Virtual virus, a semester-long interdisciplinary project on the crossroads of creativity and knowledge integration

FEMS Microbiology Letters
Boriana Marintcheva

Abstract

Virtual virus is a semester-long interdisciplinary project offered as part of upper level elective course in virology. Students are challenged to apply key concepts from multiple biological sub-disciplines to 'synthesize' a plausible virtual virus. The project is executed as a scaffolded series of hands-on sessions and mini-projects that are integrated into continuous story leading to mock conference presentation and comprehensive report modeling article publication. It complements classroom instruction helping students to meet overarching learning targets traditionally associated undergraduate virology courses such as viral structure and function, mode of viral propagation and flow of genetic information and virus/host interactions on the cellular and organismal level. Formal instructor and informal peer feedback were used as tools to prompt reflection and guide revisions of the final report. Student learning gains and attitudes toward the approach were studied by evaluating project work product and end of the semester survey. Outcome analysis demonstrated that students exit the course with elaborated conceptual understanding of viruses and ownership of their work. The project can be viewed as an approach to model the process ...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 2010·Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education·Min-Ken Liao
Jan 1, 2011·Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education·Andy Kuniyuki, Gwen Sharp

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Citations

May 1, 2020·Viruses·Jerri C CaldeiraFederica Cavallo
Oct 14, 2017·FEMS Microbiology Letters·Beatrix Fahnert

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