A disciplina de bioquímica é parte integrante do currículo de todos os cursos de graduação da Área Biológica, sendo pré-requisito para outras disciplinas. São de conhecimento geral as dificuldades que os estudantes enfrentam no aproveitamento desta disciplina. Para investigar estas dificuldades foi criado um Plantão de Dúvidas on line, disponível para estudantes graduandos, com três finalidades: (i) oferecer um suporte aos estudantes para facilitar o prosseguimento dos seus estudos, (ii) analisar as dúvidas apresentadas como uma estratégia para diagnóstico das dificuldades mais freqüentes e (iii) realizar uma classificação do nível cognitivo das dúvidas recebidas. Ao final do período de atendimento, foram recebidas e respondidas 416 questões. Houve várias questões conceituais, a enorme maioria tendo sido problemas ou exercícios a serem resolvidos. Os assuntos mais freqüentemente questionados foram: (i) metabolismo celular (42,5%), principalmente metabolismo de lipídios e a respiração celular; (ii) conceitos básicos (14,2%) sobre aminoácidos, tampão entre outros; (iii) estrutura de proteínas (8,7%) e (iv) enzimas (7,0%). Estes percentuais correlacionam-se com a carga horária dedicada a cada um dos tópicos na maioria das disciplinas. Uma importante dificuldade encontrada foi a integração dos processos metabólicos. Em relação ao nível cognitivo, 61% das dúvidas foram de nível baixo, 28% foram de nível médio e 11% foram de nível alto. Uma análise mais aprofundada é necessária para investigar as causas das dificuldades apontadas. / The biochemistry discipline integrates the curriculum of all graduation courses on the Biological Area and is a basis for other disciplines. The students difficulties in this discipline are already widely recognized. To investigate these difficulties, we created a drop-in on line service that had three purposes: (i) to give support to students learning by answering their questions and solving their problems whenever they appear, (ii) to analyze the questions presented, as a strategy to diagnose the most prevalent difficulties and (3) to carry through a classification of the cognitive level of the received doubts. After the period of attendance of this service on line, 416 questions were received and answered. There were many conceptual questions being the majority related to problems and exercises. The most frequent questions dealt with cell metabolism (42.5%), mainly lipid metabolism and aerobic metabolism; basic concepts (14.2%) such as about amino acids and buffer, protein structure (8.7%) and enzymes (7.0%). These percentages are correlated to the number of hours dedicated to each subjects in the disciplines. The main difficulty founded was the integration of metabolic processes. Related to the cognitive level, 61% of the doubts had been of low level, 28% had been of average level and 11% had been of high level. A more in-deep analysis will be necessary to investigate the causes of the pointed difficulties.

A disciplina de bioquímica é parte integrante do currículo de todos os cursos de graduação da Área Biológica, sendo pré-requisito para outras disciplinas. São de conhecimento geral as dificuldades que os estudantes enfrentam no aproveitamento desta disciplina. Para investigar estas dificuldades foi criado um Plantão de Dúvidas on line, disponível para estudantes graduandos, com três finalidades: (i) oferecer um suporte aos estudantes para facilitar o prosseguimento dos seus estudos, (ii) analisar as dúvidas apresentadas como uma estratégia para diagnóstico das dificuldades mais freqüentes e (iii) realizar uma classificação do nível cognitivo das dúvidas recebidas. Ao final do período de atendimento, foram recebidas e respondidas 416 questões. Houve várias questões conceituais, a enorme maioria tendo sido problemas ou exercícios a serem resolvidos. Os assuntos mais freqüentemente questionados foram: (i) metabolismo celular (42,5%), principalmente metabolismo de lipídios e a respiração celular; (ii) conceitos básicos (14,2%) sobre aminoácidos, tampão entre outros; (iii) estrutura de proteínas (8,7%) e (iv) enzimas (7,0%). Estes percentuais correlacionam-se com a carga horária dedicada a cada um dos tópicos na maioria das disciplinas. Uma importante dificuldade encontrada foi a integração dos processos metabólicos. Em relação ao nível cognitivo, 61% das dúvidas foram de nível baixo, 28% foram de nível médio e 11% foram de nível alto. Uma análise mais aprofundada é necessária para investigar as causas das dificuldades apontadas. / The biochemistry discipline integrates the curriculum of all graduation courses on the Biological Area and is a basis for other disciplines. The students difficulties in this discipline are already widely recognized. To investigate these difficulties, we created a drop-in on line service that had three purposes: (i) to give support to students learning by answering their questions and solving their problems whenever they appear, (ii) to analyze the questions presented, as a strategy to diagnose the most prevalent difficulties and (3) to carry through a classification of the cognitive level of the received doubts. After the period of attendance of this service on line, 416 questions were received and answered. There were many conceptual questions being the majority related to problems and exercises. The most frequent questions dealt with cell metabolism (42.5%), mainly lipid metabolism and aerobic metabolism; basic concepts (14.2%) such as about amino acids and buffer, protein structure (8.7%) and enzymes (7.0%). These percentages are correlated to the number of hours dedicated to each subjects in the disciplines. The main difficulty founded was the integration of metabolic processes. Related to the cognitive level, 61% of the doubts had been of low level, 28% had been of average level and 11% had been of high level. A more in-deep analysis will be necessary to investigate the causes of the pointed difficulties.

Although nonflexible, scaled molecular models like Pauling-Corey's and its descendants have made significant contributions in structural biology research and pedagogy, recent technical advances in 3D printing and electronics make it possible to go one step further in designing physical models of biomacromolecules: to make them conformationally dynamic. We report the design, construction, and validation of a flexible, scaled, physical model of the polypeptide chain, which accurately reproduces the bond rotational degrees-of-freedom in the peptide backbone. The coarse-grained backbone model consists of repeating amide and alpha-carbon units, connected by mechanical bonds (corresponding to phi and psi angles) that include realistic barriers to rotation that closely approximate those found at the molecular scale. Longer-range hydrogen-bonding interactions are also incorporated, allowing the chain to easily fold into stable secondary structures. This physical model can serve as the basis for linking tangible bio-macromolecular models directly to the vast array of existing computational tools to provide an enhanced and interactive human-computer interface. We have explored the boundaries of this direction at the interface of computational tools and physical models of biological macromolecules at the nano-scale. Using a CAD-biocomputational framework, we have provided a methodology to design and build physical protein models focusing on shape and dynamics. We have also developed a workflow and an interface implemented for such bio-modeling tools. This physical-digital interface paradigm, at the intersection of native state proteins (P), computational models (C) and physical models (P), provides new opportunities for building an interactive computational modeling tool for protein folding and drug design. Furthermore, this model is easily constructed with readily obtainable parts and promises to be a tremendous educational aid to the intuitive understanding of chain folding as the basis for macromolecular structure. / Ph. D.

No ensino centrado no aluno, o foco da instrução é transferido do professor para o estudante. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar os efeitos do ambiente proporcionado em uma disciplina de Bioquímica para expectativas, motivação, estratégias de aprendizagem, avaliação da eficiência do ensino, participação, frequência e desempenho. Nesse cenário, são utilizadas duas principais dinâmicas: período de estudo (PE) e grupo de discussão (GD). A coleta dos dados envolveu a aplicação de questionários, testes de desempenho e entrevistas semiestruturadas. A análise dos dados reuniu as abordagens quantitativa e qualitativa. Os resultados obtidos para expectativas e atendimento das expectativas mostraram predomínio do nível mais alto da escala de Likert para todas as afirmações sobre aspectos gerais e método de ensino. A comparação entre estes instrumentos indicou que a maioria dos alunos teve suas expectativas atendidas ou superadas na disciplina de Bioquímica. Além disso, verificou-se que as expectativas para carga de trabalho foram maiores do que a carga de trabalho percebida e as expectativas de desempenho também foram maiores do que o desempenho efetivo na disciplina. Os resultados sobre motivação indicaram que a disciplina contribuiu para os alunos apresentarem valores altos para motivação intrínseca, autoeficácia, estratégias de aprendizagem ativa e valor da aprendizagem científica. Adicionalmente, verificou-se que os alunos estavam mais ou igualmente motivados na disciplina de Bioquímica quando em comparação a outras disciplinas do primeiro ano. Os padrões obtidos evidenciam o papel do PE e GD para estimular a participação ativa e autônoma dos alunos e contribuir para que eles se mantivessem motivados e engajados no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Em relação às estratégias de aprendizagem, os resultados indicaram que as estratégias colaborativas foram efetivas para aprender Bioquímica: foram frequentes e tiveram avaliação positiva as estratégias de explicação para o grupo e discussão. As respostas sobre a eficiência do ensino mostraram que 80% dos estudantes acharam que o ensino foi eficiente. Nos resultados sobre a participação e frequência verificou-se que a maioria indicou altos valores para essas variáveis, porém mais de 25% assinalaram participação menor ou igual a 5 (escala 1-10) e 32% apresentaram número elevado de faltas. Este é um dado relevante porque