Introduction

Welcome!

This book is aimed at fellow academics teaching biosciences students (probably in the first or second year of an undergraduate degree). It contains materials from eight different sets of practicals that colleagues have developed here at the University of Sheffield, concerning different areas of molecular and cellular biology. The experiments all span a few lab sessions, and are a step away from “cookbook” style labs with defined instructions and a certain outcome; each one contains significant elements of experimental planning. The standard lab session in our School is three hours long, with students working in pairs.

Each section contains the following: some background information and scientific context; student-facing documents; technical information, including materials needed and any extra protocols; and additional resources that might be helpful such as references.

We decided to publish these as an open educational resource so that they can easily be used and adapted elsewhere, and we would love it if people used these resources when planning their own teaching. If you are interested in doing so, please

• bear in mind the license that this is published under: CC BY-NC-SA.
• carry out your own risk assessment and make sure all local safety protocols are followed (some safety information can be found in an appendix).
• let us know about it by filling in this short form – it’s not a requirement but we’d love to hear how our ideas are being used!

We hope you find inspiration in these pages! If you have any questions please contact me or the lead author of the chapter you are interested in.

Rebecca Barnes, editor
School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, UK
r.barnes@sheffield.ac.uk