Essay contest reveals misconceptions of high school ... - Genetics

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1160 K. R. Mills Shaw et al.TABLE 4Essay contest scoring guidelines for 2007Question Topic to be included Points possibleIf you could be a humangenetics researcher,what would you study and why?In what ways will knowledgeof genetics and genomics makechanges to health and healthcare in the United States possible?Development/statement of hypothesis 10Discussion of current knowledge in field 10Discussion of importance of research topic 10Discussion of experimental design 10Presentation (spelling and grammar) 10Discussion of the knowledge we are10gaining in genomicsDiscussion of the current state of health care 10Discussion of potential changes at a personal level 10Discussion of potential changes at a broader level 10Presentation (spelling and grammar) 10and spelling errors) were not included as part of thisreview. Once misconceptions were identified, codersboth independently and in communication with eachother cataloged misconceptions according to topic toensure consistency in grouping. The quantitation of theexamples revealed in this article reflects observationsfrom analysis of the critical writing from 500 high schoolessays (9th–12th grade submissions).RESULTSEssays collected represent data from multiple states,grades, and classroom teachers: All essays were submittedonline. In the online submission form wecollected demographic data on all students and theirteachers, including their grade, city, state, and school. Inboth years of the contest we included a rule that statedonly three essays per teacher for each question, for atotal of six essays per teacher, would be accepted.However, this rule was often overlooked, and teacherswould submit essays from their entire classrooms. Thus,while we collected more essays in 2006, this total numberof essays reflects a representation of fewer classrooms. In2007 we rectified this problem by adding an algorithmthat blocked any more than three essays from the sameteacher. The data presented in Table 3 show that theessay contest grew between years 1 and 2 in the overallnumber of classrooms reached and that the essays collectedrepresent a wide geographical distribution. In2007, we did not receive essays from Alaska, Hawaii,Vermont, South Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, Washington,DC, Nebraska, or Mississippi despite sending out multiplee-mail solicitations to teacher contacts in those states.Identification of misconceptions and misinformationfrom student essays: During the process of readingand scoring essays, judges were asked to identify anddocument examples of misconceptions in their essays.Additionally, all essays were cursorily scanned by eitherK. R. Mills Shaw or K. Van Horne. Tables 5 and 6 providean overview of the topics where misconceptions arecommon as well sample statements taken directly fromstudent essays. While several hundred individual misconceptionswere identified during the course ofjudging and review, many of the individual misconcep-Figure 1.—Schematic of process involved inselecting finalist essays.
Genetics Education 1161TABLE 5Key ideas/subtopics used to categorize misconceptionsTopicGenetic technologyDeterministic nature of genesPatterns of inheritanceNature of genes and genetic materialsGenetic basis of diseaseGenetics researchReproductive technologyKey ideas/subtopicsRealistic vs. nonrealistic uses‘‘Genohype’’Role of gene therapy in curing genetic diseaseGenes determine all traitsOne gene, one traitLack of environmental influenceLack of multigene involvement in traitsProbabilityTypes of inheritanceMisunderstanding modes of inheritanceInterpretation of data from Punnett squaresUnderstanding the origin of chromosomal anomalies(monosomies, trisomies)Role of different nucleic acids in geneticsCentral dogmaDescription of a geneChromosomes and genesDNA and living organismsMultigene involvement in diseaseEnvironmental influence in diseaseDifference between genetic and inherited diseaseDifference between viral, sexually transmitted,and genetic diseasesProcess of researchTime frame of researchTopics of researchEugenicsCloningPreimplantation genetic diagnosistions could be categorized under broad topics in genetics(summarized in Table 5). To quantify the frequencyof these common misconceptions we reanalyzed500 (20%) of the essays, which included 250 essayschosen at random from each year’s submissions. Individualmisconceptions were identified and cataloged.After cataloging each misconception in the 500 essaysand defining the categories of genetics in which theyfell, ‘‘common’’ categories were defined by those beingpresent in at least 5% of the essays examined. Of the 500systematically reviewed essays, 278 (55.6%) revealed atleast one obvious misconception. Another 101 essays(20.2%) were recognized for having two or more misconceptions.Misconceptions that were linked to essayswith obvious language or writing barriers were excludedfrom quantitative analysis to avoid overrepresentationin our quantitative analysis. The prevalence of misconceptionsper topic area is summarized in Figure 2.Standards and common areas of misconceptions:Misconceptions were identified and categorized into ageneral topic area. We then examined how standardswere related to these main topic areas, specificallypatterns of inheritance and the deterministic nature ofgenes. We analyzed 20 sets of state biology standardsat random to determine the nature of the standards inpatterns of inheritance at the introductory biology orlife science level in high school. Supplemental Table 1at http://www.genetics.org/supplemental/ highlightsfour sets of these standards that provide a range ofcoverage of patterns of inheritance. A majority of thesebasic genetics/cell biology standards (15/20) includedan examination of Mendel’s laws of inheritance, somespecifically describing the requirement to understandprobability, Punnett squares, and the differences betweenautosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, andsex-linked traits. Other states included only more broaddescriptions where a student would, for example,‘‘Explain current scientific ideas and information aboutthe molecular and genetic basis of heredity’’ (see supplementalTable 1). These are important data becausethey reflect the highly diverse nature of the level of detailrequired of students in U.S. high schools. While standardsthat fail to provide comprehensive detail allowtalented teachers to provide creative and challenginglearning opportunities for students, they can oftenalso result in learning experiences that fail to
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