COVER SHEET FOR PROPOSAL TO THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FOR CONSIDERATION BY NSF ORGANIZATION UNIT(S) FOR NSF USE ONLY (Indicate the most specific unit known, i.e., program, division, etc.) NSF PROPOSAL NUMBER COURSE, CURRICULUM AND LABORATORY IMPROVEMENT: Adaptation and Implementation PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT/SOLICITATION NO./CLOSING DATE/If not in response to a program announcement/solicitation enter GPG, NSF 95-27 NSF 9845 CCLI-A&I DATE RECEIVED NUMBER OF COPIES EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) OR TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN) 63-0288811 DIVISION ASSIGNED FUND CODE SHOW PREVIOUS AWARD NO. IF THIS IS FILE LOCATION IS THIS PROPOSAL BEING SUBMITTED TO ANOTHER FEDERAL A RENEWAL OR AGENCY? YES NO IF YES, LIST ACRONYM(S) AN ACCOMPLISHMENT-BASED RENEWAL NAME OF ORGANIZATION TO WHICH AWARD SHOULD BE MADE ADDRESS OF AWARDEE ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING ZIP CODE Birmingham-Southern College 0010124000 Birmingham-Southern College 900 Arkadelphia Road Birmingham, Alabama 35254 NAME OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION, IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE ADDRESS OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION, IF DIFFERENT, INCLUDING ZIP CODE AWARDEE ORGANIZATION CODE (IF KNOWN) PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE (IF KNOWN) IS AWARDEE ORGANIZATION (Check All That Apply) (See GPG II.D.1 For Definitions) TITLE OF PROPOSED PROJECT REQUESTED AMOUNT $20,383 FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION SMALL BUSINESS MINORITY BUSINESS WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS A Collaborative Recombinant DNA Technology Course with Laboratory PROPOSED DURATION (1-60 MONTHS) months 24 REQUESTED STARTING DATE 1 August 1999 CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX(ES) IF THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDES ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED BELOW BEGINNING INVESTIGATOR (GPG I.A.3) VERTEBRATE ANIMALS (GPG II.D.12) IACUC App. Date DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES (GPG II.D.1) PROPRIETARY & PRIVILEGED INFORMATION (GPG II.D.10) HUMAN SUBJECTS (GPG II.D.12) Exemption Subsection or IRB App. Date NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (GPG II.D.10) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES: COUNTRY/COUNTRIES HISTORIC PLACES (GPG II.D.10) SMALL GRANT FOR EXPLOR. RESEARCH (SGER) (GPG II.D.12) FACILITATION FOR SCIENTISTS/ENGINEERS WITH DISABILITIES (GPG V.G.) GROUP PROPOSAL (GPG II.D.12) RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY AWARD (GPG V.H) PI/PD DEPARTMENT PI/PD POSTAL ADDRESS Biology 205-226-3078 Division of Science and Mathematics, Box 549022 Birmingham-Southern College Birmingham, Alabama 35254 NAMES (TYPED) Social Security No.* High Degree, Yr 082-48-2118 Ph.D. 1982 PI/PD FAX NUMBER Telephone Number Electronic Mail Address PI/PD NAME Leo Pezzementi 205-226-4880 [email protected] CO-PI/PD CO-PI/PD CO-PI/PD NOTE: THE FULLY SIGNED CERTIFICATION PAGE MUST BE SUBMITTED IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THIS COVER SHEET *SUBMISSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS IS VOLUNTARY AND WILL NOT AFFECT THE ORGANIZATION’S ELIGIBILITY FOR AN AWARD. HOWEVER, THEY ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE NSF INFORMATION SYSTEM AND ASSIST IN PROCESSING THE PROPOSAL. SSN SOLICITED UNDER NSF ACT OF 1950, AS AMENDED. NSF Form 1207 (7/95) Page 1 1 CERTIFICATION PAGE Certification for Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators I certify to the best of my knowledge that: (1) the statements herein (excluding scientific hypotheses and scientific opinions) are true and complete, and (2) the text and graphics herein as well as any accompanying publications or other documents, unless otherwise indicated, are the original work of the signatories or individuals working under their supervision. I agree to accept responsibility for the scientific conduct of the project and to provide the required progress reports if an award is made as a result of this application. I understand that the willful provision of false information or concealing a material fact in this proposal or any other communication submitted to NSF is a criminal offense (U.S.Code, Title 18, Section 1001). Name (Typed) PI/PD Leo Pezzementi Signature Date Co-PI/PD Co-PI/PD Co-PI/PD Co-PI/PD Certification for Authorized Organizational Representative or Individual Applicant By signing and submitting this proposal, the individual applicant or the authorized official of the applicant institution is: (1) certifying that statements made herein are true and complete to the best of his/her knowledge; and (2) agreeing to accept the obligation to comply with NSF award terms and conditions if an award is made as a result of this application. Further, the applicant is hereby providing certifications regarding Federal debt status, debarment and suspension, drugfree workplace, and lobbying activities (see below), as set forth in the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 95-27. Willful provision of false information in this application and its supporting documents or in reports required under an ensuing award is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001). In addition, if the applicant institution employs more than fifty persons, the authorized official of the applicant institution is certifying that the institution has implemented a written and enforced conflict of interest policy that is consistent with the provisions of Grant Policy Manual Section 510; that to the best of his/her knowledge, all financial disclosures required by that conflict of interest policy have been made; and that all identified conflicts of interest will have been satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated prior to the institution’s expenditure of any funds under the award, in accordance with the institution’s conflict of interest policy. Conflicts which cannot be satisfactorily managed, reduced or eliminated must be disclosed to NSF. Debt and Debarment Certifications (If answer “yes” to either, please provide explanation.) Is the organization delinquent on any Federal debt? Yes No Is the organization or its principals presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal Department or agency? Yes No Certification Regarding Lobbying This certification is required for an award of a Federal contract, grant or cooperative agreement exceeding $100,000 and for an award of a Federal loan or a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan exceeding $150,000. Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans and Cooperative Agreements The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that: (1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement. (2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, and officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” in accordance with its instructions. (3) The undersigned shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure. AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME/TITLE (TYPED) Neal Berte, President TELEPHONE NUMBER 205-226-4620 ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESS [email protected] SIGNATURE DATE FAX NUMBER 205-226-4627 1 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Division of Undergraduate Education PROJECT DATA FORM The instructions and codes to be used in completing this form begin above. 1. Program to which the Proposal is Submitted: CCLI-A&I 2. Type of Submission: PR 3. Name of Principal Investigator/Project Director (as shown on the Cover Sheet): Leo Pezzementi 4. Name of Submitting Institution (as shown on the Cover Sheet): Birmingham-Southern College 5. Other institutions involved in the project's operation: ATE and CETP only: Preliminary Proposal Number (s) that led to this proposal ________________ PROJECT CODES A. Major Discipline Code: 61 - Subfields: Biochemistry; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; Genetics; Molecular Biology; Neurobiology; Pharmacology. B. Academic Focus Level of Project: UP C. Highest Degree Code: B D. Category Code: E. Business/Industry Participation Code: F. Audience Code: G. Institution Code: PRIV H. Strategic Area Code: BT Estimated number in each of the following categories to be directly affected by the activities of the project during its operation: 2 J. Undergraduate Students: I expect that this class will be offered yearly. Typically, our upper level elective classes are limited to 16 students. Number of undergraduate students on average involved each year. Biology 325 Biology 402 Biology 412 16 16 8 Undergrad. Research 12 Total 52 K. Pre-college Students: 0 L. College Faculty: 3+ M. Pre-college Teachers: 0 N. Total Non-NSF Contribution: $20,383 Project Summary: A Modern Recombinant DNA Technology Course Laboratory Birmingham-Southern College will develop a course in recombinant DNA technology. Both the classroom and laboratory portions of the course are designed to promote contextual, collaborative, inquiry-based learning of science, where students teach one another and have a sense of ownership of their education. In class, emphasis will be on group presentations and critical reading and discussion of scientific articles that use recombinant DNA technology to address questions in both basic and applied research. In the laboratory, investigative laboratory projects will be performed. These laboratory projects will answer two questions that students always seem to ask: 1. How do you clone a gene? 2. And so then what do you do with it? The two projects are random cDNA cloning, and in vitro expression and site-directed mutagenesis of cholinesterase; the latter project will integrate the research and teaching of the principal investigator. Students will present the results of these two laboratory projects in a poster and in a paper with the format of a scientific article. The goals of this course are consonant with those of the new science division mission statement and the new general education program of the College. The proposal requests funds for laboratory equipment and course development and evaluation. NSF Form 1295 (10/94) 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS CoverSheet................................................................................................................………........................…………1 Project Data Form and Project Summary...................................................................……......................…………2 Table of Contents.............................................................................................................….…...................…………4 Project Narrative including Results from Prior NSF Support........................................….....................…………5 Project Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………...5 Goals………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 Context for the Proposal.....................................................................................…......….....…….…………6 Project Description.................................................................................................….………………………8 Faculty Expertise.....................................................................................................……………………….14 Evaluation.....................…........................................…………......………….............…......………………15 Dissemination..................…................................................……….....................………..…….…………..15 Equipment Request..........................................................................................………….….........………...15 Equipment on Hand for the Project...........................................................................……………….…….17 Implementation and Equipment Maintenance….…............……………………………………………....18 Results from Prior NSF Support..……...............……...................………….................……...............…..18 References Cited...............................................................................…...........................….........….…………20 Biographical Sketch for Leo Pezzementi, P.I....................................................................……………....….23 Biographical Sketch for Larry Fish, Evaluation Consultant……………………………………………….25 Budget and Budget Justification..............................................................................................………………27 Current and Pending Support.....................................................................................................…………….32 Appendix I. Data on graduates in the sciences................................…………………………………..33 Appendix II. Science Mission Statement………………………………………….............…………...34 Appendix III. Expanding the Paradigm of General Education.............................................…………...36 Appendix IV. Letters of institutional commitment and endorsement……...……………………………38 Appendix V. Syllabus for Biology 363, Molecular Cell Biology, 1993..........….……………………..41 Appendix VI. Discussion worksheet…………………………………………………………………….42 Appendix VII. Questionnaire about pilot cloning project.......................................……………………..43 Appendix VIII. Laboratory outline.....................................………………………………….…………...44 Appendix IX. Major equipment available for use by undergraduates...................................