Poster: Education

Abs # 35: Effects of experimental instruction in genetics using C-Fern on students' conceptual change in genetics

Presenter:	Kim, Sung-Ha , shkim@knue.ac.kr
Authors	Kim, Sung-Ha  (A)   Kim, Gwan Hee  (A)   Cha, Heeyoung  (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Dept. of Biology Education, Korea National University of Education

This study is to develop an experiment-based instruction using C-Fern and to test its effectiveness compared to the traditional method. C-Fern is a genus Ceratopteris of a homosporous fern found in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Since all stages of C-Fern's sexual reproduction take place within two weeks, students can easily observe the basic Mendelian principles with plant development and alteration of generations. By combining the life cycle of C-Fern with the concepts in genetics, an experiment-based instruction was developed. Two groups of ninth grader students were chosen to participate in this study. One group, which was an experimental group, was taught according to the developed instruction using C-Fern. The other control group was taught in the traditional manner. The test for the concept achievement and the word association tests were given before and after the instructions. Results showed that the C-Fern instruction was more effective than the traditional method for the students to comprehend concepts in genetics. It was also shown to be more effective in improving students' conceptual understanding. After instruction, students in the experimental group could make many links in their conceptual network. Moreover, students¡¯ problems of understanding the relatedness in some concept groups were taken care of. Therefore, the C-Fern instruction developed in this study can offer a strong basis for the students to understand the sophisticated and complicated concepts in genetics.