Blending learning: a Novel Assessment Strategy Enhancing Student Learning from Practical Work in the Laboratory

Walsh, Cathy; Parry, Damian; Larsen, Carl

doi:10.3108/beej.15.c2

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…Hands‐on laboratory exercises, essential for science undergraduate instruction, must not be considered just as a mere illustration of the theory, or a convenient way to acquire technical and laboratory skills . Because the science undergraduate curricula are aimed at training scientists instead of technicians, laboratory exercises should be used to stimulate the acquisition of critical thinking abilities in undergraduate students and to introduce them to scientific method principles . The learning styles based on the inquiry and problem‐based teaching approaches minimize the use of step‐by‐step “recipes” that must be followed by students without questioning what they will do.…”

Section: Organization and Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not all has been said about glucose oxidase/peroxidase: New pedagogical uses for a classical and robust undergraduate laboratory experiment

García‐Ponce

Martínez‐Poveda

Blanco‐López

et al. 2019

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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The enzymatic determination of glucose in soft drinks, based on the glucose concentration measurement by means of the coupled reactions of glucose oxidase and peroxidase, has been implemented at the University of Malaga and optimized according to the Biochemistry and Chemistry undergraduate students' results and feedback throughout the last few years. This traditional and robust laboratory practical has been reformed, in the light of inquiry‐based and interdisciplinary learning approaches, in order to optimize the students' formative achievements that now are not restricted to the learning of enzymology, but also integrates cross‐curricular knowledge from chemistry and mathematics. In this experiment, inexpensive and feasible to be carried out in a single laboratory session, students have to make the decision of what method is the most suitable for a given analytical problem, anticipating situations that they will probably face throughout their professional careers. It not only illustrates basic issues related to the use of enzymes as reagents for enzymatic analyses and its application to food chemistry, but it is also used to put into practice some principles of statistical analysis and analytical methods evaluation. This can be achieved because students get results from two different enzymatic analysis protocols (kinetic and end‐point methods) using a single reaction mixture. The measurement of glucose concentration in four carbonated soft‐drinks, regular or sugar‐free colas and tonic waters makes students deal with the presence of color interferences that should be either avoided or eliminated. Undergraduate students, having performed this experiment, have found it formative, interesting, and challenging. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(3):341–347, 2019.

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Section: Organization and Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not all has been said about glucose oxidase/peroxidase: New pedagogical uses for a classical and robust undergraduate laboratory experiment

García‐Ponce

Martínez‐Poveda

Blanco‐López

et al. 2019

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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Training final year students in data presentation skills with an iterative report-feedback cycle

Verkade

2015

JoSoTL

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Although practical laboratory activities are often considered the linchpin of science education, asking students to produce many large practical reports can be problematic Practical reports require diverse skills, and therefore do not focus the students’ attention on any one skill. They are also time-consuming to write and mark, limiting the speed at which feedback can be returned. To refocus students specifically on the skills of data presentation and interpretation I asked the students to produce a results figure, as would be found in a journal article, one for each of four practical topics. The students found this a challenge, but their skills improved markedly over the semester due to an efficient feedback cycle. Students were very engaged with this assessment, as it caused them to re-consider what they understood about the results of the practical. As this assessment is a small focused version of a practical report, it allows faster marking and return of practicals, and reduces the proportion of marks allocated to practicals, allowing more marks to be allocated to other components of the unit/class such as exams. This is therefore a successful method of focusing students’ attention on presenting and interpreting practical results, in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

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Blending learning: a Novel Assessment Strategy Enhancing Student Learning from Practical Work in the Laboratory

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Not all has been said about glucose oxidase/peroxidase: New pedagogical uses for a classical and robust undergraduate laboratory experiment

Not all has been said about glucose oxidase/peroxidase: New pedagogical uses for a classical and robust undergraduate laboratory experiment

Training final year students in data presentation skills with an iterative report-feedback cycle

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