Browsing by Author "Sommad, Suad"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Begreppsförståelse i biologiundervisning. Undervisningsmetoder för att främja begreppsförståelse i biologi för elever i högstadieskolan och gymnasieskolan.
(2024-11-18) Sommad, Suad; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Institutionen för biologi och miljövetenskap
Biology is one of the science subjects taught in Swedish schools, along with physics and chemistry. A significant part of biology education focuses on being able to communicate concepts and use them in new contexts. At the same time, these concepts are often perceived as complex and difficult by many students. This makes it important for teachers to have the knowledge necessary to promote conceptual understanding in biology education, thereby improving teaching and helping students succeed in biology. Previous research has shown that a lack of conceptual understanding among students is one of the main reasons for low performance in science subjects, including biology in both secondary school and upper secondary school. This literature review investigates which teaching methods teachers can use to promote students´ conceptual understanding in biology. To answer the research question in this literature review, a literature search was conducted in the ERIC and Scopus databases, resulting in the inclusion and analysis of 12 research articles. The findings reveal various teaching methods that have a positive impact on students´ conceptual understanding in biology. Most methods highlighted the importance of making abstract concepts less unfamiliar to students by first and foremost taking students´ prior knowledge into account in teaching, as well as using different approaches to work with these concepts in biology education.
Främjande av elevernas begreppsförståelse i biologi. En intervjustudie om högstadie- och gymnasielärares undervisningsmetoder
Sommad, Suad; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Institutionen för biologi och miljövetenskap
Previous research shows that students may experience difficulties in developing an understanding of concepts in the subject of biology. This can be related to the subject’s level of abstraction and complexity, students’ misconceptions, as well as teachers’ choices of instructional methods. These factors may result in students becoming unmotivated to learn the subject. Since knowledge of concepts constitutes a central part of biology education, it is important for future subject teachers to be able to identify how teachers work to promote conceptual understanding in biology. This qualitative interview study investigates how teachers work to support students understanding of biological concepts. In other words, the study examines which teaching methods teachers report using and how they describe their didactic choices in relation to student motivation. To collect data, seven biology teachers at the lower and upper secondary school levels were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The transcribed material was analysed using thematic analysis. The 5E- and 7E instructional models, as well as Self-Determination Theory (SDT), were used as frameworks to interpret the results. From the thematic analysis, one key result was identified: teachers’ didactic choices, along with three themes, teacher-centred activities, student-centred activities and activities that include both teacher – and student-centred approaches. The result shows that teachers use a variety of teaching methods and approaches to support students conceptual understanding. Teachers connect concepts to students’ everyday experiences and break down concepts to make them more concrete and easier to understand. They use practical approaches, games and competitions, as well as digital and interactive tools to engage and motivate students to learn the concepts. The findings also indicate that teachers emphasize the importance of varying their teaching methods to reach as many students as possible.