A Topic‐based Approach for Teaching Metabolism in a Flipped Classroom

The biochemistry curriculum at Xavier University of Louisiana is split into three junior/senior level courses with one course focusing entirely on the study of biochemical energetics and the many biochemical pathways of carbohydrate, lipid, protein, and nucleic acid metabolism. The emphasis in this course is the integration and regulation of pathways based on the fuel state and energy demands of the organism. In previous years the course was taught as a traditional lecture with pathways covered in the order they appeared in the textbook. Despite different efforts to strengthen critical‐thinking skills, students continually exhibited difficulty with understanding the connections between pathways and struggled with answering discussion questions that required knowledge of basic content and conceptual understanding of pathway integration and regulation. In order to better emphasize the integration of the metabolic pathways the course material was split into four modules, each focusing on a specific fuel state and energy demand. Several pathways were represented in more than one module, allowing for reinforcement of critical reactions and regulation steps. To increase the effectiveness of content delivery, the module material was presented as a series of daily questions that were answered through small group discussion rather than traditional lecture. This flipped style was designed to allow for greater time in class to discuss difficult concepts and to allow students to make connections with support from the instructor. Student responses to to pre‐class quizzes and follow‐up questions after each class allowed for assessment of the effectiveness of the flipped classroom and of the topic‐based approach. Presenting the new format in a flipped fashion has been very successful in increasing student comprehension and retention of complex material. Student performance on discussion questions that require critical thinking and analysis of the pathways increased significantly in the two semesters of this new format as compared to previous years. Students also reported a greater understanding of the connections between pathways and of pathway regulation. Overall, the flipped classroom style is preferred by students and, combined with the content reorganization, has proved to be an effective way of teaching metabolism Support or Funding Information This work was supported by a grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation