Creative Ways of Presenting Metabolism to Prenursing Students

Abstract

In a General, Organic, and Biological (GOB) Chemistry course designed for allied-health disciplines, new information builds on previous material. It is important for students to retain what they learn throughout the course and be able to integrate the material not only with material from other bioscience courses but also with the metabolism section of the course. In a previous study, core findings regarding details of metabolism relevant to the allied-health fields, in particular nursing, were derived from semistructured interviews with experts and a nation-wide university survey of experts in the areas of chemistry and nursing. Metabolic concepts relevant to nursing clinical practice were identified. Those concepts have been incorporated into a simplified pedagogical approach to learning basic metabolism in a GOB Chemistry course. The approach along with developed materials and assessments for metabolism are based on conceptual understanding rather than simple memorization and regurgitation of information. The simplified approach to introduce the main metabolic pathways provides an anchoring framework on which students build subsequent knowledge. The approach to teaching metabolism, the materials used, the learning objectives, and the implications for teaching are discussed. By being aware of the relevant concepts and the approach, the GOB Chemistry instructors can better plan their teaching strategies and assessment of metabolic pathways.