Assessment of Program Outcome by Open-Ended Experiment in Enzyme Technology Laboratory Course

Abstract

The laboratory component of Enzyme Technology course is designed to provide hands-on experience to inculcate the experimental skill during isolation, purification and assay of various enzyme preparations. To improve the attainment of program outcomes through Enzyme Technology laboratory course, the experiments were categorized as demonstration, exercise, structured enquiry and open-ended experiment. The primary objective of open-ended experiments is to enable the student to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data. The experiments were carried out in a group of two so that students shall develop the ability to function effectively as an individual and in a group with the capacity to be a leader as well as an effective team member. The present paper describes the design of the open-ended laboratory experiment and its impact on attainment of program outcome and the overall students’ learning experience. Student teams were given only with problem statement, keeping the study approaches open. The students were expected to carry-out literature review and design the experiment, with due consideration to resources and feasibility. All the students were graded by adopting evaluation rubrics. The evaluation results show significant improvement in the achievement of program outcomes. It is observed that design of experiments as open-ended one improves the learning experiences and nurtures the innovativeness and creativity among students.