…………..45 4 Project Narrative including Results from Prior NSF Support. Project Overview. Birmingham-Southern College will develop a course in recombinant DNA technology. Both the classroom and laboratory portions of the course are designed to promote contextual, collaborative/cooperative, inquiry-based learning of science, where students learn from one another and have a sense of ownership of their education. In class, group presentations and critical reading and discussion of scientific articles will be emphasized. In the laboratory investigative laboratory projects will be performed. These laboratory projects will answer two questions that students always seem to ask: 1. How do you clone a gene? 2. And so then what do you do with it? The two projects are random cDNA cloning, and in vitro expression and sitedirected mutagenesis of cholinesterase; the latter project will integrate the research and teaching of the principal investigator. Students will present the results of their laboratory investigations in a poster and in a paper with the format of a scientific article. The goals of this course are consonant with those of the new science division mission statement and the new general education program of the College, and the course has the potential to make a positive impact on these programs. The proposal requests funds for equipment, course development, and evaluation. Goals. The recombinant DNA technology course described in this proposal will teach students • molecular biology in the context of the application of recombinant DNA technology to basic and applied research, • how to read, present, and discuss critically scientific articles, • how to design and perform genetic engineering experiments in the laboratory, and analyze the results of these experiments, • how to present scientific results in a poster and in a scientific research article, and • how to work collaboratively/cooperatively in both the theory and practice of science. 5 The classroom and laboratory portions of this course are designed to give students a better understanding of both the content and process of science, and to promote interactive, collaborative/cooperative, inquiry-based learning, an effective form of learning where students teach one another and have a sense of ownership of their education. The broader implications of the project for the College are described below. Context for the Proposal. Birmingham-Southern College is a small liberal arts college with a long tradition of excellence in undergraduate education. In 1985, the College was ranked as the #1 Regional Liberal Arts College in the South by U.S. News & World Report. The following year, the College was reclassified as a National Liberal Arts College by the Carnegie Foundation. Since that time, the College has moved up in the rankings to the second tier of that group, which also includes Allegheny, Dickinson, Earlham, and Knox Colleges, among others. Birmingham-Southern is one of only two sheltering institutions for Phi Beta Kappa in Alabama. The College also has a tradition of quality science and pre-health professional programs. (Appendix I) In 1993-1994, the biology faculty began to phase in a new research-rich, investigative curriculum, stressing both the process and content of biological science. We think that this new curriculum has contributed to the higher scores of our seniors on the Biology Major Field Achievement Test, one tool used to assess the major (Appendix I) Between 1994 and 1996, the natural science faculty developed a science mission statement that was informed by conferences and publications of Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL; 1991) and the Council on Undergraduate Research (1990-1997), and evaluated in the Spring of 1996 by the PKAL/Keck consulting team of Dr. Daniel Sullivan, then President of Allegheny College, and Dr. Joseph Priest, Professor of Physics at Miami University. In the preamble to our mission, we outlined our goal and our strategy: We, the natural science faculty and the administration of 6 Birmingham-Southern College, desire to form a vital, collaborative learning community of students, faculty, and staff in the natural sciences. To foster the creation of this community, the College commits within its financial resources to maintaining, supporting, and expanding fieldand laboratory-intensive, investigative curricula in biology, chemistry and physics. In their report, the consultants endorsed our vision: First of all, we believe that your aspirations -- forming "a vital, collaborative learning community of students, faculty, and staff in the natural sciences" at least partly by "maintaining, supporting, and expanding field-and laboratory-intensive, investigative curricula"--are exactly right. Strong colleges in science have demonstrated that such a strategy works. We also think that our goals and strategy are consistent with recent recommendations from the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences; 1996, 1997), the NSF (1996), the Boyer Commission (1998), and the Pew Charitable Trusts (1998), which stated succinctly: Today, there is a broadly shared consensus that students learn best in a hands-on, inquiry-based approach to scientific discovery – and there is a growing conviction within the profession that science curricula and pedagogy ought to reflect this understanding. One indication that the investigative, research-rich curricula that we introduced in the sciences are creating a learning community is the increase in the numbers of students involved in undergraduate research projects. In the 1992-1993 academic year and summer, only a handful of students in the sciences participated in collaborative student/faculty research projects. Now, more than 50 students participate in research projects in the sciences, with half of these students conducting research in biology. (Appendix I) We are currently refining our mission statement as we begin to plan new science facilities, placing a greater emphasis on student learning; however, its essential features remain the same. (Appendix II) In a related development, last year the faculty adopted a report of the General 7 Education Committee, Expanding the Paradigm of General Education. The Expanded Paradigm stresses the importance of the following areas in a liberal education: collaborative learning, discovery and creativity, teaching experiences, scholarship, technology as a partner in teaching and research, civic imagination, cross-cultural experiences, and moral imagination. (Appendix III) The report states: The aim of Birmingham-Southern College is in no way to limit, much less replace, the traditional notion of general education but rather to expand it to address the expanding set of talents and skills necessary for learned people in an increasingly complex social and technological society. The College has received a $100,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to implement the Expanded Paradigm across the curriculum. The recombinant DNA technology course described in this proposal will fulfill many of the general education goals of the Expanded Paradigm, and will extend the investigative, research-rich curriculum in biology into the area of genetic engineering, an experimental approach that has permeated and had a positive, albeit sometimes controversial, impact on virtually every field in the biological sciences. (See Appendix IV for letters of institutional commitment and endorsement) Project Description. Although this grant proposal requests funds primarily for equipment to be used in the laboratory portion of the new recombinant DNA technology course, both the classroom and laboratory portions of the course are designed to promote interactive, collaborative/cooperative, inquiry-based learning, where students learn from one another and have a sense of ownership of their education (Deutsch, 1949; Thomas, 1957; Sharan and Tanner, 1979; Herreid, 1998; Eisen, 1998; see Johnson et al., 1991 for a review of the extensive research on cooperative/collaborative learning). I chose recombinant DNA technology rather than molecular biology because a DNA technology course will be by its very nature interdisciplinary and potentially more interesting and personally meaningful to students (Bicak and Bicak, 1990; PKAL, 8 1991), since they will learn advanced molecular biology in the context of how genetic engineering can be used as a tool in basic and applied research. The course has already been approved by the faculty, and will take a lecture/discussion format in the classroom very similar to that recently described by Eisen (1998). Five years ago, I independently used a modification of his approach when I taught a recombinant DNA technology class as Biology 363, Special Topics, without a laboratory, and I have attached a copy of the relevant portion of the syllabus (although the format will be modified to further emphasize group learning; Appendix V). To foster critical thinking and group learning, the course used and will continue to use the approach of Craig Nelson (Nelson, 1989; 1994), who has adapted the collaborative/cooperative model to the sciences, and has developed materials that guide students through the critical reading and discussion of scientific articles. (See Appendix VI for Discussion Worksheet.) The students very well received the course, and that class initiated my thinking on this proposal. Indeed, the cooperative approach is most appropriate for fostering critical thinking in the sciences: In many subject areas, teaching facts and theories is considered secondary to the development of students’ critical thinking and use of higher-level reasoning. The aim of science education, for example, has been to develop individuals who can sort sense from nonsense or who have the abilities involved in critical thinking of grasping information, examining it, evaluating it for soundness, and applying it appropriately. The application, evaluation, and synthesis of knowledge and other higher-level reasoning skills, however, are often neglected in college classes. Cooperative learning promotes a greater use of higher-level reasoning strategies and critical thinking than competitive or individualistic learning strategies (Johnson et al., 1991). Briefly, my role will be to provide essential background material for the topics covered. Groups of students will then present scientific articles related to these topics, which they will choose on the basis of short review articles put on 9 reserve (“jump-start” articles, such as those found in the Research News section of Science, and the News and Views section of Nature; Eisen, 1998), and lead a discussion of these articles. The classroom groups will be the same as those in the laboratory (see below), and each group will make two (or three) presentations during the semester. To ensure quality control, I will make sample presentations, including appropriate visual aids. Each group will meet with me to present and discuss its articles prior to making its presentations to the class. The presenting groups will use the Discussion Worksheet in their meetings with me, and the rest of the class will use the Worksheet during the group presentations. The presentations will be evaluated by the students in and out of the groups and by me. (There is a separate worksheet for this activity, not included in the proposal.) Currently, no course in the sciences follows such a format. This portion of the course will address collaborative learning, discovery and creativity, teaching experiences, scholarship, technology as a partner in teaching and research, and moral imagination -- much of the Expanded Paradigm. Since we introduced investigative classroom and laboratory projects into the introductory biology courses, we have found, as have others (Wright, 1996; Ege, et al., 1997; Coppola et al., 1997; Decker et al., 1998), that students’ interest, understanding, and expectations have risen. Now they expect even more sophisticated experiments in upper level classes. This is a problem that I am happy to have to solve. Thus, the laboratory will answer two questions that students always ask, or at least always ask me: 1. How do you clone a gene? 2. And so then what do you do with it? The answers I chose are not meant to be exhaustive, but instead, illustrative. The first question (How do you clone a gene?) will be answered by random cDNA cloning -- the Birmingham Southern College _____ (fill in the blank, can vary from year to year, e.g., Arabidopsis, corn, cat) Genome Project. This project was very successful when I tried it as a trial run with Arabidopsis in Biology 402, Cell 10 Biology, in a laboratory project modified from Monroe and Knight (1995) based on Newman et al. (1994). Students worked in groups of four, but each student pursued her/his own clone. I plated out an aliquot of an Arabidopsis cDNA library, obtained from the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center. Students picked white recombinant colonies, screened them with PCR and universal primers to determine the size of the insert, did plasmid preps, determined a portion of the insert sequence, and used the resources of GenBank to identify the cDNA. Each group prepared a poster presenting its research. I allowed seven weeks for this project, since I anticipated some difficulties the first time through. Some students needed the entire seven weeks. In a couple of cases, students had a little trouble getting sufficient plasmid for sequencing; however, more than half the class was not able to get the sequencing reactions to work, even after three attempts. These clones were sequenced by the DNA sequencing facility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). All eleven students obtained previously cloned cDNAs. Without question, the students responded favorably to this project. (Appendix VII) One student stated: I enjoyed the