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The biochemistry and molecular biology major and liberal education: .

Article Excerpt
The Defining Task for undergraduate departments is the design of a major, including the number and content of courses as well as other requirements. Department members must weigh the desire to produce graduates superbly prepared for further study against the charge that the major requires too large a share of an undergraduate's course options. This dilemma is particularly striking for the sciences at undergraduate institutions where faculty are committed to the breadth of the liberal arts but also pride themselves on the number of students going on to graduate school or employment in scientific fields.

Biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) are often among the most demanding majors in terms of course requirements. In addition to the linear nature of all science programs, which hinders the flexibility of a major, BMB are interdisciplinary-fields that integrate material from courses in different departments. Tension between contributing departments often leads to an increase in the number of required courses.

Since 1992, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) has supported a recommended curriculum for the bachelor's degree in BMB. In the years since it was developed, this curriculum has been modified to emphasize skills rather than coursework. In addition to defining core content in chemistry, biology, and allied fields, the society has published a list of skills to be achieved. Although expressed in language specific to the sciences, these skills mirror the learning outcomes recommended by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in its 2007 report, College Learning for the New Global Century (see p. 32). Mapping the two sets of skills onto one another indicates where the ASBMB guidelines are strongest and where they might be supplemented (see fig. 1).

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Figure 1 AAC & U ASBMB Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World * Study in the sciences and mathematics, * Understanding of social sciences, humanities, histories, the fundamentals of languages, and the arts chemistry and biology and the key principles of biochemistry and molecular biology Intellectual and Practical Skills * Inquiry and analysis * Ability to assess primary papers critically * Critical and creative thinking * Good quantitative skills * Written and oral communication * Ability to design experiments and understand the limitations of the experimental approach * Quantitative literacy * Information literacy * Ability to interpret experimental data * Teamwork and problem solving * Ability to design follow-up experiments * Ability to work safely and effectively in a laboratory * Awareness of the available resources and how to use them * Ability to use computers as information and research tools * Ability to collaborate with other researchers Ability to use oral, written, and visual presentation to present their work to both a science-literate and a science-non-literate audience Personal and Social Responsibility * Civic knowledge and engagement (Local and * Awareness of the global) major issues at the forefront of the discipline * Intercultural knowledge and competence * Awareness of the ethical issues in the molecular life sciences * Foundations and skills for lifelong learning Integrative Learning * Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across * Ability to disect a general and specialized fields problem into its key features * Ability to think in an integrated manner and look at problems from different perspectives

Through a survey of department chairs and instructors, we sought to learn how widely the ASBMB-recommended curriculum and skills are understood by departments, at what levels the skills are introduced, what methods of pedagogy are employed, and how often open-ended research problems are presented to...

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