{"id":54056,"date":"2018-10-26T13:45:38","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T17:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=54056"},"modified":"2018-10-26T14:50:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T18:50:28","slug":"program-puts-students-lab-skills-to-the-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/10\/program-puts-students-lab-skills-to-the-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Program puts students\u2019 lab skills to the test"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the help of a unique Brock program, Ben Davis has developed a very particular set of skills.<\/p>\n

The fifth-year Biotechnology student is at home in a laboratory, calibrating pH meters, differentiating centrifuge readings and administering aseptic cleaning techniques, all without the assistance of a professor or teaching assistant.<\/p>\n

As an undergraduate student, Davis has made himself stand out thanks to a co-curricular program that has prepared him for many of the practical demands that come with a career in science \u2014 Lab Skills Plus.<\/p>\n

The program, which offers workshops to help students document the laboratory skills they have learned, is the only one of its kind in Ontario. It is open to undergraduate students majoring in Biology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Oenology and Viticulture, and\u00a0Neuroscience.<\/p>\n

For Davis, participating in three-hour workshops focused on topics such as appropriate microscope technique and isolating DNA has helped him develop the confidence needed to take the next steps in his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to go into a field of research, and what better way to learn than to have free practice and guidance that also gets put on your Experience Plus<\/a> transcript,\u201d he said of the University\u2019s co-curricular tracking mechanism. \u201cIn a lot of undergraduate teaching labs, you sometimes forget about developing transferrable skills. The Lab Skills Plus exercises focus on those skills and offer lots of independent practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior Lab Demonstrator Jacinta Dano, who co-founded the program three years ago, said Lab Skills Plus helps to augment students\u2019 experiences in the lab by reinforcing lessons they will need going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realized that students were not connecting their lab skills to job opportunities and not seeing the potential that these skills had,\u201d she said. \u201cWe felt if we could test them and give them a certificate listing their skills, they could use it in grad school or on job applications.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do this, the program takes a more relaxed approach than most in-class lab exercises, offering sessions on Saturdays that are graded as pass or fail. Students are required to have a basic knowledge of lab procedures beforehand, but they are also encouraged to review and improve their competencies with the experienced instructors on site.<\/p>\n

The extra sessions enhanced Davis\u2019 day-to-day studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helped me feel less stressed and ahead of the game in my labs,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI was able to focus on other parts of my assignments and was more confident about pursuing an honours research project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he ultimately hopes to use his newly acquired skills to advance in graduate school and a laboratory-based career, Davis has already seen the benefits of completing the program\u2019s beginner and intermediate levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program really kick-started opportunities for me during my undergrad,\u201d he said. \u201cMy experience helped me get connected with a PhD student in Professor Vincenzo De Luca\u2019s lab, who I volunteered with in my fourth year. That work led to an honours project with Professor De Luca as well as an undergraduate research grant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis appreciates the care put into the program by those in charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacinta and her team truly care about teaching people,\u201d he said. \u201cShe always goes out of her way to prepare better experiments for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he attempts to complete the program\u2019s advanced level this year and wraps up his honours thesis, Davis is hopeful that other students will realize the advantage Lab Skills Plus provides.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to go into the workforce, you are instantly ahead of anyone else in terms of relevant experience,\u201d he said. And in research, it\u2019s the only extracurricular that will bolster your resum\u00e9 above anyone else\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lab Skills Plus allows students to sign up at any time and runs its testing sessions for three hours on scheduled Saturdays.<\/p>\n

Students interested in participating in Lab Skills Plus can email Maja Milakovic at mmilakovic@brocku.ca<\/a>to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the help of a unique Brock program, Ben Davis has developed a very particular set of skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":54057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,41,1,4,5],"tags":[7136,5052,5050,348,7137,7135,7138],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54056"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54058,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54056\/revisions\/54058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}