Learning & Teaching

Title of case study	Problem-based learning - Synthetic biology: student solutions to real-world problems
School / subject	School of Molecular Bioscience
Lecturer	Shaun Bremner-Hart, Kirsten Knox
Course	Genes, Molecules, and Cells (BIOL2042)
Student Level	Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
Class size	Up to 30 students in a tutorial. ~260 students in total
Location	On campus/ in person

Brief summary 

Students are presented with a scenario in which they have been hired by a biotechnology start-up specialising in synthetic biology (SynBio) to develop protein-based products with commercial applications. The company is seeking innovative solutions to societal challenges, guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

Working in groups of up to five, students produce a short pitch video proposing a new SynBio product. They are expected to research and describe the biological principles of their idea, as well as the experimental work required to bring it to market. The video should: 

• Describe the properties of the proposed product 

• Justify its importance, usefulness and market potential 

• Align the product with a relevant UN Sustainable Development Goal 

• Outline the methodology for development, including cloning, transformation of the chassis organism, testing functionality and product extraction 

This group task contributes 5% to the overall course grade. In addition, students complete an individual assignment worth 15%, in which they produce a technical brief detailing the scientific and commercial aspects of their proposed product. 

The task will give students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to a real world scenario, develop teamwork, communications skills and practise translating complex scientific concepts into a format suitable for both technical and non-technical audiences.  

Objectives 

1. Explore how science and technology can help solve global challenges 
2. Develop teamwork, creativity, and communication skills by researching and devising a new product idea and presenting it through a short video. 
3. Understand how proteins work and how they can be designed and tested for commercial applications.

What is done?

In the first week of semester 2, students are assigned to groups of five and attend an introductory tutorial. During this session, they are introduced to the assessment brief and receive a short presentation on effective teamwork, including strategies for communication, task delegation and managing group dynamics. This session also provides time for students to begin planning their project: they formulate an initial action plan, exchange contact details and agree on a schedule for follow-up meetings. Students are also introduced to reflective practice and how they can use this exercise as an example of skill development in future applications and interviews.  

Following the tutorial, students work independently and collaboratively outside of class to research their chosen synthetic biology product and develop their pitch video. 

Approximately two weeks after the introductory tutorial, each group uploads their completed video to a peer review portal on Moodle. Each student is then assigned two videos to assess and provide feedback on using a structured marking rubric. Students have one week to complete their peer reviews before grades are released. 

Students have proposed a wide range of ideas, from everyday items like biological washing powders to complex medical applications like synthetic hormones (insulin). Others take particularly creative approaches and have suggested mechanisms to improve drinking water quality and ways to enhance the nutritional composition of foods.

What works well?

In a large class of approximately 260 students, this tutorial and assessment brief encourages students to work in small groups, helping them build peer networks and fostering a stronger sense of belonging within the cohort. The timing of this activity is deliberately placed at the start of the semester to support the formation of these connections early on. Many of these initial groups often form the basis of study groups that continue through the rest of the course.  

Most groups collaborate effectively with minimal staff intervention, making the activity both scalable and sustainable. 

The video assessment format is unique within Level 2 Life Sciences and allows students to demonstrate a broader range of skills beyond traditional report writing, including creativity, teamwork and verbal communication.

Benefits (students & staff)

Student benefits 

This project provides an opportunity for creative, problem-based learning in a STEM context. Students tackle real-world challenges and develop original solutions, making the experience engaging and rewarding. 

Future skills developed 

• Research: Find and evaluate scientific sources 

• Communication: Present complex ideas clearly to audiences 

• Creativity: Propose innovative solutions 

• Global awareness: Link biotechnology to global challenges (e.g. UN SDGs) 

• Teamwork & Time Management: Collaboration, conflict management and navigating peer relationships 

• Reflection: Give and receive feedback, how to evidence skills in interviews 

Lecturer benefit 

Overall, supporting students through this process is genuinely enjoyable. Their curiosity and creativity make each project unique and it's rewarding to see how they apply scientific thinking in unexpected ways. It keeps the work fresh and engaging and often leads to fascinating discussions that go well beyond the curriculum.

Challenges (students & staff)

One recurring issue is the fallout from groups that do not work well together. Uneven participation, poor communication or conflicting schedules can affect the quality of the final submission and the overall student experience. While students are given guidance on effective teamwork, group-based assessments inevitably carry risks that require ongoing support and monitoring. 

As this activity takes place in the first two weeks of the semester, it overlaps with the “add/drop” period, where students can transfer to and from the course. Late joiners may miss the introductory tutorial and feel at a disadvantage, while others leaving the course can affect group dynamics and necessitate reallocation of tasks. These fluctuations require additional admin time to ensure groups are balanced and continue to work effectively.   

There are also significant administrative demands associated with setting up the peer assessment process on Moodle. Careful configuration is needed to ensure students are not assigned their own video or duplicates of the same submission. This process is time-consuming and must be manually checked to maintain fairness and integrity. Additionally, Moodle does not currently support automatic group grading for peer-assessed tasks, meaning individual marks must be manually compiled and adjusted to ensure consistency across group members. 

Finally, peer marking itself presents challenges. Students tend to be overly generous in their assessments, which can lead to inflated grades. While this is partly mitigated by the assessment being worth just 5%, the low weighting can reduce student motivation to engage meaningfully with the task.  

What did you learn?

Some students take a particularly creative approach, proposing concepts that fall outside my subject specialism. One memorable example involved adapting the magnetic sensing mechanisms used by birds to aid navigation in self-driving cars. While the practical implementation of this idea may be unlikely, it was intellectually stimulating and offered an opportunity to learn something entirely new. 

Over time, I’ve also learned when and how to step in to help groups navigate conflict, whether by clarifying expectations, redirecting discussions or simply giving space for resolution. Initially, I was inclined to intervene quickly, assuming that any sign of disagreement might derail progress but I’ve come to recognise that some level of tension is not only natural but often productive.  

What advice would you give to others? 

The main challenge is the time required to allocate videos for peer marking and compile feedback. Currently, the university lacks software to support this at scale, so it takes a few hours of admin time to organise manually. However, since staff aren’t required to mark the video component, the overall time investment remains manageable.