PQI6023: CURICULUM,TEACHING AND ASSESMENT OF

CELL BIOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT 2: STRATERGIES AND APPROACHES IN

TEACHING CELL BIOLOGY

NOORUL AMIRAH BINTI ABDUL ZALIL

PQI180216
 Strategies and approaches in teaching Cell Biology

The invention of the microscope allowed the first view of cells. English physicist and microscopist
Robert Hooke (1635–1702) first described cells in 1665. Hooke was not alone in discovering cells and
not realizing their significance. Grew, an English physician, described plant tissues as bladders
clustered together (Wolpert, 1996).Across time the understanding of the cell biology developed
tremendously aided by the evolution of the microscope and the emerging technology which leads to
a better understanding of the cells’ physiology and its function. For the past decade the theory of cell
biology has been thought in schools and universities. Understanding the concept of cell is a foundation
in learning biology. The ability to understand the physiology of the cell in depth aid in understanding
diseases and subsequently influencing preference in making choices related to nutrition and health.
Cell biology is considered as a basic topic in learning biology however it is still a hard to teach and
learned topic. A study on grade 7 students in India shows that majority of the students involved in the
study failed to understand the concept of respiration and energy production within a cell (Vijapurkar,
2014).This is due to several factors which emerged from student’s prior knowledge and the design of
the pedagogy. This includes the difficulty of the students to see the small dimension of the cell and
relating the structure of the cell to the function. In order to enhance the understanding of the cell
biology it is vital for the teachers to plan strategies to overcome these difficulties so that it creates a
meaningful learning with lasting impact. This includes modifying the pedagogy, changing the
classroom environment and improving the engagement in classroom.

The design of pedagogy has an important role in ensuring the ability of a teacher to achieve a
learning outcome. Constant research on own pedagogical design capacity will help in improving
teaching technique. In learning cell biology most of the secondary school students view the topic of
“the living cell” as an abstract idea and failed to understand how cells are alive and functions (Dreyfus
and Jungwirth, 1988).Lazarowitz and Naim in 2013 found that instructing the students to build a three
dimensional (3-D) models aid in overcoming the problems related to failure in seeing the three
dimension of a cell. It was observed that students who built a 3-D model of a cell as they were thought,
achieved significantly high scores on high and low cognitive questions related to cell, as compared to
the students who learn cell structures through drawings and microscopic slides (Lazarowitz and Naim,
2012).Also, applying hand held model are found to be more useful than computer simulations (White
et al, 1998).Furthermore, research shows that demonstrating using large physical model is effective
in portraying dynamic cellular process (O’Dowd and Aguilar-Roca,2009).This is also observed to be
more effective as compared to animations and clicker questions. Besides that, research that integrate
hand build model and computer simulation shows enhanced understanding of 3-D chemical structure
in learning chemistry (Barnea and Dori, 1999).This can also applicable in learning the concept of cell
biology. In addition, building a 3-D model requires a deep understanding and active learning.
Therefore, the students will be able to understand the concept without misconception and difficulties.

Despite learning through 3-D model it is important for the teachers to emphasize the organelles
inside the cells as a part of the lesson. For instance, explaining the layers in a nucleus and the structure
of the cytosol enables the students to see that most of the organelles contain water. Hence, the cell
should be 3–D and carries various physiological process (Vijapurkar, 2014).It is agreed that in most
traditional classroom the cell experiment involve observing cheek cells and onion cells. This may
reinforce the misconception that the cells are 2-D (Clement, 2005).Varying the examples of animal
and plant cells may help in explaining to the students that there are variety of cells with different
shapes and has specific function. For example, the experiments may involve cells from flowers, meat,
fruits and many others. Another reasons of why many students have an abstract ideas regarding cells
is due to failure in making connection between the structure and their function. For instance, relating
the function of the “tail” in sperm cells (Figure 1) to the ability of the cell to swim and reach the ovum
for fertilisation. This enhance the understanding and help to develop the understanding of cell as a
functional unit.

Figure 1:The labelled diagram of a sperm cell

 Moving to the 21st century learning the education system aims to prepare students to become
active, successful and contribute to the society. Thus, it involves the innovation in teaching styles
which emphasize the student centred learning. This is highly applicable in teaching cell biology as
students are responsible of their own learning and the possibility of misconception due to the
teacher’s explanation could be reduced. Therefore it requires teachers to change the teaching styles
and move to more engaging activities such as promoting cooperative learning, learning through
posters, case studies, concept mapping and debates. Furthermore, due to different learning styles
among students it is important for teachers to use multiple teaching styles in order to keep every
students engaged in the classroom activity. For instance, practising cooperative learning in teaching
could be a helpful approaches. Cooperative learning is agreed to be one of the best pedagogical
strategies over a 1000 research studies (Johnson et al,2000).It has a positive impact on students’
achievements and improve the attitude towards subject matter (Springer et al,1999; CLC,2003).This is
helpful in learning cell biology especially when dealing with microscopes and diagrams. Students can
work in small groups or in pairs to get a correct view under a microscope and share their findings with
their colleagues. Eventually, this will aid the students in learning how to use the microscope and
encourage a healthy intellectual discussion among them regarding the subject matter. This will aid the
students in viewing the small dimension of the cell. However, in applying cooperative learning it is
important for the teacher to have a clear instruction and task division in order to make sure that every
student gets a benefit from the session.

Besides that learning through doing posters for cell biology aid in improving the understanding of
the subject matter. It develops the designing and presentation skills of the students despite promoting
deeper understanding (Veselinovska et al, 2011).Using case studies is also an interesting approaches
in learning cell biology. The careful design of a cell biology case study will help the students to relate
the structure of the cell to its function. A good case study should allow the students to relate the case
study to their daily life. As an example, a case study involving the absence of organelles (e.g.:
mitochondria) can be given to the students. This will require the students to analyse the function of
mitochondria as a site for cellular respiration and further discuss the malfunction and absence. This
will promote higher order thinking skills and enhance the values of a good scientist. Furthermore,
using concept mapping in cell biology is a useful technique. Concept mapping motivates students to
represent their understanding in a graphical way. Students are often confused with the structure and
function of different cells, by using concept mapping technique it is much easier to see the differences
and similarities (Figure 2).
 Figure 2: Concept map showing the comparison between animal and plant cells.

Also, the technique of concept mapping could be used as an assessment method in which the students
could be asked to design a concept map based on their understanding. By doing this the teacher can
assess the students’ understanding.

In conclusion, the teaching of cell biology requires innovation to suit the 21st century learning styles
and to overcome the weakness of the traditional teaching method. The improvement in pedagogical
design will shape a different paradigm of understanding among students and helps them to achieve
better. Therefore implementing various teaching approaches is a responsibility of a teacher to ensure
meaningful learning in the classroom.
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