Poster Display as an Alternative Evaluation Method to Biochemistry Teaching

• Main Authors: Silas P. Rodrigues, Patricia M.B. Fenandes
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, SBBq 2004-05-01
• Series: Journal of Biochemistry Education
• Subjects: Biochemistry Teaching, Alternative Evaluation
• Online Access: http://bioquimica.org.br/revista/ojs/index.php/REB/article/view/138

Biochemistry is present in dierent professional under gradation courses in which it seeks to attendseveral objectives. The discipline oered to the students of Biology Science Course at UFES is tra-ditionally organized in a series of lectures to the basic information, a laboratory class related to eachtopic and a three written tests. Our students, as many from other courses, study biochemistry justbecause they have to. The teacher can alter the student behavior by changing the way in which theyexamine them. This work describes and analyses the experience of using poster display as an assess-ment and includes feedback from the students and teachers. At the beginning of the term the activityis explained to the class and groups are formed. They are oriented to search a full research paper, with\metabolism as a key word. During the students presentation, teachers and graduation studentsevaluate the production of a self-explanatory poster, assurance in the chosen work and involvementof all components of the group. A multiple-choice questionnaire was applied to 15-30 students fromthe ve classes that had already done the activity. The teachers and the graduation students also hadtheir opinions heard. 62.3 % of the students agreed that the activity accomplishes its objective tostimulate the integration of general knowledge and comprehension of a specic scientic work, while itpromotes the practice of presentation at seminars. 62.2 % believed that it allows the learner to showits knowledge in a better way and 51 % of the students were very much motivated within the activity.For 91.2 % of the students, they should choose the article, as it allows a better correlation betweenbiochemistry and personal anities (42.7 %). Also, 98 % believed that the activity should be carriedout in groups, because it allows a deeper discussion (53.6 %), stimulate group activities (20 %) orpermits the materials costs division (22 %). Only 1.8 % of the learners thought that the traditionaltests should be maintained, while the poster activity was suggested by 25 % of them to be used inother subjects. At all, students and teachers agreed that the poster activity represents an interestingteaching tool to evaluate biochemistry students.