April Cordero Maskiewicz

Misconceptions Are “So Yesterday!”

This essay provides an overview of the discussion within the learning sciences community surrounding the term “misconceptions.” Using examples of students’ incorrect ideas about evolution and ecology, the authors show that students’ naive ideas can provide the resources from which to build scientific understanding.

Understanding Cellular Respiration in Terms of Matter & Energy within Ecosystems

Abstract Using a design-based research approach, we developed a data-rich problem (DRP) set to improve student understanding of cellular respiration at the ecosystem level. The problem tasks engage students in data analysis to develop biological explanations. Several of the tasks and their implementation are described. Quantitative results suggest that students from the experimental class who participated in the DRP showed significant gains on cellular respiration posttest items, and students from the control class who participated in a non-DRP task showed no significant gains. Qualitative results from interviews and written responses showed that students from the experimental class progressed to deeper “levels of achievement” in cellular respiration. The data-rich tasks promote student understanding of cellular respiration, matter transformation, decomposition, and energy transformation — all goals recommended by the Next Generation Science Standards.

Teaching High School Physiology using a Popular TV Medical Drama

ABSTRACT Teachers know that educational experiences extend far beyond the classroom. With a wide variety of science-related programs on television, there is a need for more research into how these programs can he utilized in a classroom setting. In this mixed-methods study, we asked the question: Can student understanding of human physiology he improved through the use of multimedia resources, specifically through the use of popular television? Episodes of Foxs popular medical drama “House, M.D.” were incorporated into high school biology curricula during instructional units on two body systems: the nervous system and the immune system. Through the use of integrated media and classroom discussions, students were exposed to the social aspect of learning as they worked together to analyze what they viewed on TV. This study was conducted over a traditional school year in a general biology class at a lower-socioeconomic urban high school.

Crossing the Threshold: Bringing Biological Variation to the Foreground

This essay summarizes the authors’ study of, conversations about, and thought processes on threshold concepts. Using biological variation as an example, the authors demonstrate the utility of threshold concepts for curriculum development and research on student learning.

Understanding Causal Relationships in Food Webs Using “Data-Rich Problem” Tasks

Abstract We used a design-based research approach to develop “data-rich problem” (DRP) tasks intended to support middle and high school students in constructing knowledge about food webs and ecosystem dynamics, specifically the effects of species loss. The marine environment is used for context to promote an understanding of interdependent ecological relationships and the nonlinear and sustaining effects of loss of species. The Food Web DRP tasks we describe are designed for classroom implementation in alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards. The intended time frame for implementation is five days (assuming 50-minute class periods).