lab because I felt as though I was actually accomplishing something research-wise, and truly learning about it, whereas in other labs I sometimes felt as though they were just lab exercises. (Underlining by student.) The only negative response was the frustration of the students who were not able to obtain the DNA sequences of their clones after repeated attempts. I have decide to solve this problem by having all the cDNAs sequenced by the UAB sequencing facility, as we do in my research laboratory. (See Equipment on Hand for the Project for the rationale underlying this decision.) One can only imagine the response of a student finding a new cDNA. For the random cDNA cloning project proposed in this grant, I anticipate the following schedule: introduction (practice plasmid preparation and agarose gel) and selection of recombinant clones (week 1), screening of recombinant clones by PCR (week 2), isolation of recombinant 11 plasmids and cycle sequencing of cDNA (week 3), analysis of sequences and identification of cDNA clones (week 4), and extra time for completion of project or preparation of posters (week 5), which may be done outside of laboratory time. Posters will be displayed in the science building. Sometimes, as done in Biology 402, class time will be used for short laboratory procedures, such as inoculating cultures, PCR, etc. (See Appendix VIII for tentative schedule.) In fact, my desire is to blur the distinction between the classroom and the laboratory. The second question (And so then what do you do with it?) will be answered by having students do (a) in vitro expression and (b) site-directed mutagenesis of cDNAs for two cholinesterases, ChE1 and ChE2, that we have cloned from amphioxus, an organism that occupies a pivotal position in the evolution of vertebrates. Jawed vertebrates have two ChEs, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which hydrolyzes the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses, and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), whose function is unknown (Massoulié et al., 1993). These two enzymes are the result of a gene duplication event in an ancestor of cartilaginous fish (Sanders et al., 1996). The two ChEs in amphioxus are the result of a separate gene duplication. ChE2 resembles the ChE of invertebrates, particularly in the region of the acyl-binding site, a region of the active site that plays a large role in determining substrate specificity. ChE1 is a novel ChE, with a unique acyl pocket sequence (Table 1; Sutherland et al., 1997). Table 1. Amino acid sequences of acyl binding sites in ChE’s from vertebrates and invertebrates. D. B. B. T. M. melan. ChE flor. ChE2 flor. ChE1 marm. AuChE musc. BuChE SVQQWNSYSGILS-----FPSAPTIDGAF SDNEW-VVWGLCQ-----FPFAPIVDGNF LDHEWNVVDLTGAHFLADIPFPPIKDGSF IDVEWNVLPFDSI---FRFSFVPVIDGEF LRNERFVLPSDSI---LSINFGPTVDGDF Phenylalanine (F) residues implicated in the substrate binding specificity of the acyl pocket of cholinesterases are shown in bold type. The sequences represented are D. melan. ChE, Drosophila melanogaster ChE (Hall and Spierer, 1986); B. flor. ChE2, Branchiostoma floridae ChE2 (McClellan et al., 1998); ChE1, Branchiostoma floridae ChE1 (McClellan et al., 1998); T. marm. AChE, Torpedo marmorata AChE (Sikorav, et al., 1987); M. musc. BuChE, Mus musculus BuChE (Rachinsky et al., 1990). In the ChEs, aromatic amino acid residues in the acyl-binding site and in the peripheral anionic site of the enzyme appear to be responsible for determining substrate and inhibitor specificity 12 (Massoulié et al., 1993; Taylor and Radic, 1994). In the vertebrates, two phenylalanines in the acyl pocket of AChE appear to restrict the binding of bulky substrates and allow only acetylcholine to be hydrolyzed. In contrast, nonaromatic replacement in BuChE allows a wider range of substrate binding and hydrolysis. The presence of one phenylalanine in the acyl pocket of invertebrate ChE was thought to account for the intermediate hydrolytic activity of the invertebrate enzyme. However, ChE2 in amphioxus has only one phenylalanine, yet hydrolyzes only acetylcholine, raising questions about this assumption. The molecular basis of substrate specificity in amphioxus ChE1, which hydrolyzes multiple substrates, is not known. Since we have already cloned and expressed wild-type and mutant ChE1 and ChE2 cDNAs in COS-7 cells (Sutherland et al., 1997), the in vitro expression and site-directed mutagenesis portion of the experiment, like the random cDNA cloning, has a high probability of success. Students will isolate expression plasmids from bacteria (week 6), transfect the DNA for the two enzymes into COS-7 cells, and collect and analyze kinetic or pharmacological data with the aid of SigmaPlot (week 7). This portion of the project will introduce the students to the technique of in vitro expression and the research question under study, preparing them for the next part of the project, which will be the most investigative and challenging, site-directed mutagenesis. The students should be ready for this challenge because of where they are in this course, and because of what they have done in other courses. In the introductory cell and molecular biology course (Biology 125), students isolate a plasmid from bacteria and identify it by restriction digestion and transformation of bacteria for antibiotic resistance. Students also spend four weeks on the enzymology of βgalactosidase, determining Km and Vmax, and designing experiments to determine the effects of pH and temperature. In genetics (Biology 301), students do PCR, bacterial transformation, genomic DNA isolation, and Southern blotting. 13 With guidance, each group of four students will pick one appropriate mutation (during weeks 7 and 8; there are many possibilities, and more may be suggested by the results the students obtain). They will perform site-directed mutagenesis without subcloning (week 8), perform plasmid preps and screen transformants by DNA sequencing at the UAB facility (week 9), isolate mutant expression vector DNA (week 10) and express the mutants in vitro, collecting and analyzing kinetic or pharmacological data (week 11). We have started to use SwissModel to construct 3D computer images of the two ChEs, and will use the modeling in mutant design. This project will integrate my research and teaching as recommended by the Boyer Report (1998). Students will be required to keep individual laboratory notebooks, to construct a group poster for the cDNA cloning project, and to write a group paper in the form of a scientific research article for the site-directed mutagenesis project. Notebooks, posters, and papers are required in many biology courses. For papers, I typically require two drafts, the first serving as a research proposal, where the students write the Introduction, Materials and Methods, and References Cited sections. I mark, grade, and return them. After performing the experiments, the students write a complete paper including the above, the Title, Abstract, Results, and Discussion. These projects will complement the classroom portion of the course by providing a collaborative/cooperative, research-rich, investigative laboratory experience for the students: not only will they read, think, and talk science – they will do science, and gain additional experience with collaborative learning, discovery and creativity, teaching experiences, scholarship, and technology as a partner in teaching and research, tenets of the Expanded Paradigm. Faculty Expertise. Leo Pezzementi, Professor of Biology, and Chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics is the project director. I have taught courses in the area of cellular and molecular biology for 16 years and have been an active researcher in the area for 20 years. I have tried to keep 14 up with the rapid developments in the field of cellular and molecular biology and to incorporate them into my teaching and research with undergraduates. (See Biographical Sketch.) Evaluation. The primary purpose of our evaluation is to collect evidence that this course plays a significant role in stimulating scientific interest and activity among our students. Resources will not permit a full-scale experiment with controls; such an experiment would in any event be intrusive and impractical. We will attempt within these limitations to provide the best evidence feasible for increased interest and expertise among course participants. Formative evaluation will establish if the course is meeting goals consistent with the principles of the Expanded Paradigm. This phase of the evaluation will be based on the following data, collected primarily to assess the success of the course in increasing student interest: 1. Enrollment and attendance figures. These figures should indicate consistent or increasing interest in the course. Biology enrollment figures from past years, and from similar colleges in the region, will serve as standards of comparison. 2. Records of special student accomplishments in science: these accomplishments may include awards, community programs, conference presentations, or publications. Not all students can be expected to distinguish themselves in these areas, but our objective is that several each year should do so. 3. Student evaluations. Students will provide quantitative ratings for various facets of the course: content, instruction, and interest. Open-ended commentary will also be solicited. Our summative evaluation will seek evidence that our students have shown at least as much academic and intellectual progress as can realistically be measured at the end of one course. Evidence for course impact on knowledge will include results of anonymously-coded standardized tests and in-house exams (where the latter are given pre- and post-program so that change may be 15 assessed). Data will also include ratings for scientific and “publication” quality awarded to student course papers by judges recruited from local college faculty in biology. We stress, however, that our academic philosophy is based primarily on stimulating scientific interest and reasoning, and only secondarily on the quick acquisition of facts; therefore, some of the most anticipated effects -- more career-choices in science, for example -- will not occur until well after the course is complete. Even the acquisition of knowledge itself is a long-term process. Therefore our summative evaluation will necessarily have a strong formative element insofar as its primary purpose will be to provide guidance for the continued improvement of the program. We consider the evaluation outlined above to be the first step of an assessment program to be continued even after the current funding period has ended. Therefore, all data collected for this evaluation will be stored for comparative use in future course evaluations. The evaluation will be done in collaboration with Dr. Larry Fish, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham. (See Biographical Sketch.) Dissemination. The results of this project will be disseminated in various ways. I anticipate presenting all or parts of the project at a national meeting such as the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, which I often attend and which has sessions set aside for educational projects. I think it might be more important to present the results regionally, at an Alabama Academy of Sciences Meeting, to alert faculty who might not attend national meetings to what is possible in the teaching laboratory. I will make available copies of my grant and laboratory handouts to the scientific community. I maintain a web site and will integrate this project into my homepage to disseminate it electronically. I will also submit the project to a journal, such as the Journal of College Science Teaching, American Biology Teacher, or BioScience. 16 Equipment Request. Forma Model 1104 Biological Safety Cabinet. Currently, we have one Forma 1104 biological safety cabinet, which was purchased under an NSF-CSIP grant in 1988. Since then, interest in cellular and molecular biology has increased. There may be 16 students in the upper-level cell course and the hood gets quite crowded, limiting the types of experiments possible. An additional hood is needed for the cell culture in this project. Bio-Tek ELx808 Microtitre Plate Reader, Computer, and Windows Data Capture Software. At the present time, in our research laboratory, we are conducting our ChE enzyme assays in microtiter plates and monitoring the reaction with a computer-interfaced Bio-Tek EL311 plate reader (Doctor et al., 1987). This technique allows us to perform up to 96 measurements simultaneously, greatly simplifying and accelerating the collection of data for Michaelis-Menten kinetics, dose-response curves, and other experiments based on accurate determination of enzyme activity under different conditions. We use this assay in the teaching laboratory to determine ChE activity levels in extracts of cultured muscle, but access to the instrument has been a problem. Each assay takes 5-10 minutes, depending on the amount of ChE activity. With one instrument and four laboratory teams, a group may have to wait 30 minutes to perform an assay. However, the addition of just one plate reader would cut the wait to 10 minutes at the longest, which is quite reasonable, and will allow us to perform more interesting detailed kinetic and pharmacological assays rather than the single activity measurements to which we are currently limited. The real time graphical display of the progress of the reaction increases students’ understanding of how reaction rate is determined. SigmaPlot 5.0. SigmaPlot is a very powerful graphics program that I have used in my research for a number of years to fit and graph kinetic, pharmacological, and a wide variety of other data. Four 12-Channel Finnpipettes. The 12-channel Finnpipettes are needed for the microtitre plate ChE assay to ensure that all reactions in an assay set begin simultaneously. 