Anyone who has developed innovative classroom and laboratory exercises for teaching undergraduate microbiology should consider submitting them for inclusion in the MicrobeLibrary.  Materials are received on a continual basis.  Reviews are conducted three times each year in March, July, and November. 

Submission Instructions

Online Submission Form

Curriculum submissions are accepted online.  If you are unable to access the online submissions, you can submit via postal mail or e-mail.

Mail electronic copy of submission on disk to: American Society for Microbiology, Education Department, Curriculum Resources, 1752 N Street,  N.W., Washington, DC 20036-2904.

E-mail submission as Word attachment, submitting figures as separate files to: MicrobeLibrary@asmusa.org Write "Curriculum Submission" in subject line.  

Call for Materials
The Editorial Committee seeks activities that are field-tested, innovative, based upon active learning strategies, include detailed instructions and support materials, and contain modifications and extensions to allow easy implementation by the broad range of faculty accessing MicrobeLibrary. Activities submitted to the Curriculum Resources section of the MicrobeLibrary must be appropriate for undergraduate level microbiology classroom or laboratory use. 

Format Requirements

Formatting Guidelines for Curriculum Resources

Each activity must include all sections outlined in the MicrobeLibrary Online Submission Form.  In addition, the body of the submission must be in the designated format found in the Formatting Guidelines for Curriculum Resources. 

NOTE: Activities accepted prior to September 2001 will not fit the current format requirements.  New format guidelines were established by the Editorial Committee on September 1st, 2001 and all materials submitted after this date must follow the new guidelines.  

Copyright Information

Copyright Agreement for Curriculum Resources (PDF)

The majority of materials included in the MicrobeLibrary are new and have not been published previously in ASM publications.  ASM members are encouraged to peruse their private teaching and learning collections for appropriate activities.  Individuals submitting materials to the MicrobeLibrary must attest that they hold/own the copyright and that the materials are original. 

ASM requires prospective authors to grant ASM the nonexclusive world rights and license to reproduce, publish or distribute materials included in the MicrobeLibrary in any and all media.  Copyright of the materials will remain with the authors so that they may republish or otherwise use these materials. ASM agrees to give authors appropriate credit in all ASM reproductions, copies, and publications of the materials. 

Review Criteria

Curriculum Review Criteria Rubric (PDF)

Each classroom or laboratory activity will be reviewed by members from the scientific and educational communities and will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Content:

• Does the title express the content of the activity?  
• Does the abstract summarize the activity in 50-100 words?  
• Does the description describe the goal and use of activity?
• Does the activity address one or more ASM core themes?   
• Are appropriate lab, safety, and cognitive skills identified?
• Is the level of the activity appropriate for undergraduate students? 
• Are appropriate keywords provided to describe the activity?

Process:

• Does the activity actively involve students in learning concepts, investigative techniques or skills development?  
• Is the activity innovative? 
• Does it involve collaboration or group work, students in higher level thinking skills or communication or mathematical skills (if applicable)?

Instruction:

• Is the time required for the activity preparation and implementation accurate and reasonable?  
• Are the learning objectives clearly stated and represent valuable learning objectives?
• Is the materials list clear and complete? Are materials readily available or are sources provided? Are recipes and storage for media and reagents provided if applicable? 
• Are instructions and procedures for students clear and complete?
• Are instructions and procedures for instructors clear and complete?
• Are prerequisite student knowledge and skills clearly stated? 
• Are adequate support materials provided? Are all safety issues addressed?

• Does the presentation of the activity lead students to achieve the stated learning objectives?
• Are assessment methods described to determine whether students have achieved the stated learning objectives? 
• Has the activity been field-tested? Are student and faculty responses available and positive? Does completion of the activity result in a higher degree of comprehension or skill level as stated in the learning objective?  
• Are student data included to provide faculty with a full sense of outcomes of the activity?