Biochemistry encompasses a broad range of life science disciplines. Unlike more vocational disciplines such as pharmacy or medicine, the career path associated with biochemistry is less clearly defined. An important question is whether the skills set provided by post-graduate biochemistry education, defined as BSc (Hons.), MSc, or PhD degrees, is…

The use of visual models in teaching, learning and research has increased. Consequently, students have to develop various new competencies including visual literacy in order to learn efficiently. However, visual literacy among biochemistry students is not well documented. Using quantitative research methodology, the current research was aimed at…

A complementary volume to Dilly Fung's "A Connected Curriculum for Higher Education" (2017) [see ED613384], this book explores 'research-based education' as applied in practice within the higher education sector. A collection of 15 chapters followed by illustrative vignettes, it showcases approaches to engaging students actively with…

Summative assessment qualifies the achievement of a student in a particular field of specialization at a given time. Questions should include a range of cognitive levels from Bloom's taxonomy and be consistent with the learning outcomes of the module in question. Furthermore, a holistic approach to assessment, such as the application of the…

The existing literature on Problem-based learning (PBL) mostly paints a positive picture. If there were more evidence of the limitations of PBL, more could be done to apply the appropriate interventions to optimize the experience of PBL for students. The purpose of this article is to discuss second year medical students' perceptions of the…

The aim of this research was to develop a model of factors affecting students' ability to interpret external representations (ERs) in biochemistry. The study was qualitative in design and was guided by the modelling framework of Justi and Gilbert. Application of the process outlined by the framework, and consultation with relevant literature, led…

There is a large body of educational research results available in the science education literature that could be usefully applied for the improvement of teaching practice in biochemistry and molecular biology. Unfortunately, for a great variety of reasons, such applications are relatively limited in our discipline. In this first paper in the…

Student assessment, in all its forms, is central to the educational process. In this paper in the series, "Bridging the Gap", I describe how assessment can be used as a powerful instrument for influencing how and what students learn and how and what instructors teach in a manner that is conducive to educationally sound curriculum change…

The effects of asthma medication on the cognitive and psychosocial functioning of primary school children with asthma are investigated. A questionnaire survey was conducted in a primary school in Stellenbosch (South Africa) with a population of six hundred and thirty-five students. Among these students, fifty-nine asthmatic children were…