Journal of Biological Education 

About: Journal of Biological Education is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Science education & Teaching method. It has an ISSN identifier of 0021-9266. Over the lifetime, 2253 publications have been published receiving 24852 citations. The journal is also known as: JBE.

Diagnosing secondary students' misconceptions of photosynthesis and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument

Abstract: A two-tier multiple-choice instrument is described which reliably and validly diagnoses secondary students' understanding of photosynthesis and respiration in plants. The first tier of each item relates to content based on propositional knowledge statements. The second tier consists of reasons based on students' responses to interviews, open-ended questions, and/or previous research. These reasons include identified misconceptions and a scientifically acceptable answer. The results of the study highlight the consistency of students' misconceptions across secondary year levels and indicate that a high percentage of secondary students do not comprehend the nature and function of respiration and have little understanding of the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration in plants. Recommendations are made for use of the instrument by classroom biology teachers.

Revisiting learning difficulties in biology

Abstract: When students from Scottish schools were surveyed 15 years ago about their difficulties in learning biology, two main topic areas stood out as high in perceived difficulty: water transport in plants and genetics. In the interim, curricular changes have been made in which cognisance was taken of these findings. The present study was a revisit to ascertain the changes in student perception. The water transport problems are found to have largely disappeared, but the genetics difficulties have remained. This paper tries to locate the root causes of this by interviewing students and teachers, and by consulting examiners' reports. Pointers emerge which are capable of leading to possible solutions.

Investigation of students' cognitive structure in elementary genetics through word association tests

Abstract: The word association test is one of the commonest and oldest educational tools for investigating the cognitive structure of learners. In this present study, a word association test was used to map the cognitive structure of areas of elementary genetics in first-year biology students. In order to map the structures, relatedness coefficient values and response frequencies were used. The results showed that the students generated many ideas related to given key words. However, they did not appear to see the overall picture as a network of related ideas. Implications for using the word association test in the classroom are discussed.

Students' cellular and molecular explanations of genetic phenomena

Abstract: Genetic concepts are assigned to three principal levels of organisation: macroscopic level, microscopic level, and submicroscopic level. In order to probe Israeli students' understanding at each level, and to gain a sense of their ability to connect ideas and concepts across different levels, we asked three different types of question. Two of the question types ask students to make a bridge between levels by asking them to explain a phenomenon at one level using concepts and processes from a different level. For example, to explain the appearance of phenotypic traits (macroscopic level) using concepts like genes or chromosomes (microscopic level). One question dealt with the molecular level only. We investigated three populations: 9th graders, 12th graders, and pre-service teachers. Based on our findings we suggest improvements both in terms of teaching methods and curriculum content.

The ability of A-level students to name plants

Abstract: he ability of A level students to recognise and name common wild flowers was shown to be very poor. Traineeteachers performed little better and nearly a third of the practising A-level biology teachers tested were able toname only three or fewer wild flowers. Although opportunities exist at primary level for children to learn about the environment, most enter sec-ondary school with a poor knowledge of the organisms around them, particularly plants. At secondary level thedecrease in the importance of whole organism biology in the curriculum, declining opportunities for fieldworkand the concentration of A-level fieldwork on techniques and course assessment allow little time for training inidentification skills. Many A-level students feel that being able to recognise and name organisms is not important. In teaching students to be responsible citizens and to care about their environment, a knowledge of atleast the common organisms around them is vital.Initiatives are needed to engage the interest of primarysc...