Development of the concept of cell division through biology education

Abstract

School practice shows that a cell and the related cell division represent many problems for students as well as teachers. Students often hold misconceptions which form in everyday life under the influence of people with whom students live, as well as the media. Teachers are confronted with the problem of how to most effectively introduce this subject in class. They should enable students to understand basics of the cell and its implications as part of scientific literacy in the contemporary world. This survey used a test to assess the knowledge of students about cells. It included students on three levels of education; 13 year-olds, 15 year-olds, and 21 year-olds. The results showed that the knowledge of both younger groups was insufficient. The knowledge of the oldest group was substantially better, but still not satisfactory. It also showed that many students learn isolated facts and do not see the relationships between those facts. We believe that active methods of work in the classroom which are taken from everyday life could improve these results.

Keywords

• cell
• cell division
• genetics
• education