Adjusting a biochemistry course for physical education majors: A case study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze the events responsible for curricular characteristics that lead to positive outcomes in university teaching using a biochemistry course taught to physical education students as a model. The research was carried out as a case study, supported by questionnaires, classroom observation, document analysis, and interviews. The overall analyses of obtained data were validated by means of triangulation protocols, which proved the following reasons for the course achievements: 1) teaching staff deeply committed to the course; 2) contents adaptation to students' careers; 3) gradual adjustment of the teaching strategies and evaluation tools; 4) valorization of formative evaluation; and 5) providing a suitable affective milieu.Keywords: Curriculum analysis, qualitative case study, biochemistry for physical education.In the last decades, the attention to physical well-being has increasingly included young and healthy individuals as health care shifted from a therapeutical to a prophylactic approach and new esthetic patterns for the ideal body shape became accepted. As a consequence, greater importance has been attributed to the regular practice of physical activity, whose beneficial effects are universally recognized. At the same time, increasing attention is being paid to nutritional habits. These behavioral modifications have brought new responsibilities to physical education professionals, placing them in an essential position for recommendations not only to athletes, who were always under their orientation, but also to common citizens. For instance, physical educators have a strong recognized influence on the decision of many people practicing physical activities to use well-known nutritional supplements or ergogenic aids [1-4] such as protein and amino acids [5,6], carnitine [7], creatine [8], sports drinks [9], and/or anabolic-androgenic steroids [10].A substantial part of the scientific information underlying the understanding and correct utilization of oriented programs of physical exercise and supplement use, as well as the most recommended diets for each particular case, lies in the biochemistry field. Nevertheless, more often than not, biochemistry courses given to physical education majors are poorly appreciated by the students. There are many reasons for the rejection of those courses. The learning of biochemistry requires an extensive and specific terminology (names, formulae, chemical structures), a high degree of abstraction, and a basic knowledge of chemistry, a complex subject in which students bring a considerable number of misconceptions [11,12]. Worsening the situation, by virtue of the traditional approach to the course, students hardly recognize the closer relationship between biochemistry and their professional activity.Within this context, a biochemistry course to physical education students that shows a positive outcome is exceptional. This is the case for the current course at Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Sã o Paulo, Brazil), resulting ...

CARBOHYDECK: A Card Game To Teach the Stereochemistry of Carbohydrates

“…The relative ineffectiveness of lectures in developing students' understanding and skills relative to active learning methods is well known (6)(7) and also documented for biochemistry classes (8)(9)(10). Lectures also limit opportunities for the types of student-student and student-instructor interactions known to promote student learning and motivation (11). The author's previous experiences with this teaching approach in introductory biochemistry for nonmajors showed that lectures have a low effectiveness.…”

“…This outcome is not hard to understand. Biochemistry and organic chemistry are traditionally difficult courses for nonmajors (4,11). Understanding monosaccharide isomers poses specific challenges: (i) an understanding of the underlying organic and general chemistry principles; (ii) a need for skills to infer three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional diagrams; (iii) motivating oneself to master topics of a very abstract and symbolic nature (12).…”