Converting a formerly in-person biochemistry course based undergraduate research experience to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the delivery of undergraduate courses around the world, and this was no different for the Biochemistry Capstone course offered to Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar's second year pre-medical students during the 2021 spring semester. The course, which was previously delivered in-person and offered an opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with research and laboratory techniques, had to be modified to be delivered online. The online delivery of the course mainly consisted of “Zoom” sessions, “Canvas” materials, and data analysis using Microsoft Excel raw data sheets. The final assessment of the course consisted of a research report encompassing the procedures discussed, the results of the literature search, and data analysis carried out for the duration of the course. At the end of the course, students completed a survey on the online delivery of the course. It was evident that the majority of students preferred either a combination of in-person and online delivery or in-person delivery only, rather than a fully online course. Students' feedback as well as other literature on the online delivery of courses were considered in order to potentially improve the course for the upcoming years.