A Constructive Game to introduce the collaborative learning of Glycolysis and Gluconeogenesis

The game "Glicolise e Gliconeogenese" was developed to introduce the collaborative learning of metabolic pathways to Dental School students of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. The game starts with 11 cards with the structural formula of the glycolysis intermediates that need to be placed in the correct sequence of structural changes from glucose to pyruvic acid. After that, the students get 10 enzyme cards that indicates the reversibility (or not) of the reaction, the free energy value and activators and/or inhibitors, if this is the case. After answering questions to consolidate the content through observations of the metabolic pathway, the students get five new cards that allow the substitution of the cards need to transform glycolysis in gluconeogenesis. The evaluation by 18 students suggests that the game is a great learning strategy of metabolic pathways that can be used to others than those showed here.