Practical skills in biological sciences

Academic secondee: Stewart Mireylees

Traditionally, dispensing known volumes of liquids involved the use of glass pipettes with safety fillers. In modern professional practice, for reasons of cost, accuracy and safety these have been replaced by mechanical pipettes with disposable tips.

A survey of staff and students identified that new entrants to biology courses have limited or no experience of using modern pipettes. It is essential that students learn how to use them correctly if they are to obtain accurate and consistent results. While all modern pipettes operate on the same principle, different styles can make it difficult for novices to identify and set them correctly.

To help students make the transition to using modern pipettes, this project produced a set of training videoclips. These covered issues, which included using the pipettes correctly, how to select the correct pipette and how to interpret different styles of display.

In the role of enhancing learning and to ensure the videoclips were fit for purpose, newly enrolled students were given a CD-ROM or DVD. This was followed up by students having to pass a test before being allowed to proceed into the laboratory.

For further information, download the project poster.