Course code:
435B2		 Course name:
Experiments in Biochemistry Teaching

Academic year:

2025/2026.

Attendance requirements:

402B2 + 411B2 + 202B2

ECTS:

7

Study level:

basic academic studies

Study program:

Biochemistry: 4. year, summer semester, elective (E16B2) course

Teacher:

Milan R. Nikolić, Ph.D.
associate professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, Beograd

Assistant:

Aleksandra M. Đurđević Đelmaš
research assistant, Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, Beograd

Hours of instruction:

Weekly: two hours of lectures + four hours of labwork (2+0+4)

Goals:

The aim of the course is for students to understand the importance and place of experiments in teaching biochemistry, to adopt methodological principles used in the selection, execution, and processing of experiments for teaching biochemistry at different levels of education, to use different literary sources for the preparation of experiments, to perform experiments for specific teaching units and topics, to use computers in the school/faculty laboratory and to compile a collection of protocols that they will use in their future work in educational institutions.

Outcome:

The student acquires knowledge that allows him to correctly choose, adapt, perform, and apply experiments suitable for teaching biochemistry in high schools and (chemical) nonmatic faculties.

Teaching methods:

Lectures; discussion groups and panels; experimental exercises; term papers; public class.

Extracurricular activities:

—

Coursebooks:

Main coursebooks:

  • Milan Sikirica: Metodika nastave kemije: priručnik za nastavnike kemije, Školska knjiga Zagreb, 2003.
  • Hans-Dieter Barke, Gὒnther Harsch, Siegbert Schmid: Essentials of Chemical Education (Translated by Hannah Gerdau), Springer, 2012.
  • Spencer L. Seager & Michael R. Slabaugh: Safety-Scale Laboratory Experiments for Chemistry for Today: General, Organic, and Biochemistry, 7th Edition, Cengage Learning, 2013.

Supplementary coursebooks:

  • Selected review papers, articles and Web (e.g., YouTube) links.

Additional material:

—

  Course activities and grading method

Lectures:

10 points (2 hours a week)

Syllabus:

Thematic units

– Science and the scientific method

- Experiment as a teaching tool in life sciences

– The role of experiment in biochemistry teaching 

– Experiments for individual and group work of students

– Demonstration experiments in biochemistry teaching

- Preparation of written instructions for experiments in biochemistry teaching

- Experiments in testing students' biochemical knowledge

– Problem situations in biochemistry teaching 

– Innovative pedagogy in biochemistry teaching

– Visualization in biochemistry teaching

– Computers in biochemistry teaching

– Web/online resources in biochemistry teaching

– Biologically important compounds (carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins, nucleic acids, secondary metabolites) in biochemistry teaching

Labwork:

25 points (4 hours a week)

Syllabus:

The program of laboratory exercises varies each year. It depends on the number of registered students and their interest in specific/listed scientific and educational topics. These topics are processed through experiments and (bio)chemical games. The results of students' activities are then prepared for presentation in a public class, which substitutes for the oral part of the exam.

Pictures from exercises (previous 5 school years): @mnikolic1971 (Instagram account).

Semester papers:

15 points

Oral exam:

50 points