Project Oriented Biochemistry Laboratory Course in a New B.S. Biochemistry Degree Program

设计了一个以项目为导向的实验室，向学生介绍生物化学的实际研究。这门课程可以成为各种专业的学生的顶点体验，包括那些进入新生物化学专业的学生。与本系注重职业教育相一致，本课程也为学生未来就业或研究生教育做准备。本方案的具体目标是使学生能够使用包括色谱和毛细管电泳在内的现代实验室方法，在一系列综合实验中研究单个酶的蛋白质化学、酶学和分子生物学，并通过有效的分子可视化和建模工具来补充学生在生物化学实验室和讲座课程中的学习经验。学生们使用小型计算机网络来准备实验，使用模拟软件访问互联网上的序列同源数据库，可视化蛋白质和核酸，并模拟小有机分子和生物分子。该设备也被学生和教师用于有机化学和分析化学课程。生物化学教学实验室从使用不相关的系统进行的不连贯的实验集合，转变为围绕一个项目进行的一系列实验，这种模式很容易被其他教育工作者所采用，他们可以将课程设计集中在他们最熟悉的一种酶或蛋白质上。

A project-oriented laboratory has been designed to introduce students to the study of biochemistry as it is practiced. This course can be a capstone experience for students from a variety of majors, including those who enter the new Biochemistry program. In keeping with the department's focus on career education, this course is also preparing the students for future employment or graduate education. The specific goals of this proposal are to enable students to study the protein chemistry, enzymology, and molecular biology of a single enzyme in a series of integrated experiments using modern laboratory methods, including chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, and to supplement the learning experience of students enrolled in the biochemistry laboratory and lecture courses with effective molecular visualization and modeling tools. The students use a small computer network to prepare for experiments, using simulation software to access sequence homology databases over the Internet, to visualize proteins and nucleic acids, and to model small organic and biomolecules. The equipment is also being used by students and faculty in organic and analytical chemistry courses. The change in the biochemistry teaching lab from a disjointed collection of experiments using unrelated systems to a series of experiments focused around a single project is a model that can be readily adapted by other educators who can design their courses to focus on a single enzyme or protein with which they are most familiar.