Learning about Chemiosmosis and ATP Synthesis with Animations Outside of the Classroom †
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Authors:
Eric E. Goff1,
Katie M. Reindl2,
Christina Johnson3,
Phillip McClean3,
Erika G. Offerdahl2,
Noah L. Schroeder4,
Alan R. White1,*
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Received 16 August 2016 Accepted 16 December 2016 Published 21 April 2017
- ©2017 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
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[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
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†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Petigru College, Suite 200, 1521 Greene St., University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Phone: 803-777-1813. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract:
Many undergraduate biology courses have begun to implement instructional strategies aimed at increasing student interaction with course material outside of the classroom. Two examples of such practices are introducing students to concepts as preparation prior to instruction, and as conceptual reinforcement after the instructional period. Using a three-group design, we investigate the impact of an animation developed as part of the Virtual Cell Animation Collection on the topic of concentration gradients and their role in the actions of ATP synthase as a means of pre-class preparation or post-class reinforcement compared with a no-intervention control group. Results from seven sections of introductory biology (n = 732) randomized to treatments over two semesters show that students who viewed animation as preparation (d = 0.44, p < 0.001) or as reinforcement (d = 0.53, p < 0.001) both outperformed students in the control group on a follow-up assessment. Direct comparison of the preparation and reinforcement treatments shows no significant difference in student outcomes between the two treatment groups (p = 0.87). Results suggest that while student interaction with animations on the topic of concentration gradients outside of the classroom may lead to greater learning outcomes than the control group, in the traditional lecture-based course the timing of such interactions may not be as important.
References & Citations
Supplemental Material
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Appendix 1: Assessment instrument on the topic of concentration gradients and their role in ATP synthase activity — Appendix 2: Descriptive statistics for comparison of means — Appendix 3: 95% confidence intervals for comparison of means between treatment groups — Appendix 4: Learning objectives for instruction on concentration gradients and their role in the actions of ATP synthase activity
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Abstract:
Many undergraduate biology courses have begun to implement instructional strategies aimed at increasing student interaction with course material outside of the classroom. Two examples of such practices are introducing students to concepts as preparation prior to instruction, and as conceptual reinforcement after the instructional period. Using a three-group design, we investigate the impact of an animation developed as part of the Virtual Cell Animation Collection on the topic of concentration gradients and their role in the actions of ATP synthase as a means of pre-class preparation or post-class reinforcement compared with a no-intervention control group. Results from seven sections of introductory biology (n = 732) randomized to treatments over two semesters show that students who viewed animation as preparation (d = 0.44, p < 0.001) or as reinforcement (d = 0.53, p < 0.001) both outperformed students in the control group on a follow-up assessment. Direct comparison of the preparation and reinforcement treatments shows no significant difference in student outcomes between the two treatment groups (p = 0.87). Results suggest that while student interaction with animations on the topic of concentration gradients outside of the classroom may lead to greater learning outcomes than the control group, in the traditional lecture-based course the timing of such interactions may not be as important.

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Author and Article Information
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Received 16 August 2016 Accepted 16 December 2016 Published 21 April 2017
- ©2017 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
-
[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
-
†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: Petigru College, Suite 200, 1521 Greene St., University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. Phone: 803-777-1813. E-mail: [email protected].
Figures
Experimental treatment groups as defined by the presence and timing of their interaction with Virtual Cell animations.

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FIGURE 1
Experimental treatment groups as defined by the presence and timing of their interaction with Virtual Cell animations.
Descriptive statistics for mean score on the follow-up assignment by treatment condition. Bars in the boxes represent the median; the box represents the range between the first and third quartile, and the whiskers represent the standard deviation.

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FIGURE 2
Descriptive statistics for mean score on the follow-up assignment by treatment condition. Bars in the boxes represent the median; the box represents the range between the first and third quartile, and the whiskers represent the standard deviation.