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Convert the weights to the same unit: ? = mL = 0.05 μL
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MATH IS A TOOL
(Psst, It Doesn’t Matter Whether or Not You Like It)
Bio-Link Summer Fellows 2007Lisa SeidmanMadison Area Technical College
• DNA is present in a stock solution at a concentration of 1 μg/mL.
• You need 50 pg of DNA for a reaction. How much of the stock do you need?
Convert the weights to the same unit:
61 g/mL 10 pg/mL.
610 pg 50 pg1mL ?
? = 0.00005 mL = 0.05 μL
WHAT DOES STUDENT NEED TO KNOW?
• What is a microgram, picogram, and so on• Conversion strategy• Distinguish concentration and amount• Strategy to calculate amount needed• Understand dilutions• Contextual information• What the question is asking
MATH APPLICATIONS• Math itself is relatively simple -- multiplication,
division, fractions
but…• Lots of applications – vital tool
• “Hands-on applications”, all “word problems”
• Math problems arise when students are focusing on something else
• Vocabulary, context unfamiliar
• Units essential and are often unfamiliar
• Errors have serious consequences
RESULT
• Students often frustrated
• Math barrier to success for many
• High attrition in first semester of program
APPROACHES TO HELP STUDENTS WITH MATH
• Sending students to take math courses either before beginning program courses or concurrently
• Unsuccessful
The Biotechnologist The Mathematician
Math is a Tool Math is Beautiful
NEXT APPROACH
• Evaluated needed math skills and incorporating into first lab class:– Ratios and proportions– Metric system– Graphing– Concentration and dilution– Growth curves– Mean and standard deviation
NOT THE ANSWER
Because: • Too much time taken from lab skills• Not enough math time for some students• Too much time for others, want to do
biotechnology
SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION
• New course in biotechnology laboratory math– Required for some students based on test
scores– Addresses needs in a biotech lab -- Math as a
tool– Low key– Lots of practice– Independence– Collaborative
COURSE HAS IMPROVED STUDENT SUCCESS
• Students develop confidence, reflected on evaluations
• Students’ skills improved • Students’ attitudes improved• Lower attrition in first lab classes• Some students go on to take more math
courses
WHY DID WE CREATE OUR OWN COURSE?
– ** Logistic, scheduling **
– Technical math serves several programs and they have different needs
LATEST APPROACH
• Required for all students • On-line, independent study version is
available