The guided design strategy in the biochemistry laboratory

This article describes a nontraditional biochemistry laboratory course for first-year dental students. The course consisted of two laboratory exercises adapted to the guided design strategy and a short research project. The major advantage of the guided design laboratories was subjectively determined to be the development of problem-solving skills, which students previously enrolled in a traditional laboratory course seemed to lack. Students exposed to the guided design approach successfully applied these skills when performing their research projects. These students also reflected a better understanding of the biochemical principles encountered. The major disadvantages were the great amount of faculty time required to prepare the guided design materials and the reduced amount of subject matter covered. Student evaluation scores of the new laboratory program showed dramatic improvement over those for the traditional laboratories. In addition, students' attitudes toward the new biochemistry laboratories were more positive than those exhibited in the traditional course.