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Software for teaching structure‐hydrophobicity relationships
Author(s) -
White Brian,
Perna Ilana,
Carlson Reino
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
biochemistry and molecular biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1539-3429
pISSN - 1470-8175
DOI - 10.1002/bmb.2005.494033010427
Subject(s) - curriculum , cheminformatics , function (biology) , mathematics education , software , teaching method , computer science , psychology , biology , bioinformatics , pedagogy , genetics , programming language
We have developed a lecture and laboratory curriculum for introducing beginning undergraduate Biology students to chemical structure‐function relationships. The laboratory portion of this curriculum employs cheminformatics software that provides instant feedback to help students develop an understanding of the relationship between structure and hydrophobicity. To evaluate the effectiveness of this curriculum, we measured students' understanding using an open‐ended problem‐based survey. Student responses to this survey improved significantly following the activities we describe, suggesting that they are effective teaching tools. This curriculum also provides a foundation for students' future structure‐function studies in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology.