Abordagem Prática Para o Ensino de Bioquímica

For the past 13 years, at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, practical classes during the Biochemistry course for Biology students have been based on small research projects developed by the students. At the beginning of the semester, each group of four to six students receives a different question which they are required to answer experimentally. One third of the 90 hour/semester course is dedicated to the development of the projects. Students must research the subjects and choose the best way to solve the problem experimentally. They write a proposal which is discussed and evaluated by the professors and, only after extensively discussing the proposals, the project is executed. Only minimal tutoring is offered, so that the solution of the problem is found by the students themselves. At the end of the semester, students write a report in the format of a scientific paper and present their results at a public poster session. This experience has been successful, as judged by its continuity of 13 years with different teams of professors, by the enthusiasm shown by the students and by the number of Biology students that decide to pursue undergraduate lab training and subsequently graduate work in our Department.

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