175

Biochemistry Courses for High School Teachers

W S OSTROWSKI

Institute of Medical Biochemistry N Copernicus Academy of Medicine Kopernia Str 7, 31-034 Krak6w, Poland

Introduction Biochemistry is generally accepted as a major science which has developed through the exploration of living matter by chemical and physical methods. Recent progress in biological sciences and related fields will no doubt improve the quality of life in our countries. Current progress in biology at the molecular level, permits us to understand biological phenomena as well as allowing us to manipulate and use biomolecules and biological systems in technological processes qualitatively different from those available today.

The contemporary explosion of biochemistry and bio- technology have also sparked the interest of secondary school students. Primary and secondary schools are responsible in the first place for public education in biochemistry, which now forms an integral part of modern education and which is applied in a number of pro- fessional areas such as medicine, agriculture, the food industry and biotechnology. Such a rapidly growing discipline requires imagination to design a course that develops a constructive appreciation of biochemistry. Since the principles of biochemistry in most secondary schools are only parts of organic chemistry and biology, it is necessary to select those problems and illustrations which are appropriate for pedagogical purposes. The graduates from secondary schools must be able to under- stand problems of their own health, the destruction of the natural environment, the effects of increasing amounts of different chemicals in food, water, soil, air, the benefits and dangers of genetic engineering and so on. All these problems need appropriate teaching programmes, and biochemistry is the integrating discipline of all the biological sciences.

The Situation in Poland In most European countries, including Poland, there are three types of secondary schools: (a) general high schools, (b) technical middle schools with different profiles, and (c) professional high schools.

General high schools and technical middle schools teach biochemistry as part of biology and chemistry courses, and in professional high schools biochemistry is not taught at all.

There are three tracks graduates of secondary schools may follow after completing their studies. The main group become university students, especially those who studied in general high schools. The next group become employees in hospitals, industrial or research laboratories as technicians, and these are mostly drawn from technical high schools and subsequently attend special professional courses. The smallest group are those looking for jobs as teachers in primary schools after additional educational

courses. Therefore, the main objective is to produce high school graduates who know enough to enter university or to function effectively in companies. Secondary school students who become university students (medicine, agriculture, biological sciences) should be prepared to face educational programmes that include biochemistry as a subject in its own right.

Evaluation To evaluate the existing level of knowledge of biochem- istry as well as the attainment of the future aims in this field, a method was devised in the Department of Medical Education in the Medical School of Warsaw (Professor W Tysarowski) based on the centralized system of admission to medical schools. The system was introduced in 1975, and the crucial procedure is the Integrated Medical Admission Test (IMAT) based on a computer-assisted collection of data for all candidates concerning their learning achievements in secondary schools. Successful passing of this test is the prerequisite for a candidate to be admitted to the medical faculty.

IMAT gives us the opportunity to evaluate each year the level of intellectual attainment by the nation's popu- lation of secondary school graduates. Each year all multiple choice questions (about 150) are constructed around a few selected themes such as molecular genetics, respiration, nucleic acids, amino acids and proteins, enzymes, hormones, immunochemistry, etc, at the level of existing secondary school education programs. The individual multiple choice questions are based on in- tegrated high school biology, chemistry and physics. The integration leads to questions which are essentially bio- chemical and which are related and valid as prerequisite knowledge for studying medicine. Thus the test attempts to reflect thinking processes in semantically rich, cognitive domains, such as conceptual operations and problem solving. In each group of candidates the time was recorded for correct answers to the same questions, and a 'difficulty index' (DI) was calculated:

DI = No of positive answers/No of individuals replying

The sum of Dis for the group of selected questions divided by the number of these questions gives the mean difficulty index (MDI) for the given group of questions. The data obtained showed that the level of knowledge among the candidates in different fields of biochemistry is different and changes from year to year. Analysis of the results may also give insight into the level of knowledge on a national scale, in regions of the country and/or even in individual high schools. The data obtained during such analysis could be helpful in evaluating and planning curricula for teaching biochemistry in different types of secondary schools.

