Defining Understanding: Perspectives from Biology Instructors & Biology Education Researchers

Autor/inn/en	Hsu, Jeremy L.; Lo, Stanley M.; Sato, Brian K.
Titel	Defining Understanding: Perspectives from Biology Instructors & Biology Education Researchers
Quelle	In: American Biology Teacher, 83 (2021) 6, S.372-376 (5 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0002-7685
Schlagwörter	Biology; Taxonomy; Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; Concept Formation; Cognitive Ability; Student Attitudes; Definitions; Comparative Analysis; Teaching Methods; Learning Processes; Science Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Educational Researchers + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Biologie; Taxonomie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Denkfähigkeit; Schülerverhalten; Begriffsbestimmung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Learning process; Lernprozess; Science; Teacher; Teachers; Science teacher; Wissenschaft; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Lehrerverhalten; Erziehungswissenschaftler; Erziehungswissenschaftlerin
Abstract	Promoting student understanding of biological concepts is a key part of biology education, and the ability to "understand" a concept forms one of the six categories of the oft-used Bloom's Taxonomy. Despite this, there remains no consensus as to what it means to understand a concept. While several formal definitions have been offered, we investigated how biology instructors and biology education researchers define the term and how they perceived the skill sets needed for a student to understand a concept in the context of assessments. We found that there was no agreement on the definition of understanding, and that responses differed in the cognitive level required to reach "understanding" of a concept. We discuss these findings in the context of Bloom's Taxonomy and variation theory and provide directions for future inquiries. We conclude by discussing implications for biology instructors and the importance of explicitly conveying expectations to better align student and instructor expectations. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01