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An Exploratory Study of Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Visualization and Visualization Ability in Biochemistry

McVay and Mooring · Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education

In interviews with ten biochemistry students and two instructors at one US university, students mostly described visualization as drawn structures, pathways and reaction mechanisms, while instructors meant picturing molecules in the mind. Two students said they had aphantasia and described workarounds, such as reasoning in words or writing out memorized structures just before exams; one reported no improvement in picturing but had not tried any exercises. The authors suggest instructors teach several ways to do visual tasks and be clearer about the representations they use and why they matter.