New Programmes In Poland, once in every few years new programmes are prepared for teaching biology, chemistry and physics and

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 15(4) 1987

176

this is done by the Institute of School Programmes in Warsaw. As I mentioned earlier, curricula for biology and chemistry contain courses in biochemistry. For instance, the programme for the school year 1986/87 was published in the autumn of 1985 in a special journal for secondary school teachers 'Biology in the School'. During four years of study in high school, students learn the chemical composition and structure of components of the living cell, some metabolic pathways in plants and animals, and basic elements of molecular genetics. A little attention is paid to recombinant DNA and cloning, immobilized enzymes and one biotechnological process is described, such as production of biogas, or the transformation of communal waste and biomass to energy products.

Thus although formal courses in biochemistry are not yet taught in highschools, significant amounts of bio- chemistry are being presented at this level in biology and chemistry courses. However, I should like to point out that although in each country there are different types of secondary schools, curricula for biology do not differ very much and the elements of biochemistry included in it over the four-year study. Therefore secondary school teachers must play an important role in the system of early introduction of biochemistry into public education. It is the responsibility of teachers to attract and hold the interest of pupils in order to enable them to obtain sufficient information for their admission to university or for their proper performance in their chosen fields of practical work. Teachers should motivate the pupils and show them the utilitarian role of modern biochemistry. My personal opinion is that biochemical education in secondary schools should be organized more on a practical basis as is done in universities. Every professional teacher would then recognize the close relationship that exists between the education in basic elements of biochemistry and its philosophical, social and practical aspects.

Refresher Courses Since in the field of teaching biochemistry all teachers in high schools are amateurs, to help them attain the above objectives, it is necessary to organize refresher courses for teachers, to facilitate their understanding of the logic of molecular processes, inter-relations between metabolic pathways, regulation mechanisms on various levels and how to apply the principles of biochemistry for better understanding nature, diseases, the environment and how to adapt ourselves to the rapidly evolving society. The courses should help to enable teachers to design more effective programmes and to adapt their courses to a fast- developing discipline.

Having the above in mind, the Institute of Medical Biochemistry in Krak6w took the opportunity some years ago of providing refresher courses for highschool teachers under the auspices of the Educational Board for Second- ary Schools. The course comprised of about 30 lectures and 30 hours tutorials and seminars over two weeks. Each day there were 3-hour sessions and a one-hour lecture, the remaining time each day being spent on discussion,

demonstrations of selected practical work carried out b~ medical or pharmacy students, and on reading literature.

We proposed the following topics for each course: however, because of the rapid increase in biochemical knowledge, every year we have to delete or add some material to the programme. Some teachers attend our courses every year. The topics are:

(1) Building blocks of biologically important molecules (2) Structure of proteins (enzymes, antibodies, haemo-

globin), lipids and carbohydrates (3) Elementary cell structures: membranes, mito-

chondria, lysosomes and ribosomes (4) Strategy of intermediary metabolism (5) Energy producing processes: electron transport

system, substrate and oxidative phosphorylation, metabolism of sugars and fatty acids

(6) Photosynthesis (7) The structure and function of genetic material in pro-

and eukaryotes (8) Biosynthetic pathways: proteins, carbohydrates,

lipids (9) Regulation mechanisms of metabolism on different

levels (10) Practical aspects of biochemistry: Nutritional bio- chemistry (vitamins, hormones), techniques of recom- binant DNA, the role of biotechnology in medicine, agriculture, food production, fermentation of ligno- cellulose products.

Each lecture was a separate unit given by an experi- enced assistant, explaining such important elements of biochemistry as energy transformations in the cell, repli- cation and transcription, the mechanism of protein syn- thesis and allosteric effects in protein molecules. We also seized every occasion to show the link of biochemistry with other biological disciplines such as botany, zoology, agriculture, medicine, which made the subject more attractive and inspired further study.

The most important thing for achieving good results with refresher courses is to establish close relations with the participants. Unlike medical students, who hate biochemistry, they want to learn as much as possible during the short course. At the first coffee session we discussed the programme and eventually made some corrections to our proposals according to their wishes and professional needs. The participants on the course know which area of biochemistry they lack or do not under- stand. In our Institute we take great care in selecting data, the best instructors for the course and the method of transferring material to the listeners. We also used tours through research laboratories with comments about the instruments, methods and our research programs. This approach made the course more attractive and 1 think gave them a better understanding of the role of modern biochemistry.

