The investigation of microbial diversity and adaptation is essential to comprehend biological processes. Yet, teaching basic microbiology techniques to large groups of students in limited time is challenging, as most approaches are time-consuming or require special equipment. In this activity, students performed three laboratory exercises in three hours involving the analysis of inoculated agar plates they prepared by swabbing samples from an environment of their choice, the examination of antimicrobial effects on growth, and the assessment of microbial enzymatic activity in soil. The activity was field tested in two classes (70 and 76 students, respectively) of first-year undergraduate biology and zoology students at the Bangor University (UK) using pre- and post-tests (n = 84). Based on the answers, learning gain scores (G) were calculated for each learning objective (LO). For all LOs, the mean post-test scores were higher than the mean pre-test scores. The activity significantly improved students’ understanding of microbial diversity (G = 0.36, p = 0.010) and microbial detection and quantification (G = 0.18 to 0.773, p ≤ 0.004). The lack of significant differences in scores for questions targeting microbial growth (G = 0.31, p = 0.292) and antimicrobial resistance (G = 0.38, p = 0.052) suggested some existing knowledge amongst undergraduates. However, the extent of knowledge showed great variation. The results may suggest that the activity is suitable to introduce microbiology-related laboratory work to students with limited laboratory skills and knowledge. Furthermore, the pre- and post-test approach used here is suitable for both course evaluation and monitoring attainment and can be used for program validation and quality control.

中文翻译：

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大型本科生微生物学实验室对微生物多样性和抗药性的活动

微生物多样性和适应性的调查对于理解生物学过程至关重要。然而，由于大多数方法都非常耗时或需要特殊的设备，因此在有限的时间内向大量学生教授基本的微生物学技术具有挑战性。在这项活动中，学生在三个小时内进行了三个实验室练习，包括分析他们通过从自己选择​​的环境中擦拭样品而制备的接种琼脂平板，检查对生长的抗菌作用以及评估土壤中的酶活性。该活动在班戈大学（英国）的一年级本科生物学和动物学学生的两个班级中分别进行了现场测试（分别为70和76名学生），使用前后测试（n = 84）。根据答案，为每个学习目标（LO）计算学习增益分数（G）。对于所有LO，测试后的平均分数均高于测试前的平均分数。这项活动大大提高了学生对微生物多样性的理解（G = 0.36，p = 0.010）以及微生物的检测和定量（G = 0.18至0.773，p≤0.004）。针对微生物生长（G = 0.31，P = 0.292）和抗菌素耐药性（G = 0.38，P = 0.052）的问题分数没有明显差异，这表明大学生已有一些知识。但是，知识的程度显示出很大的差异。结果可能表明该活动适合将微生物相关的实验室工作介绍给实验室技能和知识有限的学生。此外，