A Ramble through the Cell: How Can We Clear Such a Complicated Trail?

Abstract

The arrangement of course information in a logical sequence for molecular life science (MLS) courses remains a matter of some controversy, even within a single subdiscipline such as biochemistry. This is due to the explosion of knowledge, the latest bioinformatic revelations, and the observation that new discoveries sometimes reveal specific connections between previously disparate topics. However, the general outlines of biomedical information are in place, at least the knowledge that should be conveyed to undergraduates taking cell and molecular biology and biochemistry. Despite the increasing amount and complexity of the information to be presented, integration and unification are possible because the molecular reactions and interactions that underlie all life processes are coming into view: they are common to all cellular structural rearrangements, nucleic acid functions, and biochemical reactions, whether of plant or animal origin. Also, it is no longer possible to draw clear boundaries between cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology that would not violate the fundamental unity of our understanding. Therefore, an arrangement of content is proposed for a two-semester course that aims to present a unified portrait of upper-division undergraduate MLS.

Analysis of Students' Aptitude to Provide Meaning to Images that Represent Cellular Components at the Molecular Level

“…Thus, the teacher should be comfortable with the detailed molecular elements of the proteins and processes in question. This is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of current cell biology education-designing course instructions that, without denying the complexity of cell functioning, allow students to access the complexity in a meaningful way, i.e., an approach that allows them to develop relevant schemas (e.g., mental images and models) with which they are able to construct, over the years, an operational understanding of the cell (Larkin et al, 1980;Chandler and Sweller 1991;Sweller et al, 1998;Lazslo, 2002;Bobich, 2006). We have the overall impression that the use of realistic images may positively impact the student's intention to learn (Ormrod, 2008) because they are more challenging.…”

Active Learning of Biochemistry Made Easy (for the Teacher)

“…The DL sits at the head of the class, occupying the traditional position of the Instructor. Each DL, like everyone else in the room, knows in advance what material she or he is responsible for because the Instructor has distributed a syllabus (18) and assigned topics to individual students at the start of each semester. The job of the DL is to prepare one or two "generic questions" in King's terminology (14) per classmate (or, in large classes, enough questions to cover the material well in 50 minutes), which aim to elicit answers covering concepts, principles, and other important points in the material.…”

Learning goals and conceptual difficulties in cell metabolism—an explorative study of university lecturers' views

“…Consequently, the core of the subject seems to be obscured by rote learning of detailed content, and many teachers perceive students' learning to be superficial. Several authors, e.g., Bobich (2006), have thus called for a revision of life science course curricula to clarify the key learning goals and accommodate more focus on processes and principles. However, compromises between covering specific phenomena and general processes/principles are essential, since general processes cannot be understood without sufficient fundamental knowledge, given the massive wealth of information and time limitations.…”

“…Further, generating consensus among scientists and lecturers about the most important concepts in molecular life science education has been persistently challenging (Bailey et al, 2010;Smith and Tanner, 2010;Michael et al, 2008;Garvin-Doxas and Klymkowsky, 2007), due largely to variations in teacher preferences, class composition, and textbooks' contents and rationale. Teacher preferences strongly influence both topic arrangement and course content (Bobich, 2006). This situation has prompted several initiatives to introduce at least some standardization.…”