In recent years professional training courses have been organized more frequently by the highschool itself than by university departments of biochemistry. They organize

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 15(4) 1987

conferences during which teachers obtain literature for home study, discuss important elements of biochemistry, comment on programs and tailor the material for each type of highschool. Such approach is a consequence of the higher autonomy of secondary schools.

Publications In Poland we have several excellent publications such as Progress in Biochemistry, and the monthly journals Problemy, Universe (Wszechgwiat), Omega of which a great part are dedicated to biochemistry and biochemical concepts in other subjects. Also the Polish Academy of Sciences organizes year-round lectures given by the best specialists in the so-called 'University of Academy of Sciences'. Of course, all these opportunities are explored by highschools to train their teachers. But most responsible people think that professional training courses for teachers should be more thorough and that the performance of teachers in their posts should be regularly assessed. Teachers should be well trained and familiar with modern biochemical concepts before they take responsibility for the education of the younger generation. The "biochemization" or the education of the public in the principles of biology and chemistry including biochem- istry, will positively influence the better selection of future leaders of society and foster a better understanding of the contemporary world by the majority of the people. Programmes of biochemistry in highschools should be arranged not only for their scientific value but also to demonstrate that there is much biochemical interest in all biological sciences.

Conclusions I would like to draw the following conclusions. (1) We must bear in mind that different types of secondary schools prepare students not only for university study, but also to take jobs in industry, clinical labora- tories and teaching in the primary schools. Industrial and clinical laboratories are now a major vocational choice in our country for secondary school graduates. (2) Biochemistry is now an essential subject in public education providing a source of information for all human beings in the fields of health problems, food production, pollution of the natural environment, use of drugs and narcotics, as well as for a better understanding of the functioning of all living matter as the basis for the rational outlook to the contemporary world. (3) From the reasons mentioned biochemistry should be taught in secondary schools not as inclusions to general biology or chemistry but as an independent subject covering some elements of molecular genetics, genetic engineering and application of enzymes in biotechnology. (4) Refresher course for highschool teachers play a major role in improving teaching in this rapidly developing discipline in an evolving society. University departments of biochemistry should take the major responsibility for organizing the professional preparation of teachers and enabling them to be familiar with the modern concepts of

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 15(4) 1987

177

biochemistry as well as modern teaching techniques. It must be emphasized that scientific facts alone are not enough because biochemical education means much more than memorization of knowledge. The duty of the teachers is to attract the students to biochemistry as a science indispensable for understanding all aspects of life as well as of increasing importance for proper perform- ance of the chosen fields during university study or other kind of work undertaken by the secondary school graduates. (5) Learning of biochemical elements should start already in primary schools. In Poland programmes for eighth grade of primary schools contain some elements of descriptive biochemistry included in the subject of biology and chemistry. (6) The implementation of a new educational system may be helped by the methods of systemic evaluation of the level of knowledge and the attainment of the future aims in the field of interest. The Integrated Admission Test described in this paper gives a good opportunity to evaluate and plan the teaching of biochemistry in second- ary schools.

I am deeply obliged to Professor W Tysarowski for his kind information concerning IMAT.

The Impact of Biotechnology on School Teaching

LARS JOSEFSSON

Department of Biochemistry C University of Copenhagen Blegdamsve] 3 DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark

Introduction Throughout its explosive development biochemistry has, as we all are aware, had an increasing impact on our society, mainly by practical application in such areas as medicine, agriculture, nutrition and industry. Applied biochemistry, particularly in the form of the modern biotechnology, will be even more significant in the future. It is important therefore that special attention be devoted to preparing the 'mind' of our society, so it can understand and apprehend the nature and prosperity of modern biochemistry and its applications.

As this objective only can be achieved by the help of active biochemists, there are new responsibilities on us as educators in biochemistry, and which have forced us to become more involved in general education matters, including highschooi teaching, to ensure that proper information is given about what modern biochemistry is, and how it, by its application into the various areas of our society, has already contributed greatly to improving our daily life.

This is apparent not only because of the self-evident right people have to know what scientists are up to, but also because the further development of biotechnology will require an increasing number of well prepared individuals. Moreover, because modern biotechnology