Teaching science in the 21st century: Dr. Kuehner introduces his lab students to scientific video
At Emmanuel College, Dr. Jason Kuehner teaches Experimental Biology without a textbook, using lectures, slide presentations, and now JoVE’s Science Education videos to provide the information his students will need to be successful in the lab. “I've used it as a class tool where students can watch a technique on the screen and then do it immediately afterwards,” he says, “And for what they're going to do the next time the class meets, so they'll come in a little less blind about what they're going to do that day, and have an idea of what it means—not only theoretically, but also to physically carry out a particular technique.”
Because he covers a wide range of advanced topics and uses different research model systems like bacteria and yeast, Kuehner has taken to using each of the different Science Education collections like Model Organisms I and Basic Methods in Cellular and Molecular Biology to expedite the process of learning so many different procedures in the lab.
“For something like western blotting this is really good,” Kuehner says, “That’s a fairly laborious technique with multiple steps, and for students it’s very easy to get confused as to what each step in the protocol means.”
Furthermore, Dr. Kuehner says that while the videos’ applications sections are sometimes more in depth then his students have time to explore in class, the additional content is an opportunity for those who want it to learn more about what they’re studying. “I do like the fact that there is more out there. The students that do have a good handle on the information might be interested in the extended applications that way,” he says.
Check back tomorrow to learn about Dr. Kuehner's success with Science Education!