General Chemistry for Students Enrolled in a Life Sciences Curriculum

Abstract

The goal of this three-year project is to establish a modular and interactive Internet website for the teaching of general chemistry to freshmen students enrolled in a life sciences university program (medicine, biology, possibly pharmacy). Students should become familiar with the basic chemistry concepts needed to understand important life processes and the whereabouts in day-to-day usage of chemical technologies. The idea behind the project, supported by four partner universities (Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Fribourg), is to offer a flexible tool to students who have followed very different secondary education programs, some of them having not yet taken any science course. The project aims therefore at optimizing their basic science training during the first year of higher education. A system of online exercises and tests helps the students to assess their understanding of the matter. Video films of live experiments and computer simulations illustrate the main principles and phenomena described in the teaching program. Whenever possible, the teaching aims at an integrated vision of biosciences, as illustrated by some examples using a problem-based approach. The site will offer bilingual (French, English), possibly trilingual (German), teaching and is intended to serve annually 1200–1300 students from the supporting universities.