17 Equipment on Hand for the Project. I am not requesting an automated DNA sequencer for analysis of fluorescent cycle sequence reactions since I cannot justify the cost of this instrument given the limited amount of use it would receive. Instead, I will send the clones to UAB to be sequenced, as we do in my research laboratory. This approach was successful for all students last year. I do have reservations about the students not performing their own sequencing, but think that their exposure to other techniques in the course more than compensates for this omission. I am not requesting a thermal cycler, since in the past using my research cycler in both teaching and research has not been a problem. We have two refrigerated high-speed centrifuges for the midipreps for in vitro expression, two controlled atmosphere incubators to culture the COS-7 cells, and a UV/VIS spectrophotometer (in chemistry) for the quantification of DNA used in the transfection experiments. Other smaller items of equipment needed for the projects are available. (See Appendix IX for equipment available.) Implementation and Equipment Maintenance. I will first offer the course in the Spring semseter of 2000. During August 1999, I will develop the necessary teaching materials for the lecture and the laboratory portions of the course, as well as working on evaluation with Dr. Fish. Since undergraduate students routinely use these techniques in my research laboratory, I do not anticipate any major problems in implementing the laboratory portion of the course. I have estimated a supply budget of $3,000 for this course, which the College has agreed to provide. The equipment items requested are reliable and will not require service contracts. The current repair budget for the department is $4,000/year. Also, the laboratory coordinator for the biology and chemistry departments is responsible for the routine maintenance of laboratory equipment. 18 Besides being used in the Recombinant DNA course, the equipment requested would be used in Biology 402 (Cell Biology), Winter term (1-month project courses), and undergraduate research projects on an annual basis, and in Biology 412 (Immunology) every other year. Results from Prior NSF Support. From May 1994-April 1998 I had the grant RUI: Evolution of Cholinesterase In Vivo and In Vitro, IBN-9319354, funded at $111,684. Since an important component of RUI grants is undergraduate science education, and an important component of this CCLI-A&I proposal is the integration of this research into the teaching and learning process of undergraduates, as recommended by the Boyer Report (1998), I have included information concerning the project. A brief description of the relevant major findings of this research was given in the Project Description. Four publications with undergraduate co-authors resulted and are listed in the Biographical Sketch section, along with three abstracts that I presented. Additionally, the following abstracts resulted with undergraduate authors* and presenters: W. B. Coblentz,* S. Merritt,* G. Rulewicz,* J. S. McClellan,* M. Sapp,* D. I. Gaines,* A. Hawkins,* C. Ozment,* A. Bearden,* J. Cunningham,* E. Palmer,* A. Contractor,* and L. Pezzementi. 1998. cDNA cloning, in vitro expression, and biochemical characterization of cholinesterase 1 and cholinesterase 2 from amphioxus. Sixth Intl. Meet. on Cholinesterases: Program and Abstracts, A5. J. S. McClellan,* M. Sapp,* A. Hawkins,* and J. Cunningham.* 1997. Amphioxus possesses two cholinesterases: cDNA sequencing and biochemical analysis. Eleventh Natl. Conf. Undergrad. Res. 0125. S. McClellan,* I. Gaines,* N. Axon,* D. Sutherland,* and M. Sanders.* 1996. Molecular analysis of cholinesterase in amphioxus. Tenth Natl. Conf. Undergrad. Res. 282. B. Mathews,* M. Sanders,* W. Soong,* D. Sutherland,* and H. Giles.* 1996. Characterization of acetylcholinesterase from the hagfish. Tenth Natl. Conf. Undergrad. Res. 280. D. Milner* and R. Jotani.* 1995. Characterization of AChE from Styela plicata. S. E. Region. Mtg. βββ. βββ 19 References Cited. Bicak, C.J. and L.J. Bicak. (1990) Connections across the disciplines. JCST, May 1990, 336-346. The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. (1998) Reinventing undergraduate education: a blueprint for America’s research universities. http://notes.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf. SUNY at Stony Brook: Stony Brook, NY. Coppola, B.P., S.N. Ege and R.G. Lawton. (1997) The University of Michigan undergraduate chemistry curriculum 2. Instructional strategies and assessment. J. Chem. Ed. 74, 84-94. Council on Undergraduate Research. 1990-1997. CUR Newsletter and CUR Quarterly 11-18. Decker, A.A., L.P. Nestor and D. DiLullo. (1998) An example of a guided-inquiry, collaborative physical chemistry laboratory course. J. Chem. Ed. 75, 860-863. Deutsch M. (1949) An experimental study of the effects of cooperation and competition upon group process. Human Relations 2, 199-231. Doctor, B.P., L. Toker, E. Roth and I. Silman. (1987) Microtiter assay for acetylcholinesterase. Analyt. Biochem., 166: 399-403. Ege, S.H., B.P. Coppola and R.G. Lawton. (1997) The University of Michigan undergraduate chemistry curriculum 1. Philosophy, curriculum, and the nature of change. J. Chem. Ed. 74, 74-83. Eisen, A. (1998) Small-group presentations – teaching “science thinking” and context in a large biology class. BioScience 48, 53-58. Hall, L.M.C. and P. Spierer. (1986) The Ace locus of Drosophila melanogaster: structural gene for acetylcholinesterase with an unusual 5’ leader. EMBO J., 5: 2949-2954. Herreid, C.F. (1998) Why isn’t cooperative learning used to teach science? BioScience 48, 553559. Johnson D.W., Johnson R.T. and K.A. Smith (1991) Cooperative learning: increasing college faculty instructional productivity. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4. The George Wahsington University, School of Education and Human Development: Washington, D.C. Massoulié, J., L. Pezzementi, S. Bon, E. Krejci and F. Vallette. (1993) Molecular and cellular biology of cholinesterases. Prog Neurobiol. 41, 31-91. Monroe, J.D. and I.T. Knight. (1995) Students discover new genes in an investigative undergraduate molecular biology course. CUR Quarterly 16, 109-114. 20 McClellan, J.S., M. Sapp, J. Cunningham, W. B. Coblentz, A. Bearden, G. Rulewicz, D. I. Gaines, A. Hawkins, C. Ozment, and L. Pezzementi (1998) Cloning and expression of cDNAs for cholinesterase 1 and cholinesterase 2: biochemical characterization of the enzymes produced in vivo and in vitro. Eur. J. Biochem., in press. National Science Foundation. (1996) Shaping the future: new expectations for undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. NSF: Arlington, VA. National Science Foundation (1998) Use-friendly handbook for project evaluation. NSF: Arlington, VA. National Research Council. (1996) From analysis to action: undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. National Academy Press: Washington, D.C. National Research Council. (1997) Science teaching reconsidered: a handbook. National Academy Press: Washington, D.C. Nelson, C. (1989) Skewered on the unicorn's horn: the illusion of a tragic tradeoff between content and critical thinking in the teaching of science. In L. Crowe, Ed.: Enhancing Critical Thinking in the Sciences, Society of College Science Teachers. Nelson, C. (1994) Collaborative learning and critical thinking. In: K. Bosworth and S. Hamilton, Eds.: Collaborative Learning and College Teaching , Jossey-Bass. Newman, T., F.J. de Bruijn, P. Green, K. Keegstra, H. Kende, L. McIntosh, J. Ohlrogge, N. Raikhel, S. Somerville, M. Thomashow, E. Retzel and C. Somerville. (1994) Genes galore: a summary of methods for accessing results from large-scale partial sequencing of anonymous Arabidopsis cDNA clones. Plant Physiology 106, 1241-1255. Pew Higher Education Roundtable and Knight Collaborative. (1998) Policy perspectives sponsored by the Pew science program in undergraduate education. University of Pennsylvania, Phila. PA. Project Kaleidoscope. (1991) What works: building natural science communities. Volume One. Rachinsky, T.L., S. Camp, Y. Li, T.J. Ekstrom, M. Newton and P. Taylor. (1990) Molecular cloning of mouse acetylcholinesterase: tissue distribution of alternatively spliced mRNA species. Neuron, 5: 317-327. Sanders M., B. Mathews, D. Sutherland, W. Soong, H. Giles, and L. Pezzementi. (1996) Biochemical and molecular characterization of acetylcholinesterase from the hagfish Myxine glutinosa. Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 115B, 97-109. Sharan S. and A.M. Tanner. (1979) Effects of cooperative reward structures and individual accountability on productivity and learning. Journal of Educational Research 72, 294-298. 21 Sikorav, J.L., E. Krejci and J. Massoulié. (1987) cDNA sequences of Torpedo marmorata acetylcholinesterase: primary structure of the precursor of a catalytic subunit; existence of multiple 5’-untranslated regions. EMBO J., 7: 2983-2993. Sutherland D., J.S. McClellan, D. Milner, W. Soong, N. Axon, M. Sanders, A. Hester, Y.-H. Kao, T. Poczatek, S. Routt and L. Pezzementi. (1997) Two cholinesterase activities and genes are present in amphioxus. J. Exptl. Zool. 277, 213-229. Taylor P. and Z. Radic. (1994) The cholinesterases: from genes to proteins. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 34, 281-320. Annu. Rev. Thomas E.J. (1957) Effects of facilitative role interdependence on group functioning. Human Relations 10, 347-366. Wright, J.C. (1996) Authentic learning environment in analytical chemistry using cooperative methods and open-ended laboratories in large lecture courses. J. Chem. Ed. 73, 827-832. 22 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH for LEO PEZZEMENTI. EDUCATION Ph.D., 1982: SUNY at Stony Brook, Molecular Biology Program and Pharmacological Sciences Program. Department of Biochemistry. Laboratory of Jakob Schmidt. B.A., 1975: La Salle College, Philadelphia, PA. Biology major. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Ecole Normale Supérieure, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie, Paris, France. Invited professor (June 1992-August 1992). Sabbatical year (July 1990-July 1991). Laboratory of Dr. Jean Massoulié. Case-Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH. Visiting Scientist (June 1988-August 1988). Laboratory of Dr. Terrone Rosenberry, Department of Pharmacology. Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL. Chair, Division of Science and Mathematics (1997-), Professor of Biology (1996-), Associate Professor of Biology (1988-1996), Assist. Prof. of Biol. (1985-1988). Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH. Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology and Chemistry (1983-1985). Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA. Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology (1982-1983). SELECTED CAMPUS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES Biology Councilor, Council on Undergraduate Research (1989-1992), member (1988-), editor of Research in Biology at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (1993-1994), CUR Liaison (1995-1998). Chair, General Education Committee (1997-1998) Developed Expanding the Paradigm of General Education. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (Includes those resulting from and citing NSF support. Undergraduates*.) James Scott McClellan,* Mathew Sapp,* John Cunningham,* William Blake Coblentz,* Amy Bearden,* Gabe Rulewicz,* David Isaac Gaines,* Ashley Hawkins,* Carrie Ozment,* and Leo Pezzementi. 1998. Cloning and expression of cDNAs for cholinesterase 1 and cholinesterase 2: biochemical characterization of the enzymes produced in vivo and in vitro. Eur. J. Biochem., in press. Leo Pezzementi, David Sutherland,* Michael Sanders,* Weily Soong,* Daniel Milner,* James Scott McClellan,* Mathew Sapp,* William Blake Coblentz,* Gabriel Rulewicz,* and Sarah Merritt.* 1998. Structure and function of cholinesterases from agnathans and cephalochordates: implications for the evolution of cholinesterases. In Cholinesterase Structure and Function, ACS, Wash., D.C., in press. David Sutherland,* James Scott McClellan,* Daniel Milner,* Weily Soong,* Neal Axon,* Michael Sanders,* Alison Hester,* Yu-Hsing Kao,* Ted Poczatek,* Sheri Routt,* and Leo Pezzementi. 1997. Two cholinesterase activities and genes are present in amphioxus. J. Exptl. Zool., 277, 213-229. Michael Sanders,* Bonnie Mathews,* David Sutherland,* Weily Soong,* Harry Giles,* and Leo Pezzementi. 1996. Biochemical and molecular characterization of acetylcholinesterase from the hagfish Myxine glutinosa. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 115B, 97-109. Leo Pezzementi. 1994. Research in Biology at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions. Council on Undergraduate Research, Collegiate Research Association of Biologists: Asheville, NC, 344 pp. 23 Christopher Atkins* and Leo Pezzementi. 1993. Developmental changes in the molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase during the life cycle of the lamprey. Comparative Biochem. Physiol. 106B, 369-372. Jean Massoulié, Leo Pezzementi, Suzanne Bon, Eric Krejci, and François-Marie Vallette. 1993. Molecular and cellular biology of cholinesterases. Progress in Neurobiology 41, 31-91. Leo Pezzementi. 