A Tale of Two Semesters: Flipped Biochemistry Curriculum in the Time of COVID

Abstract

Social distancing and online education demands have had an immediate impact on the delivery of biochemistry curriculum to meet the student, faculty, and institutional needs. During the Fall 2020 and 2021 semesters, one model of hybrid online flipped learning was applied to an introduction to biochemistry lecture course. Normal classroom lectures were turned into voice‐over PowerPoint videos. Students were expected to have watched the lecture videos before coming to class. After gaining experience with the flipped classroom and social distancing model, student learning shifted from passive to active engagement by applying their knowledge during in person classroom activities including question response, board problems, 3D molecular modeling kits, and think pair share exercises. Students self‐reported that they liked the flexibility of watching the lecture videos before class and the ability to rewind and pause the videos. Students also commented in student evaluations that the in‐class activities and practice problems were helpful in applying their understanding. Compared to the previous six years, the withdrawal rate heavily decreased in Fall 2020 using this flipped learning style decreasing from a usual 30% to 10%. In addition, no students earned a D or an F for Fall 2020 and Fall 2021 in the introduction to biochemistry course compared to previous years where 10% of the class normally would be in this grade range. This preliminary assessment of the Fall 2020/2021 grade distributions and withdrawal number supports that flipped learning and focus on application of the lecture material in class can be a powerful combination for improved understanding. This is especially relevant to the threshold concepts identified by the ASBMB. Out of class recorded lectures can introduce topics and in class time can be spent focusing on the more difficult concepts and understanding in biochemistry.