The use of an imagery mnemonic to teach the Krebs cycle

The Krebs Cycle is a highly taught biochemical pathway that is traditionally difficult to learn. Twenty‐seven undergraduate students were randomized to a rote memorization arm or to a mnemonic arm. They were given a pre‐test, then shown a lecture corresponding to their assigned method, and then given an immediate Week 0 post‐test and a Week 4 post‐test. Groups scored comparably low on the pre‐test ( p  = 0.7113). Students in the mnemonic arm performed better on the Week 0 post‐test than those using rote ( p  = 0.0055). By Week 4, there was evidence of knowledge decay, with both arms' having comparably low scores (mnemonic vs. rote, p  = 0.3739). The mnemonic assists in rapid acquisition of knowledge but probably has to be reviewed iteratively over time to demonstrate its full potential over rote memorization. A limited number of students from only one school was used. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44:224–229, 2016.