Noncovalent interactions determine the three-dimensional structure of macromolecules and the binding interactions between molecules. Students struggle to understand noncovalent interactions and how they relate to structure–function relationships. Additionally, students’ difficulties translating from two-dimensional representations to three-dimensional representations add another layer of complexity found in macromolecules. Therefore, we developed instructional resources that use 3D physical models to target student understanding of noncovalent interactions of small molecules and macromolecules. To this effect, we monitored indicators of knowledge integration as evidenced in student-generated drawings. Analysis of the drawings revealed that students were able to incorporate relevant conceptual features into their drawings from different sources as well as present their understanding from different perspectives.

中文翻译：

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使用3D打印的物理模型监控生物化学中的知识整合†

非共价相互作用决定了大分子的三维结构以及分子之间的结合相互作用。学生努力理解非共价相互作用以及它们与结构-功能关系的关系。此外，学生从二维表示转换为三维表示的困难增加了大分子的另一层复杂性。因此，我们开发了使用3D物理模型的教学资源，以使学生了解小分子与大分子的非共价相互作用。为此，我们监控了学生生成的图纸中证明的知识整合指标。