New teaching strategies to improve student performance in Fundamentals of Biotechnology

ALICIA G. CID; VERÓNICA B. RAJAL

Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education

American Society for Microbiology

Año: 2011 vol. 12 p. 46 - 47

1935-7885

Fundamentals in Biotechnology is part of the Chemical Engineering curriculum at the Universidad Nacional de Salta, in northwest Argentina. This course, given for four months in the 4th (of 5) years of study, includes concepts of general microbiology, biochemistry and industrial microbiology and is the first contact of students with biological issues. Until 2007 about 45% of students (from a total of 30-40) passed the course, a low pass rate compared to other classes. Two new strategies were adopted to improve performance. In 2008, one extra hour per week was added for a practical class that was dedicated to ?Complementary activities?. This class included different types of work: information search, search of news in biotechnology, analysis and interpretation of figures from scientific literature, and basic calculations with discussion in all cases. We also asked the students, organized in small groups, to prepare an ?Integration Seminar? on different biotechnologically obtained products to be presented orally to the whole class. The students had to identify the microorganism and characteristics, the taxonomy, the biochemistry, the flow sheet of the industrial process and the down-stream requirements involved. To complete this requirement they had to revise and integrate all of the content taught during the course. The percentage of students passing the course increased to 75% in 2008, 85% in 2009 and 70% in 2010, with a remarkable improvement in the grades obtained.  There were also other positive non-quantifiable outcomes like more commitment, better attitude, the development of critical analysis, and a great interest for discussion of ideas and interaction in class as a way of sharing and reinforcing knowledge.