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Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment

This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descr...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Prevost, Luanna B., Lemons, Paula P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Cell Biology 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5132368/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27909021
http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-12-0255
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author Prevost, Luanna B.
Lemons, Paula P.
author_facet Prevost, Luanna B.
Lemons, Paula P.
author_sort Prevost, Luanna B.
collection PubMed
description This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this allowed us to systematically investigate their problem-solving procedures. We identified a range of procedures and organized them as domain general, domain specific, or hybrid. We also identified domain-general and domain-specific errors made by students during problem solving. We found that students use domain-general and hybrid procedures more frequently when solving lower-order problems than higher-order problems, while they use domain-specific procedures more frequently when solving higher-order problems. Additionally, the more domain-specific procedures students used, the higher the likelihood that they would answer the problem correctly, up to five procedures. However, if students used just one domain-general procedure, they were as likely to answer the problem correctly as if they had used two to five domain-general procedures. Our findings provide a categorization scheme and framework for additional research on biology problem solving and suggest several important implications for researchers and instructors.
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spelling pubmed-51323682016-12-06 Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment Prevost, Luanna B. Lemons, Paula P. CBE Life Sci Educ Article This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this allowed us to systematically investigate their problem-solving procedures. We identified a range of procedures and organized them as domain general, domain specific, or hybrid. We also identified domain-general and domain-specific errors made by students during problem solving. We found that students use domain-general and hybrid procedures more frequently when solving lower-order problems than higher-order problems, while they use domain-specific procedures more frequently when solving higher-order problems. Additionally, the more domain-specific procedures students used, the higher the likelihood that they would answer the problem correctly, up to five procedures. However, if students used just one domain-general procedure, they were as likely to answer the problem correctly as if they had used two to five domain-general procedures. Our findings provide a categorization scheme and framework for additional research on biology problem solving and suggest several important implications for researchers and instructors. American Society for Cell Biology 2016 /pmc/articles/PMC5132368/ /pubmed/27909021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-12-0255 Text en © 2016 L. B. Prevost and P. P. Lemons. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0). “ASCB®” and “The American Society for Cell Biology®” are registered trademarks of The American Society for Cell Biology.
spellingShingle Article
Prevost, Luanna B.
Lemons, Paula P.
Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment
title Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment
title_full Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment
title_fullStr Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment
title_full_unstemmed Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment
title_short Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment
title_sort step by step: biology undergraduates’ problem-solving procedures during multiple-choice assessment
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5132368/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27909021
http://dx.doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-12-0255
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