Building Mental Models by Dissecting Physical Models

Autor/in	Srivastava, Anveshna
Titel	Building Mental Models by Dissecting Physical Models
Quelle	In: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 44 (2016) 1, S.7-11 (5 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1470-8175
DOI	10.1002/bmb.20921
Schlagwörter	Models; Biology; Undergraduate Students; Cognitive Structures; College Science; Construction (Process); Questionnaires; Intervention; Pretests Posttests; Science Instruction; Instructional Effectiveness; Science Achievement; Active Learning + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Analogiemodell; Biologie; Cognitive structure; Kognitive Struktur; Aufbau; Konstruktion; Fragebogen; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Unterrichtserfolg; Aktives Lernen
Abstract	When students build physical models from prefabricated components to learn about model systems, there is an implicit trade-off between the physical degrees of freedom in building the model and the intensity of instructor supervision needed. Models that are too flexible, permitting multiple possible constructions require greater supervision to ensure focused learning; models that are too constrained require less supervision, but can be constructed mechanically, with little to no conceptual engagement. We propose "model-dissection" as an alternative to "model-building," whereby instructors could make efficient use of supervisory resources, while simultaneously promoting focused learning. We report empirical results from a study conducted with biology undergraduate students, where we demonstrate that asking them to "dissect" out specific conceptual structures from an already built 3D physical model leads to a significant improvement in performance than asking them to build the 3D model from simpler components. Using questionnaires to measure understanding both before and after model-based interventions for two cohorts of students, we find that both the "builders" and the "dissectors" improve in the post-test, but it is the latter group who show statistically significant improvement. These results, in addition to the intrinsic time-efficiency of "model dissection," suggest that it could be a valuable pedagogical tool. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01