This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Research Protocols, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.researchprotocols.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
In March 2020, the global landscape witnessed widespread upheavals in both socioeconomic and educational spheres due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With measures imposed to control the virus’s spread, educational institutions around the world embraced digital learning, introducing challenges in the adaptation to virtual education. This shift proved especially daunting in resource-limited nations with limited digital infrastructure.
This scoping review aims to explore the experiences of biochemistry educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on successful pedagogical strategies used to overcome challenges in remote teaching. The goal is to compile valuable information applicable to health-related undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
This review considers studies and experiences related to the transition to remote biochemistry education during the pandemic. It encompasses a variety of pedagogical approaches, including online teaching tools, interactive methods, and alternatives to practical laboratory classes. The search spans databases such as MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Evidence Synthesis, with a focus on identifying systematic or scoping reviews; however, none were identified in the preliminary search.
Starting in February 2022, the scoping review protocol was scheduled for completion by July 2024. From an initial pool of 1171 results, 85 articles were selected, with duplicate verification pending for the subsequent phase of the project. The findings from this review on biochemistry teaching strategies will be communicated using a combination of descriptive narrative, graphical, and tabular formats, emphasizing diverse pedagogical approaches pertinent to the subject. Dissemination will occur through regional and national scientific conference presentations, alongside publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
This review aims to generate innovative pedagogical approaches and pinpoint learning activities, materials, and tools that support social and collaborative learning across various subjects, including biochemistry. Moreover, it will offer perspectives from students and educators on the implemented activities, with the intention of integrating them as supplementary methods to boost student participation, and thereby, improve learning outcomes and skill development.
Open Science Framework VZSA7; https://osf.io/VZSA7/
DERR1-10.2196/59552
The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, caused significant impacts on both socioeconomic and educational fronts, disrupting the routine of in-person education worldwide [
While online teaching tools were already used by various institutions, the widespread shift to this mode of education was abrupt for educators across all levels, from basic to postgraduate courses [
The rapid shift to distance learning during the pandemic presented significant global challenges, as evidenced by Lassoued et al [
In the field of biochemistry education, specific examples of innovative approaches include the work of Botasini et al [
Singh and Arya [
Challenges continued to emerge as the need to fulfill educational objectives clashed with the physical distance of students [
As some researchers shared their experiences, such as Thibaut and Schroeder’s [
The research methodology will involve the utilization of the Arksey and O’Malley [
As per Levac et al [
The inclusion of eligible studies in this scoping review will be guided by the Participants, Concept, and Context framework [
This scoping review will include studies that involve students who participated in biochemistry courses at undergraduate or postgraduate levels, delivered remotely.
The focus of the study is to analyze the challenges and strategies adopted for remote biochemistry teaching, covering both theoretical and practical approaches, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies discussing pedagogical methods, online teaching tools, adaptation of laboratory practices, and other approaches to maintaining the quality of distance education will be considered.
Only studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic will be included, as the objective is to explore how biochemistry teaching was adapted and the challenges faced during this specific period. Studies published in any language will be considered.
Duplicate articles, editorials, reviews, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations, and monographs will be excluded.
The literature search will be performed from January 2020 to December 2023, during the time period when articles related to tools used for remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic were published, in collaboration with a specialized librarian, using an iterative approach. Following the formulation of the question, keywords will be identified (“Teaching”; “Biochemistry”; “Distance Education”; and “COVID-19”) that managed to capture articles related to the topic, namely “translational medical research” (Medical Subject Headings terms) and “knowledge translation.”
The following databases will be consulted: National Library of Medicine (PubMed), MEDLINE, Scopus, Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources, Education Resources Information Center, Directory of Open Access Journals, and Google Scholar, through descriptors and their synonyms, according to the Health Sciences Descriptors and Medical Subject Headings, for each item of the strategy (
Search keywords and key terms used for this study.
