Using the Concept Map Technique in Teaching Introductory Cell Biology to College Freshmen

Oct 15, 2026

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The study investigates first-lecture conceptual understanding in an introductory cellular biology course for biology majors, focusing on DNA structure and nucleotide functions. One hundred and eighteen students created concept maps from twenty provided concepts. Map analysis identified two main conceptual groupings, with frequent genetic-related ideas and comparatively fewer energy-related concepts, revealing misconceptions about ATP/GTP and about nucleic acids, purines, and pyrimidines. Concept maps also support instructors with graphic summarization and concept selection reflection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose and rationale

Background on conceptual understanding in introductory science courses

Study focus and prior research context

Students’ conceptions about DNA and related processes

Using the Concept Map Technique in Teaching Introductory Cell Biology to College Freshmen 1Hagit Yarden, 1Gili Marbach-Ad and 2Jonathan M. Gershoni 1School of Education / Humanities 2Life Sciences Department Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 ISRAEL Email: [gilim@post.tau.ac.il](gilim@post.tau.ac.il); [hagitfu@netvision.net.il](hagitfu@netvision.net.il); [gershoni@post.tau.ac.il](gershoni@post.tau.ac.il) Abstract: In our study, we focused on the conceptual understanding of the concepts and processes presented in the first lectures of an introductory course in cellular biology for biology majors. The study topic we considered was, “the structure of DNA and the functions of nucleotides”. One hundred and eighteen students were asked to prepare concept maps from a list of twenty given concepts. Analysis of these maps has shown a compartmentalization into two major groups of concepts. The most frequent concepts were from the genetic aspect, while frequencies of concepts from the energetic aspect were comparatively low. Many students did not recognize that molecules like ATP or GTP are simply nucleotides. Other interesting misconceptions concerned the concepts of nucleic acids, purines and pyrimidines. One of the advantages of using the concept map technique was that it encouraged the instructor to start using maps as a graphic instructional tool, summarizing his lectures. In addition, the need to select twenty concepts and arrange them in a map forced him to go over his lectures and reconsider whether or not these concepts should have been selected for instruction. Key words: conceptions, concept map, undergraduate, genetic material, energy balance, cell biology, INTRODUCTION This paper describes a case study that aims to explore students’ understanding of concepts and processes in an introductory cell biology course, at the Life Sciences Department, Tel-Aviv University. We started this study due to two main reasons. One reason was students’ statements, such as:“…This course [introductory cell biology], sometimes feels like a shower of new concepts threatening to drown me out. It seems that I have a thousand new words in my head and I can’t draw the whole picture”, or “There are many different words alike: amino acid, nucleic acid, nucleotides, nucleosides… and I can’tarrange them in my mind…” Since all of the course lectures were videotaped, we carefully observed the first six lectures of the course. What was immediately apparent from the videotapes was the large number of concepts (sometimes over 50) that the instructor mentioned in each lesson. Moreover, most of these concepts are on the molecular level, and to many students, who did not study either advanced biology (40% of freshmen) or chemistry (56% of freshmen) in high school, these concepts are completely new. The second reason for this study was the course instructor’s wish to explore students’ understanding of concepts and processes, since in previous years students tended to describe this course as challenging and interesting, but very difficult in terms of subject matter. This instructor later became an active partner (third author) in our research. It is also worth mentioning that the “cell biology” course is one of the corner stones for life sciences majors in their first year of their undergraduate studies. We believe that students’ experience in the first year of their studies is a very important element in their decision to stay or leave their field of study. Tobias (1990) claims that introductory science courses are responsible for driving away many students who started off majoring in sciences programs. One of the negative features of these courses, Tobias mentioned, is that they do not pay enough attention to students’conceptual understanding. Trowbridge and Wandersee (1996) stressed that in introductory science courses it is especially important for instructors to be aware of students’ understanding, since these courses

FAQs

What topic did the study focus on in the introductory cell biology course?

The study focused on the structure of DNA and the functions of nucleotides, using students’ understanding of these concepts from the first lectures.

How were students’ understandings assessed?

Students were asked to prepare concept maps from a list of twenty given concepts, enabling analysis of how concepts were organized in their minds.

What kinds of misconceptions were commonly observed?

Many students did not recognize ATP or GTP as nucleotides, and misconceptions also involved nucleic acids, purines, and pyrimidines.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Blitz