Introduction to Agricultural Biotechnology

Working with Kellie Aitchison, Biology Instructor at Finger Lakes Community College, Canandaigua, NY, and AgrowKnowledge developed an Introduction to Agricultural Biotechnology, a three-credit hour, semester- long, and college- level (100 to 200) course. The course is completely written and is in the editing and review process. It includes: a syllabus with learning objectives (competencies), topical outline and assessment methods, lesson plans and class activities for 60 hours of instruction (classroom and laboratory), PowerPoint presentations, readings (URLs for readings on Web sites or PDFs) for each topic in the outline, discussion topics, assignments, case studies, quizzes and tests. Content of the course reflects the current knowledge of and future of agricultural biotechnology and integrating math, science, and technology skills.

Students taking this course will be able to:

• Explain biotechnology to a lay person
• Describe their own hands-on experiences with biotechnology
• Debate and draw conclusions on both costs and benefits associated with the use of biotechnology in agriculture
• Explain the relationship between knowledge of DNA and current biotechnology applications in the food, fiber, and fuel system.
• Understand the history and development of biotech advancements and how this relates to agriculture.
• Explain the importance of biotechnology research as well as the new frontiers in agricultural applications

Course developer Kellie Aitchison holds a B.S. in Animal Science and a Master’s in the Art of Teaching with New York State certification in Agriculture as well as Biology from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. From 2002-2008, she taught high school biology in a small rural community in western NY. Currently she is a full-time biology instructor at Finger Lakes Community College. She has also written curricula for National PASS Center, and for the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University.

 

Introduction to Ag Biotechnology Topical Outline for the Course
Week	Classroom Lecture	Lab	Due
1 - Course Materials	Topic 1: What is biotechnology
	Topic1: Scope of biotechnology
	LAB 1	1 Lab skills
2 - Course Materials	Topic 2: IPM (case study)		Worksheet #1 History of Biotechnology
	Topic 2: IPM
	LAB 2	2 Bioassay
3 - Course Materials	Topic 3: Food Science (safety)		Quiz 1 Worksheet #2 Food Safety assignment
	Topic 3: Food Science		Case study questions and recommendations
	LAB 3	3 Microbial Survey
4 - Course Materials	Topic 4: World Population
	Exam 1
	LAB 4	4 Vitamin C assay
5 - Course Materials	Topic 5: Genetics Refresher Assign GMO debate		Worksheet #3 World population paper
	Topic 6: Genetic technology
	LAB 5	5 Making foods
6 - Course Materials	Topic 7: Genetic transformations		Quiz 2
	Topic 8: Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer
	LAB 6	6 ELISA for disease detection	Rough Draft of Term Project
7- Course Materials	Exam 2		Worksheet #4 Flavr Savr questions
	Topic 9: Mutagenesis
	LAB 7	7 Totipotency in plants Check Bioassay
8 - Course Materials	Topic 10: GMO’s		GMO debate
	Topic 10: GMO’s		GMO debate
	LAB 8	8 Micropropagation Check Sauerkraut
9 - Course Materials	Topic 11: Tissue Culture
	Topic: 12: Bioremediation		Quiz 3
	LAB 9	9 Mutants and characterization
10 - Course Materials	Topic 13: Biopolymers
	Exam 3
	LAB 10	10 Fermentation of different sugars
11 - Course Materials	Topic 14: Plant Products Review and refine lab protocol		Lab Protocol for cellulosic ethanol
	Topic 15: Biofuels		Worksheet #5 Biofuels
	LAB 11	11 Cellulosic Ethanol
12 - Course Materials	Topic 15: Biofuels
	Topic 16: Regulations regarding biotechnology		Worksheet #6 Biofuels Quiz 4
	LAB 12	12 DNA extraction and digest
13 - Course Materials	Topic 16 Regulations regarding biotechnology (case study)		Regulations Research
	Topic 17: Ethics
	LAB 13	13 PCR Check Micropropagation	Case Study questions Final Copy of Term Paper
14 - Course Materials	Topic 17: Ethics
	Exam 4 (includes lab portion)
	LAB 14	14 Gel analysis
15 - Course Materials	Presentations		Presentations