Addressing nonscientific presuppositions in genetics using a conceptual change strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Researchers are becoming aware of the influence of students' presuppositions in directing their construction of science concepts. When these are entrenched and drastically nonscientific, they predispose the children to alternative explanatory frameworks that are inhibiting, especially in a knowledge domain such as genetics. In this study, we identified such nonscientific presuppositions among 17-to 18-year-old secondary school students from the Igbo community of Southeastern Nigeria. We designed a research-based instructional model to address these presuppositions. The relationship between the levels of nonscientific presuppositions held by students and their achievement in genetics was assessed. Finally, the effect of the instructional model on students' relinquishing these nonscientific presuppositions and on their achievement was determined relative to a comparison group. It was found that this group of students had nonscientific presuppositions that they used in explaining genetic phenomena, and that the present instructional model aided the students in relinquishing these nonscientific presuppositions to a great extent. We conclude that a conceptual change model that addresses explicitly nonscientific presuppositions will lead to an increased understanding of science concepts.

Cognitive Influences of Students’ Alternative Conceptions Within a Hands-on Gene Technology Module

“…Intervention studies involving genetics have been frequent (e.g., Araz & Sungur, 2007;Dogru-Atay & Tekkaya, 2008;Duncan & Reiser, 2007;Johnson & Stewart, 2002;Marbach-Ad, Rotbain, & Stavy, 2008;Mbajiorgu, Ezechi, & Idoko, 2007;Tsui & Treagust, 2007;Venville & Treagust, 1998). For instance, Tsui and Treagust (2007) reported that most of the participating students in Grades 10 and 12 improved their understanding of genetics in the development of genetic reasoning when teachers included computer multimedia in their classroom teaching.…”

Bridging scientific reasoning and conceptual change through adaptive web‐based learning

“…Most studies consider only one perspective of conceptual changes in their model or theory: epistemological, ontological, or social/effective. However, more recently several researchers have studied conceptual change from multidimensional perspectives (Mbajiorgu, Ezechi, & Idoko, 2007;Savinainen, Scott, & Viiri, 2005;She, 2004b;Venville & Treagust, 1998). The Dual Situated Learning Model (DSLM) clearly shares the idea of multidimensional perspectives in terms of epistemology, ontology, and motivation.…”

Misconceptions of genetics concepts among pre-service teachers

“…Offspring inherit their biological parents' genes that express specific traits, such as some physical characteristics, natural talents, and genetic disorders. The mechanisms are hard to understand because it is difficult to make the ideas be tangible without the help of special instruments (Mbajiorgu, Ezechi and Idoko, 2006). The uses of the words genes, DNA, chromosomes, are interchanged in trying to explain how traits are passed from one generation to the next (Lewis and Kattmann, 2004).…”