Bringing Active Learning to a biochemistry classroom

Being a student in teaching college science class and doing a little more of my own reading, I have discovered that recent research and studies have shown us that if we are to actually deepen our students’ understanding of what we teach, not only do we need to encourage critical thinking but also give the students an opportunity to take ownership of their knowledge.  Since I being a student myself, I believe that I enjoy myself more and develop greater ownership over material when I am provided the opportunity to construct my own understanding without an instructor trying to “fill my empty brain” with facts.  This is where active learning in classrooms plays a big role in teaching and learning especially in Biochemistry where most often, it is believed that students acquire hands-on skills in the laboratory sections of their classes even though the fact is that little thinking actually takes place in these lab sections. But if we are to expect these future scientists and leaders to be more engaged in the classroom, teaching ways that promote active learning will not only help them with critical thinking skills, but also improve skills such as writing, speaking, problem solving and team work. Therefore, with the new wave of revolution that we are seeing in academic area today (with regards to improving how we teach); there is hope that these competencies will be achieved as we keep stepping up our teaching efforts.

In my case, I like to have activities that would guide the students in their understanding of scientific concepts while developing skills such as written and oral communication, problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork.  My classroom active learning exercises would include an individual-based pre-class homework assignment, a group-based in-class activity and an individual-based post-class homework assignment.  The pre-class assignment will involve a case study/real life interpretation related to a topic we are discussing in the class. For example, if we are discussing the topic of Chemical equilibrium, I might give a case study involving a company that has 100 employees and every hour 20 employees go on break as 20 others come in from break.  Then I would start by asking simple questions such as whether the number of employees in the building change from hour to hour, are the employees moving in and out the same people and let them know that over the course of the day, the employees are in a dynamic equilibrium and from their understanding of this case study, come up with their own definition of dynamic equilibrium.  This is quite a good case study that students can picture before proceeding into understanding little more complex concepts of chemical equilibrium.  The in-class activity would involve students forming groups of 3 or 5 students. The group leader would be the person from the furthest city/town, who then is charged with delegating duties in the group. This exercise encourages leadership and also teamwork. It also gives students an opportunity to know each other a little better even if only knowing where one is from.

                In class activity would start by me introducing/reviewing the days' learning objectives and major learning goals(15 munites). Then in their groups, students would discuss and share on the pre-class assignments and have 5 questions (3 minutes/question)  on the topic of the day that the pre-class assignment case study helps elaborate.  For example, one of the questions would be if a chemical reaction is in equilibrium, would the number of molecules in the reaction vessel change. During this period, would be going from group to group and also sharing with the entire classroom here and their like Dr. Momsen did. This is also where I would challenge students with high blooms questions and them towards the end of the class; discuss findings and concepts as a class.

                The last part of this active learning would be individual-based post-class homework assignment which would give the students to show case and take ownership of their knowledge and also give me an opportunity to address any misconceptions.