Work

Learning Experimental Design through Targeted Student-Centric Journal Club with Screencasting.

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Knowledge and application of experimental design principles are essential components of scientific methodology, and experience with these skills is fundamental for participating in scientific research. However, undergraduates often enter the research laboratory with little training in designing and interpreting their own experiments. In the context of a research university laboratory, we designed a journal club training exercise to address this need. Students were instructed on methods for interpreting scientific literature using a screencast, a digital recording of a slide presentation narrated by an instructor. Students subsequently examined a series of research publications with a focus on the experimental designs and data interpretation in a two-session group discussion journal club format. We have found this approach to be an efficient and productive method for engaging students in learning about principles of experimental design and further preparing them for success in laboratory research.

Source: PubMed Central

Authors: Bradley S Carter, David E Hamilton, Robert C Thompson

Institutions: University of Michigan, Oberlin College

Language: English

Topic: Innovative Teaching Methods

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute

Awards: Research Training - Biological Sciences, Early Stage Training in the Neurosciences