| Subjects | Subject and synonyms in Portuguese (DeCSa) | Subject and synonyms in English (MeSHb) |
| 1 | “Ensino” OR “Atividade de Treinamento” OR “Atividades Formativas” OR “Atividades de Capacitação” OR “Atividades de Formação” OR “Atividades de Treinamento” OR “Atividades de Treino” OR “Capacitação Acadêmica” OR “Didática” OR “Docência” OR “Formação Acadêmica” OR “Método de Ensino” OR “Métodos Pedagógicos” OR “Métodos de Ensino” OR “Pedagogia” OR “Treinamento Acadêmica” OR “Treino Acadêmico” OR “Técnica de Treinamento” OR “Técnicas Educacionais” OR “Técnicas Educativas” OR “Técnicas de Ensino” OR “Técnicas de Formação” OR “Técnicas de Treinamento” OR “Técnicas de Treino” | “Teaching” OR “Training Technique” OR “Training Technique” OR “Technique, Training” OR “Techniques, Training” OR “Training Technic” OR “Technic, Training” OR “Technics, Training” OR “Training Technic” OR “Pedagogy” “Pedagogies” OR “Teaching Method” OR “Teaching Method” OR “Method, Teaching” OR “Methods, Teaching” OR “Academic Training” OR “Training, Academic” OR “Training Activities” OR “Training Activity” OR “Activities, Training” OR “Activity, Training” OR “Techniques, Educational” OR “Educational Techniques” OR ‘Educational Technique” OR “Technique, Educational” OR “Educational Technics” OR “Educational Technic” OR “Technic, Educational” OR “Technics, Educational” |
| 2 | “Bioquímica” | “Biochemistry” |
| 3 | “Educação a Distancia” OR “Aprendizado Online” OR “Aprendizado a Distância” OR “Aprendizagem Online” OR “Aprendizagem a Distância” OR “Ciberaprendizagem” OR “Cursos por Correspondência” OR “Educação Online” OR “Ensino a Distância” OR “Formação à Distância” OR “Formação à Distância através das TIC” OR “Formação à Distância através das Tecnologias da Informação e das Comunicações” OR “Tele-Educação” OR “Tele-Educação Interativa” OR “Teleducação” OR “Teleducação Interativa” OR “Teleformação” OR “eLearning” | “Education, Distance” OR “Distance Education” OR “Distance Learning” OR “Learning, Distance” OR “Online Learning” OR “Learning, Online” OR “Online Education” OR “Education, Online” OR “Online Educations” OR “Correspondence Courses” OR “Correspondence Course” OR “Course, Correspondence” |
| 4 | “Covid-19” OR “COVID19” OR “Doença Viral COVID-19” OR “Doença pelo Novo Coronavírus (2019-nCoV)” OR “Doença por 2019-nCoV” OR “Doença por Coronavírus 2019” OR “Doença por Coronavírus 2019-nCoV” OR “Doença por Coronavírus-19” OR “Doença por Novo Coronavírus (2019-nCoV)” OR “Doença por Novo Coronavírus de 2019” OR“ Doença por Vírus COVID-19” OR “Epidemia de Pneumonia por Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Epidemia de Pneumonia por Coronavírus de Wuhan de 2019-2020” OR “Epidemia de Pneumonia por Coronavírus em Wuhan” OR “Epidemia de Pneumonia por Coronavírus em Wuhan de 2019-2020” OR “Epidemia de Pneumonia por Novo Coronavírus de 2019-2020” OR “Epidemia pelo Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Epidemia pelo Coronavírus em Wuhan” OR “Epidemia pelo Novo Coronavírus (2019-nCoV)” OR “Epidemia pelo Novo Coronavírus 2019” OR “Epidemia por 2019-nCoV” OR “Epidemia por Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Epidemia por Coronavírus em Wuhan” OR “Epidemia por Novo Coronavírus (2019-nCoV)” OR “Epidemia por Novo Coronavírus 2019” OR “Febre de Pneumonia por Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Infecção Viral COVID-19” OR “Infecção pelo Coronavírus 2019-nCoV” OR “Infecção pelo Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Infecção pelo SARS-CoV-2” OR “Infecção por 2019-nCoV” OR “Infecção por Coronavírus 2019-nCoV” OR “Infecção por Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Infecção por Novo Coronavírus de 2019” OR “Infecção por SARS Coronavirus 2” OR “Infecção por SARS-CoV-2” OR “Infecção por Vírus COVID-19” OR “Infecções por SARS-CoV-2” OR “Pandemia COVID-19” OR “Pandemia por COVID-19” OR “Pandemias por COVID-19” OR “Pneumonia do Mercado de Frutos do Mar de Wuhan” OR “Pneumonia por Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Pneumonia por Novo Coronavírus de 2019-2020” OR “Surto de Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Surto de Pneumonia da China 2019-2020” OR “Surto de Pneumonia na China 2019-2020” OR “Surto pelo Coronavírus 2019-nCoV” OR “Surto pelo Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Surto pelo Coronavírus de Wuhan de 2019-2020” OR “Surto pelo Novo Coronavírus (2019-nCoV)” OR “Surto pelo Novo Coronavírus 2019” OR “Surto por 2019-nCoV” OR “Surto por