As I transition into a formal teaching role, I want to make sure I make things optimal! So I’m hoping you’ll help provide some insight into what things I should be sure to pay special attention to and what techniques might be the most beneficial. Thank you in advance for your input and for helping me develop into the best professor that I can be!
Here’s a link to the survey: https://bit.ly/bbteachingqs or scan the QR code.
There, I’d love if you could answer the questions (please answer on the form, not here, so that I have all the answers in one place, I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you can think things over!):
- What was the concept or concepts you found most confusing and/or challenging when learning biochemistry? And why (if you know)
- For me, it was remembering all the levels of regulation of metabolic pathways
- Where there terms whose meanings you were unclear about but maybe embarrassed to ask?
- For me, a couple were “residue” (what you call the leftovers of amino acids once they’re linked together into peptides) and “assay” (an experiment where you measure something)
- On a more positive note, what was your favorite topic or lesson in a biochemistry class?
- I still remember our lesson on ATP synthase and seeing an animation of its structure in action and being amazed at this tiny, but super powerful, machine inside of our cells!
- Is there anything you wish had been covered more in your biochemistry class(es)?
- I would have liked to have had more content on accessing and using databases like UniProt, the PDB, and GenBank. Also, we didn’t have time to cover the pentose phosphate pathway, but I would have liked to!
- Hindsight’s 20/20, so is there anything you wish you had known or done when taking biochemistry?
- I wish I had focused more on thinking in terms of nucleophiles & electrophiles and drawing connections between o-chem and biochem
- What was something a science professor did that you found very helpful?
- Teaching strategies, etc. For example, I had a professor who ended every lecture with 5 minutes for us the write a reflection paragraph summarizing the lesson. And another professor who introduced us to mind mapping (basically making flow charts connecting concepts)
- What is something I do/have done or said that you’ve found most helpful?
- So I can make sure to include/incorporate if possible
- Anything else I should know?
Thank you all in advance! This input will help me help both my future students and hopefully you all as well through the content I continue to share. I’m not collecting any personal data on you or anything like that. Just your thoughts!
Sincerely,
the bumbling biochemist
P.S. In case you missed yesterday’s big reveal, I’ve accepted a full-time visiting professor position at my alma mater St. Mary’s College of California, a small liberal arts school where I will be teaching undergraduate upper division biochemistry. More here: blog: https://bit.ly/bbupdatesmc ; YouTube: https://youtu.be/KX-CcVJQU30
more about mind maps: blog: https://bit.ly/mindmapsandcharts ; YouTube: https://youtu.be/7XrjvQnmAxY
for more school-related content: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUWsCDtjESrFD7pOz9Xxb-ws3HUY-tOmA

