A comprehensive guided-inquiry approach was used in a combined organic and biochemistry course for prenursing and predietetics students rather than lecture. To assess its effectiveness, exam grades and final course grades of students in three instructional techniques were compared. The three groups were the following: (i) lecture only, (ii) lecture for the biochemistry portion and guided inquiry for the organic material, and (iii) all guided inquiry, all with the same instructor covering the same material and using the same style of assessments. When the final exam grades and the course grades of students were compared, guided-inquiry and partial guided-inquiry students had a statistically significant improvement in these grades over students taught by lecture only. This study demonstrates that guided inquiry is effective in nonscience majors' classes, for which content is often tailored to the audience.

Understanding how the electron transport system makes ATP from the transfer of electrons by coenzymes is improved when students play a hands-on electron transport system game. The game requires students to play the parts of the electron carriers and coenzymes, demonstrating where and how electrons move through the system. This game looks at the big picture of what is occurring in the ETS and is intended for prenursing and predietetics students in a one-semester organic and biochemistry (OB) course or a one-semester general, organic, and biochemistry course (GOB). Many institutions offer these types of courses and the students need to have a good understanding of biochemistry to succeed in the health related professions.

Manipulative activities have been used by many chemistry teachers to help students understand complex material and are often presented as games. The game described here is an in-classroom manipulative exercise that was devised to help prehealth and predietetics undergraduate majors understand the important concepts of the metabolic effects of the two antagonistic hormones insulin and glucagon in regulating human homeostasis. Student responses indicate that they believe the game increases their understanding of these effects and that they enjoyed playing the game. Pre and post activity assessments showed a significant difference in understanding the effects of the different hormones.