Resumen de Catalyzing Student Learning: Using Analogies To Teach Enzyme Kinetics

Jon Marc G. Rodriguez, Marcy H. Towns

• Analogies are useful tools instructors can use to help make challenging concepts less abstract by drawing connections to familiar contexts. In this paper we provide an overview of the various analogies published in the education literature that are situated in the context of enzyme kinetics, including narrative-based analogies (analogies intended to be presented by an instructor in a lecture setting) and activity-based analogies (analogies that serve as the basis for interactive tasks intended to be completed by students in a laboratory/small group setting). After discussing the published analogies, we present an analogy we developed that incorporates previous research regarding the effective use and presentation of analogies in biochemistry. Our analogy focuses on supporting students in distinguishing between the different types of enzyme inhibitors, which has been previously determined to be challenging for students.