a falta em uma disciplina com método ativo exclui a oportunidade de colaborar com os pares. A principal justificativa para a baixa assiduidade foi a sobrecarga de trabalho gerada por outras disciplinas. Em relação ao desempenho, 37% dos estudantes foram reprovados, porcentagem maior do que em anos anteriores. Para entender os motivos que resultaram no desempenho insatisfatório, comparou-se os grupos de aprovados e reprovados em função das variáveis investigadas nesta pesquisa. Os resultados revelaram que os estudantes que tiveram alta participação e/ou alta frequência apresentaram maior desempenho do que aqueles que tiveram baixa participação e/ou baixa frequência. Entrevistas realizadas para compreender com mais detalhes o baixo desempenho destes alunos permitiram confirmar os padrões da análise quantitativa: a sobrecarga de créditos comprometeu a participação e frequência dos alunos em Bioquímica. A apreciação conjunta dos resultados confirmou o efeito positivo dessa abordagem inovadora para as variáveis investigadas, apesar de influência significativa de fatores externos. / On student-centered teaching, the focus is shifted from the teacher to the student. The purpose of this survey was to verify the effects of the environment provided on a Biochemistry course for expectations, motivation, learning strategies, evaluation of the teaching efficiency, participation, attendance and performance. In this scenario, two core dynamics are applied: study periods (SP) and discussion groups (DG). The data gathering involved the use of questionnaires, performance tests and semi-structured interviews. The data analysis gathered both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results obtained for expectations and meeting of expectations showed prominence of the highest level of the Likert scale for all statements on general aspects and teaching method. The comparison between these instruments indicated that most students had their expectations met or exceeded in the Biochemistry course. Not only that, it was verified that the expectations for workload were greater than the perceived workload and the expectations of performance were also greater than the effective performance in the course. The results on motivation indicated that the course contributed to the students´ high levels of intrinsic motivation, self-efficiency, active learning strategies and the value of scientific learning. In addition, it was verified that the students were more or equally motivated on the Biochemistry course compared to other courses in the first year. The patterns obtained show the role of SP and DG in stimulating the active and autonomous participation of the students and contributing to their continued motivation and interest in the process of teaching and learning. Regarding the learning strategies, the results indicated that the collaborative strategies were effective in learning Biochemistry: the strategies of explanation for the group and discussion were frequent and well received. The responses on teaching efficiency showed that 80% of the students thought the teaching was efficient. The results for participation and attendance showed that the majority had high levels for those variables, however more than 25% indicated participation less than or equal to 5 (in a 1-10 scale) and 32% presented a high rate of absenteeism. This is a relevant data because absenteeism in a course with active methods excludes the opportunity to collaborate with peers. The main justification for the low participation is the work overload generated by other courses. Regarding performance, 37% of the students failed, a higher percentage than in previous years. In order to understand the reasons that resulted in the subpar performance, a comparison was made between the approved and unapproved group in regard to the variables investigated in this survey. The results revealed that the students with high participation and/or high attendance displayed higher performance than those with low participation and/or low attendance. Interviews held to understand in greater detail the poor performance of these students made possible to confirm the patterns of quantitative analysis: the classes overload compromised the participation and attendance of students in Biochemistry course. The joint assessment of the results confirmed the positive effect of this innovative approach to the investigated variables, despite the significant influence of external factors.

