ERIC Number: EJ1369648
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Sep
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-7685
EISSN: EISSN-1938-4211
Available Date: N/A
Learning from Competition: An Outcome-Based Introductory Activity for First-Year Biotechnology Undergraduates
Zhang, Xiaoyan; Ye, Ruifang; Hu, Fengxian; Zheng, Yitao; Gao, Shuhong; Wang, Qiyao; Bai, Yunpeng
American Biology Teacher, v81 n7 p467-473 Sep 2019
In recent years, accreditation standards for international engineering education have led to a dramatic rise in the use of outcome-based education at universities. In this system, enticing new undergraduate students to science and engineering, although challenging, is the first important step toward building students' career competencies. An ongoing effort to attract students to biotechnology was initiated 13 years ago in the School of Biotechnology at the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai. We describe the design and organization of the Microbe Competition, a program attracting a total of nearly 6,500 students as of 2018. In the competition, students need to pass the microbiology knowledge test, provide a practical experiment proposal related to the topic of competition, and finish the experiment under the supervision of teachers before getting final prizes. The competition develops students' competencies in acquiring and applying knowledge, problem solving, teamwork, communication, and experimental skills. By investigating students' feedback, we have been continuously improving the quality of competition to attract more students from the biotechnology major. We hope that by sharing our experience, we can help educators at other universities organize similar introductory activities on their own campuses.
Descriptors: Biotechnology, Undergraduate Students, Acceleration (Education), International Education, Engineering Education, Outcomes of Education, Universities, Foreign Countries, Competition, Learning Activities, Program Descriptions, Microbiology, Science Tests, Science Experiments, Awards, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Communication Skills, Feedback (Response), Student Attitudes, Science Instruction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China (Shanghai)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A