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Biochemistry in an undergraduate writing‐intensive first‐year program: Seminar courses in drugs and bioethics
Author(s) -
Mills Kenneth V.
Publication year - 2015
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.20878
Subject(s) - rubric , bioethics , theme (computing) , psychology , thematic analysis , medical education , sociology , pedagogy , medicine , biology , qualitative research , computer science , social science , genetics , world wide web
The College of the Holy Cross offers a universal first‐year program called Montserrat, in which first‐year students participate in a living‐learning experience anchored by a yearlong seminar course. The seminar courses are part of a thematic cluster of four to eight courses; students in the cluster live together in a common dormitory and participate in shared co‐curricular events designed to engage the entire cluster in intellectual discourse related to the theme. A two‐semester seminar within the “Natural World” cluster was offered using biochemical principles as the underlying content. In the first semester, students were introduced to drug design, activity and abuse via student presentations and guided readings on ethnobotany, drug laws, drug use in religion, and prescription drug costs. In the second semester, students discussed primary readings in ethics followed by case study analyses of assisted reproduction technologies, informed consent, genetic privacy, performance enhancing drugs and genetically modified organisms. Student learning outcomes were evaluated via rubrics and a College‐facilitated survey. © 2015 by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43(4):263–272, 2015.