1990. NIH AREA Program from the perspective of undergraduate research. Council on Undergraduate Research Newsletter 11, 57-60. Leo Pezzementi, David Sutherland,* Michael Sanders,* Weily Soong,* Daniel Milner,* James Scott McClellan,* Mathew Sapp,* William Blake Coblentz,* Gabriel Rulewicz,* and Sarah Merritt.* 1998. Structure and function of cholinesterases from agnathans and cephalochordates: implications for the evolution of the cholinesterases. Sixth Intl. Meet. Cholinesterases: Program and Abstracts, 5. Leo Pezzementi, David Sutherland,* Michael Sanders,* Weily Soong,* Daniel Milner,* James Scott McClellan,* Mathew Sapp,* William Blake Coblentz,* Gabriel Rulewicz,* and Sarah Merritt.* 1998. Pharmacological and molecular analysis of cholinesterases from agnathans and cephalochordates: implications for the evolution of resistance to cholinesterase inhibitors. Sixth Intl. Meet. Cholinesterases: Program and Abstracts, 17. Leo. Pezzementi, R. Jotani,* B. Mathews,* D. Milner,* and W. Soong.* 1995. Is butyrylcholinesterase present in primitive chordates? Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 20, 839.4. COLLABORATORS I anticipate writing a collaborative NSF-CNRS grant with Dr. Jean Massoulié, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France and Dr. Jean-Pierre Toutant, INRA, Montpellier, France. THESIS ADVISOR Jakob Schmidt, Dept. of Biochemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY. GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDENTS I have supervised only undergraduates. Listed are those who worked with me in the past five (six*) years. Michael Sanders* M.D. Program, U. of S. Alabama, HHMI-NIH Research Scholar, NSF Japan-Korea Fellow Weily Soong M.D. Program, University of Alabama, HHMI-NIH Research Scholar David Sutherland* MSTP Program, Stanford U. J. Scott McClellan MSTP Program, Washington U. Bonnie Mathews M.D. Program, U. of S. Alabama Carrie Ozment D.V.M., Auburn U. Daniel Milner M.D. Program, U. of Alabama John Cunningham Teach for America Harry Giles M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Yu-Hsing Kao D.M.D. Program, U. of Alabama D. Isaac Gaines M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Ted Poczatek D.M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Neal Axon M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Mathew Sapp M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Rick Jotani M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Alison Hester Unknown Ashley HawkinsM.D. Program, U. of Alabama Blake Coblentz Research Assistant, Neurobiology, UAB Sheri Routt Ph.D. Program, Molec., UAB Gabe Rulewicz M.D. Program, U. of Mississippi Amir Contractor Engineering major, UAH Amy Bearden M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Harry Giles M.D. Program, U. of Alabama Gaurav Khatri Junior computer science major Geoffrey Chew Sophomore biology major Chris McCoy Junior biology major NSF Form 1362 (7/95) 24 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH for LARRY FISH. Larry Fish University of Alabama SOPH/Department of Health Behavior 227 Ryals Building Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0022 (205) 934-6020 [email protected] EDUCATION 1. 2. 3. 4. Carleton College, Northfield, Minn. Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics and Education, 1975. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Undergraduate Development Certificate, Computer Science, 1982. University of New Orleans, La. Master of Arts in Educational Administration, Emphasis in Research, Statistics and Education, 1986. University of California, Los Angeles. Graduate School of Education. Doctor of Philosophy in Social Research Methods, June, 1995. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 1. Research and Evaluation University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, Health Behavior Dept. 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL, 35294. 8/96 - present. Post-Doctoral Fellow. Responsible primarily for design and data analysis in behavioral research projects. Other activities have included several lectures and two quarter-length seminars on statistical applications. National Council of La Raza: Project EXCEL Los Angeles Program Office, 900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1520, Los Angeles, CA, 90017; 9/90 - 3/94. Data Specialist for the evaluation of educational initiatives implemented in about 25 sites across the country. Responsible for design of data collection instruments, entry and management of data, data analysis, and report writing. Some grant-writing and staff-training responsibilities. 2. Teaching, Secondary-Level Mathematics Several secondary schools, in Honduras (8/82-7/84); United States (Minnesota, 8/81-6/82); Sierra Leone (1/78-12/79); and Swaziland (9/75-12/77). 3. Graduate Student Employment UCLA, Graduate School of Education, Division of Social Research Methods. 9/87 - 8/90 and 4/94 - 1/96. Programming, data management and analysis, and report writing for several evaluation and research projects. Consultation in research methods and data analysis, primarily for doctoral students, with occasional lectures on statistical topics. Orleans Parish Schools, Department of Research and Evaluation, New Orleans, La. Evaluation intern (1986). 25 PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS 1. Publications and Reports L. Fish, L.C. Leviton. Program evaluation. In J.M. Raczynski and R.J. DiClemente, eds. Handbook of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, in press. New York: Plenum Press. L.C. Leviton, R.L. Goldenberg, C.S. Baker, M.C. Freda, R.M. Schwartz, L. Fish., et al. Consensus conferences can affect practice: Randomized controlled trial of methods to encourage the use of antenatal corticosteroid therapy for fetal maturation. Accepted for publication by Journal of the American Medical Association. L. Fish. Book review: New Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences by Rand Wilcox. Educational and Psychological Measurement, Autumn, 1989. L. Fish. Why multivariate statistics are usually vital. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, October, 1988. L. Fish. The importance of invariance procedures as against tests of statistical significance. 1986; ERIC document no. ED 278 707. 2. Presentations D. Coombs, E. Chess, L. Fish, et al.. Application of the transtheoretical model of change to suicidal behavior. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Association of Suicidology , Bethesda, MD, April, 1998. L. Fish. How evaluators perceive evaluation misuse. Paper presented at the joint conference of the American Evaluation Association and the Canadian Evaluation Society, Vancouver B.C., November, 1995. L. Fish. The Matrix Calculator: An educational computer program for students of statistics. Paper and computer software presented an the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, Boston, November, 1994. L. Fish. A critique of parametric hypothesis testing in educational research and evaluation. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, Dallas, November, 1993. L. Fish. A critique of statistical significance testing in educational research. Paper presented at the annual conference of the California Educational Research Association, San Diego, Nov., 1991. L. Fish. On the use of statistical methods in educational research. Paper presented at the annual conference of the California Educational Research Association, Santa Barbara, Nov., 1990. L. Fish. On the use of factor analysis in program evaluation. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, San Francisco, Oct., 1989. NSF Form 1362 (7/95) 26 SUMMARY PROPOSAL BUDGET FOR NSF USE ONLY ORGANIZATION Birmingham-Southern College PROPOSAL NO. DURATION (MONTHS) Proposed PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT DIRECTOR Leo Pezzementi A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates (List each separately with title, A.7. Show number in brackets) Granted AWARD NO. NSF-Funded Person-months CAL ACAD SUMR 1 1. Leo Pezzementi 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ( ) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET EXPLANATION PAGE) 7. ( ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1-6) B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS) 1. ( ) POST DOCTORAL ASSOCIATES 2. ( ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.) 3. ( ) GRADUATE STUDENTS 4. ( ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS 5. ( ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY) 6. (1) OTHER (Evaluation Consultant) TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B) C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS) FICA TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C) D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.) Forma Model 1104 Biological Safety Cabinet, $8,980 Bio-Tek Elx808 Microtitre Plate Reader, Computer, and Software, $12,700 12-Channel Finnpipettes (4) $2,210 SigmaPlot 5.0, $5,200 TOTAL EQUIPMENT E. TRAVEL 1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS) 2. FOREIGN F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS 1. STIPENDS $ 2. TRAVEL 3. SUBSISTENCE 4. OTHER ( ) TOTAL PARTICIPANT COSTS G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS 1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION 3. CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR EVALUATION OF PROJECT 4. COMPUTER SERVICES 5. SUBAWARDS 6. OTHER TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G) I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A) (SPECIFY RATE AND BASE) Funds Requested By Proposer $6,396 Funds Granted by NSF (If Different) $ $6,396 $480 $6,876 $29,090 $4,800 $4,800 $40,766 TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A) 0 J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I) $40,766 K. RESIDUAL FUNDS (IF FOR FURTHER SUPPORT OF CURRENT PROJECT SEE GPG II.D.7.j.) L. AMOUNT OF THIS REQUEST (J) OR (J MINUS K) $40,766 M. COST-SHARING: PROPOSED LEVEL $20,383 AGREED LEVEL IF DIFFERENT: $ PI/PD TYPED NAME AND SIGNATURE* DATE FOR NSF USE ONLY Leo Pezzementi INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION ORG. REP. TYPED NAME & SIGNATURE* DATE Date Checked Date of Rate Sheet Initials-ORG Neal Berte, President NSF Form 1030 (10/97) Supersedes All Previous Editions *SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET (GPG III.B) 27 FIRST YEAR PROPOSAL BUDGET FOR NSF USE ONLY ORGANIZATION Birmingham-Southern College PROPOSAL NO. DURATION (MONTHS) Proposed PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT DIRECTOR Granted AWARD NO. A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates (List each separately with title, A.7. Show number in brackets) NSF-Funded Person-months CAL ACAD SUMR 1 1. Leo Pezzementi 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ( ) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET EXPLANATION PAGE) 7. ( ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1-6) B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS) 1. ( ) POST DOCTORAL ASSOCIATES 2. ( ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.) 3. ( ) GRADUATE STUDENTS 4. ( ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS 5. ( ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY) 6. (1) OTHER (Evaluation Consultant) TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B) C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS) FICA TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C) D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.) Forma Model 1104 Biological Safety Cabinet, $8,980 Bio-Tek Elx808 Microtitre Plate Reader, Computer, and Software, $12,700 12-Channel Finnpipettes (4) $2,210 SigmaPlot 5.0, $5,200 TOTAL EQUIPMENT E. TRAVEL 1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS) 2. FOREIGN F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS 1. STIPENDS $ 2. TRAVEL 3. SUBSISTENCE 4. OTHER ( ) TOTAL PARTICIPANT COSTS G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS 1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION 3. CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR EVALUATION OF PROJECT 4. COMPUTER SERVICES 5. SUBAWARDS 6. OTHER TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G) I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A) (SPECIFY RATE AND BASE) Funds Requested By Proposer $6,396 Funds Granted by NSF (If Different) $ $6,396 $480 $6,876 $29,090 $2,400 $2,400 $38,816 TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A) 0 J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I) $38,816 K. RESIDUAL FUNDS (IF FOR FURTHER SUPPORT OF CURRENT PROJECT SEE GPG II.D.7.j.) L. AMOUNT OF THIS REQUEST (J) OR (J MINUS K) $38,816 M. COST-SHARING: PROPOSED LEVEL $19,408 AGREED LEVEL IF DIFFERENT: $ PI/PD TYPED NAME AND SIGNATURE* DATE FOR NSF USE ONLY Leo Pezzementi INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION ORG. REP. TYPED NAME & SIGNATURE* DATE Date Checked Date of Rate Sheet Initials-ORG Neal Berte, President NSF Form 1030 (10/97) Supersedes All Previous Editions *SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET (GPG III.B) 28 SECOND YEAR PROPOSAL BUDGET FOR NSF USE ONLY ORGANIZATION Birmingham-Southern College PROPOSAL NO. DURATION (MONTHS) Proposed PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT DIRECTOR Leo Pezzementi A. SENIOR PERSONNEL: PI/PD, Co-PI’s, Faculty and Other Senior Associates (List each separately with title, A.7. Show number in brackets) Granted AWARD NO. NSF-Funded Person-months CAL ACAD SUMR Funds Requested By Proposer Funds Granted by NSF (If Different) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ( ) OTHERS (LIST INDIVIDUALLY ON BUDGET EXPLANATION PAGE) 7. ( ) TOTAL SENIOR PERSONNEL (1-6) B. OTHER PERSONNEL (SHOW NUMBERS IN BRACKETS) 1. ( ) POST DOCTORAL ASSOCIATES 2. ( ) OTHER PROFESSIONALS (TECHNICIAN, PROGRAMMER, ETC.) 3. ( ) GRADUATE STUDENTS 4. ( ) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS 5. ( ) SECRETARIAL - CLERICAL (IF CHARGED DIRECTLY) 6. (1) OTHER (Evaluation Consultant) TOTAL SALARIES AND WAGES (A + B) C. FRINGE BENEFITS (IF CHARGED AS DIRECT COSTS) FICA TOTAL SALARIES, WAGES AND FRINGE BENEFITS (A + B + C) D. EQUIPMENT (LIST ITEM AND DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR EACH ITEM EXCEEDING $5,000.) TOTAL EQUIPMENT E. TRAVEL 1. DOMESTIC (INCL. CANADA, MEXICO AND U.S. POSSESSIONS) 2. FOREIGN F. PARTICIPANT SUPPORT COSTS 1. STIPENDS $ 2. TRAVEL 3. SUBSISTENCE 4. OTHER ( ) TOTAL PARTICIPANT COSTS G. OTHER DIRECT COSTS 1. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 2. PUBLICATION COSTS/DOCUMENTATION/DISSEMINATION 3. CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR EVALUATION OF PROJECT 4. COMPUTER SERVICES 5. SUBAWARDS 6. OTHER TOTAL OTHER DIRECT COSTS H. TOTAL DIRECT COSTS (A THROUGH G) I. INDIRECT COSTS (F&A) (SPECIFY RATE AND BASE) $2,400 $2,400 $2,400 TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS (F&A) 0 J. TOTAL DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (H + I) $2,400 K. RESIDUAL FUNDS (IF FOR FURTHER SUPPORT OF CURRENT PROJECT SEE GPG II.D.7.j.) L. AMOUNT OF THIS REQUEST (J) OR (J MINUS K) $2,400 M. COST-SHARING: PROPOSED LEVEL $1,200 AGREED LEVEL IF DIFFERENT: $ PI/PD TYPED NAME AND SIGNATURE* DATE FOR NSF USE ONLY Leo Pezzementi INDIRECT COST RATE VERIFICATION ORG. REP. TYPED NAME & SIGNATURE* DATE Date Checked Date of Rate Sheet Initials-ORG Neal Berte, President NSF Form 1030 (10/97) Supersedes All Previous Editions *SIGNATURES REQUIRED ONLY FOR REVISED BUDGET (GPG III.B) 29 Budget Justification Equipment. Bio-Tek ELx808 Microtitre Plate Reader, Computer, and Windows Data Capture Software. At the present time, we are using a computer-interfaced Bio-Tek EL311 plate reader. The reader and the software have been very reliable, and I think that it would be a good idea to have a similar instrument. The list price for the instrument, computer, and software is $13,560. With a discount, the price is $12,700. Forma Model 1104 Biological Safety Cabinet. Currently, we have one Forma 1104 biological safety cabinet, which was purchased under an NSF-CSIP grant. This hood has been very reliable and another of the same kind would make servicing and maintenance more efficient. I was not able to obtain a discount. The price is $8,980. 12-Channel Finnpipettes. We currently use my two research multi-channel Finnpipettes in the teaching laboratory, and I have been very satisfied with their performance. The list price of each 12-channel pipette is $690 (4@$2,760). Discounted the price is $552 (4@$2,208). SigmaPlot 5.0. I have used SigmaPlot for a number of years to fit and graph kinetic, pharmacological, and other data. The Windows version is much more user-friendly than the DOS version. Currently, most of our science students are using Microsoft Excel for graphical analysis. This program is not designed for scientific applications. It is worth noting that SigmaPlot 5.0 is compatible with Excel spreadsheets. I am asking for twenty permanent site licenses to equip a computer laboratory. I expect that students in other upper-level science courses will use this software. The cost of a twenty-site license is $5,200. 30 Summer salary. I am requesting one month’s summer salary and fringe benefits ($6,875) primarily for the revision of course materials, for the preparation of a complete laboratory manual for the course, and for the initial development of evaluation materials with Dr. Larry Fish. Evaluation Consultants. Dr. Larry Fish, University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, Health Behavior Department will be the evaluation consultant on this project. His salary is $2,200/year, $4,400 total, for the evaluation of the project, which is based on the equivalent of one day per month, plus an additional two weeks, for a total of 22 days per year at $100 per day. Additionally, judges recruited from local college faculty in biology, most likely the University of Alabama at Birmingham, for the rating of the scientific and “publication” quality of the student course papers will be paid $200/year, $400 total; 4 group papers each year @ 2 hours/paper. Indirect Costs. The College does not currently have a negotiated indirect cost rate with the federal government, and I am not asking for any indirect costs. Request from NSF. The total budget for the project is $40,766. The College will proved $20,383, a 50% match. 31 6. Current and Pending Support See GPG Section II.D.8 for guidance on information to include on this form.) The following information should be provided for each investigator and other senior personnel. Failure to provide this information may delay consideration of this proposal. Other agencies (including NSF) to which this proposal has been/will be submitted. Investigator: Leo Pezzementi Support: Current None [x] Submission Planned in Near Future Pending *Transfer of Support Project/Proposal Title: RUI: Structure and function of cholinesterase from amphioxus Source of Support: NSF-RUI: Division Total Award Amount: $90,000 estimated of Integrative Biology and Neuroscience Total Award Period Covered: June 1999-May 2002 Birmingham-Southern College Location of Project: Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Support: Current [ ] Pending Cal: 4.5 Acad: 2.5 [ ] Submission Planned in Near Future Sumr: 2 *Transfer of Support Project/Proposal Title: Source of Support: Total Award Amount: Total Award Period Covered: Location of Project: Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Support: Current Pending Cal: Acad: Submission Planned in Near Future Sumr: *Transfer of Support Project/Proposal Title: Source of Support: Total Award Amount: $ Total Award Period Covered: Location of Project: Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Support: Current Pending Cal: Acad: Submission Planned in Near Future Sumr: *Transfer of Support Project/Proposal Title: Source of Support: Total Award Amount: $ Total Award Period Covered: Location of Project: Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Support: Current Pending Cal: Acad: Submission Planned in Near Future Sumr: *Transfer of Support Project/Proposal Title: Source of Support: Total Award Amount: $ Total Award Period Covered: Location of Project: Person-Months Per Year Committed to the Project. Cal: Acad: Sumr: *If this project has previously been funded by another agency, please list and furnish information for immediately preceding funding period. NSF Form 1239 (7/95) USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS AS NECESSARY 32 APPENDIX I. Data on graduates in the sciences from Birmingham-Southern College. Table 1. Number of Graduating Majors by Year. Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 28 27 21 31 34 Biology 11 10 14 9 13 Bio.-Psy.a b Chemistry 2 4 9 8 3 1998 26 16 7 a Biology-Psychology interdisciplinary major. Many chemistry majors take upper-level cell and molecular biology courses as part of the Biological Chemistry track of the Chemistry major. b Table 2. Number of Students Admitted to Professional Schools Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 25 23 22 22 27 30 Medical 5 2 2 6 2 6 Dental Phys. Ther. 0 1 0 1 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 Optometry 0 0 2 2 3 4 Nursing 0 0 1 0 1 1 Veterinary 30 27 27 31 37 43 Total 1998 27 10 2 1 2 1 43 Table 3. Baccalaureate-origin institutions of doctorate recipients, from 1920-1995. Date of Doctorate Chemistry Biochemistry Other Biol. Sci. Total Biol. Sci. 53 7 69 9 47 16 1920-1995 7 2 1985-1995 Data are from the National Academy of Sciences. Table 4. Average Scores of Senior Biology Majors on the Biology Major Field Achievement Test. Year Percentile 90-91 60 91-92 65 92-93 21 93-94 61 94-95 77 95-96 87 96-97 95 97-98 87 Table 5. Estimated Numbers of Students Involved in Undergraduate Research. 1992-993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 Year 4 7 17 24 39 28 Biology* 2 3 7 12 11 8 Chemistry 0 0 0 4 7 2 Physics 0 0 0 7 4 4 Mathematics 0 0 0 7 2 14 Comp.Sci. 6 10 24 54 63 60 Total 33 APPENDIX II. SCIENCE MISSION STATEMENT - DRAFT The mission of the natural sciences at Birmingham-Southern College is to promote scientific understanding, emphasizing the content, process, and interdisciplinary nature of science, to develop critical thinking skills, to enhance verbal and written communication abilities, to encourage reasoned debate on scientific issues, and to promote civic responsibility. The natural sciences will meet this challenge by providing a vital, collaborative learning community of students, faculty, and staff based on investigative field- and laboratory-intensive curricula. In this active, collaborative learning environment, students will have opportunities to develop these qualities via hands-on experimentation, undergraduate research, one-on-one interactions with faculty, group interactions with other students, and outreach activities to local institutions. Graduates in the natural sciences will have the scientific foundation necessary to be competitive in the 21st Century, whether in the job force, or in quality graduate and professional programs. Both majors and nonmajors will have the skills to make informed decisions on increasingly complex, technological issues affecting their communities. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN - DRAFT 1. Provide interactive group learning opportunities in lecture and laboratory, blurring the distinction between lecture and laboratory, particularly in upper-level courses, and awarding credit for both experiences. This goal will require classroom spaces that will allow and encourage group learning, and laboratory spaces that will allow experimentation and discussion. Spaces will also be needed to promote the informal interaction of students with students and with faculty. 2. Expect that each science laboratory course contain some investigative, research-type laboratories, in which students design, perform, interpret, and present experiments. This type of hands-on, personal learning is an effective way to teach science, since students have a sense of ownership of their education. Encourage the incorporation of independent student projects and faculty research projects in each course beginning at the introductory level and increasing in complexity and importance through the upper level courses. 3. Institute a strong scientific writing component in each science major, preferably in each course, emphasizing both technical and non-technical styles of writing to link communication skills and course work. Likewise, provide opportunities for oral presentations. Communication of ones findings is a very important component of the scientific process. 4. Ensure that all students should have a capstone scholarly experience, whether it be the scholarship of discovery, which encompasses most traditional research; the scholarship of integration, which approaches interdisciplinary questions with the same rigor; the scholarship of application, which applies knowledge and theory to the problems of the world; or the scholarship of teaching, which is central to the mission of the College as a liberal arts institution. 5. Provide opportunities for collaborative research between faculty and students that lead to presentations and publications, both on and off campus. This goal will require the student-faculty research laboratories located near to faculty offices. 6. Provide opportunities for internships with, with professionals in health-care, industry, and academia, and in area schools and science education organizations. 7. Broaden opportunities, responsibilities, and rewards for students teaching students – whether as full-fledged teaching assistants (as currently done in BI 115), in tutoring programs, in review sessions, or in student-run interim classes conducted as part of the scholarship of teaching. 8. Expect each graduating science major to give at least one science-based presentation outside the classroom to the faculty and/or the college community as part of their capstone experience. These presentations could be at Honors Day or at a newly instituted Science Afternoon, which could be a part of the ‘Southern Science Symposium. 9. Create a summer undergraduate research program. Such a program is crucial to the development of a true learning community in the sciences. Establish an endowment for this program and for undergraduate research during the school year. The endowment should provide for student and faculty stipends, and for research supplies and travel. 34 10. Enhance the activities of and the involvement in current student science organizations, and promote the development of new science student organizations, if necessary. These organizations should promote undergraduate research, on- and off-campus speakers, and outreach activities. 11. Continue to develop new courses, majors, minors, and inter/multidisciplinary programs and revise existing ones to link the sciences to other areas of study both inside and outside the Division. Interdisciplinary programs currently under consideration are Environmental Studies, Neuroscience, and Biophysics. These programs will extend the connections amongst the science disciplines on the campus, and expand them outside the sciences. 12. Develop a two-term science general education requirement that is laboratory based. Ensure that the courses used to satisfy this requirement adhere to the tenets of the Mission Statement and the Academic Plan, the General Education Statement for the sciences, and the goals of the Expanded Paradigm. Most likely, this goal will not be pursued only on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College, but cooperatively on all the campuses of the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS). 