Abstract: Given the increase in the number of students and administrators asking for online courses the author developed two partially online courses. One was a biology majors at genetics course while the other was a non-majors at biology course. The student body at Queensborough Community College is generally underprepared and has work and family obligations. As an educator, one has to be mindful about changing the pedagogical approach, therefore, special care was taken when designing the course material. Despite the initial concerns, both of these partially online courses were received really well by students. Lessons learnt were that student engagement is the key to success in an online course. Good practices to run a successful online course for underprepared students are discussed in this paper. Also discussed are the lessons learnt for making the eLearning environment better for all the students in the class, overachievers and underachievers alike.
Abstract: To ensure student success in a non-majors biology course, a flipped classroom pedagogical approach was developed and implemented. All students were assigned online lectures to listen to before they come to class. A three hour lecture was split into one hour of online component, one hour of in class lecture and one hour of worksheets done by students in the classroom. This deviation from a traditional 3 hour in class lecture has resulted in increased student interest in science as well as better understanding of difficult scientific concepts. A pre and post survey was given to measure the interest in the subject and grades were used to measure the success rates. While the overall grade average did not change dramatically, students reported a much better appreciation of biology. Also, students overwhelmingly like the use of worksheets in class to help them understand the concepts. They liked the fact that they could listen to lectures at their own pace on line and even repeat if needed. The flipped classroom approach turned out to work really well our non-science majors and the author is ready to implement this in other classrooms.
Abstract: For centuries humans have used the antimicrobial
properties of copper to their advantage. Yet, after all these years the
underlying mechanisms of copper mediated cell death in various
microbes remain unclear. We had explored the hypothesis that copper
mediated increased levels of lipid peroxidation in the membrane fatty
acids is responsible for increased killing in Escherichia coli. In this
study we show that in both gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus)
and gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria there is a
strong correlation between copper mediated cell death and increased
levels of lipid peroxidation. Interestingly, the non-spore forming
gram positive bacteria as well as gram negative bacteria show similar
patterns of cell death, increased levels of lipid peroxidation, as well
as genomic DNA degradation, however there is some difference in
loss in membrane integrity upon exposure to copper alloy surface.