McKinlay James B, Kearns Katherine
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
The University Graduate School, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2025 Mar-Apr;53(2):131-141. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21869. Epub 2024 Nov 25.
In the classroom, metabolism is often approached and received as a mundane exercise in memorization. Teaching metabolism also faces the challenge of negative perceptions that can impede learning. We sought to improve the learning experience in an undergraduate lecture course on microbial metabolism by implementing an illustrated story that follows an Escherichia coli cell during a cholera outbreak. Feedback from students, compiled over four semesters of relatively minimal intervention, suggests that attitudes improved. Most students also thought that storytelling helped them learn. Exam scores suggested that the story could have had a positive performance impact for some questions that required students to apply correct details to specific situations. Our results suggest that a story could improve the learning experience in a course on a traditionally unpopular topic by both improving emotional responses to the subject matter and by providing a familiar framework upon which to contextualize details.
在课堂上，新陈代谢常常被视为一项枯燥的记忆练习。教授新陈代谢还面临着负面认知带来的挑战，这些认知可能会阻碍学习。我们试图通过讲述一个在霍乱爆发期间跟随大肠杆菌细胞的图文故事，来改善本科微生物代谢讲座课程的学习体验。在四个学期相对较少干预的情况下收集的学生反馈表明，学生的态度有所改善。大多数学生还认为讲故事有助于他们学习。考试成绩表明，这个故事对于一些要求学生将正确细节应用于特定情境的问题可能产生了积极的成绩影响。我们的结果表明，一个故事可以通过改善对主题的情感反应，并提供一个熟悉的框架来将细节置于情境中，从而改善传统上不受欢迎主题课程的学习体验。
