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

Abstract

Student drawings are assessed for understanding of the scientific process. The Scientific Process Flowchart Assessment (SPFA) evaluates organization of ideas and connections between ideas (experimental design and nature of science). The method was validated for multidisciplinary use and is reliable.

Many Paths Toward Discovery: A Module for Teaching How Science Works

“…The postdiagrams were also significantly less linear, with a medium effect (p << .01, d = 0.51, Figure 3B). These encouraging results indicate that the module leads to large, positive changes in several aspects of student understanding of how science works, and they are consistent with what Wilson and Rigakos (2016) found in a study using a similar assessment.…”

“…Much of the research on teaching the way science works has focused on courses intended for preservice teachers (e.g., Allchin, 2011;Lederman, 1992;Lederman et al, 2013;Seung, Bryan, & Butler, 2009). Here, we present strategies that work for college science majors and that we believe can be adopted for nonscientists (as was done by Wilson & Rigakos, 2016). We have demonstrated that our module improves how junior-level science majors understand critical aspects of how science works, including the fact that science is iterative and unpredictable, encompassing many paths.…”

“…did not change significantly ( Figure 4, χ 2 test, p = .41; see also Wilson & Rigakos, 2016: Figure 6D). These results are simultaneously encouraging and frustrating.…”

Undergraduate Performance in Solving Ill-Defined Biochemistry Problems

“…Regarding the qualitative nature of unsatisfactory solutions, we used the model of scientific process defined by Wilson and Rigakos (2016) to generate several explanations for our results. The scientific process consists of overlapping ideas that combine to provide a holistic perspective on procedural knowledge in science: the scientific method, experimental design, and the nature of science.…”

Let Your Ideas Flow: Using Flowcharts to Convey Methods and Implications of the Results in Laboratory Exercises, Articles, Posters, and Slide Presentations

“…The recently described Scientific Process Flowchart Assessment method can help evaluate students’ comprehension and visualization of the scientific process ( 12 ). Questions in prose help assess students’ grasp of concept definitions and facts but not how students organize the knowledge and relate it to similar fields ( 12 ). Diagrams can help students organize the knowledge ( 10 ) and apply it to other fields.…”