ERIC Number: EJ1061859
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1470-8175
EISSN: N/A
Metabolic Pathways Visualization Skills Development by Undergraduate Students
dos Santos, Vanessa J. S. V.; Galembeck, Eduardo
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, v43 n3 p162-167 May-Jun 2015
We have developed a metabolic pathways visualization skill test (MPVST) to gain greater insight into our students' abilities to comprehend the visual information presented in metabolic pathways diagrams. The test is able to discriminate students' visualization ability with respect to six specific visualization skills that we identified as key to the understanding of metabolic map diagrams. Application of the MPVST to B. S. Biochemistry students showed that their visualization skills develop informally and progressively during their college years. Furthermore, the complex nature of biochemical pathways, together with students' lack of familiarity with metabolic maps, suggests that it is important for instructors to spend more time than usual explaining visual representations to their students.
Descriptors: Visualization, College Students, Biochemistry, Science Instruction, Skill Development, Comprehension, Visual Perception, Visual Aids, Maps, Concept Formation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A