Dickenson Chem5700 Assessment Fall 2014
Assessment for Chem5700 Fall 2014
Instructor: Nicholas E. Dickenson
Course Description: General Biochemistry I is the first of a two semester course sequence in
Biochemistry. The intent of this sequence is to provide a thorough and comprehensive survey of
biochemistry for science majors (undergraduates and graduates). Chemistry 5700 focuses on
bio molecular structures, enzyme mechanisms and kinetics, and metabolism.
Mechanisms used in the class
Weekly quizzes, lectures slides, 3 in-class critical thinking problem sets, 2 take home literaturebased homework sets, multiple in class group projects, and exams
Course Learning Objectives
Using the IDEA evaluation system as a guide, I have identified three main course objectives for
Chem5700:
1. Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends)
2. Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, or theories
3. Learning to apply course materials (to improve rational thinking, problem solving and
decisions)
I believe that the objectives outlined above are all equally important to success in this course as
well as subsequent courses in the series, and ultimately in a career in Biochemistry. It is difficult
to de-couple and identify examples where concepts addressed in the course do not rely on all
three. Below is a list of three topic-specific learning objectives of the course and a key with the
necessary IDEA learning objectives for each topic identified.
A. Fundamentals of biochemistry including the connection between chemistry, math, and
biology and how it pertains to a quantitative description of life. What are the building blocks of
life - protein, DNA, RNA and how are they responsible for life? Specifically, how are these
molecules synthesized, regulated, and most importantly, how are these processes
interconnected (1,2,3).
B. What are enzymes and what do they do? Specifically, how are they made, how do they
function, and what are the biological and biophysical processes that define their activity and
function. A quantitative understanding of enzyme kinetics is central to biochemistry and this
course is often the first, and sometimes the only, exposure that undergraduate students have to
this concept. We spend a significant amount of time and effort learning these concepts and how
they relate to metabolic pathways and disease states (1,2,3).
C. Metabolism is the summation of all the chemical processes involved in the production and
maintenance of biomolecules within a living system as well as the processes by which chemical
energy is made available to the organism. These complex pathways are intimately intertwined
through product/reactant relationships as well as more complicated regulatory mechanisms.
Chemistry 5700 focuses primarily on the catabolic mechanisms and pathways of metabolism,
specifically addressing how humans makes and use energy, what forms of energy can be made
and utilized, and what the by-products of such processes are and how the body secretes waste.
(1,2,3).
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Dickenson Chem5700 Assessment Fall 2014
Assessment Method
1. Course evaluations from the students identifying their perception of the importance of
the identified IDEA learning objectives in Chemistry 5700.
2. Embedded questions from Biochemistry ACS exam on the final. Designed to quantify the
student understanding of material found on national standardized biochemistry exams.
3. Embedded questions on the Final exam designed to assess the content specific learning
objectives identified for the course (A, B, C).
OUTCOMES
1) 57 students (89%) completed an IDEA evaluation at the end of the Chemistry 5700 course
and among many questions, were asked to rank their progress in gaining skills in a series of
course learning objectives. They ranked their progress on a scale of 1-5 with “1” and “2”
being “no” and “slight” progress, respectively and “4” and “5” being “substantial” and
“exceptional” progress, respectively. The responses for each of the three identified
objectives were:
Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends)
2% of the students selected 1 or 2
81% of the students selected 4 or 5
Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, or theories.
2% of the students selected 1 or 2
77% of the students selected 4 or 5
Learning to apply course materials (to improve rational thinking, problem solving and
decisions)
7% of the students selected 1 or 2
71% of the students selected 4 or 5
2) Questions inspired from an ACS biochemistry exam were embedded in the final exam.
Test Questions: 5, 6, 41, 43, 47, 49, 50, 69, 71, 73
3) Correlation between content specific learning objectives (A, B, C) and question outcomes
on the final exam. Several questions from the final exam were categorized into the three
learning objective categories outlined above based on the content knowledge required to
answer the question.
A) Fundamentals of Biochemistry (The building blocks of life).
Test Questions: 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 64, 65, 66, 75
B) Enzyme structure, function, and regulation.
Test Questions: 2, 7, 10, 14, 19, 31, 34, 39, 53, 72
C) Metabolism, focusing on catabolism.
Test Questions: 3, 5, 6, 18, 21, 28, 32, 35, 41, 43
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Dickenson Chem5700 Assessment Fall 2014
100
80
60
40
20
0
Assessment of ACS
Embedded Questions
Percent Correct
Percent Correct
Class exam results. 62 students took the Chemistry 5700 final exam in the Fall of 2014 and the
results for each of the categorized questions is displayed below.
100
80
60
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
40 42 44 45 46 48 64 65 66 75
Final Exam Question Number
Assessment of Learning
Objective B
Percent Correct
Percent Correct
5 6 41 43 47 49 50 69 71 73
Final Exam Question Number
Assessment of Learning
Objective A
2 7 10 14 19 31 34 39 53 72
Final Exam Question Number
100
80
60
40
20
0
Assessment of Learning
Objective C
3 5 6 18 21 28 32 35 41 43
Final Exam Question Number
Summary of Results:
Final exam questions were identified that specifically addressed
learning objectives for the course and the responses for these questions were evaluated for the
62 students who took the multiple choice final exam (see graphs above).

