In the Introduction to Molecules, Cells, and Development Discussion and Laboratory, coordinated by Dr. Jenny Rahn, students explore molecular, cell, and developmental biology in a more hands-on way than a lecture course. They also gain experience in experimental design and data analysis in this BIOL 226 course. In this DIY, Dr. Rahn shows how one module teaches students to use geographic information system (GIS) mapping to relate tick distribution, the presence of white-tailed deer, and human land use. GIS has increasingly become an important tool in ecology, and students’ final result displayed the presence of ticks around William & Mary and the surrounding region using Microsoft Excel and Google Earth.
This lab aims to apply topics from the introductory biology lecture to real world endeavors. Dr. Rahn acts as the course’s coordinator, and graduate teaching assistants lead and instruct the labs. Throughout the semester, the lab-style course of 24 students completes several projects structured as multi-week modules. The GIS mapping of tick results is one such project. During the fall semester, students collect ticks in BIOL 221, Introduction to Organisms, Ecology, Evolution Laboratory. Students then take DNA from the ticks and analyze them for diseases during the spring semester in BIOL 226.
After completing BIOL 226 and its assignments successfully, students should have been able to do the following:
Lab Assignments (30% of final grade)
Module 1: Mystery Protein Project (10% of final grade)
Module 2: Students write and submit a formal lab report using local data from the GIS lab (3-5 pages, 10%)
Module 3: Group Presentation (10% of final grade)
Create your data using a spreadsheet app like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets
Visualize your data using a mapping tool like Google Earth, Google Maps, or ARCGIS
Connect your spreadsheet data to your map using importing tools like Earth Point, the resource used in BIOL 226 to import geographical data to Google Earth
Below are resources developed by Jenny Rahn for her lab. If these are useful to you, she would be glad to hear how you’re using them or incorporating them into your own teaching.
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