered on the Drosophila melanogaster ortholog of the human neurodegeneration locus PLA2G6/PARK14. Drosophila PLA2G6 mutants exhibit symptoms of neurodegeneration, such as attenuated lifespan and decreased climbing ability with age, which can be replicated by neuron-specific knockdown of PLA2G6. To ask whether the neurodegeneration phenotype could be caused by loss of PLA2G6 in specific neuronal subtypes, students used GAL4-UAS to perform RNAi knockdown of PLA2G6 in subsets of neurons in the Drosophila central nervous system and measured age-dependent climbing ability. We organized our learning objectives for the CURE into three broad goals of having students think, communicate, and perform like scientists. To assess how well students achieved these goals, we developed a detailed rubric to analyze written lab reports, administered pre- and post-course surveys, and solicited written feedback. We observed striking gains related to all three learning goals, and students reported a high degree of satisfaction. We also observed significantly improved understanding of the scientific method by students in the CURE as compared to the prior year's non-CURE genetics lab students. Thus, this CURE can serve as a template to successfully engage students in novel research, improve understanding of the scientific process, and expose students to the use of Drosophila as a model for human neurodegenerative disease.

Professional Skills Development for Undergraduate Students in a Physiology Lab Course

Employers and professional schools published position statements regarding the need for undergraduate training in professional skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication. Developing these non‐technical skills for their interviews, professional school, and career success is essential. At Michigan State University (MSU), the Physiology Department undergraduate lab course has incorporated both formal and informal professional development opportunities, supplementary to the standard science curriculum, in an effort to improve student’s self efficacy. We have dedicated time in the first class period of each semester to address these issues and direct students to reflect on their own experiences. Additionally, we have an activity each week to improve intrapersonal and interpersonal capabilities, for example questionnaires to learn about one’s style for teamwork, leadership or communication and assessments for career values, grit or conflict management. Effective communication skills are developed throughout the semester with capstone research presentations and weekly “Physiology in the News” reports. The Physiology in the News assignment was developed as a chance for students to find a recently published physiological development and translate the findings in a short oral report to the classroom. The students are instructed to communicate in layman’s terms. As a part of their course capstone research projects, students are challenged to engage their critical thinking and problem solving skills to design and carry out their own study including writing a grant through presenting a scientific poster of their results. Additionally, they must learn to work in a team and apply effective time management to complete a research project in six weeks. The last project of the semester is to have their resume reviewed by career services and to have a professional headshot taken in the department studio. Anonymous pre‐ and post‐course professional skills surveys are administered in the first and last weeks of the semester to give students the opportunity to reflect upon their competencies. Students’ self assessment of their professional skills improved on the post‐test over several semesters of cohorts. Percentage of students ranking their overall professional skills as Good or Excellent on the pre and post test are: Fall 2017; 62% pre, 79% post; Spring 2018; 64% pre, 87% post; Fall 2018; 58% pre, 80% post). The lowest ranked skills (i.e., the one that students rated themselves average or poor) were: navigating across boundaries, work/life balance, embracing change, time management, and developing professional competencies. Additionally, on course evaluations students are given a chance to voice their opinion of professional development activities included in class as part of their grade. Of all sections across three semesters surveyed (n=107), there were no negative responses with all students either saying yes it was helpful or maybe (indicating that they already felt fully competent before the course). This shows that not only do students feel that their professional skills improve during the course, but they agree that working on these skills is a vital component of classroom activities.

Ready to Launch: Student Performance in a Fully Online Laboratory Pilot Course

The undergraduate human laboratory course at the University of Missouri provides anatomical education to a large population of health sciences undergraduates. To meet demand, an interdisciplinary team developed and implemented a fully online laboratory section in the fall of 2019 to complement the established hybrid laboratory sections. The current laboratory course is hybrid with one weekly meeting and a substantial online component. The model‐based face‐to‐face lab component of the hybrid sections was replaced by online virtual labs using the 3d4Medical Complete Anatomy app. Students were provided with worksheets to accompany a curated series of screens within the app to replicate the models and stations used in the face‐to‐face labs. Weekly meetings were held via a video conferencing platform to provide additional practice, assistance and opportunities to discuss clinical applications. The purpose of this study is to analyze student performance and satisfaction in a fully online section of a human anatomy laboratory course.The study sample included students enrolled in the fully online lab section (n=10) and the established hybrid lab section (n=405) in the fall of 2019. Student performance data include pre‐course assessments, post‐course assessments and three course exams. Exams consisted of 50 multiple choice questions on tagged models or specimens (physical models and donor materials in the hybrid lab sections, digital 3D models in the online section), histology slides, and radiology images. Questions on the assessments and exams were consistent across lab sections. Scores were statistically compared between the two lab modalities. Other data also collected during the semester included demographic data, mid‐semester evaluations and end‐of semester evaluations.Late semester results indicate that the students enrolled in the online course have higher exam scores compared to students enrolled in the hybrid sections, which possibly reflect the high level of motivation of the students enrolled in the online course. Students in the fully online section have expressed frustration with the app used in lieu of the in‐class models. Data from the pilot course will be used to inform future course organizational decisions.

