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

Wright, L. Kate; Wrightstone, Emily; Trumpore, Lauren; Steele, Julia; Abid, Deanna M; Newman, Dina L.

doi:10.1187/cbe.22-01-0007

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The hypothesized surface feature categories were chemical structure, sequence, ladder, helix, box and line, and chromosomal. The surface levels were based on previous work in which we explored the various ways in which DNA could be represented in introductory and advanced biology textbooks ( 28 ). Our hypothesized deep conceptual categories were DNA replication, mutation, gene expression, meiosis, and DNA repair, which are topics covered in almost all introductory biology, molecular biology, and cell biology textbooks.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, we wondered whether students were capable of seeing past surface details to identify underlying concepts in common visual representations in molecular biology, particularly ideas that center around DNA (e.g., replication, mutation, etc.). We built upon our prior experiences investigating visual representations in molecular biology ( 27 , 28 ) to create a variety of images to use and test with students and experts. Similar to the previously described card-sorting tasks, we also implemented the strategy of combining a “surface” feature with an underlying concept.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Visual Literacy of Molecular Biology Revealed through a Card-Sorting Task

Newman

Spector

Neuenschwander

et al. 2023

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual Literacy of Molecular Biology Revealed through a Card-Sorting Task

Newman

Spector

Neuenschwander

et al. 2023

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Probing visual literacy skills reveals unexpected student conceptions of chromosomes

Uminski,

Newman,

Wright

2024

Preprint

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Molecular biology can be difficult for undergraduate students because course content is often taught using highly-abstract visual representations. Genetic concepts can be depicted with lines, letters, shapes, and symbols, and students need to engage their visual literacy skills to appropriately decipher these abstract representations. We previously found that undergraduate course materials almost always represent chromosomes in abstract forms, such as "X" shapes or straight lines with a dot for the centromere. We hypothesized that students struggle to apply their visual literacy skills to accurately interpret these abstract representations of chromosomes, which may be related to the frequently-documented incomplete or incorrect ideas students have about chromosome structure and function. To explore students' visual literacy related to representations of chromosomes, we conducted 35 semi-structured interviews with students who had taken at least a year of biology courses. We asked them to sketch chromosomes, interpret an abstract representation of chromosomes, and use the abstract representation to answer a question about meiosis. We found that 97% of participants (34 of 35) held conceptual errors related to chromosome structure and function. These conceptual errors were often not evident in participants' verbal definitions of chromosomes and were only revealed in their sketches or explanations of their sketches. We found that participants frequently misinterpreted X-shaped representations of chromosomes, mistook unreplicated homologous chromosomes as separated sister chromatids, and held misconceptions related to the structure and function of centromeres. These findings have implications for how chromosomes are taught in biology courses. We recommend that instructors explicitly discuss the conventions and norms of representing chromosomes as a pathway for increasing students' visual literacy in molecular biology.

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Biology exams rarely use visual models to engage higher-order cognitive skills

Uminski,

Cammarota,

Couch

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Visual models are a necessary part of molecular biology education because submicroscopic compounds and processes cannot be directly observed. Accurately interpreting the biological information conveyed by the shapes and symbols in these visual models requires engaging visual literacy skills. For students to develop expertise in molecular biology visual literacy, they need to have structured experiences using and creating visual models, but there is little evidence to gauge how often undergraduate biology students are provided such opportunities. To investigate students’ visual literacy experiences, we surveyed 66 instructors who taught lower division undergraduate biology courses with a focus on molecular biology concepts. We collected self-reported data about the frequency with which the instructors teach with visual models and we analyzed course exams to determine how instructors incorporated visual models into their assessments. We found that most instructors reported teaching with models in their courses, yet only 16% of exam items in the sample contained a visual model. There was not a statistically significant relationship between instructors’ self-reported frequency of teaching with models and extent to which their exams contained models, signaling a potential mismatch between teaching and assessment practices. Although exam items containing models have the potential to elicit higher-order cognitive skills through model-based reasoning, we found that when instructors included visual models in their exams the majority of the items only targeted the lower-order cognitive skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Together, our findings highlight that despite the importance of visual models in molecular biology, students may not often have opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of these models on assessments.

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

Abstract: The DNA Landscape provides a research and learning tool that describes figures of DNA in two dimensions: scale and abstractness. Undergraduate biology textbooks tend to focus on particular parts of the landscape, but overuse of certain types of images may not be optimal for learning.

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Visual Literacy of Molecular Biology Revealed through a Card-Sorting Task

Visual Literacy of Molecular Biology Revealed through a Card-Sorting Task

Probing visual literacy skills reveals unexpected student conceptions of chromosomes

Biology exams rarely use visual models to engage higher-order cognitive skills

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