Ensuring undergraduate students become proficient in relating protein structure to biological function has important implications. With current two‐dimensional (2D) methods of teaching, students frequently develop misconceptions, including that proteins contain a lot of empty space, that bond angles for different amino acids can rotate equally, and that product inhibition is equivalent to allostery. To help students translate 2D images to 3D molecules and assign biochemical meaning to physical structures, we designed three 3D learning modules consisting of interactive activities with 3D printed models for amino acids, proteins, and allosteric regulation with coordinating pre‐ and post‐assessments. Module implementation resulted in normalized learning gains on module‐based assessments of 30% compared to 17% in a no‐module course and normalized learning gains on a comprehensive assessment of 19% compared to 3% in a no‐module course. This suggests that interacting with these modules helps students develop an improved ability to visualize and retain molecular structure and function.

中文翻译：

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带有 3D 打印模型的交互式学习模块提高了学生对蛋白质结构-功能关系的理解

确保本科生能够熟练地将蛋白质结构与生物功能联系起来具有重要意义。使用当前的二维 (2D) 教学方法，学生经常产生误解，包括蛋白质包含大量空白空间、不同氨基酸的键角可以相同旋转，以及产物抑制等同于变构。为了帮助学生将 2D 图像转化为 3D 分子，并为物理结构赋予生化意义，我们设计了三个 3D 学习模块，其中包括具有 3D 打印氨基酸、蛋白质和变构调节模型的互动活动，以及协调前后评估。模块实施导致基于模块的评估的标准化学习收益为 30%，而无模块课程为 17%，综合评估的标准化学习收益为 19%，而无模块课程为 3%。这表明与这些模块的交互有助于学生提高可视化和保留分子结构和功能的能力。