The embedded test questions on the final exam had the following categorical correct
response rates:
o Embedded ACS Exam questions – 78% Correct
o Fundamentals of Biochemistry (Learning Objective A) – 72% Correct
o Enzyme structure, function, and regulation (Learning Objective B) – 66% Correct
o Metabolism, focusing on catabolism (learning Objective C) – 63% Correct
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Dickenson Chem5700 Assessment Fall 2014

The IDEA evaluation responses from the students identified the course material as being
difficult (4.6/5.0), with the overall quality of the course rated 3.8/5.0 and the overall
quality of the instructor 4.8/5.0.
o Critiques of the course/instructor were that the tests were too long and difficult. It
was also recommended that the lectures should be recorded so that they can be
viewed as a means of studying. I will address both issues next year with shorter
exams and recorded lectures.
Changes made to improve the course in response to the collected data sets.
 In response to the embedded final exam questions:
o The average correct response rate was 78%, suggests that the students are learning
the material that they will encounter on standardized biochemistry exams. The exam
averages were consistently lower than this, suggesting that the exam questions were
more difficult than the embedded ACS exam questions, but I believe that is what has
helped to prepare them for these standardized exam questions.

o
The correct response rate to questions regarding fundamentals of biochemistry (A)
was 72% and increased significantly from 63% last year. Since last year, I have
made a conscious effort to relate the new and more complicated topics to the
fundamentals covered early in the semester. It seemed to help and I will continue
with this technique.
o
Enzymes and enzyme catalyzed reactions (B) are extremely important concepts in
biochemistry and are covered throughout the semester and are the focus of an entire
chapter. The correct response rate for these questions was 66%, down from 76%
last year. Last year I consciously slowed down the lecture pace for these topics and
provided many in class examples of important concepts. I will take care next year to
do so again and ensure that adequate time is allotted to these difficult topics.
o
Understanding key metabolic pathways (primarily catabolic) is one of the primary
objectives of Chem5700 and is covered in the final 1/3 of the course. The correct
response rate for these embedded questions was 63%, improved by 9% over last
year. I adapted this year’s lecture material to describe metabolism in greater detail
while covering slightly less material. I also included in-class problem sets and take
home assignments that required the students to actively think through the causeeffect relationships. I will continue to evaluate the effect of covering less material
more thoroughly, without removing necessary concepts.
Results for the 2015 course will be collected similarly as they were above and these
implemented changes will be evaluated for their effectiveness. Additional methods for
improving the course will be considered based on the updated data set and will be
implemented the following year.
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