Lynn Boyd

lynn.boyd@mtsu.edu

Lynn Boyd

Biology

Discipline specific equipment

SCI 2142, 2150, 2095

N/A

N/A

The General Biology courses plus the Microbiology courses in the Biology Department enroll over 2000 students per academic year. This TAF proposal requests funding to provide laboratory resources for two projects: updating the BIOL 1111 labs and developing a new microbiology course for Nursing majors. Biology Department faculty have been engaged in the process of course redesign for the BIOL 1110. Updating of the laboratory investigations is a critical part of making improvements to these classes. The lab redesign will shift the focus to modern biological skills and techniques. The updated labs will emphasize measurements, data analysis, and other practical lab skills. Purchase of the proposed equipment will allow us to refocus our labs to provide a learning experience for students that will better compliment the redesigned lecture sections. Microbiology is a required course for nursing students. The School of Nursing approached the Biology Department last year asking that we consider offering a microbiology course that would be better suited for their students. Faculty in the department have developed a new course which will be called “Microbiology in Disease”. This course will provide a more applied training for future nurses. This needed equipment includes a modern Biolog System which can rapidly identify over 2,500 species of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, yeasts and fungi. This is the same instrument that is used in clinical settings for identification of infectious agents in patients. Training on this system will be valuable preparation for our nursing students.