Heather Townsend

Spicing things up: Implementation of a CURE to investigate the antimicrobial properties of spices on six bacterial species part of CUREnet:Institutes:Community College of Rhode island:Examples
I issue students six bacterial species for use. I have students start the semester understanding primary literature and how to find sources, plagiarism, and how to use citations. They must then pick a spice (one per group) using literature, meaning they have to research that a particular spice has been shown to have antimicrobial properties. Once selected they do a series of dilutions and finally test the dilutions on the six bacterial species. All groups must use the entire class data in their discussion along with the historical data from previous semesters. They end in designing a poster which they finally present at a poster presentation open to the college.