A Biology Core Concept Instrument (BCCI) to Teach and Assess Student Conceptual Understanding

被引:9
作者
Cary, Tawnya L. [1 ]
Wienhold, Caroline J. [2 ]
Branchaw, Janet [2 ,3 ]
机构
[1] Beloit Coll, Dept Biol, Beloit, WI 53511 USA
[2] Univ Wisconsin, Wisconsin Inst Sci Educ & Community Engagement, Madison, WI 53706 USA
[3] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Kinesiol, Madison, WI 53706 USA
关键词
MISCONCEPTIONS; INVENTORY;
D O I
10.1187/cbe.18-09-0192
中图分类号
G40 [教育学];
学科分类号
040101 ; 120403 ;
摘要
Instruments for teaching and assessing student understanding of the five core concepts in biology from Vision and Change are needed. We developed four Biology Core Concept Instruments (BCCIs) that teach and assess students' ability to describe a concept in their own words, identify concepts represented in biological phenomena, and make connections between concepts. The BCCI includes a narrative, followed by a series of 10 true-false/identify (TF/I) and three open-ended questions. The TF/I questions are aligned with Cary and Branchaw's Conceptual Elements Framework and were iteratively developed with feedback from biology experts and student performance and feedback obtained during think-aloud interviews. A component scoring system was developed to discriminate between a student's ability to apply and identify each core concept from his or her ability to make connections between concepts. We field-tested the BCCIs (n = 152-191) with students in a first-year course focused on learning the five core concepts in biology and collected evidence of interrater reliability (alpha = 0.70) and item validity. With component scoring, we identified examples in which students were able to identify concepts singularly, but not make connections between concepts, or were better able to apply concepts to one biological phenomenon than another. Identifying these nuanced differences in learning can guide instruction to improve students' conceptual understanding.
引用
收藏
页数:17
相关论文
共 50 条
[11]   A Critical Analysis of Assessment Quality in Genomics and Bioinformatics Education Research [J].
Campbell, Chad E. ;
Nehm, Ross H. .
CBE-LIFE SCIENCES EDUCATION, 2013, 12 (03) :530-541
[12]   Conceptual Elements: A Detailed Framework to Support and Assess Student Learning of Biology Core Concepts [J].
Cary, Tawnya ;
Branchaw, Janet .
CBE-LIFE SCIENCES EDUCATION, 2017, 16 (02)
[13]   Pretesting survey instruments: An overview of cognitive methods [J].
Collins, D .
QUALITY OF LIFE RESEARCH, 2003, 12 (03) :229-238
[15]   GenBio-MAPS: A Programmatic Assessment to Measure Student Understanding of Vision and Change Core Concepts across General Biology Programs [J].
Couch, Brian A. ;
Wright, Christian D. ;
Freeman, Scott ;
Knight, Jennifer K. ;
Semsar, Katharine ;
Smith, Michelle K. ;
Summers, Mindi M. ;
Zheng, Yi ;
Crowe, Alison J. ;
Brownell, Sara E. .
CBE-LIFE SCIENCES EDUCATION, 2019, 18 (01)
[16]   The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: A Concept Assessment for Upper-Division Molecular Biology Students [J].
Couch, Brian A. ;
Wood, William B. ;
Knight, Jennifer K. .
CBE-LIFE SCIENCES EDUCATION, 2015, 14 (01)
[17]  
Cresswell JW., 1998, QUAL INQ
[18]  
Crocker L., 1986, INTRO CLASSICAL MODE
[19]   Biology Concept Inventories: Overview, Status, and Next Steps [J].
D'Avanzo, Charlene .
BIOSCIENCE, 2008, 58 (11) :1079-1085
[20]   THE INFLUENCE OF MULTIDIMENSIONALITY ON THE GRADED RESPONSE MODEL [J].
DEAYALA, RJ .
APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT, 1994, 18 (02) :155-170