Identifying knowledge important to teach about the nervous system in the context of secondary biology and science education–A Delphi study

Abstract

Teaching about the nervous system has become a challenging task in secondary biology and science education because of the fast development in the field of neuroscience. A major challenge is to determine what content to teach. Curricula goals are often too general to guide instruction, and information about the nervous system has become overwhelming and diverse with ubiquitous relevance in society. In addition, several misconceptions and myths are circulating in educational communities causing world-wide confusion as to what content is correct. To help teachers, textbook authors, and curricula developers in this challenging landscape of knowledge, the aim of the present study is to identify the expert view on what knowledge is important for understanding the nervous system in the context of secondary biology and science education. To accomplish this, we have conducted a thematic content analysis of textbooks followed by a Delphi study of 15 experts in diverse but relevant fields. The results demonstrate six curriculum themes including gross anatomy and function, cell types and functional units, the nerve signal, connections between neurons, when nerve signals travel through networks of neurons, and plasticity in the nervous system, as well as 26 content principles organized in a coherent curriculum progression from general content to more specific content. Whereas some of the principles clarify and elaborate on traditional school biology knowledge, others add new knowledge to the curriculum. Importantly, the new framework for teaching about the nervous system presented here, meets the needs of society, as expressed by recent international policy frameworks of OECD and WHO, and it addresses common misconceptions about the brain. The study suggests an update of the biology and science curriculum.

Mapping lower secondary school students’ conceptions of three aspects critical for understanding the nervous system

“…Therefore, the epistemology on inhibitory action, and particularly the different consequences of inhibitory and excitatory actions in a neural circuit, may require more advanced forms of concretization material like dynamical models. It should also be noted that in secondary school, it probably makes more sense to learn excitatory and inhibitory action at the neuron-level than at the synapse-level [ 1 ]. A neuron usually has either an inhibitory synaptic action or an excitatory synaptic action on all its target cells, rarely both.…”

“…In addition, neurons are bigger and more accessible for learning than their synapses. Therefore, concerning epistemology, it may be better to use the terms excitatory and inhibitory neurons, as suggested by [ 1 ], even though the action takes place at the synapse.…”

Defining epigenetic literacy: How to integrate epigenetics into the biology curriculum

“…After the experts agreed to participate, we started round 1. In the initial questionnaire of a Delphi study, the aim is to collect as many viewpoints on a topic as possible (Hasson et al, 2000; Kvello & Gericke, 2021). Therefore, we formulated five open‐ended questions for the experts to answer in electronic form (see Table S1).…”

Pengembangan Modul Berbentuk Scrapbook pada Materi Sistem Saraf untuk Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar Siswa SMA Kelas XI

“…Kompetensi dasar yang digunakan adalah KD 3.10 dan 4.10. Adapun materi sistem saraf yang sulit dipahami oleh siswa adalah menghubungkan mekanisme sistem saraf dan jenis-jenis saraf manusia, hal ini dikarenakan siswa kesulitan memahami mengenai keterkaitan antara saraf dan peranannya (Kvello & Gericke, 2021). Pada penelitian ini hanya dibatasi pengembangan modul pada materi sistem saraf.…”