2024 ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in many countries including the United States, where it is increasingly popular for recreational and medicinal use. Therefore, there is a growing need for cannabis education to equip students to appropriately respond to cannabis in personal and professional settings, such as careers in healthcare. Our meta-analysis of over 150 relevant articles revealed a particular need for research on cannabis education at the undergraduate level, which represented only 8.6% of publications, and for greater emphasis on medicinal cannabis and issues related to race, gender, and social justice which were not discussed in the majority of these publications. Here we describe a new undergraduate cannabis course developed to help address these needs. Participants will be invited to share constructive feedback about this course, then engaged in guided discussion of potential benefits, challenges, drawbacks, and strategies of incorporating cannabis education into their own curricula.

Apprenticeship Research Experiences (AREs) provide undergraduates with an opportunity to conduct real-world experiments as members of an investigator’s research team. As AREs offer experiential learning in authentic research settings, they have been demonstrated to enhance students’ self-efficacy and retention in the sciences. Despite these strengths, AREs are associated with several challenges. For example, students often compete for AREs as summer students or scholarships offered by the university or funding agencies. As a result, many students may not receive an ARE during their degree, raising questions of equity/inclusion factors that may impact eligibility. To address these issues, our faculty developed a laboratory course that directly integrates AREs into its structure. I will discuss this novel course structure along with successes/challenges encountered since its implementation. An interactive discussion will follow whereby participants may share ideas and experiences regarding AREs to further support inclusive teaching and learning in the undergraduate laboratory.

To foster science identity we developed an activity for first-year orientation that introduces students to profiles of STEM alumni who represent a diverse array of career paths, personal characteristics, and skills. Our aim was to encourage students to see their own skills and personality traits amongst diverse scientists working in a broad range of science careers. We invited alumni to provide information about their current employment (job description, daily tasks), educational experiences (degrees, extracurriculars), and personal characteristics (gender identity, race, ethnicity, personality traits contributing to success). Attributes were separated into ‘puzzle’ pieces, mixed, and given to groups of students to assemble into two alumni profiles. After seeing the correct profiles we led a discussion amongst all participants. Pre/post assessments revealed an ability among students to list a variety of skills and traits that allow people to be successful in STEM.

Many institutions use a first-year experience to help incoming, first-time college students transition into higher education. These programs are reported to positively impact student retention, overall academic performance, and engagement with the campus community. At Catawba College, students enroll in a First Year Seminar (FYS) course during the Fall semester of their first year. FYS instructors design their course based on a topic of their choosing, creating a varied collection of FYS sections each year. I recently offered a section of FYS entitled “Microbial Me”, which focused on meeting the microbes that call our bodies “home”. In each FYS, instructors must assess a series of six skill-based learning outcomes, including the ability to summarize and interpret course content in writing as well as the ability to engage in critical dialogue about course content. As one way of addressing these outcomes, I deployed a final, interactive portfolio project, “Building Micropia”, in which students were asked to use digital artifacts collected throughout the semester to construct a virtual museum designed for a general audience, similar to the Micropia museum located in Amsterdam. In each virtual exhibit, students showcased photos from laboratory activities or other assignments while summarizing major course ideas. Additionally, students created a “curator’s office”, in which they wrote about how their perceptions of microbes were changed by taking this class. During our final class meeting, students paired up to “visit” each other’s museums and discuss what they learned from their visit. This project effectively served as a culminating course experience, fulfilled several learning objectives, and allowed students to practice communicating scientific ideas for a general audience. Due to the potential for customization, this assignment is highly adaptable for different course topics, formats, and levels.

Computation is required for biologists given the prevalence of analysis of large datasets, complex models, and data visualization. Though computation is becoming an essential skill for biologists, students often perceive the practice as too difficult for them. We created an activity that uses computational modeling of polygenic inheritance to teach students both computation and genetics. Our activity introduces students to basic programming using an organizational scheme that enables students to make sense of code by relying on their knowledge of genetics. Additionally, our activity explores polygenic inheritance with the development of skin color to help explain why race is not a biological concept. We extend this activity to microbiology with an interactive discussion and simple example of creating a microbe model. Though our skin color modeling activity focuses on genetics as a learning outcome, the organizational scheme provides a basis for activities in various biology and microbiology courses.