Uranium fission and plutonium production in the undergraduate lab

An experiment in which the fission of uranium-238 upon bombardment with neutrons is demonstrated in the context of an undergraduate lab course. The occurrence of fission is shown by means of gamma spectroscopy which reveals the presence of the fission product strontium-92. In addition, we also investigate the reaction in which plutonium-239 is formed after neutron activation of the uranium, with neptunium-239 as an intermediary step. From the gamma spectra, it is found that both reactions are demonstrated with a significance of more than 5σ. For the fission reaction, a cross section of (2.8±1.4)×10−2 barn is inferred.

Blended learning in basic medical laboratory courses improves medical students' abilities in self-learning, understanding, and problem solving.

Blended learning, is a teaching approach that integrates online self-learning and classroom teaching. When designed well, blended learning courses in medicine can facilitate students to improve themselves in self-learning, understanding, and problem solving, ultimately enhancing their learning efficiency. However, blended teaching methods are usually used in only a single course, so it is unclear whether these methods can work well in a variety of basic medical courses. The goal of this study is to explore students' perceptions of whether blended laboratory courses are helpful for them in overcoming the difficulties they experience. Blended laboratory courses were taken by medical students at Guilin Medical University. Approximately 71.1% of the students agreed that online lecture courses improved their understanding of threshold concepts and the underlying theories. The majority of the students (63.01%) held the opinion that the blended laboratory courses were more effective than other types of courses in achieving the knowledge goals. The majority of the teachers believed that students' interest in experimentation operations, hands-on abilities, confidence, and other factors were greatly improved compared with those of students taught using the traditional teaching model (face to face). In addition, the average scores for the quizzes of laboratory courses were significantly improved in the blended learning method compared with the traditional learning method. Blended laboratory courses are successful and welcomed by both students and teachers in undergraduate laboratory courses.

Bringing immersive science to undergraduate laboratory courses using CRISPR gene knockouts in frogs and butterflies.

The use of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene editing offers new opportunities for biology students to perform genuine research exploring the gene-to-phenotype relationship. It is important to introduce the next generation of scientists, health practitioners and other members of society to the technical and ethical aspects of gene editing. Here, we share our experience leading hands-on undergraduate laboratory classes, where students formulate hypotheses regarding the roles of candidate genes involved in development, perform loss-of-function experiments using programmable nucleases and analyze the phenotypic effects of mosaic mutant animals. This is enabled by the use of the amphibian Xenopus laevis and the butterfly Vanessa cardui, two organisms that reliably yield hundreds of large and freshly fertilized eggs in a scalable manner. Frogs and butterflies also present opportunities to teach key biological concepts about gene regulation and development. To complement these practical aspects, we describe learning activities aimed at equipping students with a broad understanding of genome editing techniques, their application in fundamental and translational research, and the bioethical challenges they raise. Overall, our work supports the introduction of CRISPR technology into undergraduate classrooms and, when coupled with classroom undergraduate research experiences, enables hypothesis-driven research by undergraduates.

A Multioutcome Experiment for the Williamson Ether Synthesis

Williamson ether experiments are commonly performed by students in undergraduate organic chemistry instructional laboratory courses. In this multioutcome experiment, students were provided 4-bromophenol and one of three alkyl halides: 1-bromopentane, 1-bromobutane, or 1-bromo-3-methylbutane. The alkyl halides served as the unknown component of the experiment, and students were given these three as unknown candidates. After isolating the product from the reaction mixture, students analyzed their products using FT-IR and benchtop 1H NMR spectroscopies. The experimental results herein summarize the inclusion of this experiment in the large enrollment second-semester organic chemistry laboratory course over four semesters.

A CURE Biochemistry Laboratory Module to Study Protein-Protein Interactions by NMR Spectroscopy.

Design of undergraduate laboratory courses that provide meaningful research-based experiences enhance undergraduate curricula and prepare future graduate students for research careers. In this article, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) laboratory module was designed for upper-division undergraduate biochemistry and chemistry students. The laboratory module enabled students to build upon recently published data in the literature to decipher atomistic insight for an essential protein-protein interaction in human biology through the use of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy. Students compared their results with published data with the goal of identifying specific regions of the protein-protein interaction responsible for triggering an allosteric conformational change. The laboratory module introduced students to basic and advance laboratory techniques, including protein purification, NMR spectroscopy, and analysis of protein structure using molecular visualization software.

An inquiry-based approach in large undergraduate labs: Learning, by doing it the "wrong" way.

Undergraduate laboratory courses, owing to their larger sizes and shorter time slots, are often conducted in highly structured modes. However, this approach is known to interfere with students' engagement in the experiments. To enhance students' engagement, we propose an alternative mode of running laboratory courses by creating some "disorder" in a previously adopted structure. After performing an experiment in the right way, the students were asked to repeat the experiment but with a variation at certain steps leading to the experiment being done the "wrong" way. Although this approach led to fewer experiments being conducted in a semester, it significantly enhanced the students' involvement. This was also reflected in the students' feedback. The majority of students preferred repeating an experiment with a variant protocol than performing a new experiment. Although we have tested this inquiry-based approach only for an undergraduate laboratory course in molecular biology, we believe such an approach could also be extended to undergraduate laboratory courses of other subjects.