ArticlePloS one2017
Diagnostic of students' misconceptions using the Biological Concepts Instrument (BCI): A method for conducting an educational needs assessment.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- A scientific research training programme for teaching biomedical students to identify the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.Folia microbiologica · 2025Article
- Introducing CACIE: Development of the first Conceptual Assessment of Children's Ideas about Evolution.PloS one · 2025Article
- Changing colors and understanding: the use of mutant chromogenic protein and informational suppressor strains ofJournal of microbiology & biology education · 2023Article
- Understanding Randomness on a Molecular Level: A Diagnostic Tool.CBE life sciences education · 2023Article
- Rethinking (again) Hardy-Weinberg and genetic drift in undergraduate biology.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- The Use of a Multimodal Case Study To Illustrate Microbial Genetics, Metabolism, and Evolution: The Emergence of VRSA-1.Journal of microbiology & biology education · 2022Article
- The Genetic Code Kit: An Open-Source Cell-Free Platform for Biochemical and Biotechnology Education.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2020Article
- Bioinformatics-Based Activities in High School: Fostering Students' Literacy, Interest, and Attitudes on Gene Regulation, Genomics, and Evolution.Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
Concept inventories, constructed based on an analysis of students' thinking and their explanations of scientific situations, serve as diagnostics for identifying misconceptions and logical inconsistencies and provide data that can help direct curricular reforms. In the current project, we distributed the Biological Concepts Instrument (BCI) to 17-18-year-old students attending the highest track of the Swiss school system (Gymnasium). Students' performances on many questions related to evolution, genetics, molecular properties and functions were diverse. Important common misunderstandings were identified in the areas of evolutionary processes, molecular properties and an appreciation of stochastic processes in biological systems. Our observations provide further evidence that the BCI is efficient in identifying specific areas where targeted instruction is required. Based on these observations we have initiated changes at several levels to reconsider how biological systems are presented to university biology studies with the goal of improving student's foundational understanding.
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