INTERVALIC GROUP DISCUSSION EXCITES INTEREST IN BIOCHEMISTRY LEARNING

The purpose of this study was to evaluate students' academic outcomes after implementation of the intervalic group discussion pedagogics in biochemistry curriculum for Applied chemistry students. Design: 300 students were saparated into two cohorts, one taught with the traditional lecture-based methods and the other adopted the intervalic group discussion approach in biochemistry course. The effects of the two kinds of pedagogics analysis by comparing four exam scores during the semester, the final exam score was the most determining one for GPA grades. Results: There have no statistically differences in the mean scores of the final exam score (p=0.599) among all students. However, the cohorts with intervalic group discussion instructional method were more apt to catch the abstractive concenptions and metabolism pathways, and they were expert on expliaing biological phenomenon and regulating microbial fermentations. If the test contents involved more applied questions during the semesster, like exam 2 and exam 3 (p<0.05), the mean exam scores were higher in the intervalic discussion group than in the traditional one. The abstract conceptions or the metabolism pathways were thought easier to understand after group discussion. Conclusion: Student cohorts who taught using the intervalic group discussion approach statistically outperformed those who received the traditional lecture-based instructional method in biochemistry learning.