MBIO 2014 - Microbiology

Description
Survey of Microorganisms, their role in the ecosystem, their impact on and use by man. The basic structure, growth and metabolism of bacteria and viruses will be examined. Immunological principles and their application to microbiology will also be presented. Emphasis in laboratory on sterile technique and culturing microorganisms on various diagnostic media. Three hours lecture and three hours lab weekly.

Pre-Requisite
Completion of BIOL 2214 with grade greater than or equal to C or completion of either BIOL 1013 or BIOL 1544 and CHEM 1074 with grade greater than or equal to C.

4 Credit Hour(s)

Contact Hours
45 lecture 45 lab hours

5 Faculty Load Hour(s)

Semesters Offered
Fall, Spring, Summer

ACTS Equivalent
BIOL2004 (ACTS) - Introductory Microbiology

Grade Mode
A-F

Learning Outcomes
Overall students completing this course will:

Define terms, explain principles, and describe processes of microbiological topics pertinent to professional application and further study.
Recognize and employ scientific thinking to the understanding of microorganisms.
Identify the impact of microbes on life at the individual, societal, and ecological levels.
Demonstrate basic microbial laboratory skills, perform lab experiments, and interpret results.
Develop information literacy skills.

General Education Outcomes Supported

Students develop higher order thinking skills
Students demonstrate information literacy.

Standard Practices
Topics:

Brief history and scope of microbiology
Review chemical concepts
Cell structure and function
Metabolic pathways and growth
Information flow, genetics and evolution
Control of growth (asepsis, sterilization, disinfection, food safety, antimicrobial drugs)
Microbial diversity (basic classification, characteristics and behavior)
Impact of microorganisms and microbial systems
- Human host-microbe interactions that result in infection
- Epidemiology & principles of infection transmission
- Microbial roles in the environment and agriculture
- Human use of microbes and their products
Laboratory skills
- Lab safety & aseptic technique
- Use of the microscope & staining
- Inoculation, enrichment, incubation
- Population estimates
- Isolation (steak dilution, selective & differential media)
- Identification methods using morphology and metabolism
- Document and report on experimental protocols, results and conclusions

Learning activities

Courses must, at a minimum, cover the core learning outcomes for each topic.
Laboratory exercises include use of microscope, preparation of stains and general laboratory techniques, including but not limited to aseptic technique, streak plate, and identification methods.

Assessments

Minimum requirements:

Written exams that include higher order thinking questions
Lab notebooks/write-ups
Summary or interpretation of at least one scientific article
Literature research paper or presentation
Comprehensive assessment questions that will be used for course assessment.

Grading guidelines

A minimum of 70% of the grade must be proctored, supervised, or otherwise verified.
Approximately 25% of the grade must come from lab work since the lab and lecture credits for this course are combined.