Development of a Bite-Sized Visual Interactive Study Aid for Carbohydrate Metabolism

Studying biochemical pathways can be challenging. Frequently, students rely on rote memorization to memorize the steps in metabolic pathways instead of having a deeper understanding of their functions, the reactions involved, and the inter-relationship between different metabolic pathways. In our project, we developed various bite-sized e-learning modules to facilitate students’ learning of carbohydrate metabolism. These modules were presented using different methods, including animations, manga, and interactive exercises. Students spent less than 5 min completing each module to allow them to be more focused and engaged. Memory cues were used to improve students’ understanding of the chemical reactions involved and thus facilitated memorization. Additionally, the pathways of carbohydrate, protein, and nucleotide metabolism were grouped together in a metro map to facilitate knowledge integration. This representation enabled students to correlate pathways in carbohydrate metabolism to other metabolic pathways and to get an overview of how common metabolites were involved in multiple pathways.