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The Microbiology and Cell Science program at the University of Florida compressed two standard 16-week lab courses into five-day versions of the course, which are referred to as bootcamp labs. The bootcamp labs have the same objectives, activities, and assessments as their traditional counterparts. Development of the bootcamp labs was part of a larger effort to increase access to the major, and more broadly STEM, by offering a 2+2 hybrid online transfer program. The results of this mixed-methods study include a direct comparison between bootcamp and traditional lab format as an approach for delivery of a face-to-face lab course. The bootcamp lab cohort has a greater diversity of students, with more women and underrepresented minorities in STEM than the traditional semester-long cohorts. Students in the bootcamp labs have comparable grade outcomes and learning gains to students in traditional lab format. Regression analysis identified GPA, but not lab format, as the most significant predictor of success for students enrolled in lab courses. Qualitative results suggest that the bootcamp format may be a better way than traditional formats to teach microbiology lab. In summary, the results demonstrate that a bootcamp version of a face-to-face microbiology course is just as effective as the traditional semester-long version. This work has broader implications as it supports the bootcamp lab approach as a model in STEM education for increasing access and for overcoming a major barrier to online STEM programs: face-to-face delivery of key lab courses.
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Something old, something new: Teaching the BMB lab
Abstract Lab courses are a significant component of biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) education. In teaching the labs, we combine established techniques with novel approaches. Lab formats have also moved from traditional cookbook style labs to guided inquiry to course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), where faculty bring their own research interests into the course setting with a larger number of students in a much more restricted time frame. This presentation is designed to explore some of these ideas and challenge the reader to introduce research opportunities to all students, not just the smaller group of students in their research labs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1709170
- PAR ID:
- 10455104
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education
- Volume:
- 48
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1470-8175
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 640-642
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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