Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, 800 E. Kirkwood Ave. Bloomington, IN 47405. afeig@indiana.edu
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QUIZZES (50 PTS, 7%). Weekly quizzes are used to encourage students to keep up with the course material. The quizzes tend to focus mostly on the basic building blocks of biomolecules and simple concepts. Topics found on quizzes almost always also appear later on exams in more detailed form. The quizzes also help promote good attendance since these quizzes cannot be made up. (sample quiz)
PROBLEM SETS (240 PTS, 35%). Problem sets are designed as one of the major mechanism for learning to think about biochemical problems. Depending on the unit, the problems have a somewhat different flavor. The students often have difficulty with the quantitative portions of the course (pH, biochemical thermodynamics, and enzyme kinetics). In these sections, the students get extensive practice manipulating biochemical data and performing calculations. Other problems require the students to analyze conceptual information to solve a biochemical problem or puzzle. Students are encouraged to work through these exercises together even though each student must turn in their own set of answers. The problem sets are worth a lot of points and help reward students who are willing to work hard to solve problems but who are not necessarily good test takers for whatever reason. (sample problem set)
UNKNOWN ASSIGNMENTS (PART OF PROBLEM SET GRADE). The unknown assignments are a vehicle I use to help integrate the curriculum and promote broader understanding of the current trends in modern biochemistry. One of the most successful assessments is the 1-page description of the structure of their unknown protein. This exercise tests not only the student’s ability to use the molecular visualization programs, but also probes the depth with which the student peers into a complex molecule and deciphers its secrets. Students are offered the opportunity to rewrite their paragraphs to make up points they missed on the original assignment. Several examples of student paragraphs are provided in the appendix as testaments to the intellectual development of my students. These assignments are the subject of the pedagogical paper linked to the appendices of the course portfolio. I have also helped implement these assignments at two colleges for the Spring 2002 semester. Feedback on the implementation of the bioinformatics projects at other universities may help in the refinement of these exercises.
EXAMS (400 PTS, 58%). Students take three mid-term exams and a cumulative final. Each mid-term is 100 pts with an additional 15 pts of extra credit possible. Each student is allowed to drop one of the mid-term exams or half of the final exam grade. The exams attempt to strike a balance between factual recall, data interpretation and questions that require synthesis of course concepts. In most cases, the multipart questions start with simple factual recall and then become increasingly conceptual toward the latter part of the question. The goal is that accurate factual recall leads to a grade of approximately B+. The higher grades should only be accessible to those students able to apply that knowledge in conceptual and interpretive manners. Copies of the exams are available for inspection in the appendices.(sample exam)
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES (25 PTS TOTAL). Two extra credit opportunities were provided for the students this semester. One extra credit assignment pertained to an international meeting held on IU’s campus entitled – RNA Life. This conference brought in speakers from around the world to talk about RNA structure, function and evolution and the possibility that the earliest forms of life used RNA for both genetic transfer as well as catalytic rate enhancement of metabolic reactions. The students were invited to listen to as many talks as they wished, but had to write up short descriptions of two talks, describing the main finding and then relating that discovery to one or more topics we covered in class. One of the questions on Problem Set 5 involved a therapeutic ribozyme and there were several talks on this topic at the meeting.
The second extra credit assignment dealt with a short article about neurological problems associated with Lupus patients and a discovery that the anti-DNA antibodies responsible for this autoimmune disorder cross-react with a specific receptor on the surface of many neurons. The students were given a few short bioinformatics tasks to explore the NMDA family of glutamate receptors in the databases. No instructions were provided other than a list of the information that the students were expected to find. This task mimics the way in which a student might use their bioinformatics toolbox to investigate a problem of personal interest after completing the course. 90% of the students (52 of 58) chose to complete the assignment reporting that it took them on average 2.5 hours to complete. The mean grade on the assignment was 87% reflecting a few cases where students failed to find the information. There was a correlation between the amount of time spent on the exercise and the completeness, as one might expect.