Evolutionary theory explains a wide range of biological phenomena. Proper understanding of evolutionary mechanisms such as natural selection is therefore an essential goal for biology education. Unfortunately, natural selection has time and again proven difficult to teach and learn, and students’ resulting understanding is often characterized by misconceptions. Previous research has often focused on the importance of certain key concepts such as variation, differential survival, and change in population. However, so-called threshold concepts (randomness, probability, spatial scale, and temporal scales) have also been suggested to be important for understanding of natural selection, but there is currently limited knowledge about how students use these concepts. We sought to address this lack of knowledge by collecting responses to three different natural selection items from 247 university students from Sweden and Germany. Content analysis (deductive and inductive coding) and subsequent statistical analysis of their responses showed that they overall use some spatial scale indicators, such as individuals and populations, but less often randomness or probability in their explanations. However, frequencies of use of threshold concepts were affected by the item context (e.g., the biological taxa and trait gain or loss). The results suggest that the impact of threshold concepts, especially randomness and probability, on natural selection understanding should be further explored.

A central aspect of learning chemistry is learning to relate observations of phenomena to models of the sub-microscopic level of matter, and hence being able to explain the observable phenomena. However, research shows that students have difficulties discerning and comprehending the meaning of the sub-micro level and its models, and that practical work in its traditional form fails to help students to discern the relation between observations and models. Consequently, there is a strong call for new teaching activities to address these issues. This paper emerges from a growing number of studies showing that learning is supported when students are set to cooperatively create their own multimodal representations of science phenomena. In this paper, we explore the approach of letting students create their own stop-motion animation as a means to explain observations during practical work. The students’ work of producing a phenomenon in the laboratory and creating an animation was recorded (audio–video) to capture students’ verbal and non-verbal interactions and use of resources. Data was analysed using a thematic content analysis with a deductive approach aimed at identifying the aspects of chemistry content that are being reasoned. The analysis showed that the task enabled students to engage in reasoning concerning both the observations and the sub-micro-level models, and how they relate to each other. The task also enabled students to reason about features of the representation that are needed to make sense of both the observational and sub-microscopic aspects of a phenomenon, as well as reflecting upon the meaning of a model.

Background A large body of research has investigated students’ conceptions of evolutionary changes and emphasizes that students have alternative conceptions about their causes. A conventional way to monitor students’ conceptions is through inventories where researchers analyse their written answers. However, textbooks are being increasingly complemented with, or even replaced by, various multimedia materials where multiple modes are used to communicate evolutionary processes. This has profound implications for students’ learning, and highlights that allowing different modes of expression may influence which knowledge they present. Therefore, the goal of this exploratory study is to expand the understanding of students’ conceptions of evolution through natural selection by applying student-generated stop-motion animations to reveal their conceptions. Forty-seven Swedish upper secondary school students generated 18 animations concerning evolution through natural selection. We analysed these animations qualitatively using content analysis to reveal key concepts, alternative conceptions and connections between organizational levels and time. This analysis is related to findings from previous studies on students’ conceptions of evolutionary change. Results Our study highlights some of the benefits and limitations of using these two assessment methods. In terms of identifying alternative conceptions, a clear difference between the results of the two methods of assessment was observed. In particular, the alternative conception of essentialism appeared to a lesser extent in the student’s animations than in their written responses, while natural selection as an event was more prevalent. Conclusions These findings support the view that students’ expression of different misconceptions is influenced by the context and representational form. The work also reveals that generating stop-motion animations to explain scientific concepts is an engaging approach that stimulates students to explore their understanding in a creative and personal manner. This is potentially positive for engagement and learning. The potential for complementing standard paper-and-pen tests with tasks that encompass stop-motion animations is also discussed.

The availability of digital technology in classrooms does not only increase the possibility for teachers to present content in new visual and dynamic ways. This technology also offers students the opportunity to become cocreators of content in science classrooms. The dissertation explores, mainly through qualitative methods, the potential of student generated stop-motion animations in science education research and practice. This exploration is motivated by the challenges learners experience when they are introduced to abstract dynamic science concepts spanning several organisational levels in space and time. In addition, it emphasises the importance of multiple representations for communicating and reasoning about such concepts. This novel approach is used, in combination with a conceptual characterisation of students' written explanations, to expand the knowledge about students' conceptions of evolution by natural selection. The potential of a stop-motion approach to stimulate meaning making of evolution biology and redox-chemistry classrooms is also explored. The thesis consists of four studies and a comprehensive summary with an extended analysis and discussion of the results.

Background A large body of research investigate student´s conceptions and emphasizes that students have alternative conceptions about causes of evolutionary changes. The conventional way to monitor students’ conceptions are through inventories where researchers analyze their written answers. However, textbooks are being increasingly complemented with, or even replaced by, various multimedia materials and multiple modes are used to communicate evolutionary processes. This has profound implications for students’ learning, and the test format may influence which knowledge they present. The goal of this exploratory study is therefore to expand the understanding of students’ conceptions of evolution through natural selection by applying student-generated stop-motion animations to disclose students’ conceptions. Forty-seven Swedish upper secondary school students generated eighteen animations concerning evolution through natural selection. We analysed the animations qualitatively using content analysis recording key concepts, alternative conceptions and connections in organizational levels and time. This analysis was related to the analysis of the students written explanations of a case of evolutionary change. Results Our study highlights some of the benefits and limitations of using these two assessment forms. Concerning alternative concepts, a clear difference between the results of the two methods of assessment was observed. In particular, the alternative conception essentialism was show to a lesser extent in the student’s animations than in their written responses, while natural selection as an event became more prevalent. ConclusionsThese findings support the view that students’ expression of different misconceptions is influenced by the context and representational form. The work also reveals that generating stop-motion animations to explain scientific concepts is an engaging approach that stimulates students to explore their understanding in a creative and personal manner, which potentially is positive for engagement and learning. The potential for complementing standard paper and pen tests with tasks that encompass stop-motion animations is discussed further.