Team Summary

Microbiologists are interested in how a microbe survives in its environment. Microbes can be found everywhere and the few well publicized pathogenic species are the exception, not the rule. The goals of the Microbiology teaching team are as follows:

  1. To introduce students to the diverse microscopic world around them.
  2. To provide background about why microbiology is important.
  3. To provide an opportunity to learn basic laboratory techniques

This teaching team will consist of six to eight graduate/medical student "teachers" and will visit each class 4-5 times. Every day one "teacher" will give an introduction to the topic or procedure. Each teacher will then lead a group of 4-5 students in the day's activity.

First visit:

Handout

  1. Discuss what microbes are and where they can be found
  2. Demonstrate and practice aseptic technique
  3. Talk about collection of microbes and have students collect samples

Second visit:

Handout

  1. Describe where the students found bacteria
  2. Describe the morphologies of the organisms cultured on first visit
  3. Choose interesting microbes and streak for isolation
  4. Streak isolates onto differential/selective medium

Third visit:

Handout

  1. Discuss bacterial physiology and gram staining
  2. Allow students to gram stain and view their isolates

Fourth visit:

Handout

  1. Discuss antibiotics and antibiotic resistance
  2. Perform disc diffusion assays to determine antibiotic susceptibility of students' isolates

Fifth visit:

Data Sheet

  1. Analyze data and have students present their results