13. Maintain or reduce 12:1 student faculty ratio. If enrollment increases from 1150 to 1400 (20% increase) and if the new facility increases enrollment the additional 25% in the sciences, at least 5 new faculty will be needed in the sciences in order to maintain the 12-hour/4-course teaching load. Since many of the activities listed in the academic plan will require additional faculty time, a revision of the way that teaching load is determined in the sciences may have to be considered. Additional programs would require additional staffing. These contingencies have been taken into account in the planning of the new science facility. 14. Limit introductory class size to 60 students and laboratory size to 20 students to maximize faculty-student interaction and to allow multiple types of learning. Decrease the size of large upper-level classes, particularly in biology. 15. Develop a science seminar series funded through the College and/or external funding that brings once a month to the campus speakers in the various disciplines to discuss recent advances in the field, career opportunities for science graduates, and the graduate/professional experience required. Seniors would be expected to attend these seminars. 16. Develop strong active involvement in regional/national science organizations to keep abreast of new programs/trends/funding opportunities in science education. The Colleges involvement in Project Kaleidoscope has been invaluable. 17. Provide outreach/community service activities to area schools students and teachers. These activities could include teacher workshops, and science majors at the College working as mentors/tutors with area school students. 18. Provide each new faculty member start-up funds comparable to that offered at other ACS institutions. 19. Expect each faculty member to have a strong, demonstrable, and lasting commitment to research appropriate for undergraduate student involvement. 20. Expect all members of the faculty to seek outside funding for research, curricular changes, equipment, and/or new course/program development. 21. Increase available development funds for faculty to explore possibilities for student research projects. These funds could be used for travel, modest startup funds, and Cold Spring Harbor/Woods Hole-type courses. 22. Increase the effective use of technology and instrumentation in both the classroom and the laboratory for teaching, learning, and research. Augment the endowment for essential laboratory equipment. Create an endowment for the operation of the new science facility. 23. Increase technical support staff. Convert the current 10-month position to a 12-month appointment. At least one additional person will be needed for a new facility. 24. Communicate better to the College Community the nature of science education and research. 25. Continue working with the administration of the College to provide the time, money, faculty, and support services required to implement the above. 35 APPENDIX III: EXPANDING THE PARADIGM OF GENERAL EDUCATION A REPORT OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE - FALL SEMESTER 1997 Nancy Davis, Susan Hagen, George Klersey, Michael McInturff, Bill Myers, Lester Seigel, Bob Whetstone, Roy Wells, and Leo Pezzementi, Birmingham-Southern College However official college documents may have defined general education, conventionally students and faculty members—even the public at large—have associated general education with a prescribed set of courses taken in fulfillment of requirements for a college degree. At some institutions that set is a series of courses taken by all students in common in an established order—a core set of courses; at others it is a selection from designated choices in a range of categories—distribution requirements. Since 1978, at Birmingham-Southern College it has been, in addition to demonstration of written and mathematical competency, one to two units of credit taken in seven specified areas, each of which models a different intellectual mode of inquiry, such as in metaphysics or ethics, literature or history, aesthetics, or the natural or behavioral sciences, as well as language acquisition. Certainly this conventional perception of general education, whatever the organizational model used, must remain at the center of our view of what experiences are needed in common for a liberally educated student body. We now recognize, however, that while that “prescribed set of courses” is a necessary component in the definition of general education, it is not sufficient. It neither describes fully what we have actually been doing in the past nor what we must do in the future to assure the prosperity of liberal arts education. The activities and qualities listed below are things we recognize as increasingly important in producing the types of learning and habits of mind necessary for educated people in the 21st century, people of knowledge and adaptability, personal initiative and team-work, inquiry and practice. The aim of Birmingham-Southern College is in no way to limit, much less replace, the traditional notion of general education but rather to expand it to address the expanding set of talents and skills necessary for learned people in an increasingly complex social and technological society. Similarly, we wish to expand the paradigm of ways in which the goals of general education might be achieved. Never should we underestimate the power of a lecture expertly presented and passionately felt. Never should we minimize the worth of individual study conducted in privacy in the library, studio, or lab. Never should we denigrate learning purely for the joy of learning. But by the same token, neither should we underestimate the power of students learning from each other, or minimize energy to be gained from working collaboratively, or denigrate the practical application of things learned speculatively. Thus, the College acknowledges a new role for faculty and staff in liberal learning in the following areas: • Collaborative Learning. The first part of the expanding paradigm facilitates active and collaborative learning in which the student becomes an active participant in the learning process, interacting with faculty and peers. Examples of collaborative learning include undergraduate research, team exercises in the classroom and the laboratory, or any of an infinite number of adaptations to classroom pedagogy and course design. The College fosters such activities by striving to maintaining a 1:12 faculty-student ratio, by retaining a faculty committed to a student-centered learning community, and by offering support for continued faculty development in innovative teaching. • Discovery and Creativity. A liberal education nurtures the love of discovery and creativity. Good teaching in this area encourages the student to appreciate the intrinsic value of discovery and creativity through instruction in the four primary activities involved in the process: preparation, consolidation, insight, and verification. It is important for all students in a liberal arts college, regardless of major, to learn not only to appreciate the acts of creativity and discovery, but to learn to be creative, for it is creativity and discovery that lead to all that we hold dear in a liberal education. • Teaching Experiences. Essential to an institution dedicated to liberal learning is teaching as an example of theory in practice. Effective teaching not only illustrates the application of knowledge, it also raises the teacher's understanding of the subject matter to a higher level, for only when something becomes an integral part of our own understanding can we have the clarity of mind to communicate it to another. Acknowledging the learning component of teaching, then, the College encourages peer teaching activities in and out of the classroom setting and provides various opportunities for students to work with full-time faculty in teaching, as well as research, endeavors. • Scholarship. Equally important to an academic institution is scholarship, whether it be the scholarship of discovery, which encompasses most traditional research; the scholarship of integration, which approaches interdisciplinary questions with the same rigor; the scholarship of application, which applies knowledge and theory to the problems of the world; and the scholarship of teaching, which is as valid as any of the other forms of scholarship, and central to the mission of the College. All of these forms of scholarship are characterized by clear goals, adequate preparation, appropriate methods, 36 significant results, effective communication, and reflective critique. It is important that undergraduate students learn, through both independent and collaborative projects, the importance of scholarship to life-long learning. To that end, a summer program in undergraduate research is underway, and both on-campus and off-campus opportunities for student presentations of research findings are encouraged. Just as the College supports faculty travel for presentation of papers at professional conferences, funds have been set aside for aiding students in presentation of their research. • Technology as a Partner in Teaching and Research. Technology as a partner in teaching and research is an integral part of any contemporary learning model. Technology can take us beyond the walls of the local College to acclaimed libraries, sophisticated laboratories, and advanced databases around the globe. It can also provide us with 24-hour access to class materials and electronic communication, and computer visualization of complex theorems and intellectual models. Recognizing technology’s promise, the College has invested heavily in a computer infrastructure that links every venue of the residential and academic community. Looking to technology to serve education in such a way as to preserve the best of the personal mentor/student relationship while expanding the potential for learning and teaching skills useful in an increasingly technological society, the College values technology not for itself, but for how it may be put to the service of teaching and learning as a seamless part of the College curriculum. • Civic Imagination. There seems to be a consensus among those who watch teachers and write about liberal learning that the mission of colleges in the new millennium should include the cultivation of civic imagination. BirminghamSouthern College has developed a model for civic imagination through its pioneering efforts in leadership studies and learning through service. These programs are wonderful examples of the new way of delivering education, for they permeate both the instructional and the student life realms of the campus community. Through both programs, faculty, staff, and students are brought together with the local community in an attempt to better define what the citizen of tomorrow should be. • Cross-Cultural Experiences. These new citizens must understand themselves as a part of a culture, a race, a gender, or a nation. Understanding one’s place in an ever-widening circle of contexts is one of the most traditional goals of liberal learning and it continues to be so. But citizens of the next century must understand those contexts from the perspectives of others, too, if they are to play a vital role in our global culture. Cross-cultural experiences through study abroad opportunities, international internships, service learning and interim projects, and regular term learning have been expanded at the College. Soon, these programs will take on a new dimension, as an office of cross-cultural and international studies is established to oversee programmatic aspects of this essential area of learning. • Moral Imagination. Tomorrow's citizens will be faced with moral and ethical dilemmas, both those common to the general human experience as well as those created by an ever-changing world. Liberal arts education provides these citizens opportunities for the exploration of decision-making and problem-solving strategies across disciplines. Through reading the literature of a people in crisis, examining the politics or psychology of conflict, designing an experiment to better understand an issue, or performing a work with emotional impact, students gain not only an academic understanding of their world, but also an opportunity to see the world of others. It is through such understanding that we develop the empathy to participate in solving problems with others while integrating our knowledge with our personal beliefs. Allowing tomorrow's citizens to experience the world of others provides them with vicarious practice for making life's decisions, thus enhancing their development of personal convictions. Personal convictions paired with civic imagination is the goal of liberal learning. General education in the liberal arts tradition has always extended its focus beyond the confines of the campus and the college years. The expanded paradigm will increase our emphasis on preparing students to be life-long learners, to be active and successful in careers and communities, to be individuals who make positive contributions to the world around them. The increased emphasis on theory and practice will encourage students to be participatory learners and leaders throughout their lives. The expanded paradigm should serve our students well even when they first leave the College. They should be better prepared for graduate and professional study and more highly prized by the world of business. Because of their General Education experiences, our graduates will be better able to understand and help shape the changing world of the next century. Their knowledge, experience, and adaptability will serve them well. These will be invaluable skills in advanced study, in business and government, and in all facets of life. 37 APPENDIX IV. Letters of Endorsement Page 39 – Letter of Commitment from Dr. H. Irvin Penfield, Provost. Page 40 – Letter of Endorsement from Dr. Susan Hagen, Associate Dean of the College, Chair of the Humanities. 