Inmaculada Ortiz Martín, Ángel Del Espino Pérez, Estefanía García Luque, Enrique Viguera Mínguez
{"title":"Using active learning methodologies to teach sequence analysis and molecular phylogeny.","authors":"Inmaculada Ortiz Martín, Ángel Del Espino Pérez, Estefanía García Luque, Enrique Viguera Mínguez","doi":"10.1002/bmb.21861","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The great development of high-throughput molecular biology techniques and the consequent generation of massive data have made Bioinformatics essential for undergraduate Bioscience students. The importance of this scientific discipline is evidenced by the huge number of specialized publications, tools, and databases available. Training in Bioinformatics equips undergraduates with transferable skills that can be applied in all fields of Biology, such as programming abilities, data analysis, database management, biological knowledge, statistics, problem solving, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Over the past decade, there has been a notable increase in the number of higher education institutions worldwide that have adopted a competency-based curricula. This approach places a significant emphasis on the actions and skills that students are expected to develop, rather than merely focusing on the information, they are required to memorize. In this educational context, the use of active learning strategies has been demonstrated to enhance student comprehension and competency development. This paper describes the implementation of an active learning approach in a hands-on lesson performed by undergraduate students of Biology at the University of Malaga (Spain). Its main objective is to introduce students to molecular databases and information search systems on genes, proteins, and phylogeny. This is achieved within the framework of a smart campus, which integrates technological and sustainable resources to promote a positive and productive learning environment for the university community. This work presents the content and procedure of this practical activity, as well as the evaluation method and the results of a student survey to assess their opinions.</p>","PeriodicalId":8830,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21861","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The great development of high-throughput molecular biology techniques and the consequent generation of massive data have made Bioinformatics essential for undergraduate Bioscience students. The importance of this scientific discipline is evidenced by the huge number of specialized publications, tools, and databases available. Training in Bioinformatics equips undergraduates with transferable skills that can be applied in all fields of Biology, such as programming abilities, data analysis, database management, biological knowledge, statistics, problem solving, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Over the past decade, there has been a notable increase in the number of higher education institutions worldwide that have adopted a competency-based curricula. This approach places a significant emphasis on the actions and skills that students are expected to develop, rather than merely focusing on the information, they are required to memorize. In this educational context, the use of active learning strategies has been demonstrated to enhance student comprehension and competency development. This paper describes the implementation of an active learning approach in a hands-on lesson performed by undergraduate students of Biology at the University of Malaga (Spain). Its main objective is to introduce students to molecular databases and information search systems on genes, proteins, and phylogeny. This is achieved within the framework of a smart campus, which integrates technological and sustainable resources to promote a positive and productive learning environment for the university community. This work presents the content and procedure of this practical activity, as well as the evaluation method and the results of a student survey to assess their opinions.
期刊介绍:
The aim of BAMBED is to enhance teacher preparation and student learning in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and related sciences such as Biophysics and Cell Biology, by promoting the world-wide dissemination of educational materials. BAMBED seeks and communicates articles on many topics, including:
Innovative techniques in teaching and learning.
New pedagogical approaches.
Research in biochemistry and molecular biology education.
Reviews on emerging areas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to provide background for the preparation of lectures, seminars, student presentations, dissertations, etc.
Historical Reviews describing "Paths to Discovery".
Novel and proven laboratory experiments that have both skill-building and discovery-based characteristics.
Reviews of relevant textbooks, software, and websites.
Descriptions of software for educational use.
Descriptions of multimedia materials such as tutorials on various aspects of biochemistry and molecular biology.