Model Building as a Pedagogy Approach in Biology

AdminAcademics

art_edu_dec2015_DNA-Structure

It is a constant challenge for instructors to develop novel approaches of pedagogy, especially for introductory biology (Bio101) for the first year undergraduate students. Every year about 200 students are admitted into the five-year Integrated B.S/M.S program of IISER, out of which at least 60% of the students have not studied biology at their high school level, while the rest of the students have studied advanced biology. It is therefore a formidable task for the instructors to keep students engaged in class and interested in biology. Reasonably well-structured course content with periodic evaluation serve as useful indicators of the level of comprehension of biology by students from diverse backgrounds.

As a test case, we considered a novel approach for students to build models to represent any biological process or phenomenon as a part of their continuous evaluation instead of the usual quiz and exams for the first time at IISER Pune. There were no pre-conditions in terms of selecting topics. However, an important criterion was to ensure cost effectiveness and ecofriendliness in terms of concept and design of the models. The class of 200 students was sub-divided into smaller groups of 10 students each. Each group sent in a title and abstract of the model that they intended to prepare.

Fluid Flow in Kidney
Motor Protein
Protein Synthesis

Needless to mention, the momentum of building novel models built up closer to the deadline. A palpable sense of excitement prevailed on the morning of the exhibition. All students arrived early to set up their models. Amazingly, models ranged from demonstrating fundamental concepts of evolution from evolutionary bottlenecks to cell division, motor protein function, image formation on the retina, nerve impulse conduction and many more. What was particularly striking was the extent of innovation and simplicity that each model brought forth, using simple hand crafted material from paper and Styrofoam. Students also unleashed their artistic potential. This event underscored that even students not initiated or interested in biology were extremely motivated scientists to apply their skills across disciplines from math, physics and chemistry in devising novel approaches to demonstrate fundamental concepts in biology. A distinct advantage with first year students is their unbridled and unfettered thoughts that translated into action. Students were truly excited to discuss the science and the concept behind each of the models that they had created. For instance, a group created a model demonstrating protein synthesis from a strand of mRNA as template. Remarkably, the model was fashioned out of a cardboard box, with a strip of paper representing mRNA with the codons indicated. Pushing the paper through one end of the box spewed out a chain of styrofoam balls from the other end depicting protein synthesis! A simple demonstration clarified a fundamental concept and any amount of lectures wouldn’t help drive home this concept as well. Another elegant model demonstrated reflex action. A simple battery operated circuit with a live wire flinched instantly when brought closer to water.

DNA Structure
Flagella

Synapse

All in all this event was truly a learning experience for the instructors as much it was for the students, since this highlighted the fact that students really do not need constant spoon-feeding and leaving themselves from time to time goes a long way in harnessing their latent talent creativity, and curiosity.

For suggestions/queries write to:
Kundan Sengupta, IISER-Pune
Original News : IISER,Pune News.

Asian Elephant Genome and Analysis, IISER Pune & IISc Bangalore

AdminAcademics
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Mudumalai Tusker (Photo by Dr. Karpagam Chelliah)

The Asian elephant joins the ever-growing list of animals with sequenced genomes. Recent analyses throws light on the genetic bases of evolution in these intelligent, social animals. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore have analyzed the genome and transcriptome sequences of an Asian elephant in their report to be published in the December issue of the Journal of Biosciences.

India is home to the largest population of the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, an endangered species with less than 50,000 individuals remaining in the wild. The Asian and the African elephants are the largest living land mammals; have a shared evolutionary history dating back about 7 million years ago, yet exhibit species-specific differences. Most of the research on elephants so far has been focused on themes such as ecology, behavior, demography, reproductive biology, welfare and conservation. However, there have been very few studies on understanding the genetic bases of evolutionarily important traits and processes. This study demonstrates the power of next generation sequencing and comparative genomics and transcriptomics in the study of functional genetics in a non-model species.

By sequencing the genome of the Asian Elephant, the team has identified more than 1500 genes that set it apart from its African counterpart. One of the most significant subset of these genes were found to be involved in olfaction (the sense of smell), and possibly indicate an evolutionary adaptation to differences in the chemical signals that the Asian elephant lineage encountered after it moved out of Africa. The team has also reported and analyzed the first transcriptome sequence from blood lymphocytes in the Asian elephant. Proteins with domain architectures unique to elephants in comparison with three other related species of the superorder Afrotheria were identified in this study.

This study offers a foundation upon which future research could be directed towards studying evolutionary relationships trait-/species-specific evolutionary processes both within the elephantids, as well as between elephants and other mammals.

This paper titled “Comparative sequence analyses of genome and transcriptome reveal novel transcripts and variants in the Asian elephant Elephas maximus” was authored by Reddy PC, Sinha I, Kelkar A, Habib F, Pradhan SJ, Sukumar R and Galande S. and has appeared in the Journal of Biosciences this week.

Original News : IISER Pune News

JRF Position @ Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences,SPPU,Pune.

AdminAcademics

[embeddoc url=”http://collegecirculars.unipune.ac.in/sites/documents/Job%20Openings/JRF_Advt_Dec2015_3-12-15.pdf?Mobile=1&Source=%2Fsites%2Fdocuments%2F%5Flayouts%2Fmobile%2Fdispform%2Easpx%3FList%3D24d0001c%252Deb5e%252D4988%252D9278%252Dfbea23f8f388%26View%3D4777a7c5%252D30e7%252D4a55%252Daf1a%252D28a042da4b67%26ID%3D92%26CurrentPage%3D1″ download=”all” viewer=”google”]