The Department of Biological Sciences at
the University of Limerick welcomed Leaving Certificate Biology students from
all over Munster into their state-of-the-art laboratories last week. The
Department provided the students with the opportunity to conduct the laboratory
practical experiments set on the Leaving Certificate Biology curriculum.
Biology Practical Sessions were first presented by the Department of Biological
Sciences at UL over fourteen years ago.
Biology Teachers have described the
opportunity to attend the LC Biology Practicals as follows: "This is a
great revision opportunity for our students, they get to re-take the practical
experiments in the Leaving Certificate syllabus using the state-of-the art
facilities. In addition to preparing students for their Leaving
Certificate exam it gives them an insight into life as a university student,
creating an added impetus to strive to reach their full potential."
"Many biology leaving cert students
throughout the country do not get the opportunity to actually carry out and
practice the experiments included in their course work and a lot of secondary
school laboratories simply don't have the facilities to allow this. The
Dept of Biological Science’s biology laboratories have the most up to date
experimental equipment to facilitate in depth research and
experimentation. It's a great opportunity for secondary school students to
practically engage with the University within a laboratory setting".
The department's technical team, teaching
assistants as well as post graduate students and final year BSc Ed students
who will be qualified as second level biology teachers at the end of this
semester, present the laboratories to assist students throughout the week and
instruct them in conducting the experiments.
The biology students are also given
information on UL programmes offered by the Department of Biological Sciences
and the Faculty of Science and Engineering at UL.
