Insights Gained from an Inquiry-Driven Biochemistry Laboratory during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Journal Article)

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Abstract-


The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic required us to implement innovative ideas, especially in upper-level chemistry laboratory courses that train students to implement critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Due to the pandemic-enforced close down of the campus in the spring of 2020, many students lacked laboratory skills. At the same time our university, like many others, adopted the HyFlex model to accommodate multiple waves of COVID-19 and to provide flexibility for the students to learn materials from home. In accordance with these changes, the senior-level biochemistry laboratory course was restructured into a hybrid course focusing on the study of a SARS coronavirus protein. To establish inquiry-driven learning, this hybrid course included two modules: Module I included computer-based studies that allowed students to propose a hypothesis, and Module II included in-person laboratory sessions that allowed students to verify the hypothesis. The computer-based module was offered in synchronous hybrid (virtual and in-person) mode, while the hands-on activities were run in a synchronous in-person mode. This computer-based module could be adapted in any biochemistry lecture or laboratory course as a separate module or as a semester-long project to study the structure–function relationship of a protein of interest. In this communication, I present the activities and the key lessons learned from the inquiry-driven biochemistry laboratory course. Based on this experience, several adjustments are made for future courses to offer flexibility to students.