Department of Chemistry, St Edward's University, Austin, Texas, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, St Edward's University, Austin, Texas, USA.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2021 May;49(3):446-456. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21498. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
For many students biochemistry is a demanding course because they are expected to apply previously learned foundational concepts to new biological contexts. These foundational concepts serve as a scaffold onto which to build threshold concepts such as the physical basis of interactions. Unfortunately, many students possess misconceptions or gaps in knowledge of these foundational concepts which hinder their understanding of new information. This paper describes the implementation of an iterative process to improve student foundational concept learning in an introductory biochemistry course. The process includes pre-assessment of foundational concept knowledge, introduction of interventions targeting low performing concepts and re-assessment of student learning gains. Diverse active learning strategies such as problem-based worksheets, tactile learning activities, review activities and learning cycle activities were introduced to target concepts including hydrogen bonding, pH/pKa, bond energy and chemical equilibrium. While all active learning strategies resulted in improved posttest scores compared to pretest scores, no one strategy appears to be more beneficial than another. Survey results suggest students recognized the value of utilizing the various active learning strategies in the classroom to enhance critical thinking skills, engagement during class time, and collaboration skills. The process allows instructors the breadth and flexibility to introduce diverse active learning strategies tailored to their specific student needs in an effort to improve student foundational concept learning.
对于许多学生来说，生物化学是一门要求很高的课程，因为他们需要将之前学习的基础概念应用于新的生物学背景。这些基础概念是构建诸如相互作用的物理基础等门槛概念的支架。不幸的是，许多学生对这些基础概念存在误解或知识上的差距，这阻碍了他们对新信息的理解。本文描述了在一门基础生物化学课程中实施迭代过程以提高学生基础概念学习的情况。该过程包括对基础概念知识进行预先评估，引入针对表现不佳概念的干预措施，以及重新评估学生的学习收益。引入了多种基于问题的工作表、触觉学习活动、复习活动和学习周期活动等主动学习策略，以针对氢键、pH/pKa、键能和化学平衡等概念。虽然所有主动学习策略的后测成绩都比前测成绩有所提高，但没有一种策略比另一种更有效。调查结果表明，学生认识到在课堂上利用各种主动学习策略来提高批判性思维能力、课堂参与度和协作技能的价值。该过程允许教师根据学生的具体需求引入广泛而灵活的主动学习策略，以提高学生的基础概念学习。
