Analysis of students' aptitude to provide meaning to images that represent cellular components at the molecular level.

ABSTRACT: The number of experimentally derived structures of cellular components is rapidly expanding, and this phenomenon is accompanied by the development of a new semiotic system for teaching. The infographic approach is shifting from a schematic toward a more realistic representation of cellular components. By realistic we mean artist-prepared or computer graphic images that closely resemble experimentally derived structures and are characterized by a low level of styling and simplification. This change brings about a new challenge for teachers: designing course instructions that allow students to interpret these images in a meaningful way. To determine how students deal with this change, we designed several image-based, in-course assessments. The images were highly relevant for the cell biology

SUBMITTER: Dahmani HR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2736026 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature