Title: Bioinformatics education for undergraduates: the need for project-based and experiential approaches

Authors: Michael J. Wolyniak

Addresses: Hampden-Sydney College, P.O. Box 183, Hampden-Sydney, VA 23943, USA

Abstract: The -omics revolution and advances in DNA sequencing technology have made bioinformatics an essential tool for full participation in the rapidly-evolving life science research community. However, considerable barriers experienced by undergraduate instructors and students have largely prevented the mainstream integration of bioinformatics into life science curricula. To overcome these barriers, several groups have developed collaborative initiatives with the goal of providing instructors with the skills, confidence, and resources that they need to successfully implement bioinformatics course modules to their students in an engaging manner. This review paper considers some of these successful initiatives and offers ideas on how their work can be further expanded to make bioinformatics education a standard practice at the undergraduate level. Overall, the work summarised in this paper highlights the importance of collaboration between undergraduate instructors at different institutions as well as between undergraduate instructors and research-intensive faculty to develop authentic undergraduate research experiences that can benefit all groups involved.

Keywords: bioinformatics; high-throughput sequencing; undergraduate education; barriers; CUREs; course-based undergraduate research experiences.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMARTTL.2023.129603

International Journal of Smart Technology and Learning, 2023 Vol.3 No.2, pp.107 - 117

Received: 18 Feb 2021
Accepted: 03 Aug 2021
Published online: 17 Mar 2023 *