Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) can help students visualise and explore complex chemical concepts, such as protein enzyme structures and interactions. We designed a set of collaborative iVR-based learning tasks on the interaction between a protein enzyme and its substrate. We investigated how 18 pairs (36 students) in undergraduate chemistry…

This paper explores the effective development and use of interactive simulations as a learning tool, integrating didactic and active approaches with complex laboratory and lecture content in undergraduate biochemistry and immunology courses. University science courses require students to master vast quantities of foundational knowledge that is…

Molecular case studies (MCSs) are open educational resources that use a storytelling approach to engage students in biomolecular structure-function explorations, at the interface of biology and chemistry. Although MCSs are developed for a particular target audience with specific learning goals, they are suitable for implementation in multiple…

The three-dimensional nature of macromolecules is often difficult for undergraduate students to grasp. This leads to difficulties in understanding key concepts in Biochemistry, such as protein function and conformational change. Virtual reality (VR) technologies, which can aid students in three-dimensional visualizations, have been shown to…

The modeling of rates of biochemical reactions--fluxes--in metabolic networks is widely used for both basic biological research and biotechnological applications. A number of different modeling methods have been developed to estimate and predict fluxes, including kinetic and constraint-based (Metabolic Flux Analysis and flux balance analysis)…

A computational biochemistry laboratory, fitted for bioinformatics students, is presented. The molecular dynamics package GROMACS is used to prepare and simulate a solvated protein. Students analyze the trajectory with different available tools (GROMACS and VMD) to probe the structural stability of the protein during the simulation. Students are…

Eleven different laboratory experiments were designed and executed throughout a semester to provide a meaningful research experience for 23 undergraduate biochemistry majors at UTSA. The topic of the semester was based on the idea of exploring new aspects to enhance our understanding of how the human body uses cytochrome P450 enzymes to metabolize…

Engineering education is facing major challenges as it seeks to provide necessary and robust practical experience for all its undergraduate students. The limitation of resources (capital and operational), the increasing number of engineering students and the need to provide safe, up-to-date laboratory experiences have become global issues.…

Industrial drug discovery teams encompass scientists from multiple specialties and require participants to communicate effectively across disciplinary boundaries. In this paper, we present an undergraduate or graduate classroom simulation of this environment. Over a series of five workshops, student teams of mixed scientific backgrounds perform…

Virtual laboratories have started to be the leading alternative teaching tools during the COVID-19 pandemic process. The "Acid-Base" subject is among those that form the foundations of biochemistry. Students can learn the "Acid-Base" subject in a secure environment, with remote access through the use of virtual laboratory…

Understanding metabolic function requires knowledge of the dynamics, interdependence, and regulation of metabolic networks. However, multiple professional societies have recognized that most undergraduate biochemistry students acquire only a surface-level understanding of metabolism. We hypothesized that guiding students through interactive…

Virtual laboratory activities are flexible approaches to engage undergraduate students in scientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. By utilizing online simulations, students can conduct virtual experiments on important biochemical reactions that occur during photosynthesis. The learning module described here provides students with this…

The reemergence of virtual reality (VR) in the past few years has led to affordable, high-quality commodity hardware that can offer new ways to teach, communicate, and engage with complex concepts. In a higher-education context, these immersive technologies make it possible to teach complex molecular topics in a way that may aid or even supersede…

Science students frequently struggle to apply crosscutting concepts such as scale or rates of change, and do not always effectively differentiate between linear and nonlinear processes. We approach this challenge from an embodied cognition perspective, which suggests learning can be facilitated by engaging students in physical activities that are…

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) simulations for education have been found to increase affective outcomes compared to traditional media, but the effects on learning are mixed. As reflection has previously shown to enhance learning in traditional media, we investigated the efficacy of appropriate reflection exercises for IVR. In a 2 × 2…