Resumen de General Chemistry and Cell Biology: An Experiment in Curricular Symbiosis
During the 1998-99 academic year, with the support of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, we co-taught integrated courses in general chemistry and cell biology to 23 first-year students. The double course was organized around six units: I. Energetics: Harvesting (Bio)Chemical Energy; II. The Regulation of Biological Processes: Chemical Kinetics and Equilibrium; III. Membranes and Electrochemical Gradients; IV. Acids and Bases and the Regulation of pH; V. Intracellular Compartments and Transport; and VI. Cellular Communication. The chemistry and biology were both taught in a manner meant to enhance understanding of these major themes and to emphasize the relationships between the two disciplines. Both of us were present for all class sessions and shared teaching responsibilities. The examinations, which corresponded to the units, also stressed the interdependence of biology and chemistry. The laboratory components were not integrated; rather the students were dispersed among laboratory sections shared with students from more traditional lecture sections. The paper reports on this experiment in curricular symbiosis, which proved to be a challenging and rewarding learning experience for both the students and us.
