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Reform of Environmental Microbiology Laboratory: Innovation and Practice under Limited Resources

Author(s)

Lin Wang, Linjun Li, Jing Sun, Yan Dong, Jiang Jing*, Xiping Yan

Affiliation(s)

School of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Chengdu Technological University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Environmental microbiology laboratory instruction is a core practical course that supports the three main career directions in wastewater, waste gas, and solid waste treatment and disposal. However, in many universities, this course is plagued by a number of persistent problems, including limited hardware resources, an overemphasis on confirmatory experiments, inadequate cultivation of students’ comprehensive abilities, and a rigid one-dimensional evaluation system. To solve these issues, this paper takes Chengdu Technological University as a case study. The proposed reform restructures the experimental teaching content around a foundational plus inquiry-based framework, integrates virtual and actual teaching methods, transforms the instructional setting by leveraging research teams and an undergraduate mentorship system, and introduces a diversified, process-oriented evaluation system. These measures effectively resolve the tension between resource constraints and the quality of student development. Practical results demonstrate that the reform significantly enhances students’ active participation and overall competence, and thus offers a useful reference for experimental teaching reforms at similar institutions.

Keywords

Environmental Microbiology; Experimental Teaching Reform; Limited Resources; Inquiry-based Experiments; Multiple-Criteria Asessment

References

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