Dear Histoni,
To complete the feedback circle here are the changes being made to the Biomolecules and Protein Chemistry and Enzymology courses next year:
Biomolecules:
1) Timetable changes. A) Practical 6 (bioinformatics) will move to before Christmas as it fits in better with the protein section of the course and this will have the net effect of bringing the exam at least one week closer to the lectures. B) Feedback sessions for the practical classes will be timetabled in advance with 3 feedback sessions for practicals 1, 2&6 and 3&4
2) Handouts. A) the handouts will be made available in 2 sections ( i) Polynucleic acids and proteins; ii) Carbohydrates and lipids) rather than the current half dozen sections so that they are always available to read in advance of the relevant lecture. Due to copyright issues the handouts will continue to only be available in paper format. B) Minor amendments and corrections will be made to the handouts and they will be more widely spaced to allow students more space to write comments on them.
3) The storage carbohydrates section will move permanently to Metabolism I
4) Minor changes will be made to the practical manuals to try to make the English more understandable to Finns for this it would be VERY useful to have more specific feedback from students regarding which words they did not understand and were unable to find in dictionaries.
5) The matrix used in the gel filtration in practical 2 will be changed to a fast-flow matrix so the practical does not take as long.
In addition, in future Biomolecules along with all courses in the new system will have examinations timetabled in advance.
Protein Chemistry and Enzymology:
1) More links will be given in the lectures to the practicals so that students are more aware which is the relevant theory
2) The current ending problem solving class will be changed from 1 x 3 hour session to 2 x 3 hour sessions with different questions being available at each session. All questions will continue to be available from me directly (if you are unable to attend), but will be available only in paper format and not on the internet due a) to copyright issues and b) to the fact I usually decide which questions to use at the last minute depending on how the course has gone. As currently NO model answers will be given.
VBW,
Lloyd