1st Edition

Teaching Innovations in Lipid Science

Edited By Randall J. Weselake Copyright 2007
    280 Pages
    by CRC Press

    276 Pages
    by CRC Press

    Featuring practical strategies and exciting experiments, Teaching Innovations in Lipid Science addresses lipid education at a range of levels from the novice to the graduate student and teacher. Peer-reviewed contributions from internationally known specialists, describe several methods and approaches designed to create new lipid courses, modify existing courses, and serve as a basis for pursuing novel avenues of instruction.

    Divided into two sections, the first focuses on teaching strategies and outlines some of the barriers that lipid science specialists face when transmitting accurate information. It emphasizes the development and implementation of creative programs that foster interest in lipid science, and presents novel problem-solving approaches. It discusses strategies for involving and evaluating independent study students and explains the successful use of sample cards to teach oilseed and cereal processing. This section also provides generalized accounts of biotechnology and crop improvement and isoprenoid biochemistry, including improvement of oilseed crops and tips on explaining DNA science and crop biotechnology.

    The second section begins with simple demonstrations on the physical properties of lipids suitable for middle- and high school students. It follows with more complex experiments on analyzing lipids in food oils, plasma, and milk utilizing thin layer chromatography, gas chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Contributions include information on convenient enzyme test kits with exercises that can translate to a lab course beginning with chromatographic methods for lipid analysis. The final chapter presents theory and experiments for studying lipid metabolism in the plastid by describing preparation methods, studying metabolite uptake, and pathway analysis.

    Strategies for Teaching Lipid Science to the Public, Students, and Teachers. Educating the Public about Lipids. Fats, Genes and Food Using Lipids as a Tool in University and High School Science Education and Public Outreach. Mentorships and Related Programs Provide Mechanisms for Involving Students in the Science of Fats and Oils. Teaching Lipid Chemistry through Creative Problem Solving. Mentoring Independent Study Students in Lipid Science. Sample Cards for Teaching Processing of Oilseeds and Cereals. Biotechnology and Crop Improvement in Agriculture. Understanding Isoprenoid Biochemistry. Demonstrations and Experiments in Lipid Science. What’s in a Potato Chip? Oils and Fats Simple Demonstrations of Properties and Uses. Teaching Relationships between the Composition of Lipids and Nutritional Quality. High Temperature Gas Liquid Chromatographic Profiling of Plasma Lipids: A Student Exercise. Analysis of Total Milk Fat. The Use of Enzyme Test Kits for Teaching Lipid Chemistry. Plastids as a Model System in Teaching Plant Lipid Metabolism.

    Biography

    Randall J. Weselake