The implementation of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) has made it possible to foster students' discovery of new scientific knowledge. For these research experiences to be authentic, they should reflect the increasingly collaborative nature of research. While some CUREs have expanded, involving multiple schools across the nation, it is still unclear how a structured extramural collaboration between students and faculty from an outside institution affects student outcomes. In this study, we established three cohorts of students: 1) no-CURE, 2) single-institution CURE (CURE), and 3) external collaborative CURE (ec-CURE), and assessed academic and attitudinal outcomes. The ec-CURE differs from a regular CURE in that students work with faculty members from an external institution to refine their hypotheses and discuss their data. The sharing of ideas, data, and materials with an external faculty member allowed students to experience a level of collaboration not typically found in an undergraduate setting. Students in the ec-CURE had the greatest gains in experimental design; self-reported course benefits; scientific skills; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) importance. Importantly this study occurred in a diverse community of STEM disciplinary faculty from 2- and 4-year institutions, illustrating that exposing students to structured external collaboration is both feasible and beneficial to student learning.

The 'new normal' in education in the post covid era has challenged the flexibility and adaptability of academic institutions. Our 413-year-old University of Santo Tomas confronts this post covid era by aligning and updating the mode of course delivery in compliance with the government mandates. The impact of these adjustments is burnout that prompted the administration to give importance on promoting self-care to educators as well as to students. In this presentation, I would like to share our journey including coping strategies because Microbrew is a learning platform for mutual insights and realizations.

This laboratory module involves a variation of CRISPR, CRISPR interference. CRISPRi does not cut or edit DNA but utilizes the specificity aspect of CRISPR to target desired sequences. Therefore, the learning focus is on trickier concepts of gene expression and regulation. Students hypothesize how to target and inhibit Escherichia coli genes or operons of choice, aiming to alter clear, screenable phenotypes, such as lethality or auxotrophy. Using databases and literature, students analyze their gene’s expression in the context of promoters or other regulatory elements. Students then design a single guide RNA to block the gene’s expression using CRISPRi. Ultimately, students design PCR primers, clone sgRNA genes, sequence, and test their system in vivo using relevant growth medias. This student-driven experiment also addresses critical learning goals like designing controls, media supplementation, and lab calculations. Overall, it is a straightforward way to introduce CRISPR to undergraduates while still obtaining large learning gains.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) SEA-PHAGES program represents a transformative approach to undergraduate education, emphasizing discovery-based learning through a two-semester sequence of undergraduate research experiences. Participation in inclusive research education communities such as SEA-PHAGES has found profound impacts on students' sense of belonging, persistence, success, and agency in science. The SEA-PHAGES program demonstrates that engagement in authentic scientific research fosters a stronger connection to the scientific community, enhances retention in STEM disciplines, and cultivates essential skills and self-efficacy. The SEA-PHAGES project highlights the importance of undergraduate research in democratizing science and shaping the next generation of scientists and an inclusive scientific workforce.

In the Tiny Earth CURE students isolate bacteria from soil samples and test them for inhibition of bacteria that are safe relatives of the ESKAPE pathogens. In addition to gaining authentic research experience, students may isolate bacteria that produce new, clinically useful antibiotics. This ultimate, noble goal inspires students and engages them to learn more about their bacterial isolates. While characterizing their promising inhibitory isolates, students learn many microbiology lab techniques such as microscopy, Gram staining, serial dilution, streak and spread plating, and biochemical testing. When we replaced our traditional microbiology lab curriculum with the Tiny Earth CURE in our general microbiology course, we lamented that students no longer completed a lab activity with viruses. We have designed a lab activity that fits into the Tiny Earth CURE, allowing students to isolate viruses from their soil samples, count plaques, and examine the effect of host strain on phage enumeration.

We have developed a virtual microbiology laboratory that meticulously replicates our physical lab environment into an interactive PC-based program. This educational tool allows students to select from various experiments, including bacterial streaking, motility, gram staining, and biochemical identification of bacteria. Students access all necessary materials and instruments within the virtual lab space. Detailed, step-by-step cascading instructions guide them through each procedure, ensuring clarity and ease of understanding. This method enhances comprehension and builds confidence in performing laboratory techniques. Designed for ease of use, the virtual laboratory allows seamless navigation with a standard PC with a mouse and keyboard. This accessibility ensures that all students, regardless of technical proficiency, can benefit from a comprehensive and immersive lab experience, effectively bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

This microbrew session will showcase the integration of Jeopardy-style questions into any biological or microbiological class to enhance student engagement and understanding. Jeopardy-style problem sets present questions in the format of the popular quiz game, requiring students to recall and apply knowledge dynamically. For example, instead of a typical multiple-choice question, students might be asked, "This structure is composed primarily of phospholipids and proteins, forming a bilayer." Students must respond with "What is the cell membrane?" Preparing for these types of questions encourages active learning by prompting students to explore definitions, applications, and implications of concepts. This method promotes critical thinking and deeper comprehension by encouraging students to think broadly and ask diverse questions. It also fosters an interactive and engaging learning environment and supports diverse learning styles. The approach is beneficial as it transforms passive review sessions into active learning experiences, enhances knowledge retention, and improves overall exam performance.

