Understanding Randomness on a Molecular Level: A Diagnostic Tool

Tobler, Samuel; Köhler, Katja; Sinha, Tanmay; Hafen, Ernst; Kapur, Manu

doi:10.1187/cbe.22-05-0097

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…A story has a good reason if it depends on history, culture, personal character, and biography since life is a set of Stories. Narrative theorists assert that people find stories believable when they act as we do or as we would like to see ourselves acting (Tobler et al, 2022). The narrative paradigm has been studied in rhetoric, literary theory, philosophy, history, psychology, political communication, journalism, folklore, persuasion theory, media, rhetorical, and political communication.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematics Learning Experience at the Basic School and Its Influence on One’s Program of Choice at the Institution Higher of Learning

Atta¹,

Clark

Bonyah³

2023

GRSSE

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This paper sought to determine if the Basic School Mathematics learning experience has any influence on the individual when it comes to program selection in higher education and career choice. The researcher employed a qualitative approach in order to obtain detailed information about the topic. This led to the adoption of the Narrative Paradigm, where one experienced person was interviewed to obtain first-hand information for analysis. It was revealed if a student develops an interest in mathematics at Basic School it improves their performance. More so such a student is more likely to enroll in mathematics-related courses as he or she moves higher on the academic ladder. It was also observed that if teachers adopt methods of teaching that are learner-centered, it motivates the learner to learn mathematics as an integral part of life but not as abstract information that needs to be chewed. The study confirmed that mathematics has various applications in the workplace, and knowledge of mathematics can be self-gratifying. The study makes the following recommendations; even though students learn as a group, the teacher must focus on the individual learners by giving them extra attention, teachers must be interested in what the students learn after school, and teachers must keep parents and guardians informed about the academic achievements progress of their wards.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematics Learning Experience at the Basic School and Its Influence on One’s Program of Choice at the Institution Higher of Learning

Atta¹,

Clark

Bonyah³

2023

GRSSE

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“…Longitudinal research using the Molecular Concepts Adaptive Assessment (n = 1170) suggests that over 70% of first-through third-year undergraduates cannot identify random collisions as the primary mechanism of motion of a molecule toward a binding partner [27]. This finding was supported by Tobler et al [1], who found that students believed certain molecules searched actively for interaction partners, and that active processes are necessary for binding partners to find each other. Such misconceptions often remain unaddressed throughout the students' undergraduate careers [26].…”

Section: Misconceptions and Conceptual Changementioning

confidence: 96%

“…Undergraduate molecular biology students bring with them a myriad of scientific misconceptions reinforced by their prior experiences in the world. A particularly problematic misconception is the idea that molecules have some sort of innate agency that guides their interactions in the cell, which conflicts with their post-secondary instruction about how molecular processes emerge due to the random or stochastic motion of all constituent parts [1][2][3][4][5]. It is thought that such misconceptions arise because students lack real-world referents for emergent processes, as they often occur at a spatial and temporal scales that are not easily observable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Game and Simulation Stimulate Conceptual Change about Molecular Emergence in Different Ways, with Potential Cultural Implications

Gauthier

2024

Education Sciences

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Many undergraduate students hold robust misconceptions about the emergent nature of molecular processes, believing them to be directed rather than random. Interactive simulations might help transform such misconceptions by visualizing stochastic processes in a time-independent medium and enabling students to manipulate the environment to test their naïve hypotheses. Furthermore, game-based learning (GBL) might enhance the effectiveness of such simulations by promoting productive negativity (PN), i.e., learning from failure. In a randomized controlled trial with pre-test, post-test and delayed one-year follow-up, undergraduates (n = 84) engaged with either a GBL or interactive simulation (SIM) environment for 20–45 min and were compared to a baseline group (n = 138). GBL (p = 0.035) and SIM (p = 0.069) resolved more misconceptions than baseline but did not differ from each other (p = 0.992). GBL group also trended toward more positive long-term conceptual change. In-game interactions generated in response to PN were predictive of conceptual change in the GBL group alone, suggesting that PN may only be effective when supported by game design. Participants’ native English-speaking status had a moderating effect, with native-speakers performing well in GBL and poorly in SIM environment, while the opposite was true for non-native-speakers, which, as discussed herein, may be aligned with cultural differences in acceptability of GBL. The GBL intervention generated longer voluntary use (p = 0.005), especially amongst frequent game-players. The results inform how GBL/SIM approaches can implement PN as a mechanism for conceptual change about molecular emergence.

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“…While the behavior of (a large enough) population is predictable, the behavior of any single actor is not. It is in this context that various assessment instruments ( Garvin-Doxas and Klymkowsky, 2008 ; Klymkowsky et al, 2016a ; Champagne-Queloz et al, 2017 ; Tobler et al, 2023 ) can be useful in identifying when students have learned to apply ideas appropriately.…”

Section: The Origins Of Genetic Drift and The Stochastic Nature Of Bi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking (again) Hardy-Weinberg and genetic drift in undergraduate biology

Klymkowsky

2023

Front. Genet.

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Designing effective curricula is challenging. Content decisions can impact both learning outcomes and student engagement. As an example consider the place of Hardy-Weinberg equilibria (HWE) and genetic drift calculations in introductory biology courses, as discussed by Masel (2012). Given that population genetics, “a fairly arcane speciality”, can be difficult to grasp, there is little justification for introducing introductory students to HWE calculations. It is more useful to introduce them to the behavior of alleles in terms of basic features of biological systems, and that in the absence of selection recessive alleles are no “weaker” or preferentially lost from a population than are dominant alleles. On the other hand, stochastic behaviors, such as genetic drift, are ubiquitous in biological systems and often play functionally significant roles; they can be introduced to introductory students in mechanistic and probabilistic terms. Specifically, genetic drift emerges from the stochastic processes involved in meiotic chromosome segregation and recombination. A focus on stochastic processes may help counteract naive bio-deterministic thinking and can reinforce, for students, the value of thinking quantitatively about biological processes.

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Understanding Randomness on a Molecular Level: A Diagnostic Tool

Cited by 5 publications

References 59 publications

Mathematics Learning Experience at the Basic School and Its Influence on One’s Program of Choice at the Institution Higher of Learning

Mathematics Learning Experience at the Basic School and Its Influence on One’s Program of Choice at the Institution Higher of Learning

Game and Simulation Stimulate Conceptual Change about Molecular Emergence in Different Ways, with Potential Cultural Implications

Rethinking (again) Hardy-Weinberg and genetic drift in undergraduate biology

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