ABSTRACT
Misconceptions, or alternative conceptions, are incorrect understandings that students have incorporated into their prior knowledge. The goal of this study was the identification of misconceptions in microbiology held by undergraduate students upon entry into an introductory, general microbiology course. This work was the first step in developing a microbiology concept inventory based on the American Society for Microbiology's Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology. Responses to true/false (T/F) questions accompanied by written explanations by undergraduate students at a diverse set of institutions were used to reveal misconceptions for fundamental microbiology concepts. These data were analyzed to identify the most difficult core concepts, misalignment between explanations and answer choices, and the most common misconceptions for each core concept. From across the core concepts, nineteen misconception themes found in at least 5% of the coded answers for a given question were identified. The top five misconceptions, with coded responses ranging from 19% to 43% of the explanations, are described, along with suggested classroom interventions. Identification of student misconceptions in microbiology provides a foundation upon which to understand students' prior knowledge and to design appropriate tools for improving instruction in microbiology.
ABSTRACT
Recent recommendations for educational research encourage empirically tested, theory-based, completely transparent, and broadly applicable studies. In light of these recommendations, we call for a research standard and community of practice in the evaluation of technology use in the undergraduate life science classroom. We outline appropriate research methodology, review and critique the past research on technology usage and, lastly, suggest a new and improved focus for research on emerging technologies.
