Microbiology: A Laboratory Experience

Reviewed by Katherine Buhrer, Assistant Professor, Biology, Tidewater Community College on 6/23/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This lab book covers a wide array of pertinent topics that are key to an introductory microbiology lab course. It begins with a discussion Biosafety Levels and best practices in the lab, with great links to ASM and CDC resources. Use of the microscope is covered in a succinct manner with enough information to be useful but not so much as to be tedious. Bacterial culture methods with opportunities for practical application are plentiful and look like they could be easily adapted to individual course needs. Staining is well covered as is metabolism, physiology and growth. The food safety section utilizes various types of selective and differential media and introduces a practical application of lab skills with the exercise on food contamination. The book includes labs on antibiotic sensitivity, epidemiology and blood smears. The Microbe Mythbuster lab at the end is a great way to incorporate Scientific Literacy assessment into the course. I did not see a glossary although there are several appendices which look to be quite helpful. The reason for the 4 instead of 5 is that while I think the book covers the included topics well, I would like to see some additional sections address microbes other than bacteria a little more thoroughly.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found the book to be very accurate in terms of the information, photos and drawings. I did not see any errors, typo or otherwise.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The topics included in the text are relevant (Biosafety, microscope use, basic microbiology lab techniques) and will be useful now and into the future. The bacterial metabolism, growth and physiology labs will also be relevant well into the future and easily allow individual courses/instructors to pick and choose the media used based on availability etc. Updates should be easy to incorporate and the Scientific Literacy section has so many options for use, it would be not be difficult to modify it for just about any intro microbiology lab course.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is VERY well written, easy to understand and the questions, worksheets and tables to fill in are well organized and very clearly written/setup.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is very consistent in content depth and discussion. It explains topics in an understandable way and provides so many practical applications of the material, I think students will relate to the content and exercises very well. This text is very well organized and flows from one topic to the next so nicely.

Modularity rating: 5

This text lends itself to reorganization by the instructor, based on course needs. As I perused the text, I could easily navigate the topics and definitely can see where an instructor could realign the order for many of the of the sections to meet the needs of their course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The course of material through the text is well organized. Steps to exercises are well written and logical in sequence.

Interface rating: 5

All images drawings and diagrams are well presented. Color photos are clear, no blurriness. Charts are organized and fit well into the material.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I saw no incidences of any topics that would be considered culturally insensitive. I would consider all of the topics covered in the text to be inclusive as the microbes and topics chosen would be relevant to all races, ethnicities and backgrounds.