In this article, an approach to teaching molecular biophysics is
described. The organization and course content has been carefully chosen and
curated so that fundamental ideas in molecular biophysics can be taught effectively
to upper classmen in higher education. Three general topic areas are introduced
along with accompanying experiments that illustrate major principles related to
each topic area. This article outlines an approach to organizing chosen course
material and suggests multiple teaching activities within each major topic area:
thermodynamics, kinetics, and structural biology. Subtopics are presented along
with suggested laboratory experiments. The experiments are outlined in a way that
they can be readily adopted by educators teaching a biophysical chemistry lab. The
accompaniment of workshop exercises as an additional teaching modality is a
component of the course intended to enhance the developm … show moreent of important
problem-solving skills and comprehension of new content. Finally, a reflection on
student feedback and course outcomes along with targeted learning goals is
discussed.