Game-based activities targeting visual literacy skills to increase understanding of biomolecule structure and function concepts in undergraduate biochemistry.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cassidy R TerrellHeather Mernitz

Abstract

Introductory biochemistry courses are often challenging for students because they require the integration of chemistry, biology, physics, math, and physiology knowledge and frameworks to understand and apply a large body of knowledge. This can be complicated by students' persistent misconceptions of fundamental concepts and lack of fluency with the extensive visual and symbolic literacy used in biochemistry. Card sorting tasks and game-based activities have been used to reveal insights into how students are assimilating, organizing, and structuring disciplinary knowledge, and how they are progressing along a continuum from disciplinary novice to expert. In this study, game-based activities and card sorting tasks were used to promote and evaluate students' understanding of fundamental structure-function relationships in biochemistry. Our results suggest that while many markers of expertise increased for both the control and intervention groups over the course of the semester, students involved in the intervention activities tended to move further towards expert-like sorting. This indicates that intentional visual literacy game-based activities have the ability to build underdeveloped skills in undergraduate students.

References

May 14, 2011·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Konrad J Schönborn, Trevor R Anderson
Mar 1, 2005·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Jacqueline R RobertsTimothy Herman
Mar 1, 2006·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Konrad J Schönborn, Trevor R Anderson
Jul 1, 2006·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Tim HermanDavid S Goodsell
Jul 1, 2006·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Angel Herráez
May 18, 2012·Cognitive Science·Benjamin M RottmanMicah B Goldwater
Sep 19, 2012·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Karen Guzman, John Bartlett
Dec 12, 2012·CBE Life Sciences Education·Ijsbrand M KramerPatricia Schneeberger
Mar 14, 2013·New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development·Kirby Deater-DeckardMichael E Evans
Sep 11, 2013·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Sheila S JaswalAmy L Springer
Dec 4, 2013·CBE Life Sciences Education·Julia I SmithKimberly D Tanner
Feb 19, 2014·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Adalet Baris Gunersel, Steven Fleming
Dec 30, 2015·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Anveshna Srivastava
Mar 1, 2016·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Robin M Forbes-LormanMargaret A Franzen
Jun 1, 2016·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Rachel E Rigsby, Alison B Parker
Jan 29, 2017·CBE Life Sciences Education·Erika G OfferdahlNicholas Byrne
Feb 2, 2017·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Cassidy R Terrell, Laura L Listenberger
Feb 19, 2017·CBE Life Sciences Education·Sarah A BissonnetteKimberly D Tanner
Jul 7, 2017·Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education : a Bimonthly Publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·A Kat Cooper, M T Oliver-Hoyo
Jan 21, 2018·CBE Life Sciences Education·Jessie B Arneson, Erika G Offerdahl

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