38 39 40 APPENDIX V. Abbreviated Syllabus Biology 363 - Molecular Cell Biology Birmingham-Southern College Fall 1993 Leo Pezzementi Text: Recombinant DNA, 2nd edition., James D. Watson, Michael Gilman, Jan Witkowski, and Mark Zoller. 1993. New York: Freeman. I am still considering texts at this time. The goals of the course are for you • • • to learn the vocabulary and concepts of modern molecular and cellular biology, to learn to understand and examine the experimental basis for generalizations about genes, gene expression, and cell function, to learn how to write a scientific grant proposal. These have been modified. Course Outline. This course will probably be different from other science courses that you have taken. I will lecture only during the first month of the course. During this time, we will cover selected portions of the text. These lectures will provide you with a background for the remainder of the course, during which we will read and discuss original scientific articles from the literature. This format will be modified. Lecture. The lectures during the first month of the course will cover the following topics and Chapters: Chapter Topic Devel. of Recombinant DNA Technol. 2 DNA is the Primary Genetic Material 3 Elucidation of the Genetic Code 4 The Genetic Elements of Gene Expression 5 Creating Recombinant DNA Molecules Analysis of Cloned Genes 6 The Polymerase Chain Reaction 7 The Isolation of Cloned Genes 8 The Complexity of the Genome 9 Controlling Eukaryotic Gene Expression Chapter Topic New Tools for Studying Gene Function 11 In Vitro Mutagenesis 12 Transferring Genes into Mammalian Cells 14 Introduction of Foreign Genes into Mice Appl. of Recomb. DNA to Biotechnology 23 Recomb. DNA in Medicine and Industry Impact on Human Genetics 26 Mapping & Cloning Human Disease Genes 27 DNA-Based Diagnosis of Genetic Diseases 28 Working Toward Human Gene Therapy Seminars/Discussions. After the lecture portion of the course is finished, you will be required to lead discussion groups when the class meets. You will work individually This time students will work in groups. and will lead two discussion groups -- some of these seminars will be before Fall Break and some after Fall Break. This portion of the course will allow you to analyze some of the most recent discoveries in molecular and cellular biology. You will select articles from Nature or Science that I have placed on reserve in the library. Each of these articles is accompanied by a "News and Views" article that provides background material and usually says why the article is important. You must select your article at least one week before you present it to the class. This will alert me to the topic of your presentation. When you are leading a discussion group, you will meet with me to discuss your article before it is discussed in class. The tentative calendar for these discussions is attached to the syllabus. Even though only one student is responsible for leading the discussion, all students are responsible for participating in the discussion. To facilitate this participation, you will be required to complete discussion worksheets. I will provide you with more information about these sheets before we begin this part of the course. I will give a sample seminar. New course description. Biology 325, Recombinant DNA Technology. A course investigating the impact of genetic engineering in the biological sciences. Emphasis will be placed on the techniques of gene cloning and analysis and how these techniques can be used as tools in basic research in signal transduction, oncogenes, evolution, and nervous system function; and in applied research in agriculture, medicine, and industry. The social impact of recombinant DNA technology will also be discussed. Three lecture/discussions and one three-hour laboratory each week. Some laboratory work outside the scheduled laboratory time will also be required. Prerequisites: BI 105, 115, 125, and 301. 41 APPENDIX VI. ARTICLE DISCUSSION WORKSHEET (Spacing condensed to fit one page.) Name Author Title Please complete the worksheet before class in a color or ink or pencil different from that you will in class. You may use additional sheets. During the discussion you may want to add to or modify what you have written on the worksheet. Please do not scratch out anything; indicate additions you make in class by using a different color pen or pencil. PHASE I - What The Author Said 1. Definitions: List key new terms and concepts. Define those you don't already know. Circle those you feel need to be discussed. (Don't use class time to define terms that are clear to all.) 2. Summarize the author's general point in 3 or 4 sentences (in a manner similar to an abstract). State points directly rather than "he says" or "it's about". (Don't evaluate the material here!) 3. Identify Major Themes and Key Points. This is best done by a point outline. Note and circle questions and points you feel need discussion. Your outline should cover the entire assignment, but your discussion should deal only with areas that group members feel it would be most profitable to discuss. 4. Allocate Time for Discussion (in class only) 5. Discuss the Article: What the Author Said (in class only) PHASE II - What I Think About This Develop your ideas for integration, application, and evaluation into short paragraphs. 6. Integration: with other course materials? With your other knowledge of science? To the nature and limits of scientific knowledge? With ideas outside science? 7. Applications and Implications: for basic science? For applied science? For science education? For society? 1. Evaluate Article on the following points: Adequate Presentation (clear, consistent, evidence, analysis) Contextual Evaluation (alternatives, other data) Consequences (positive, negative, credulity or skepticism) Your Position (key ideas, accept or reject, why?) Impact (effective, interesting, tone, terse or wordy, other) 42 APPENDIX VII. Below is a questionnaire that I gave to the students at the end of the cloning project in cell biology; two representative answers, given verbatim, for questions 2-5; and my comments. 1. Compared to other laboratories that I have participated in, the cDNA cloning lab was a. much worse-0 b. worse-0 c. the same-1 d. better-0 e. much better-10 2. Please explain your answer. I enjoyed the lab because I felt as though I was actually accomplishing something researchwise, and truly learning about it, whereas in other labs I sometimes felt as though they were just lab exercises. Unlike other labs, this one allowed us to follow through from the very starting preparation of the clones to the sequencing of the isolated DNA. The other labs have everything already prepared for the most part. The students really had a sense of ownership of the project, more than I have seen in other laboratories, even very investigative ones. 3. Regardless of your answer, what was the best part of the exercise? The moment I found out that I had gotten a gene. It was a real sense of accomplishment. Actually being able to sequence the DNA & determine what it (probably) was. Almost unanimously, the students also felt a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the project. They were proud to display their posters in the hallway. 4. Regardless of your answer, what was the worst part of the exercise? The worst part of the exercise was the fact that we did the sequencing part over after no results, however, I am not sure that was exactly a bad idea since it made us more familiar with the methods. Doing the sequencing reaction more than once because data was not gained. The difficulty of getting the DNA sequencing reactions was very frustrating for the students; the students did not have any trouble with the PCR-screening of recombinant colonies. Their DNA was pure enough to be sequenced at UAB; the problem was with the sequencing reactions. 5. What could be done to make the laboratory better? Finding out exactly why our sequencing did not work, (i.e. denatured sequence enzyme, etc.) and correcting it so the class may have a better chance of successful sequencing than we did. Have a overall outline of each weeks experiments given to each student at the start of the experiments, with a little detail about the objectives achieved for each week. This would be helpful, because of the fact that many of the experiment sometimes have to be repeated from the previous weeks. I plan to correct the sequencing problem by having the sequencing done at UAB. The second comment also refers primarily to the sequencing problem, but also to one other problem encountered in the laboratory, the vacuum-based Wizard plasmid prep procedure, which was problematic in both my teaching and research laboratories. We have solved this problem by switching to the centrifuge-based protocol, which works virtually every time. I will also prepare better laboratory directions. 43 APPENDIX VIII. Tentative Laboratory Outline. WEEK 1. Introduction: Practice plasmid preparation and agarose gel; selection of clones. WEEK 2. Screening of clones by PCR; start PCR during class time. WEEK 3. Isolation of recombinant plasmids for sequencing (Promega Wizard Miniprep); analysis on agarose gel, and cycle sequencing at UAB. WEEK 4. Introduction to DNA sequence analysis and identification of clones. WEEK 5. Time for completion of project if necessary; preparation of posters. WEEK 6. Extraction of cholinesterase expression clones from bacterial stocks for in vitro expression (Qiagen Midiprep). WEEK 7. Transfection (begun during class time; Life Technologies Lipofectamine) and collection of data on cholinesterases. Analysis of data on cholinesterases; design of mutagenesis experiments. WEEK 8. Site-directed mutagenesis (begun during class time); transformations during laboratory (Stratagene Quick-Change). WEEK 9. Isolation of plasmid DNA from putative mutant clones; analysis by cycle sequencing (Wizard). WEEK 10. Midiprep of plasmid DNA from mutant bacteria (Qiagen). WEEK 11. Transfection (begun during class time; Lipofectamine) and collection and analysis of data on mutant enzymes. WEEK 12. Time for completion of project if necessary. WEEK 13. Final version of paper due. (First draft due during week 9.) 44 APPENDIX IX. MAJOR Equipment in Cell/Molecular Biology Available for Use by Undergraduates.a Instrument Date Sorvall RC5B Superspeed refrigerated centrifuge 1998 Hoeffer PS 3000 V electrophoresis power supply * 1995 Harris SLT ultralowtemperature freezer 1993 Nikon Labophot-2 fluorescent microscope* 1993 NAPCO 6200 controlled atmosphere incubator 1993 Olympus inverted microscope 1993 Biorad Gene Pulser Electroporation System 1993 BioRad Polyacrylamide minigel electrophoresis chambers (5) 1993 BioRad Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis chambers (2) 1993 BioRad PowerPac300 electrophoresis power supplies (4) 1993 Hoeffer UVTM Transilluminator and Polaroid camera 1993 MVE XC-47/11 Liquid nitrogen refrigerator 1993 BioRad 1000/500 Power Supply* 1993 BioRad Mini Trans-blot Western blotting modules (4) 1993 Lab-Line Reciprocal Shakers (2) 1993 Heraeus Labofuge B lowspeed centrifuge 1993 IEC Clinical centrifuge 1993 Stratagene UV Stralinker 1800* 1991 Stratagene Hybridizer 700 hybridization oven* 1991 Savant SVC100 SpeedVac and trap* 1991 Perkin Elmer Cetus DNA Thermal Cycler 480* 1991 Hoeffer Pokerface DNA sequencing gel electrophoresis chamber* 1991 Hoeffer DryGel Sr. Gel dryer* 1991 Bio-Tek Instruments EL311 microtiter plate reader* 1991 Beckman L7-55 ultracentrifuge and rotors* 1991 Millipore Milli-Q Plus Water System* 1991 Lauda MS-20 circulating water bath* 1991 Hoeffer RedRocker and Thomas Rocker platforms* 1991 Hewlitt-Packard 8452A diode array uv-visible spectrophotometer 1990 IEC Centra-8R refrigerated lowspeed centrifuge 1990 Fisher 9000 circulating refrigerated water bath 1990 Buchler LC-200 Fraction collector 1990 Braunsonic 1510 sonicator 1990 Brinkman Polytron and probe* 1988 Forma Scientific 3158 controlled atmosphere incubator 1988 Forma Scientific 8333 ultralowtemperature freezer 1988 Forma Scientific 1104 biological safety cabinet 1988 Beckman LS5000TA liquid scintillation counter* 1988 Pharmacia P3 peristaltic pump* 1988 Pelton and Crane Magna-Clave Autoclave 1985 LKB fraction collector 1980 IEC B-20A refrigerated highspeed centrifuge 1965 BioRad and Sratagene agarose gel chambers (5 teaching, 5 research)* 1991-1993 Eppendorf and Heraeus Microfuges (2 teaching, 2 research)* 1991-1993 Shaking water baths (1 teaching, 2 research) 1980-1993 pH meters, balances, vortexes, water baths, stirring hot plates, heat blocks, etc. Total a All equipment in the department, whether for teaching or research, is used by undergraduates. b Cost listed is for total when multiple units are listed. *Indicates at least partial funding by grants from the NSF and NIH. Costb 35,000 2,000 6,000 14,000 6,000 2,000 6,000 2,500 5,000 3,000 1,500 1,000 1,200 1,200 2,000 2,000 1,200 1,200 3,000 2,500 8,000 1,200 1,000 5,000 40,000 3,000 1,000 1,000 10,000 5,000 2,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 3,000 3,000 5,000 27,000 1,200 7,000 1,000 5,000 2,500 6,500 4,000 250,900 45
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