Measuring student engagement and scientific literacy by developing and publishing an open-access immunology laboratory manual 9341

Description Students thrive when they participate in high-impact practices during their education. This includes science labs built into their coursework. Immunology is at the forefront of many biomedical sciences. Immunology techniques are valuable and can be used to teach the scientific method in action. Open-access undergraduate immunology lab manuals are rare—those available are incomplete and outdated. Little to no resources are tailored for primarily undergraduate institutions with limited funding. We developed a complete immunology lab manual for an undergraduate immunology laboratory course. The exercises train students to perform numerous relevant immunology experimental techniques, such as leukocyte isolation from multiple types of samples, flow cytometry, and in vitro immune cell activation. We have designed methods to measure experimental efficacy and student engagement. Ultimately this ongoing project will result in a comprehensive and adaptable open-access laboratory.