Building the lac Operon: A Guided-Inquiry Activity Using 3D-Printed Models.

Autor:	Gordy CL; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695., Sandefur CI; Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372., Lacara T; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695., Harris FR; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695., Ramirez MV; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Journal of microbiology & biology education [J Microbiol Biol Educ] 2020 Apr 10; Vol. 21 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Apr 10 (Print Publication: 2020).
DOI:	10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.2091
Abstrakt:	Undergraduate biology courses rely heavily on visual representation of information. Students view images of plants, animals, and microbes, interpret data presented in graphs, and use drawings to understand how cells and molecules interact in three dimensions. Traditional teaching approaches exclude students with visual impairments and disadvantage students with disabilities that affect their interpretation and processing of visual and spatial information, and also students who simply do not identify as "visual learners." By using new technologies to develop tactile teaching tools (TTTs) that can be employed in classrooms, we aim to create inclusive learning environments and more effectively instruct diverse learners. The advent of affordable and accessible 3D printing technology makes it possible to create tactile models that represent molecules, cells, and entire organisms more accurately than traditional visual representations. We describe the assessment of a 3D gene expression puzzle as a guided inquiry learning activity in which students must correctly assemble a series of components in order to achieve an output. Upon completion of the puzzle, the TTT provides tactile feedback through vibration to signal transcriptional activation. Analysis of pre- and postassessment performance demonstrated statistically significant increases in individual students' paired assessment scores in two different classroom implementations, with a greater effect size at a rural minority-serving institution than an urban R1 university. These encouraging preliminary data suggest that TTTs with guided-inquiry learning disproportionately benefit disadvantaged student populations and could serve as a tool in leveling the playing field when teaching abstract biological concepts in diverse educational settings. (©2020 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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