Coronavírus 2019-nCoV” OR “Surto por Coronavírus de Wuhan” OR “Surto por Coronavírus de Wuhan de 2019-2020” OR “Surto por Novo Coronavírus (2019-nCoV)” OR “Surto por Novo Coronavírus 2019” OR “Virose COVID-19” OR “covid-19” | “COVID19” OR “COVID 19” OR “SARS-CoV-2 Infection” OR “Infection, SARS-CoV-2” OR “SARS CoV-2 Infection” OR “SARS-CoV-2 Infections” OR “2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease” OR “2019 Novel Coronavirus Infection” OR “2019-nCoV Disease” OR “2019-nCoV Disease” OR “2019-nCoV Diseases” OR “Disease, 2019-nCoV” OR “COVID-19 Virus Infection” OR “COVID 19 Virus Infection” OR “COVID-19 Virus Infections” OR “Infection, COVID-19 Virus” OR “Virus Infection, COVID-19” OR “Coronavirus Disease 2019” OR “Disease 2019, Coronavirus” “Coronavirus Disease-19” OR “Coronavirus Disease 19” OR “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection” OR “SARS Coronavirus 2 Infection” OR “COVID-19 Virus Disease” OR “COVID 19 Virus Disease” OR “COVID-19 Virus Diseases” OR “Disease, COVID-19 Virus” OR “Virus Disease, COVID-19” OR “2019-nCoV Infection” OR “2019-nCoV Infection” OR “2019-nCoV Infections” OR “Infection, 2019-nCoV” OR “COVID19” “COVID-19 Pandemic” OR “COVID 19 Pandemic” OR “Pandemic, COVID-19” OR “COVID-19 Pandemics” |
aDeCS: Health Science Descriptors.
bMeSH: Medical Subject Headings.
Search strategy for databases used for this study.
| Databases | Search details |
| National Library of Medicine (PubMed), MEDLINE, Scopus, Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources, Education Resources Information Center, and Directory of Open Access Journal | (“Teaching” OR “Training Technique” OR “Training Technique” OR “Technique, Training” OR “Techniques, Training” OR “Training Technic” OR “Technic, Training” OR “Technics, Training” OR “Training Technic” OR “Pedagogy” “Pedagogies” OR “Teaching Method” OR “Teaching Method” OR “Method, Teaching” OR “Methods, Teaching” OR “Academic Training” OR “Training, Academic” OR “Training Activities” OR “Training Activity” OR “Activities, Training” OR “Activity, Training” OR “Techniques, Educational” OR “Educational Techniques” OR ‘Educational Technique” OR “Technique, Educational” OR “Educational Technics” OR “Educational Technic” OR “Technic, Educational” OR “Technics, Educational”) AND (“Biochemistry”) AND (“Education, Distance” OR “Distance Education” OR “Distance Learning” OR “Learning, Distance” OR “Online Learning” OR “Learning, Online” OR “Online Education” OR “Education, Online” OR “Online Educations” OR “Correspondence Courses” OR “Correspondence Course” OR “Course, Correspondence”) AND (“COVID19” OR “COVID 19” OR “SARS-CoV-2 Infection” OR “Infection, SARS-CoV-2” OR “SARS CoV-2 Infection” OR “SARS-CoV-2 Infections” OR “2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease” OR “2019 Novel Coronavirus Infection” OR “2019-nCoV Disease” OR “2019-nCoV Disease” OR “2019-nCoV Diseases” OR “Disease, 2019-nCoV” OR “COVID-19 Virus Infection” OR “COVID 19 Virus Infection” OR “COVID-19 Virus Infections” OR “Infection, COVID-19 Virus” OR “Virus Infection, COVID-19” OR “Coronavirus Disease 2019” OR “Disease 2019, Coronavirus” “Coronavirus Disease-19” OR “Coronavirus Disease 19” OR “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection” OR “SARS Coronavirus 2 Infection” OR “COVID-19 Virus Disease” OR “COVID 19 Virus Disease” OR “COVID-19 Virus Diseases” OR “Disease, COVID-19 Virus” OR “Virus Disease, COVID-19” OR “2019-nCoV Infection” OR “2019-nCoV Infection” OR “2019-nCoV Infections” OR “Infection, 2019-nCoV” OR “COVID19” OR “COVID-19 Pandemic” OR “COVID 19 Pandemic” OR “Pandemic, COVID-19” OR “COVID-19 Pandemics” |
| Google Scholar (in Portuguese) | (“Ensino” OR “Atividade de Treinamento” OR “Atividades Formativas” OR “Atividades de Capacitação” OR “Atividades de Formação” OR “Atividades de Treinamento” OR “Atividades de Treino” OR “Capacitação Acadêmica” OR “Didática” OR “Docência” OR “Formação Acadêmica” OR “Método de Ensino” OR “Métodos Pedagógicos” OR “Métodos de Ensino” OR “Pedagogia” OR “Treinamento Acadêmica” OR “Treino Acadêmico” OR “Técnica de Treinamento” OR “Técnicas Educacionais” OR “Técnicas Educativas” OR |
After conducting the search, the following will be included: studies conducted in English and Portuguese languages, with quantitative and qualitative approaches; primary studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-syntheses; and books and guidelines published in indexed sources that address the established question.
