204

text is expected to be in use in 1989. The features of the 1989 edition include:

(1) A much smaller size (18 chapters, 600 000 Chinese words) based on the improved secondary education and capacity for self-learning of the students. Also, the Chinese educational principle 'learn less but more useful knowledge', had long been a slogan, but will now be put into practice.

(2) It is organized into three parts, but differently compared with previous editions: Bio-macromolecules, Dynamic Biochemistry, and Transfer of Genetic Infor- mation.

(3) Old material is replaced by new. Table 2 shows how some chapters have changed over the years.

(4) The section on Dynamic Biochemistry has been extensively reorganized forming the core of the course.

(5) For medical students, clinical biochemistry is of great importance. In the new edition, biochemical knowl- edge relevant to clinical applications has been introduced into individual chapters and a new chapter 'Inorganic Biochemistry' added. The old Part 3 has been removed. A totally new third section now deals with 'Transfer of Genetic Information',

As one of the editors of this new textbook, I am confident that the third edition will improve our teaching in biochemistry and improve knowledge of molecular biology, enabling our students to cope with future developments in the life sciences.

Table 2 Size of textbook (in pages) of individual chapters

Protein Biological Metabolic Nucleic Acids Year Chemistry Enzymes Oxidation Regulation Chemistry DNA to Protein

1954 49 16 19 0 4 5 1964 26 25 22 0 12 10 1977 22 27 23 16 27 53 1985 29 40 23 23 26 67

Tapping an Untapped Resource

KEVIN BAUMLIN

Hahnemann University Medical School Class of '91 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The age of innovative means of teaching is upon us. Many agree that learning can be enhanced by making available self-study materials for use at a time convenient for the student. 1 Software for computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is increasingly available. The value of such software is manifold, including easy access, capability of student interaction, student determines the pace of progress and amount of repetition, and opportunity for immediate feedback, both positive and negative.

Software packages are often written by professional programmers unfamiliar with the material or the methods by which students learn best. A creative and resourceful idea is to recruit students to work as a team with an instructor and together write a CAI program for use throughout a particular institution. Software packages authored by computer-literate students, on topics in- cluded in courses in which the student is currently taking or has taken, allow many opportunities for learning to occur. By working together closely, the student and instructor both benefit from the hands-on learning experi- ence of being co-authors.

An approach which has been successful at Hahnemann University includes the student vigorously reviewing a

BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION 16(4) 1988

chosen short topic, determining a clear concise fashion of presenting the material, and writing the text of the program. An important part of the product is the fact that the student programmer has shared his/her insight into what topics may be problems for future students. Once the program has been edited by the instructor involved in the project, the student has not only sufficiently learned the material, but has also had an increased amount of teacher/student interaction, which is a goal for many in the teaching profession.

There are other benefits to the instructors who guide their students in writing CAI programs, besides the increased interaction. The population of those in the teaching profession that fear computers is large, whereas those of us of the 'younger' generation are in general less afraid, and more knowledgeable of the computer. The teacher not only gains the future availability of a new teaching aid, but may also conquer a fear of computers, which is an outdated fear for our time. Thus the teacher is a student and the student a teacher.

So look around you, discover the resource that sits in front of you. You may discover oil, and all parties involved will prosper.

Reference 1Muller S (1984) (Chairman) Physicians for the 21st Century. Report of the Project Panel on the General Professional Education of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine, in J Med Educ 59: Part 2, Nov 1984