No ensino centrado no aluno, o foco da instrução é transferido do professor para o estudante. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar os efeitos do ambiente proporcionado em uma disciplina de Bioquímica para expectativas, motivação, estratégias de aprendizagem, avaliação da eficiência do ensino, participação, frequência e desempenho. Nesse cenário, são utilizadas duas principais dinâmicas: período de estudo (PE) e grupo de discussão (GD). A coleta dos dados envolveu a aplicação de questionários, testes de desempenho e entrevistas semiestruturadas. A análise dos dados reuniu as abordagens quantitativa e qualitativa. Os resultados obtidos para expectativas e atendimento das expectativas mostraram predomínio do nível mais alto da escala de Likert para todas as afirmações sobre aspectos gerais e método de ensino. A comparação entre estes instrumentos indicou que a maioria dos alunos teve suas expectativas atendidas ou superadas na disciplina de Bioquímica. Além disso, verificou-se que as expectativas para carga de trabalho foram maiores do que a carga de trabalho percebida e as expectativas de desempenho também foram maiores do que o desempenho efetivo na disciplina. Os resultados sobre motivação indicaram que a disciplina contribuiu para os alunos apresentarem valores altos para motivação intrínseca, autoeficácia, estratégias de aprendizagem ativa e valor da aprendizagem científica. Adicionalmente, verificou-se que os alunos estavam mais ou igualmente motivados na disciplina de Bioquímica quando em comparação a outras disciplinas do primeiro ano. Os padrões obtidos evidenciam o papel do PE e GD para estimular a participação ativa e autônoma dos alunos e contribuir para que eles se mantivessem motivados e engajados no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Em relação às estratégias de aprendizagem, os resultados indicaram que as estratégias colaborativas foram efetivas para aprender Bioquímica: foram frequentes e tiveram avaliação positiva as estratégias de explicação para o grupo e discussão. As respostas sobre a eficiência do ensino mostraram que 80% dos estudantes acharam que o ensino foi eficiente. Nos resultados sobre a participação e frequência verificou-se que a maioria indicou altos valores para essas variáveis, porém mais de 25% assinalaram participação menor ou igual a 5 (escala 1-10) e 32% apresentaram número elevado de faltas. Este é um dado relevante porque a falta em uma disciplina com método ativo exclui a oportunidade de colaborar com os pares. A principal justificativa para a baixa assiduidade foi a sobrecarga de trabalho gerada por outras disciplinas. Em relação ao desempenho, 37% dos estudantes foram reprovados, porcentagem maior do que em anos anteriores. Para entender os motivos que resultaram no desempenho insatisfatório, comparou-se os grupos de aprovados e reprovados em função das variáveis investigadas nesta pesquisa. Os resultados revelaram que os estudantes que tiveram alta participação e/ou alta frequência apresentaram maior desempenho do que aqueles que tiveram baixa participação e/ou baixa frequência. Entrevistas realizadas para compreender com mais detalhes o baixo desempenho destes alunos permitiram confirmar os padrões da análise quantitativa: a sobrecarga de créditos comprometeu a participação e frequência dos alunos em Bioquímica. A apreciação conjunta dos resultados confirmou o efeito positivo dessa abordagem inovadora para as variáveis investigadas, apesar de influência significativa de fatores externos. / On student-centered teaching, the focus is shifted from the teacher to the student. The purpose of this survey was to verify the effects of the environment provided on a Biochemistry course for expectations, motivation, learning strategies, evaluation of the teaching efficiency, participation, attendance and performance. In this scenario, two core dynamics are applied: study periods (SP) and discussion groups (DG). The data gathering involved the use of questionnaires, performance tests and semi-structured interviews. The data analysis gathered both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results obtained for expectations and meeting of expectations showed prominence of the highest level of the Likert scale for all statements on general aspects and teaching method. The comparison between these instruments indicated that most students had their expectations met or exceeded in the Biochemistry course. Not only that, it was verified that the expectations for workload were greater than the perceived workload and the expectations of performance were also greater than the effective performance in the course. The results on motivation indicated that the course contributed to the students´ high levels of intrinsic motivation, self-efficiency, active learning strategies and the value of scientific learning. In addition, it was verified that the students were more or equally motivated on the Biochemistry course compared to other courses in the first year. The patterns obtained show the role of SP and DG in stimulating the active and autonomous participation of the students and contributing to their continued motivation and interest in the process of teaching and learning. Regarding the learning strategies, the results indicated that the collaborative strategies were effective in learning Biochemistry: the strategies of explanation for the group and discussion were frequent and well received. The responses on teaching efficiency showed that 80% of the students thought the teaching was efficient. The results for participation and attendance showed that the majority had high levels for those variables, however more than 25% indicated participation less than or equal to 5 (in a 1-10 scale) and 32% presented a high rate of absenteeism. This is a relevant data because absenteeism in a course with active methods excludes the opportunity to collaborate with peers. The main justification for the low participation is the work overload generated by other courses. Regarding performance, 37% of the students failed, a higher percentage than in previous years. In order to understand the reasons that resulted in the subpar performance, a comparison was made between the approved and unapproved group in regard to the variables investigated in this survey. The results revealed that the students with high participation and/or high attendance displayed higher performance than those with low participation and/or low attendance. Interviews held to understand in greater detail the poor performance of these students made possible to confirm the patterns of quantitative analysis: the classes overload compromised the participation and attendance of students in Biochemistry course. The joint assessment of the results confirmed the positive effect of this innovative approach to the investigated variables, despite the significant influence of external factors.

