Categorized Laboratory Course Content towards Better Attainment of Program Outcome - Better Attainment of PO by Categorization

Abstract

Enzyme Technology theory and laboratory course; usually offered at second year of undergraduate program in Biotechnology is one of the foundational courses. Traditionally laboratory component provides hands on experience to conduct experiment, immobilize enzyme and assay the enzyme samples. However the conventional pedagogy practiced till date, was unable to meet the metric goal set for certain program outcomes (PO). The lack in design of term-works at various levels, improper evaluation criteria and lack of rubrics could be the most contributing factors for poor attainment of PO.

To address this issue, we categorized the laboratory term works into four categories demonstration, exercise, structured enquiry and open ended experiment. Term works were carefully designed to address major technical POs and some of professional POs. Evaluation criteria for each term work are mapped to Program outcome (PO), Outcome Element (OE) and Performance Indicator (PI). This helps us in assessing the attainment of POs more precisely. The students were expected to carry-out literature review and design the experiment, with due consideration to resources & feasibility. They carry out experiments, analyze and interpret the solution. The assessment of PO attainment through continuous internal evaluation reveals significant improvement in the achievement of program outcomes. To summarize the categorization of experiments, mapping evaluation criteria to PO, OE and PI, as well as rubrics designed for evaluation, improved the attainment of PO. The exercise also provides better learning experience among students.