Tracking the Resolution of Student Misconceptions about the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

Abstract

The goal of our study was to track changes in student understanding of the central dogma of molecular biology before and after taking a genetics course. Concept maps require the ability to synthesize new information into existing knowledge frameworks, and so the hypothesis guiding this study was that student performance on concept maps reveals specific central dogma misconceptions gained, lost, and retained by students. Students in a genetics course completed pre- and posttest concept mapping tasks using terms related to the central dogma. Student maps increased in complexity and validity, indicating learning gains in both content and complexity of understanding. Changes in each of the 351 possible connections in the mapping task were tracked for each student. Our students did not retain much about the central dogma from their introductory biology courses, but they did move to more advanced levels of understanding by the end of the genetics course. The information they retained from their introductory courses focused on structural components (e.g., protein is made of amino acids) and not on overall mechanistic components (e.g., DNA comes before RNA, the ribosome makes protein). Students made the greatest gains in connections related to transcription, and they resolved the most prior misconceptions about translation. These concept-mapping tasks revealed that students are able to correct prior misconceptions about the central dogma during an intermediate-level genetics course. From these results, educators can design new classroom interventions to target those aspects of this foundational principle with which students have the most trouble.

Secondary school students’ misconceptions in genetics: origins and solutions

“…On the other hand, both groups exhibited a similar quantity of detected misconceptions. This finding points to the prevelance of certain misconceptions that can emerge very early and are not influenced during further educational process (Saka et al 2006;Briggs et al 2016).…”

“…As the central dogma of molecular biology is not an easy concept to understand (Briggs et al 2016), educators at all levels should be aware of the level of cognitive development of their students and also the preconcepts that they may already hold (Haskel-Ittah and Yarden 2018). Many students form their understanding of genetics before the topic is even taught, so teachers need to actively challenge students' previous ideas during the lesson, and reconstruct the connections they established between the basic genetic concepts (Haskel-Ittah and Yarden 2018).…”

The DNA Landscape: Development and Application of a New Framework for Visual Communication about DNA

“…Concepts linked with gene expression are often difficult for students to grasp ( Marbach-Ad and Stavy, 2000 ; Wright et al. , 2014 ; Briggs et al. , 2016 ; Southard et al.…”

Implementing Online Discussion and Mind Mapping to Investigate a Disease Outbreak

“…Mind mapping can be implemented to allow students to visualize relationships between key components of a larger complex issue ( 5 – 8 ). The mind map is a useful educational tool that allows students to better see the big picture when discussing complex etiologies and disease progression.…”