Duplicate articles, editorials, reviews, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations, monographs, undergraduate final projects, opinion publications, consensuses, retractions, editorials, websites, and advertisements disseminated will be excluded.
The citations gathered will be transferred to Mendeley Reference Manager for Desktop (version 2.109.0; Elsevier Ltd.) after the search, and the duplicates will be manually removed. Following this, 2 reviewers (TI and JCA) will independently assess titles and abstracts for eligibility using the Participants, Concept, and Context framework. Full texts of potentially relevant articles meeting the eligibility criteria will be retrieved for the 2 reviewers to scrutinize and compare against the inclusion criteria. In case of discrepancies during any phase of article selection between TI and JCA, resolution will be sought through discussion or consultation with ARdAL, the third reviewer. The final scoping review will feature a descriptive account of the search and study selection process alongside a PRISMA-ScR flow diagram [
The data from all eligible studies will be extracted and processed through data charting. This process involves extracting information from the selected full-text articles. A Microsoft Excel table will be created for this purpose, encompassing sections, such as title, authors, year of publication, geographic area, study objectives, pedagogical approaches, collaborative learning activities, resources adopted, and summary of findings.
The characteristics of each identified study will be summarized and described (eg, author name, study location, and year of publication), along with the pedagogical approach used in teaching biochemistry; the learning activities, content, and resources used; and any evaluation by students of the strategies used by their professors.
Initiated in February 2022, the protocol for this scoping review was anticipated to wrap up by July 2024. The research process yielded 1171 results, from which 85 articles were selected. Verification of duplicates has not yet been conducted, and this will be carried out in the next stage of the work.
The outcomes of this scoping review on teaching strategies for biochemistry will be conveyed through a blend of descriptive narrative, graphical, and tabular formats. The presentation will be structured to underscore the various pedagogical approaches relevant to the field. These findings will be shared through regional and national scientific conference presentations, as well as publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching of undergraduate and graduate courses in the health care field faced significant challenges [
However, some advantages were identified with the strategies adopted by teachers and institutions during the pandemic [
Considering these observations, continuing remote teaching strategies after the pandemic can bring various benefits [
It should be emphasized that the use of educational technologies helps students develop essential digital skills for the current and future job market [
In addition, this scoping review presents limitations. Specifically, there will be no evaluation of the quality of the studies included. There is a possibility of overlooking pertinent data, given that our search is restricted to published studies exclusively. We have chosen multiple sources and formulated meticulous search strategies to enhance the identification of eligible studies.
The results of this review are expected to bring forth ideas for new pedagogical approaches and identify learning activities, content, and resources that facilitate social and collaborative learning processes, both for biochemistry and other disciplines. In addition, insights from students and teachers regarding the activities developed will be provided, aiming to apply them as additional strategies to enhance student engagement, and consequently, learning and the development of various skills.
Joanna Briggs Institute
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews
World Health Organization
We would like to thank Zélia Cristina Regis at the Faculty of Medicine of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP) for her contribution to the development of the research process.
TI, HLGC, ARdAL, and JC conceptualized, designed, and interpreted the data and were the main contributors to writing the manuscript. ABGC, NBGC, VMSB, and DRSS analyzed and interpreted the data. TI, ERdS, NAdASRC, FNFJ, AH, and CM have supervised and revised the final draft.
None declared.