A Simulator-Assisted Workshop for Teaching Chemostat Cultivation in Academic Classes on Microbial Physiology

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biotechnology
• Physiology

Background:

• Microbial growth and metabolism are core concepts in microbiology and biotechnology.
• Chemostat cultivation is a vital research tool for quantitative analysis of microbial physiology.
• Mathematical models (Pirt, Monod equations) describe substrate-limited chemostat cultivation but can be abstract for students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve student understanding of quantitative microbial physiology.
• To address the abstract nature of mathematical models in microbial physiology education.
• To enhance learning through visualization and interactive simulations.

Main Methods:

• Developed a studio-classroom workshop incorporating question-guided simulations.
• Utilized Chemostatus, a MATLAB-based program, for visualizing chemostat culture parameters.
• Implemented simulations covering dynamic growth to steady-state conditions.

Main Results:

• The workshop fostered active student-teacher discussions.
• Introduction of the workshop correlated with higher average exam scores on quantitative microbial physiology.
• The simulation-based approach effectively visualized key parameters of chemostat cultures.

Conclusions:

• The developed workshop is an effective tool for teaching quantitative microbial physiology.
• Interactive simulations and visualization significantly improve student comprehension.
• The workshop can be integrated into formal courses or used for self-study.