Supporting and Assessing Complex Biology Learning with Computer-Based Simulations and Representations
Biology learning is, by its very nature, complex. Living systems are composed of systems nested within systems, each of which has components that interact to produce the emergent behavior of that system and interact in the next larger system. Living syste
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Supporting and Assessing Complex Biology Learning with Computer-Based Simulations and Representations Barbara C. Buckley and Edys S. Quellmalz
Introduction Biology learning is, by its very nature, complex. Living organisms are composed of systems nested within systems, each of which has components that interact to produce the emergent behavior of that system and interact in the next larger system. The components of living systems can be as small as ions and can participate in systems as large as the biosphere of Earth. The mechanisms for these systems are dictated by the evolutionary pressures that have enabled an array of structures and behaviors to survive. This systems view of biology is very different from the fragmented, inert, and inaccurate knowledge that too often results from taking biology in school. Numerous studies have documented the ways in which US science curricula are failing today’s students. Studies repeatedly report that teachers are typically required to cover a daunting number of standards, often resulting in a focus on superficial recall with insufficient attention to deep understanding (Weiss & Pasley, 2004). Standard science instruction has been characterized as requiring that students read sections in a textbook, take notes on definitions of key terms, and take examinations that test recall, thereby leaving students without experiences in what it means to know and do science. Analyses of American science textbooks indicate that they cover too many topics, use difficult vocabulary, make few connections with students’ background knowledge, and do not address commonly held misconceptions (Stern & Roseman, 2004). Textbooks also often do not coherently develop and relate concepts (Shymansky, Yore, & Good, 1991). Even in curricula with hands-on laboratories, students tend not to address authentic problems but to simply replicate standard experiments. These textbooks and
B.C. Buckley (*) • E.S. Quellmalz Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, WestEd, 400 Seaport Court, Suite 222, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] D.F. Treagust and C.-Y. Tsui (eds.), Multiple Representations in Biological Education, Models and Modeling in Science Education 7, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4192-8_14, # Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013
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associated laboratory activities are critiqued as being limited to transmitting science rather than learning its practices (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007). For example, in high school biology textbooks, the major human body systems are typically presented in separate chapters and depicted by static images. While many publishers now include online resources such as animations to present concepts, these resources tend to be short, decontextualized fragments. As a result, many students do not understand the dynamic complexity of human body systems or how these systems work together to ensure sufficient energy and building materials to sustain life. In recent field tests of assessm
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