Introductory Biology Students’ Conceptual Models and Explanations of the Origin of Variation

Abstract

Introductory biology students struggle to incorporate the molecular genetic origin of variation in their evolutionary reasoning framework. Meaningful learning of this concept may require 1) multiple cycles of instruction, assessment, and feedback; and 2) assessment forms, such as conceptual models, that promote and reveal mechanistic and causal reasoning.

Investigating Undergraduate Students’ Use of Intuitive Reasoning and Evolutionary Knowledge in Explanations of Antibiotic Resistance

“…Even students who understand that species can change over time may mistakenly believe that selection gradually acts on the “essence” of an entire species rather than recognizing that populations (and species) change as a result of selection acting on individual members of a species. In regard to evolution, grasping the importance of variability across members of a group has been found to be one of the most challenging aspects of understanding natural selection ( Speth et al. , 2014 ).…”

Scientific Process Flowchart Assessment (SPFA): A Method for Evaluating Changes in Understanding and Visualization of the Scientific Process in a Multidisciplinary Student Population

“…Knowledge is represented in cognitive structures, or schema. These structures can change to accommodate new knowledge through the process of accretion, wherein new information is added to the existing cognitive structure without significantly changing the cognitive structure (Ifenthaler, 2010; Ifenthaler et al , 2011; Dauer et al , 2013; Speth et al , 2014). Tuning is the alteration of single components in a cognitive structure.…”

“…The linkages (one way, two way, or nondirectional) between the nodes allow students to demonstrate hierarchical representations of their mental models of an entire body of knowledge using temporal or causal relationships between concepts. Box-and-arrow plots represent a subset of ideas that are relevant to a given function and specify that the nodes are structures and the linkages are behaviors between the structures (Dauer et al , 2013; Speth et al , 2014). Because box-and-arrow plots represent the nodes and links relevant to a function, they may have a specific context.…”

BioSkills Guide: Development and National Validation of a Tool for Interpreting the Vision and Change Core Competencies

“…Such literature defines models and promotes their use based on their ability to help students (and scientists) develop new insights (Gouvea & Passmore, 2017). Indeed, building and interpreting conceptual models supports learning of other competencies and concepts, including data interpretation (Zagallo, Meddleton, & Bolger, 2016), study design (Hester et al, 2018), systems thinking (Bergan-Roller, Galt, Chizinski, Helikar, & Dauer, 2018;Dauer et al, 2019;Dauer, Momsen, Speth, Makohon-Moore, & Long, 2013), and evolution (Speth et al, 2014). Proponents of incorporating drawing into the undergraduate biology curriculum have made similar arguments to increase the scope of Modeling as a competency (Quillin & Thomas, 2015).…”