Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30707639›Full record

ArticleCBE life sciences education2019

Molecular Concepts Adaptive Assessment (MCAA) Characterizes Undergraduate Misconceptions about Molecular Emergence.

Andrea Gauthier, Stuart Jantzen, Gaël McGill, Jodie Jenkinson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in CBE life sciences education, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Design principles for molecular animation.Frontiers in bioinformatics · 2024
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Andrea GauthierInstitute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
Stuart JantzenBiomedical Communications, Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
Gaël McGillCenter for Molecular and Cellular Dynamics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Jodie JenkinsonInstitute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of two experiments assessing undergraduate students' beliefs about the random nature of molecular environments. Experiment 1 involved the implementation of a pilot adaptive assessment ( n = 773) and focus group discussions with undergraduate students enrolled in first- through third-year biology courses; experiment 2 involved the distribution of the redesigned adaptive assessment to the same population of students in three consecutive years ( n = 1170). The overarching goal of the study was to provide a detailed characterization of learners' perceptions and beliefs regarding molecular agency, environments, and diffusion and whether or not those beliefs change over time. Our results indicated that advanced learners hold as many misconceptions as novice learners and that confidence in their misconceptions increases as they advance through their undergraduate education. In particular, students' understanding of random/Brownian motion is complex and highly contextual, suggesting that the way in which we teach biology does not adequately remediate students' preconceived notions of molecular agency and may actually reinforce them.

Indexed as

PerceptionStudentsBiologyComprehensionCurriculumEducational MeasurementFemaleFocus GroupsHumansKnowledgeMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesUser-Computer Interface

Identifiers

PMID30707639
PMCPMC6757223

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.