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Sérgio Henrique Bezerra de Sousa Leal / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa De Pós-Graduação em Ensino, História, Filosofia das Ciências e Matemática, 2017. / Foram investigados nesse trabalho os conhecimentos de educação científica de um grupo de professores de química, biologia e ciências, com especial atenção aos indicadores de alfabetização científica. A partir do oferecimento de um curso de extensão de formação continuada, intitulado "Bioquímica nos alimentos e introdução à educação alimentar", para esse grupo de professores foram coletados os dados de pesquisa, por intermédio do registro audiovisual das aulas e atividades escritas, sendo assim desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa, mais especificamente um estudo de caso Esses dados foram analisados de acordo com os indicadores de alfabetização científica, sendo eles seriação, organização e classificação de informações, raciocínio lógico e proporcional, levantamento e teste de hipóteses, justificativa, previsão e explicação. O curso contou com a participação de 21 professores em serviço concluintes. A partir da análise das atividades propostas e dos registros audiovisuais pôde-se avaliar o desenvolvimento da manifestação de todos os indicadores de alfabetização científica, exceto o levantamento e teste de hipóteses. Uma possível explicação para esse dado é que esses indicadores são mais facilmente manifestados na execução de atividades experimentais, que não foram a tônica das atividades do curso aqui analisadas. A frequência dessas manifestações aumentou expressivamente ao longo do curso. A análise da atividade de proposição dos infográficos pelos professores cursistas, em especial, possibilitou a manifestação de indicadores de alfabetização científica, reforçando nossa hipótese de que o curso oferecido auxiliou no processo de alfabetização científica desses profissionais. Assim, assinalamos que a principal contribuição desse trabalho consistiu na identificação e análise de indicadores de alfabetização científica, a fim de corporificar o quadro teórico das pesquisas em formação continuada de professores. Nesse sentido, vale ressaltar a importância de um maior número de pesquisas que avaliem a alfabetização científica em professores. Sugerimos como questões futuras de pesquisa a proposição de novas categorias de indicadores, voltados para investigações com professores em formação inicial e continuada. / We investigated the scientific education of a group of professors of chemistry, biology and science, with special attention to the indicators of scientific literacy. From the offering of a continuing education extension course entitled "Biochemistry in food and introduction to food education", for this group of teachers the research data were collected through the audiovisual recording of classes and written activities. developed a qualitative research, more specifically a case study These data were analyzed according to the indicators of scientific literacy, being seriación, organization and classification of information, logical and proportional reasoning, survey and test of hypotheses, justification, prediction and explanation . The course counted with the participation of 21 professors in final service. Based on the analysis of proposed activities and audiovisual records, it was possible to evaluate the development of the manifestation of all indicators of scientific literacy, except the collection and testing of hypotheses. A possible explanation for this data is that these indicators are more easily manifested in the execution of experimental activities, which were not the focus of the course activities analyzed here. The frequency of these manifestations increased significantly throughout the course. The analysis of the activity of proposition of the infographics by the cursista teachers, in particular, enabled the manifestation of indicators of scientific literacy, reinforcing our hypothesis that the course offered helped in the process of scientific literacy of these professionals. Thus, we point out that the main contribution of this work was the identification and analysis of indicators of scientific literacy, in order to incorporate the theoretical framework of research in continuing teacher education. In this sense, it is worth emphasizing the importance of a greater number of researches that evaluate the scientific literacy in teachers. We suggest as future research questions the proposition of new categories of indicators, aimed at investigations with teachers in initial and in service formation.

