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Teaching molecular mechanisms: using a model of expert explanations to remediate students' illusions of understanding (531.12)
Author(s) -
Alaniz John,
Trujillo Caleb,
Anderson Trevor,
Pelaez Nancy
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.531.12
Subject(s) - mechanism (biology) , reading (process) , context (archaeology) , illusion , animation , intervention (counseling) , likert scale , narrative , psychology , mathematics education , cognitive science , epistemology , computer science , cognitive psychology , political science , biology , paleontology , developmental psychology , philosophy , linguistics , computer graphics (images) , psychiatry , law
Teaching undergraduates to explain a molecular mechanism is difficult in part because of the abstract nature of the molecular world, and because students overestimate how much they understand. A teaching intervention was developed with a learning cycle to help students explain mechanisms related to vesicular traffic. Throughout the intervention, students rated their knowledge using a seven point Likert scale. First, students explored their ability to explain after they viewed a molecular animation. Next, after reading the Nobel Prize synopsis of research on vesicle trafficking, students were introduced to a model to explicitly address the components of how practicing biologists explain cellular mechanisms ‐ by focusing on the methods (M) used to understand the mechanism, analogies (A) including narratives and models, the context (C) of the mechanism, and how (H) the mechanism works through physical causes. Finally, students applied the MACH model to deconstruct the reading and reconstruct their own explanations related to vesicular traffic. Results indicate that students have illusions of understanding; after viewing an animation their explanations lack important components when they explain molecular mechanisms. However, with the MACH model, their illusions of understanding are addressed, gaps are filled, and the students explain how vesicles traffic more like experts do. We conclude that one way to improve students’ explanations and reduce illusions of understanding about future mechanisms is to teach using the MACH model. MACH explicitly draws attention to the components of expert molecular explanations used by practicing biologists. Grant Funding Source : Gordon Research Conference Visionary Grant