Writing throughout the biochemistry curriculum: Synergistic inquiry‐based writing projects for biochemistry students

Laboratory courses are often designed using step-by-step protocols which encourage students to conduct experiments without thinking about what they are doing or why they are doing it. Such course design limits the growth of our students as scientists and can make it more difficult for a student to transition to the expectations of a research laboratory experience. To facilitate student growth in the process skills necessary to transition from the teaching laboratory to the research laboratory, an advanced biochemistry laboratory was redesigned to be team-taught and project-based culminating in a 7 week group research project in which the students worked collaboratively to propose, design, and troubleshoot their own experiments. Here, we report perceived student learning gains which provide additional evidence that inquiry- and research-based pedagogies impact student confidence with respect to the process skills required for self-directed research.

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confidence: 99%

From Cookbook to Research: Redesigning an Advanced Biochemistry Laboratory

Boyd‐Kimball

Miller

2017

“…17 A learner-centered approach to teaching that involved both multiple drafts and peer review led to increased student exposure to literature resources, the use of higher-order thinking skills, and improved teamwork and communication skills. 62 Online and "Flipped" Biochemistry Laboratory and Lecture Teaching Online biochemistry courses are used at some institutions to meet the needs of a diverse community of students. At other institutions, biochemistry courses are taught using an "inverted" or "flipped" classroom, in which students are expected to view an online lecture before class so that the traditional class time can be used for small-group, active learning activities.…”

Section: Learner-centered Approaches To Teaching In Biochemistry Clas...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A learner-centered approach to teaching that involved both multiple drafts and peer review led to increased student exposure to literature resources, the use of higher-order thinking skills, and improved teamwork and communication skills …”

Section: Different Approaches To Instructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Biochemistry Education Research

Lang

Bodner

2020

Reports of the results of research within the emerging field of biochemistry education are appearing at an ever-increasing rate. Capturing an image of the landscape of Biochemistry Education Research (BCER) is complicated, however, by the interdisciplinary nature of biochemistry courses that may be taught at different levels and in different departments, even at the same institution. To develop a model that provides a sense of what research has been done, so far, we have investigated the literature on biochemistry education research within the contexts of the traditional biochemistry lecture and laboratory environments as well as courses taught within the health sciences, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and molecular biology, as well as courses that combine biochemistry with other topics in chemistry, such as general chemistry and organic chemistry. We found that existing BCER has focused primarily on the lecture/classroom environment. Only about one-fourth of the BCER literature has been based on research in the laboratory setting. We also noted that the primary focus of research done so far has been on the structure/function properties of proteins. The goal of this review was a holistic understanding of the results of BCER that could be used by instructors to shape classroom practice as well as to provide BCER practitioners with an idea of the gaps in the existing literature that could be filled by future research. To transform the results of our analysis into a publishable form, we have used a format in which brief summaries of the topics of the BCER papers are presented.

“…Proposals or semester-long assignments have been written in other undergraduate chemistry 16−21 and biology courses, 22−24 and with more depth in graduate-level courses. 25 These projects vary in their time requirements 21,26,27 but occur predominantly in laboratory courses 27−31 or as part of a capstone or seminar. 17,32−34 Designing intentional experiments with predictable outcomes is challenging and critical for developing higher-level thinking skills applicable to both undergraduate and postgraduate work.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Proposals or semester-long assignments have been written in other undergraduate chemistry − and biology courses, − and with more depth in graduate-level courses . These projects vary in their time requirements ,, but occur predominantly in laboratory courses − or as part of a capstone or seminar. ,− Designing intentional experiments with predictable outcomes is challenging and critical for developing higher-level thinking skills applicable to both undergraduate and postgraduate work. ,− Experimental design has been published for secondary-school/lower-division laboratories, − as well as in the organic, − analytical, and physical , chemistry and biochemistry ,, subfields. The NIH-style proposal process described herein helps students generate novel research ideas using the existing literature.…”

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confidence: 99%

Integrating A Structured Research Proposal into An Undergraduate Glycobiology Class

Pirinelli

2021

A process for generating and writing an individual research proposal with or without access to advanced experimental techniques is described herein. This process was first included in a glycoconjugate biochemistry course to increase student interaction with more areas of the field, but the process was designed to be applicable elsewhere as well. In this series of assignments, students discover their interests in novel research areas, craft hypotheses, design experiments, and learn to anticipate experimental outcomes before participating in peer evaluation.