Learning About Proteins: Asking the Right Questions Meenakshi Bhattacharya, Ph.D. Shuchismita Dutta, Ph.D. Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

List ways in which proteins are important in biology and medicine Learning Objectives List ways in which proteins are important in biology and medicine Develop questions that can guide learning about protein structure and functions Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Question Formulation TechniqueTM Also referred to as QFTTM Steps – Decide on a topic Produce as many questions as you can (in a group or individually) Categorize questions as open or closed Improve questions by changing some closed questions to open ones and vice-versa Prioritize the Questions Decide how to use the Questions www.rightquestion.org © 2001- 2012 Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Asking and Improving Questions Ask Questions (2 mins) Ask as many questions as you can Do not stop to discuss, judge or answer the questions Write down every question just as you think of them Change any statement into a question Organize questions (2-3 mins) Closed-ended questions – can be answered with “yes” or “no” or with one word Open-ended questions – require an explanation and cannot be answered with yes” or “no” or with one word Identify and mark the closed-ended questions with a C and the open-ended questions with an O Improve questions (2 mins) Review questions and change one closed ended question into an open-ended Then, change one open-ended question into a closed-ended one Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

These are pictures of three year old boy “J.L.” Examine Pictures These are pictures of three year old boy “J.L.” Before After Image courtesy Eli Lilly and Company Archives The photo on the left was taken in Dec 15, 1922 and the right photo of the same boy was taken on Feb 15, 1923 Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Change any statements about the pictures into a question Apply the QFTTM Method What questions come to your mind regarding these pictures and their subject? Change any statements about the pictures into a question Organize and mark your questions as closed- and open-ended questions Change one open-ended question into a closed-ended one and vice-versa Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Additional Information On Dec 15, 1922, before insulin was administered JL weighed only 15 lbs. (child in mother’s arm). After treatment with insulin, by Feb 15, 1923, JL weighed 29 lbs. Before After Image courtesy Eli Lilly and Company Archives The photo on the left was taken in Dec 15, 1922 and the right photo of the same boy was taken on Feb 15, 1923 Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Improving Questions Based on you just learned, do you want to make any changes/additions to your questions? Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Choose the three most important questions from your list Prioritize Questions Choose the three most important questions from your list Number each question in order of priority Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

What are the top three priority questions in the class? Share Questions What are the top three priority questions in the class? What are some of the rationales for selecting these questions? Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016

Reflection What did you learn? What value does it have?   What value does it have? Post the top 3-5 questions on the classroom wall to guide learning about Proteins. Developed as part of the RCSB Collaborative Curriculum Development Program 2016