A practical guide to teaching with Proteopedia.

Proteopedia (proteopedia.org) is an open resource to explore the structure-function relationship of proteins and other biomolecules. This guide provides practical advice on how to incorporate Proteopedia into teaching the structure and function of proteins and other biomolecules. For 11 activities, we discuss desired outcomes, setting expectations, preparing students for the tasks, using resources within Proteopedia, and evaluating student work. We point out features of Proteopedia that make it especially suitable for teaching and give examples of how to avoid common pitfalls.

The polygonal model: A simple representation of biomolecules as a tool for teaching metabolism.

Metabolism involves numerous reactions and organic compounds that the student must master to understand adequately the processes involved. Part of biochemical learning should include some knowledge of the structure of biomolecules, although the acquisition of such knowledge can be time-consuming and may require significant effort from the student. In this report, we describe the "polygonal model" as a new means of graphically representing biomolecules. This model is based on the use of geometric figures such as open triangles, squares, and circles to represent hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl groups, respectively. The usefulness of the polygonal model was assessed by undergraduate students in a classroom activity that consisted of "transforming" molecules from Fischer models to polygonal models and vice and versa. The survey was applied to 135 undergraduate Biology and Nursing students. Students found the model easy to use and we noted that it allowed identification of students' misconceptions in basic concepts of organic chemistry, such as in stereochemistry and organic groups that could then be corrected. The students considered the polygonal model easier and faster for representing molecules than Fischer representations, without loss of information. These findings indicate that the polygonal model can facilitate the teaching of metabolism when the structures of biomolecules are discussed. Overall, the polygonal model promoted contact with chemical structures, e.g. through drawing activities, and encouraged student-student dialog, thereby facilitating biochemical learning. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(1):66-75, 2018.

Ensino de bioquímica no curso de nutrição em uma instituição de ensino superior da rede particular: diagnósticos e intervenções / Teaching of Biochemistry in the Nutrition course in a private higher education institution: diagnostics and interventions

Nos últimos anos, tem-se observado nas instituições de ensino superior, públicas e particulares, uma grande dificuldade dos alunos da área da saúde na aprendizagem de Bioquímica. Este problema deve-se principalmente ao uso da abstração para descrever fenômenos que acontecem em nível molecular, além da exigência de conhecimentos básicos de química. Portanto, para tornar a disciplina de Bioquímica efetiva na formação dos nutricionistas é necessário adotar medidas focadas nas principais dificuldades dos alunos. É muito importante ressaltar a necessidade de uma análise do ensino de Bioquímica no curso de Nutrição de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior da rede particular, pois sua contribuição para a formação profissional é, quantitativamente, superior às públicas. Contudo, as reais condições de ensino/aprendizado vigentes têm sido pouco estudadas, do ponto de vista acadêmico. A presente pesquisa identificou as principais dificuldades dos alunos no aprendizado de Bioquímica e propôs alternativas para seu aprimoramento, usando como modelo de estudo a disciplina de Bioquímica no curso de Nutrição em uma Instituição de Ensino Superior da rede particular. Durante a pesquisa, foi traçado um perfil da instituição e dos estudantes, foram realizados questionários e testes, para investigar as principais dificuldades no aprendizado de Bioquímica. Concluímos que os alunos têm grande dificuldade com as representações simbólicas, problemas em compreender palavras novas, interpretar textos e gráficos. Então, foram realizados exercícios direcionados à melhora da compreensão das representações simbólicas, interpretações de textos e gráficos e a cada palavra nova o seu significado era explicado. Diante da necessidade de compreensão de um conceito químico, o assunto era abordado. Também foram realizadas provas em grupo, para que os alunos tivessem a oportunidade de discutir de forma ativa os problemas apresentados. Para avaliar a eficácia das intervenções foram realizados os...

In recent years, it has been observed that life science students in both private and public universities have great difficulties in learning biochemistry. This problem is due mostly to the lack of abstract thought, required for understanding phenomena at the molecular level, accompanied by lack of basic chemistry knowledge. Therefore to improve the effectiveness of biochemistry teaching it is necessary to adopt measures that address the main students' difficulties The analysis of biochemistry teaching in the Nutrition course of a private university is considered essential given that their student output is superior to public universities'. Despite of this, academic research on the actual teaching & learning conditions in private universities is limited. The current research used the teaching of biochemistry to Nutrition students of a private university as a case study. Profiles of the institution and students were drawn and questionnaires and tests carried out to investigate the main difficulties faced by students. We concluded that students have great difficulty in understanding symbolic representations, have problems in understanding new vocabulary and interpreting texts and graphs. Therefore, students were subjected to exercises aimed at developing the understanding of symbolic representations and text and graphics interpretation, with the meaning of each new word explained. Chemistry concepts were discussed as required. Assessments were held in small groups, to provide students the opportunity to actively discuss the issues being presented. To evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions the students were subjected to the same tests used to evaluate their difficulties . The visual literacy test showed considerable improvements in graphs interpretation and new vocabulary. A comparison of before and after evaluation sheets pointed that students were more satisfied with the learning experience following the interventions. Therefore we conclude that it...