HOME HELP FEEDBACK ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Material Submit Reader Comments Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Reader Comments are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Sign up for eTOCs Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Shuster, M. Articles by Peterson, K. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shuster, M. Articles by Peterson, K.

Development, Implementation, and Assessment of a Lecture Course on Cancer for Undergraduates

Michèle Shuster^*, and Karen Peterson

*Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003; and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109

Monitoring Editor: Martha J. Grossel

Address correspondence to: Michèle Shuster (mshuster{at}nmsu.edu)

The war on cancer has been waged for nearly 40 years, yet the cancer burden remains high, especially among minority and underserved populations. One strategy to make strides in the war on cancer and its disparate impacts is to increase the diversity of the cancer research workforce. We describe an approach to recruit a diverse population of future cancer researchers from an undergraduate student population at a minority-serving land-grant institution. Specifically, we have addressed the following questions: Given the dearth of published reports of undergraduate cancer courses, is it possible for undergraduates at a land-grant institution (rather than a research or medical institution) to successfully learn cancer biology from a lecture-based course? Can we develop a template that has the potential to be used by others to develop and implement an undergraduate cancer course? Can such a course stimulate interest in careers in cancer research? Based on a learning gains analysis, students were able to learn cancer content and related skills, and based on student surveys, students' interest in cancer research was stimulated by course participation. We have identified aspects of our course development process that were critical for the successful development, implementation, and assessment of the course.