The Eastern Pennsylvania Branch of the ASM is in the process of publishing a manual for teaching microbiology called “Learning About Microbes”. The manual was first published in 1998 and is being updated. This book includes laboratory exercises that can be used in middle school, high school, and non-major college classes. Major topics include aseptic technique, microscopy, growing and enumerating microorganisms, environmental microbiology, control of microbial growth, and genetics. In this presentation, we will present our work to date to (a) highlight changes and updates from the previous manual to demonstrate its value as a resource for those who are leading laboratory exercises as part of their current curriculum and (b) make ASMCUE members aware of the manual and obtain their feedback as we prepare to publish the manual. To make the manual as widely available as possible, we hope to publish the book free of charge through Apple Books.

An educational escape room was designed to be used in multiple undergraduate courses and with the general public to introduce interdisciplinary content in an engaging way. The full escape room experience and theme uses a One Health approach with participants taking on professional roles within a plausible storyline. The physical escape room design is also modular and can be moved to a wide variety of locations. The design is based upon popular escape rooms, but allows the educator to use a subset of puzzles to tailor lessons to specific concepts and time constraints. During this Microbrew Session, participants will learn the basics of how to construct their own escape room. They will also have the opportunity to solve a few puzzles from the larger escape room design that can easily be introduced into a course on their own or in a larger context.

In this collaborative biothreat assessment exercise, students engage in a structured evaluation of public health threats using the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) framework, employing a Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach. Through this problem-based learning activity, students deepen their understanding of epidemiological principles by synthesizing theoretical knowledge with practical application. Utilizing the ECDC framework, students work in small groups to systematically assess factors such as pathogen characteristics, transmission dynamics, and potential impact on public health. The MCDA approach allows them to prioritize and weigh these criteria based on their significance and uncertainty. Through active collaboration, students not only develop critical thinking and analytical skills but also enhance their ability to work effectively in teams. By simulating real-world scenarios, this exercise prepares students to make informed decisions in public health emergencies, reinforcing the importance of rigorous assessment and evidence-based reasoning in epidemiology and biothreat management.

Microbiology is a very content-dense course at the undergraduate level.  Students are introduced to the fundamental principles of microbiology and the impact microbes have on human health.  Several topics focused on microbe metabolism, morphology, growth, and control are covered.  Students often have difficulty applying the knowledge gained in the course to the real world. To engage students and help them to broaden their critical thinking skills, fictional movies about microbes were used in this 200-level course.  Students were given a list of movies to choose from, in which a microbe is key to the plot of the movie.  This list of movies is Andromeda Strain, Contagion, Outbreak, Mission Impossible II, I am Legend and 12 Monkeys.  Students are put into groups based on movie choice.  At the end of the semester-long microbiology course, each group gives a class presentation.  They must draw from what they have learned in the course to: 1) identify the microbe and its role in the movie, 2) discuss the plot and determine the likelihood of the scenario in the movie occurring, and 3) discuss their reaction to the movie.  Originality of presentations is encouraged.  Some students have made newscast presentations, performed skits, made movie trailers or created games for the class to play.  After completing the assignment, all students stated that microbiology helped them to understand the feasibility of the plot; 90% reported that this project helped apply knowledge to their everyday lives, particularly, in the appreciation and use of universal precautions; 92% said they were able apply some of the microbiological concepts in movie to broaden their understanding of microbes and 98% enjoyed the movie assignment compared to a traditional presentation or paper. This assignment engaged and excited students and they came to appreciate the knowledge gained in the course.

Voice-over PowerPoint lectures are a popular format for the delivery of content in online science courses. Modern students have short attention spans and the entertainment aspect of even education, both of which are tough aspects to incorporate in asynchronous online courses. While there is much research on the use of tools to engage students in lecture videos, such as test your knowledge breaks, there is little in the area of video content. Popular media use delivers both entertaining and memorable breaks in content delivery that can enhance student retention of the material by such. The use of copyrighted material and difficulty in learning editing software potentially prevents the use of popular media, but this tool when learned properly, can be both free of fear and eased into other aspects of education.

Podcasts have become a widespread form of media that has permeated nearly all aspects of popular culture. With the increased availability of high-quality podcasts that connect to nearly any discipline, they have strong potential for use in education. In this presentation, I will discuss my efforts to incorporate ASM’s Meet the Microbiologist (MtM) podcast into a Microbiology course that serves as a capstone course for biology majors at a small liberal arts university. Through short interviews with scientists, MtM exposes students to current research, career advice and tips from professionals, and the diversity of areas, careers, and scientists in the field. I will outline how I have incorporated this podcast into my course, some preliminary outcomes, and future directions. While this focuses on one particular podcast series, the materials and ideas presented can be applied to other podcast series to fit a wide range of audiences and courses.