<p>For the projects titled Undergraduate Students’ Interpretation of Fischer and Haworth Carbohydrate Projections and Undergraduate Students' Interpretation of Glycosidic Bonds – there is a prevalent issue in biochemistry education in which students display fragmented knowledge of the biochemical concepts learned when asked to illustrate their understandings (via drawings, descriptions, analysis, etc.). In science education, educators have traditionally used illustrations to support students’ development of conceptual understanding. However, interpreting a representation is dependent on prior knowledge, ability to decode visual information, and the nature of the representation itself. With a prevalence of studies conducted on visualizations, there is little research with a focus on the students’ interpretation and understanding of carbohydrates and/or glycosidic bonds. The aim of these projects focuses on how students interpret representations of carbohydrates and glycosidic bonds. This study offers a description of undergraduate students’ understanding and interpretation using semi-structured interviews through Phenomenography, Grounded Theory and the Resources Frameworks. The data suggests that students have different combinations of (low or high) accuracy and productivity for interpreting and illustrating carbohydrates and glycosidic bonds, among other findings to be highlighted in their respective chapters. More effective teaching strategies can be designed to assist students in developing expertise in proper illustrations and guide their thought process in composing proper explanations in relation to and/or presence of illustrations.</p> <p><br></p> <p>For the project titled Impact of the Pandemic on Student Readiness: Laboratories, Preparedness, and Support – it was based upon research by Meaders et. al (2021) published in the International Journal of STEM Education. Messaging during the first day of class is highly important in establishing positive student learning environments.  Further, this research suggests that students are detecting the messages that are communicated.  Thus, attention should be given to prioritizing what information and messages are most important for faculty to voice. There is little doubt that the pandemic has had a significant impact on students across the K-16 spectrum.  In particular, for undergraduate chemistry instructors’, data on the number of laboratories students completed in high school and in what mode would be important information in considering what modifications could be implemented in the laboratory curriculum and in messaging about the laboratory activities – additionally on how prepared students feel to succeed at college work, how the pandemic has impacted their preparedness for learning, and what we can do to support student learning in chemistry can shape messaging on the first day and for subsequent activities in the course.  An initial course survey that sought to highlight these student experiences and perspectives will be discussed along with the impact on course messaging and structure.    </p> <p><br></p>

<p>External representations (ERs) used in science education are multimodal ensembles consisting of design elements to convey educational meanings to the audience. As an example of a dynamic ER, an animation presenting its content features (i.e., scientific concepts) via varying the feature’s depiction over time. A production team invited the dissertation author to inspect their creation of a biochemistry animation about the role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell motility and the animation’s implication on learning. To address this, the author developed a four-step methodology entitled the Multimodal Variation Analysis of Dynamic External Representations (MVADER) that deconstructs the animation’s content and design to inspect how each content feature is conveyed via the animation’s design elements.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>This dissertation research investigated the actin animation’s educational value and the MVADER’s utility in animation evaluation. The research design was guided by descriptive case study methodology and an integrated framework consisting of the variation theory, multimodal analysis, and visual analytics. As stated above, the animation was analyzed using MVADER. The development of the actin animation and the content features the production team members intended to convey via the animation were studied by analyzing the communication records between the members, observing the team meetings, and interviewing the members individually. Furthermore, students’ learning experiences from watching the animation were examined via semi-structured interviews coupled with post- storyboarding. Moreover, the instructions of MVADER and its applications in studying the actin animation were reviewed to determine the MVADER’s usefulness as an animation evaluation tool.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>Findings of this research indicate that the three educators in the production team intended the actin animation to convey forty-three content features to the undergraduate biology students. At least 50% of the student who participated in this thesis learned thirty-five of these forty-three (> 80%) features. Evidence suggests that the animation’s effectiveness to convey its features was associated with the features’ depiction time, the number of identified design elements applied to depict the features, and the features’ variation of depiction over time.</p><p><br></p><p>Additionally, one-third of the student participants made similar mistakes regarding two content features after watching the actin animation: the F-actin elongation and the F-actin crosslink structure in lamellipodia. The analysis reveals the animation’s potential design flaws that might have contributed to these common misconceptions. Furthermore, two disruptors to the creation process and the educational value of the actin animation were identified: the vagueness of the learning goals and the designer’s placement of the animation’s beauty over its reach to the learning goals. The vagueness of the learning goals hampered the narration scripting process. On the other hand, the designer’s prioritization of the animation’s aesthetic led to the inclusion of a “beauty shot” in the animation that caused students’ confusion.