Student conceptions about energy transformations: progression from general chemistry to biochemistry

Abstract

Students commencing studies in biochemistry must transfer and build on concepts they learned in chemistry and biology classes. It is well established, however, that students have difficulties in transferring critical concepts from general chemistry courses; one key concept is “energy.” Most previous work on students' conception of energy has focused on their understanding of energy in the context of physics (including the idea of “work”) and/or their understanding of energy in classical physical and inorganic chemistry contexts (particularly Gibbs Free Energy changes, the second law of thermodynamics, and equilibrium under standard conditions within a closed system). For biochemistry, students must go beyond those basic thermodynamics concepts of work, standard energy changes, and closed systems, and instead they must consider what energy flow, use, and transformation mean in living, open, and dynamic systems. In this study we explored students' concepts about free energy and flow in biological chemical reactions and metabolic pathways by surveys and in-depth interviews. We worked with students in general chemistry classes and biochemistry courses in both an Australian and a US tertiary institution. We address three primary questions (i) What are the most common alternative conceptions held by students when they explain energy-related phenomena in biochemistry?, (ii) What information do students transfer from introductory chemistry and biology when they are asked to consider energy in a biological reaction or reaction pathway?, and (iii) How do students at varying levels of competence articulate their understandings of energy in pathways and biological reactions? The answers to these questions are used to build a preliminary learning progression for understanding “energy” in biochemistry. We also propose crucial elements of content knowledge that instructors could apply to help students better grasp this threshold concept in biochemistry.

Developing a conversation: A strategy to engage faculty in pedagogical change

“…Our direct conversations relating students' responses did lead to a more holistic understanding of the students' challenges, such that several faculty stated change was needed in biochemistry or the prerequisite courses. Some of the misunderstandings that students bring to biochemistry courses can be addressed by direct instruction in biochemistry and biology courses , whereas others, which are more deeply‐held, will likely require changes in pedagogy throughout the chemistry and biology curricula and collaboration among faculty as students transition from one level to another. We believe intentional teacher teams are a potential avenue for positive change .…”

“…The transfer of core concepts between courses and contexts is critical as students move through the curriculum. However, misconceptions are acquired very early in the study of chemistry, and current teaching practice does not necessarily allow students to transfer and deepen their understanding of chemistry into biochemistry . Faculty may make unjustified assumptions about how well students are able to successfully recognize and apply a concept in a new context.…”

How Four Scientists Integrate Thermodynamic and Kinetic Theory, Context, Analogies, and Methods in Protein-Folding and Dynamics Research: Implications for Biochemistry Instruction

“…Indeed, in so doing, we would hope that we would go a long way toward addressing the various well-documented conceptual difficulties that students exhibit with thermodynamics and kinetics in biochemistry (e.g., Sears et al. , 2007 ; Wolfson et al. , 2014 ), let alone other science contexts such as chemistry (see reviews by Bain et al.…”

Probing the Relevance of Chemical Identity Thinking in Biochemical Contexts

“…Given the obvious links between chemistry and biology in biochemistry, researchers have argued it is important to investigate both how biochemists use chemistry in their work and how students apply their chemistry knowledge as they learn biochemistry. These researchers have examined the transfer of certain chemistry concepts to biochemical contexts (Wolfson et al , 2014; Warfa and Odowa, 2015), designed methods to assess student understanding of relevant foundational chemical concepts for biochemistry (Villafañe et al , 2011; Haudek et al , 2012; Xu et al , 2017), and investigated the effect of the disciplinary context of students’ understanding and explanation of chemistry concepts (Kohn et al , 2018). Instruments have also been developed to assess student understanding of biochemical concepts, which can include concepts students previously learned in chemistry (Wright and Hamilton, 2008; Shi et al , 2010).…”