BTEC 2000: Biotechnology Experience

Program Description:

The Biotechnology program at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) prepares students for transferring to higher education and employment in the biotech industry. SLCC offers a Biotechnology Associate of Science degree and a Certificate of Proficiency. Classes are offered in a competency-based education format. Curriculum outlines for the program and materials for additional courses are available to view separately. 

Course Description:

This Biotechnology Experience course "is a hands-on research experience in which students conduct mentored research activities." During the course, "students apply their knowledge to specific research topics assigned Biotechnology faculty or staff." The course includes three modules: Welcome to Your Biotechnology Experience, Introduction to InnovaBio, and InnovaBio Project and Results Presentation. The first module helps students "...begin with the internship at the InnovaBio lab. In the second lab, students learn about InnovaBio projects, GPDs for research notebooks, making flowcharts to represent the steps of a process, and designing and conducting experiments. During the final module, students analyze data using standard curves, make figures and tables of results, and prepare a presentation of project data, results, and conclusions. 

Overall, the course has the following five primary learning objectives:

1. The student demonstrates basic skills when working in a manufacturing lab.
2. The student demonstrates basic skills when working in a research lab.
3. The student completes their internship hours in InnovaBio, STUDENTfacturED, or another approved facility.
4. The student presents a plan for an evidence-based research project.
5. The student completes a faculty-approved research project. 

Course Contents:

Course materials include a course curriculum outline, syllabus, and a Canvas .imscc file. The 4-page syllabus includes a brief description about the course, primary learning objectives, and information about the labs involved in the internships, grading information, policies, and more. The 3-page course curriculum outline includes a rationale for action, course description, course learning outcomes, and course outcomes mapped to SLCC college-wide learning outcomes.

The .imscc file includes numerous folders and files from the Canvas course. Below is a list of modules, and a sample of topics, labs, and quizzes included in the course:

• Getting Started
  • Welcome
  • Get to Know Your Course
  • Learning and Technical Support
  • Netiquette
  • Scientific Method 
  • Introduce Yourself
  • What Questions Do You Have? (optional)
  • Announcements
• Welcome to Your Biotechnology Experience
• InnovaBio Research Project
  • Introduction to InnovaBio
  • InnovaBio 100 Hours Log
  • Selecting a Primary Paper
  • Basic Flowchart Shapes
  • Project Flowchart
  • Project Flowchart Assignment
  • Write an Abstract for Your Project
  • Good Documentation Practices
  • Labeling Sample Tubes
  • Lab Notebook
  • Annotated Project Flowchart
• InnovaBio Project Presentation
  • InnovaBio Project and Results Presentation
  • Analyze Collected Data
  • Excel Organization, Identification, and Calculation Syntax
  • Calculations in Excel
  • Calculating Standard Deviation in Excel
  • Averaging Using Excel: Data Entry
  • Averaging Data
  • Calculating Squares and Powers in Excel
  • Calculating Division and Square Root in Excel
  • Data Analysis Using Standard Curves
  • Scatter Plot Line of Best-fit
  • Non-Linear Standard Curve Exercise
  • Use Excel to analyze data from your project
  • Prepare Figures and Tables
  • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Project Poster
• InnovaBio
  • Making Common Reagants-2