George Murphy

gmurphy@mtsu.edu

George Murphy

Biology

Discipline specific equipment

WPS 300, 301; DSB 135

N/A

N/A

The Biology Department proposes to purchase microscopes with oil immersion lenses (50) for A & P laboratories (WPS 300,301) and add a microscope/camera for video output to projector/TV for three laboratories (WPS 300,301, and DSB 135). We annually enroll 1,500 students in BIOL 2010, 2020 (Anatomy and Physiology I & II; required courses for pre-nursing, pre-health science, and wellness and exercise science majors) and 90 majors in BIOL 4130/5130 (Histology) and BIOL 3010/5010 (Embryology). All courses have a 3 hour laboratory/week, and Histology/Embryology are microscopy based. Anatomy and Physiology students have no required science laboratory pre-requisite, and pre-nursing students move from A & P II to Microbiology (BIOL 2230) where microscopes are used weekly. Microbiology lab instructors report these students have poor microscopy skills, especially with higher magnification oil immersion lenses. Current A & P microscopes are dated, have no oil immersion lens, and student gain no experience in such use. Because it is impossible for instructors to know that all students are properly seeing materials, a microscope/video camera/TV is a valuable technology that allows the instructor to direct attention to the desired aspect of each slide. This capability would be a significant addition to the laboratories listed.