Service Learning as Inquiry in an Undergraduate Science Course

To engage students in applying scientific process skills to real-world issues, we implemented a service-learning project model in our undergraduate introductory biology course for science majors. This model illustrates how we integrate inquiry inside and outside of the classroom through four steps: service, learning, classroom, and community. Out-of-class activities engaged students in serving the community (Service step) while deepening their learning experience beyond what they would learn in a classroom (Learning step). To connect the service-learning project with scientific process skills, students were asked to identify problems that our community partners were trying to solve, identify proposed solutions, and design ways to evaluate those solutions (Classroom step). Additionally, students connected their service-learning topic with core concepts in Biology. After their service, students used metrics to analyze their impact. Students then synthesized the connection between their service, learning, and classroom projects by presenting their findings to the scientific and lay communities through a poster session (Community step). Here we provide details of the model, recommendations, and examples for others to execute an inquiry-based service-learning project

A small surface hydrophobic stripe in the coiled-coil domain of type I keratins mediates tetramer stability

Intermediate filaments (IFs) are fibrous polymers encoded by a large family of differentially expressed genes that provide crucial structural support in the cytoplasm and nucleus in higher eukaryotes. The mechanisms involved in bringing together ∼16 elongated coiled-coil dimers to form an IF are poorly defined. Available evidence suggests that tetramer subunits play a key role during IF assembly and regulation. Through molecular modeling and site-directed mutagenesis, we document a hitherto unnoticed hydrophobic stripe exposed at the surface of coiled-coil keratin heterodimers that contributes to the extraordinary stability of heterotetramers. The inability of K16 to form urea-stable tetramers in vitro correlates with an increase in its turnover rate in vivo. The data presented support a specific conformation for the assembly competent IF tetramer, provide a molecular basis for their differential stability in vitro, and point to the physiological relevance associated with this property in vivo

Community Engagement through a Health-Related Honors Biology Service-Learning Project

In response to national recommendations for scientific literacy and a well-prepared workforce (AAAS, 2011), The Ohio State University honors introductory biology class includes service-learning, a high impact educational practice (Kuh, 2008). In the service-learning model used at Ohio State (Bernot et al., 2017), students interact with community organizations to complete a service activity and a related learning activity. During this session intended for faculty, staff, and community partners, participants learn the four components of the model, how it illustrates principles of engagement, and how they may apply it in their own context. Members of the honors biology instructional team, the director of the Central Ohio Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and a laboratory manager at the Ohio State Medical Center will explain their roles in implementing the model in and out of the classroom. Specifically, they will share how students engage in service associated with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and learn about the related research happening at Ohio State. Both activities drive home the relevance of students' biology course concepts. The planning and implementation of the activities associated with the model illustrate three engagement principles: integration, advocacy, and accountability. The integration principle is illustrated through the collaborative work the instructional team and the community partners complete in planning service and learning activities. When the honors biology students provide meaningful service to the community partners, university assets are applied to community problems. As students learn how their biology course concepts apply to community problems, the partners have an opportunity to advocate to the students, making students more aware of health issues and ways they can contribute to the organizations. Students advocate to the scientific and layman communities during a poster session that celebrates their work with the community partners. In their posters, student groups identify connections between classroom biology topics and their service activity, which reinforces the relevance of the abstract concepts they are learning. Students share ideas for future contributions with peers, faculty, and community partners who attend the session. In this way, students have the opportunity to identify, investigate, and communicate solutions to specific challenges the community partners face in achieving their missions. Finally, the accountability principle applies in two ways. First, students use the scientific method to hypothesize solutions and choose metrics for analyzing the efficacy and significance of their contribution to the community partner. Second, the instructional staff uses student and community partner feedback to determine the success of the program. Specific course materials and evidence of the usefulness of the model will be provided.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Amy Kulesza, Majors Course Coordinator, Center for Life Sciences Education, The Ohio State University, [email protected] (Corresponding Author); Judith Ridgway, Assistant Director, Center for Life Sciences Education, The Ohio State University; Breana Shawver, Executive Director, Central Ohio Chapter, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Amber Gordon, Clinical Laboratory Manager, Experimental Hematology Laboratory, the Ohio State Univesity Comprehensive Cancer Center; Kelsie Bernot, Assistant Professor of Biology, North Carolina A&T State University.Faculty, staff and community partners are invited to learn how a model for community/university partnerships supports student engagement in service and learning. Members of an honors biology instructional team, the director of the Central Ohio chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and a laboratory manager at The Ohio State University Medical Center will present a four-part service-learning model that includes components conducted in and out of the classroom. Participants will discuss how to apply the engagement principles of integration, advocacy and accountability through student activities and program implementation. They will also reflect on how they may use the model in their own context. Sample student activities and evidence of their success will be provided

Panel Discussion: Building Structural Equity and Inclusion

The theme for International Open Access Week focuses on the need for action on equity and inclusion in open research and scholarship. Join us for a panel discussion on what actions have been taken on the NC A&T campus to build equity and inclusion in STEM research. Panelists will discuss programs that help build the foundation for equity and inclusion, challenges and opportunities, and ways individuals can contribute to the cause

Dynamic Movement of the Calcium Sensor STIM1 and the Calcium Channel Orai1 in Activated T-Cells: Puncta and Distal Caps

The proteins STIM1 and Orai1 are the long sought components of the store-operated channels required in T-cell activation. However, little is known about the interaction of these proteins in T-cells after engagement of the T-cell receptor. We found that T-cell receptor engagement caused STIM1 and Orai1 to colocalize in puncta near the site of stimulation and accumulate in a dense structure on the opposite side of the T-cell. FRET measurements showed a close interaction between STIM1 and Orai1 both in the puncta and in the dense cap-like structure. The formation of cap-like structures did not entail rearrangement of the entire endoplasmic reticulum. Cap formation depended on TCR engagement and tyrosine phosphorylation, but not on channel activity or Ca2+ influx. These caps were very dynamic in T-cells activated by contact with superantigen pulsed B-cells and could move from the distal pole to an existing or a newly forming immunological synapse. One function of this cap may be to provide preassembled Ca2+ channel components to existing and newly forming immunological synapses