Students' alternative conceptions in Biology: A multi-tier analysis

Abstract

Teaching the wrong concepts is dangerous, dealing with alternative conceptions without corrections is just as dangerous. Prior knowledge should serve a strong foundation for future learning, thus alternative conceptions should be corrected. This descriptive study aimed to find out the alternative conceptions of Grade 10 students in biology. The respondents were 300 randomly selected Grade 10 students from urban and rural schools during the school year 2016-2017. To determine students' alternative conceptions, a researcher-made Biology Alternative Conceptions Inventory (BACI) instrument was utilized. Focus group discussion and interview methods were utilized to triangulate the data regarding the sources of alternative conceptions. Mean percentage and standard deviation were the descriptive statistics while t-test for independent samples was the inferential statistics employed. The results revealed that students have High alternative conceptions in the following topics. Biodiversity and Evolution, Cells, Ecosystems, Genetics, Biological Organization, Organ Systems, Photosynthesis & Respiration, and Reproduction. A significant difference between rural and urban schools existed on the students' conceptual knowledge for the following topics: Cells and Reproduction, with respondents from rural schools scoring higher; Ecosystems and Biological Organization with respondents from urban schools scoring higher. Similarly, significant difference between schools existed on topics about Cells, Genetics, and Taxonomy for their reasoning, with respondents from rural schools with higher scores. The teacher, teaching strategies, internet, language, learner's module, traditional and religious beliefs were found to be the common sources of alternative conceptions among students.