Improving the Student Experience of Learning and Teaching in Second Year Biochemistry: Assessment to Foster a Creative Application of Biochemical Concepts

Abstract

Biochemistry is an inherently difficult, content-laden discipline that at times struggles to capture the imagination of students. In an attempt to improve engagement and performance in a second year Metabolism course, the implementation of a creative, multimedia based group project conducted. The project provides a creative outlet for students that supplements the didactic lecture content so commonly used in undergraduate biochemistry education. In completing the assessment task, students gained a deeper understanding of their chosen biochemical pathway and were provided with a range of presentations that neatly summarised the range of content considered fundamental to the understanding of metabolism. On the whole, students found this assessment task to be a useful learning and study tool that added a ‘fun’ dimension to the course. The current assessment concept, although directly relevant to the education of biochemists, could easily be translated to any subject where an emphasis is placed on the integration of multiple sets of information to achieve coherent understanding.