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Assessing Student Understanding of the Connection Between Dna and Evolution ASSESSING STUDENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DNA AND EVOLUTION Jill M. Jaksetic A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE August 2012 Committee: Karen Sirum, Advisor Paul Morris Eileen Underwood © 2012 Jill M. Jaksetic All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Karen Sirum, Advisor Many have investigated students’ understanding and acceptance of evolution but have not found a robust relationship between the two. Arguably, before a relationship between understanding and acceptance of evolution can be analyzed, there must be a clear definition of what is meant by “understanding.” Most measures of evolutionary understanding have largely ignored the molecular components of evolution while concentrating primarily on natural selection. These molecular understandings may be integral to alleviating student misconceptions, aiding overall understanding of evolution, and acceptance. To test this idea, a strategy was developed that is capable of assessing students’ ability to explain evolutionary concepts that span from the DNA-level to the level of speciation. Two new open-ended questions were designed to assess students’ abilities to make the conceptual connection between the molecular biology of DNA, protein shape, and protein function. These two questions were coupled with an existing natural selection prompt regarding the evolution of speed in cheetahs (Bishop and Anderson, 1990) and supplementary genetics and evolutionary literacy items from the Evolutionary Attitudes and Literacy Survey (EALS, Hawley et al., 2011). At the beginning and end of a semester, our survey was administered alongside an instrument that measures acceptance of the theory of evolution (MATE, Rutledge and Warden, 1999) to a variety of undergraduate biology students ranging from non-majors to upper-level majors. A scoring rubric was developed for the new molecular biology questions, which iv serves as a diagnostic tool for identifying gaps in understanding. This new rubric was used alongside a previously existing rubric developed by Nehm (2010) for the question regarding natural selection. Student responses were scored based on the number of key concepts and alternative conceptions present. Student performance for each rubric item on the open-ended questions and for the supplementary EALS items was compared, and measures of understanding were also compared to student acceptance of evolution. Results revealed that as predicted, many students in our sample seem to have a gap in understanding regarding how changes in DNA are relevant to other evolutionary ideas, and there are weak to moderate correlations between understanding of underlying genetics concepts and acceptance of evolution. v A curious aspect of the theory of evolution is everybody thinks he understands it. - Jacques Monod, On the Molecular Theory of Evolution (1974) vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am profoundly grateful to my advisor, Dr. Karen Sirum, for her guidance and encouragement during the course of this research. Her creativity and dedication were integral to this process. Special thanks to Dr. Paul Morris and Dr. Eileen Underwood, for serving on my committee and providing valuable insight regarding this project. I would also like to thank the faculty (especially Dr. Matthew Partin), staff, and graduate students in the department who aided in the collection of survey data. Many thanks go out to DeeDee Wentland, the department’s incredibly patient and helpful graduate secretary. I am also very grateful to Alexis Majorczyk and Alfred Andrews for serving as a helpful and friendly audience during our weekly research meetings. I would also like to recognize Dr. Kenneth Ryan and Mary Paler at the BGSU Center for Business Analytics for aiding in statistical analyses. This research is indebted to my parents who have always nurtured my curiosity and believed in my ability to achieve whatever goals I choose to set for myself. Thanks must also be extended to my big sister, Rhonda, for serving as a lifelong role model and inspiration. Thank you to my little brother, Connor, and my nephew and niece, Ethan and Eva, as the wish to make you proud has certainly provided further inspiration to help me complete this work. To my best friend, Alicia, thank you for always providing a constant supply of whimsy, as graduate school has surely not been without its’ stresses. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my partner, Bret, for your unwavering support, encouragement, and love. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION...... ........................................................................................................... 1 METHODS…………… ........................................................................................................ 13 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 19 LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................................... 34 TABLES……….……………………………… ................................................................... 36 FIGURES…………….. ......................................................................................................... 50 APPENDIX A: ITEMS FROM THE CONCEPT INVENTORY OF NATURAL SELECTION (CINS) ................................................................................................ 67 APPENDIX B: OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS INCLUDED IN SURVEY .......................... 68 APPENDIX C: ITEMS INCLUDED FROM THE EVOLUTIONARY ATTITUDES AND LITERACY (EALS) SURVEY…………………………………………… ... 69 APPENDIX D: MEASURE OF ACCEPTANCE OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION (MATE) INSTRUMENT. ......................................................................................... 70 APPENDIX E: HUMAN SUBJECTS REVIEW BOARD (HSRB) APPROVAL……….. 71 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Distribution of Biology Students Surveyed with All Instruments at the Beginning (Pre) and at the End (Post) of the Fall 2011 semester................................................ 36 2 Number of Student Responses from the Various Courses and Sections in the Pre- Cohort that were Sampled for Initial Scoring of the Three Open-ended Questions... 37 3 Distribution of Student Correct Responses on Open-Ended Questions Using the Initial Simple Correct or Incorrect Scoring Protocol, (N=191)...……… .................. 37 4 Distribution of Students Across Courses and Sections in the Sample of Matched- Pairs Used for Scoring of Student Responses to the Three Open-Ended Questions, (N=158)………………………. ................................................................................. 38 5 Scantron Response Conversion Key for Demographic, MATE, and EALS Items. .. 39 6 Z-test Results Showing Key and Alternative Concepts Present in Significantly Different Percentages in the Total Pre vs. Post Sample............................................ 41 7 Z-test Results Showing Key and Alternative Concepts Present in Significantly Different Percentages in Pre vs. Post Data by Course. .............................................. 42 8 Results of Binomial Regression Analysis of the Relationships Between Specific Key and Alternative Concepts. .......................................................................................... 43 9 Z-test Results Showing Statistically Significant Pre/Post Increases in the Proportions of Students Correctly Responding to a Particular EALS Item. ………… ................ 44 10 Z-test Results Showing Statistically Significant Increases in the Proportion of Students in Different Courses Correctly Responding to Particular EALS Items. ..... 45 ix 11 Z-test Results Comparing Statistically Significant Pre/Post Increases in EALS Performance for Students in a Traditional vs. Active Learning and Integrated Molecular Concepts Version of Course A.. ............................................................... 46 12 Z-test Results Comparing Statistically Significant Pre/Post Increases in EALS Performance for Students in a Traditional vs. Active Learning Course B Sections… 47 13 Correlation Table Displaying Relationships Between LPQ Scores, MATE Scores, and EALS Scores ………………. ............................................................................. 48 14 Correlations Between LPQ Scores and MATE Scores with Individual EALS items.. 49 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Rubric for Scoring Student Responses to Open-Ended Questions ............................ 50 2 Pre/Post Comparison of the Percentage of Students Including Key Concepts in Their Responses to the Three Open-Ended Questions.. ............................................ 55 3 Pre/Post Comparison of the Percentage of Students Including Between 0-7 Alternative Concepts in Responses to Open-Ended Questions... .............................. 55 4 Pre/Post Comparison of the Percentage of Particular Key or Alternative Concepts Present in Student Responses to the First Open-Ended Question.. ........................... 56 5 Pre/Post Comparison of the Percentage of Particular Key or Alternative Concepts Present in Student Responses to the Second Open-Ended Question. ........................ 56 6 Pre/Post Comparison of the Percentage of Particular Key or Alternative Concepts Present in Student Responses to the Third Open-Ended Question... ......................... 57 7 Pre/Post Comparison of the Percentage of Particular Key or Alternative Concepts Present in Student Responses to the Open-Ended Questions in Course B with Specific Molecular
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