A new three-dimensional educational model kit for building DNA and RNA molecules: Development and evaluation
Open Access
- 1 May 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education
- Vol. 34 (3), 187-193
- https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.2006.49403403187
Abstract
International specialized literature focused on research in biology education is sadly scarce, especially regarding biochemical and molecular aspects. In this light, researchers from this Centre for Structural Molecular Biotechnology developed and evaluated a three-dimensional educational model named “Building Life Molecules DNA and RNA.” The development of the model and its evaluation as a potential tool in the teaching-learning process were based on a pilot study involving 226 learners and teachers. Questionnaires were elaborated, containing simple and objective questions, similar to those used in research on science teaching, to orient the evaluation process. Our results show that the model has high educational potential, aiding participants in their conceptual understanding of these molecular structures and their functions, DNA semiconservative replication, and RNA transcription. In addition, it was observed that this model leads students to critical associations of these concepts with actual scientific themes of molecular biology and biotechnology, such as cloning, transgenic organisms, and the genome.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Animations: Development and Impact on Student LearningCell Biology Education, 2005
- Public Understanding of, and Attitudes toward, Scientific Research: What We Know and What We Need to KnowPublic Understanding of Science, 2004
- Traits, genes, particles and information: re‐visiting students’ understandings of geneticsInternational Journal of Science Education, 2004
- Arguments, contradictions, resistances, and conceptual change in students' understanding of atomic structureScience Education, 2002
- Dialogues as teaching tools in the biochemical sciencesBiochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 2001
- "Almost Like Weighing Someone's Soul": Chemistry in Contemporary FilmJournal of Chemical Education, 2001
- Student reactions and learning: evaluation of a biochemistry course that uses web technology and student collaborationBiochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 2001
- Development and evaluation of virtual labs and other interactive learning toolsBiochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 2001
- Stable non-BPS states in F-theoryJournal of High Energy Physics, 2000
- Genes, chromosomes, cell division and inheritance - do students see any relationship?International Journal of Science Education, 2000