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>MVADER was used to examine the content, design, and their relationships in the actin animation at multiple aspects and granularities. The result of MVADER was compared with the students’ learning outcomes from watching the animation to identify the characteristics of content’s depiction that were constructive and disruptive to learning. These findings led to several practical recommendations to teach using the actin animation and create educational ERs.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>To conclude, this dissertation discloses the connections between the creation process, the content and design, and the educational implication of a biochemistry animation. It also introduces MVADER as a novel ER analysis tool to the education research and visualization communities. MVADER can be applied in various formats of static and dynamic ERs and beyond the disciplines of biology and chemistry.</p>

<p>Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have been described in a range of educational contexts. Although various learning objectives, termed anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) in this project, have been proposed, processes for identifying them may not be rigorous or well-documented, which can lead to inappropriate assessment and speculation about what students actually learn from CUREs. Additionally, evaluation of CUREs has primarily relied on student and instructor perception data rather than more reliable measures of learning.This dissertation investigated a novel biochemistry laboratory curriculum for a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) known as the Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL). Students participating in this CURE use a combination of computational and biochemical wet-lab techniques to elucidate the function of proteins of known structure but unknown function. The goal of the project was to evaluate the efficacy of the BASIL CURE curriculum for developing students’ research abilities across implementations. Towards achieving this goal, we addressed the following four research questions (RQs): <b>RQ1</b>) How can ALOs be rigorously identified for the BASIL CURE; <b>RQ2</b>) How can the identified ALOs be used to develop a matrix that characterizes the BASIL CURE; <b>RQ3</b>) What are students’ perceptions of their knowledge, confidence and competence regarding their abilities to perform the top-rated ALOs for this CURE; <b>RQ4</b>) What are appropriate assessments for student achievement of the identified ALOs and what is the nature of student learning, and related difficulties, developed by students during the BASIL CURE? To address these RQs, this project focused on the development and use of qualitative and quantitative methods guided by constructivism and situated cognition theoretical frameworks. Data was collected using a range of instruments including, content analysis, Qualtrics surveys, open-ended questions and interviews, in order to identify ALOs and to determine student learning for the BASIL CURE. Analysis of the qualitative data was through inductive coding guided by the concept-reasoning-mode (CRM) model and the assessment triangle, while analysis of quantitative data was done by using standard statistical techniques (e.g. conducting a parried t-test and effect size). The results led to the development of a novel method for identifying ALOs, namely a process for identifying course-based undergraduate research abilities (PICURA; RQ1; Irby, Pelaez, & Anderson 2018b). Application of PICURA to the BASIL CURE resulted in the identification and rating by instructors of a wide range of ALOs, termed course-based undergraduate research abilities (CURAs), which were formulated into a matrix (RQs 2; Irby, Pelaez, & Anderson, 2018a,). The matrix was, in turn, used to characterize the BASIL CURE and to inform the design of student assessments aimed at evaluating student development of the identified CURAs (RQs 4; Irby, Pelaez, & Anderson, 2018a). Preliminary findings from implementation of the open-ended assessments in a small case study of students, revealed a range of student competencies for selected top-rated CURAs as well as evidence for student difficulties (RQ4). In this way we were able to confirm that students are developing some of the ALOs as actual learning outcomes which we term VLOs or verified learning outcomes. In addition, a participant perception indicator (PPI) survey was used to gauge students’ perceptions of their gains in knowledge, experience, and confidence during the BASIL CURE and, therefore, to inform which CURAs should be specifically targeted for assessment in specific BASIL implementations (RQ3;). These results indicate that, across implementations of the CURE, students perceived significant gains with large effect sizes in their knowledge, experience, and confidence for items on the PPI survey (RQ3;). In our view, the results of this dissertation will make important contributions to the CURE literature, as well as to the biochemistry education and assessment literature in general. More specifically, it will significantly improve understanding of the nature of student learning from CUREs and how to identify ALOs and design assessments that reveal what students actually learn from such CUREs - an area where there has been a dearth of available knowledge in the past. The outcomes of this dissertation could also help instructors and administrators identify and align assessments with the actual features of a CURE (or courses in general), use the identified CURAs to ensure the material fits departmental or university needs, and evaluate the benefits of students participating in these innovative curricula. Future research will focus on expanding the development and validation of assessments so that practitioners can better evaluate the efficacy of their CUREs for developing the research competencies of their undergraduate students and continue to render improvements to their curricula.</p>