Toward a Validated Metabolic Systems Thinking Framework

Abstract

Several recently reported research projects describe or measure student reasoning about biochemical pathway dynamics and regulation (BPDR). In this growing literature, a variety of approaches are taken to assess conceptual understanding in this area. While some studies have qualitatively investigated student misconceptions that arise in the context of research interviews, others have used test instruments constructed by biochemistry instructors to evaluate student learning quantitatively in the context of biochemistry course exams. In all cases, the focus has been on explicit biochemistry content with less emphasis on underlying general conceptual challenges. For both instructional and research purposes, a BPDR assessment framework based on underlying latent variables particularly informed by research in systems thinking is desirable.This project builds on the insights offered by the work cited above but takes a different approach to assess BPDR reasoning by considering the problem from the perspective of domain‐general conceptual challenges in systems thinking. Drawing on systems thinking research in the learning sciences and a variety of science education research fields, a preliminary Metabolic Systems Thinking Framework (MSTF) is proposed. This framework includes five factors – organizational levels, direct relationships, indirect relationships, parallel processes, and autoregulation. These factors are proposed to represent independent conceptual factors that influence reasoning in the context of BPDR problems.The sufficiency of the MSTF as a tool to assess student reasoning for BPDR is being evaluated through think‐aloud interviews with problems related to reasoning about glycolysis. Data from interviews with undergraduate biochemistry students has yielded evidence for the necessity of each of these factors, but whether they are jointly sufficient in this regard is currently being explored further. Additionally, a survey instrument is currently in development to establish the construct validity of the MSTF. This instrument includes multi‐item subscales for each of the factors of the MSTF. The instrument will be administered to undergraduate students enrolled in a biochemistry course covering metabolic pathways in spring 2022. Psychometric properties of the instrument will be determined to establish instrument reliability followed by confirmatory factor analysis to assess the construct validity of each factor.