The DNA Landscape: Development and Application of a New Framework for Visual Communication about DNA

Autor/inn/en	Wright, L. Kate; Wrightstone, Emalee; Trumpore, Lauren; Steele, Julia; Abid, Deanna M.; Newman, Dina L.
Titel	The DNA Landscape: Development and Application of a New Framework for Visual Communication about DNA
Quelle	In: CBE - Life Sciences Education, 21 (2022) 3, Artikel 47 (8 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
DOI	10.1187/cbe.22-01-0007
Schlagwörter	Genetics; Textbooks; Illustrations; Biology; Undergraduate Study; Content Analysis; Textbook Content + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Humangenetik; Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch; Bildliche Darstellung; Biologie; Grundstudium; Inhaltsanalyse; Lehrbuchtext
Abstract	Learning molecular biology involves using visual representations to communicate ideas about largely unobservable biological processes and molecules. Genes and gene expression cannot be directly visualized, but students are expected to learn and understand these and related concepts. Theoretically, textbook illustrations should help learners master such concepts, but how are genes and other DNA-linked concepts illustrated for learners? We examined all DNA-related images found in 12 undergraduate biology textbooks to better understand what biology students encounter when learning concepts related to DNA. Our analysis revealed a wide array of DNA images that were used to design a new visual framework, the DNA Landscape, which we applied to more than 2000 images from common introductory and advanced biology textbooks. All DNA illustrations could be placed on the landscape framework, but certain positions were more common than others. We mapped figures about "gene expression" and "meiosis" onto the landscape framework to explore how these challenging topics are illustrated for learners, aligning these outcomes with the research literature to showcase how the overuse of certain representations may hinder, instead of help, learning. The DNA Landscape is a tool to promote research on visual literacy and to guide new learning activities for molecular biology. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Society for Cell Biology. 8120 Woodmont Avenue Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. Tel: 301-347-9300; Fax: 301-347-9310; e-mail: ascbinfo@ascb.org; Website: https://www.lifescied.org/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01