Elementary School Teachers에 Conceptions on Cell

초등학교 교사들의 세포에 대한 개념

The purpose of this study is to investigate degree of the concept formation on cell in elementary school teachers and to clarify the patterns of their misconceptions. Data were collected by interview with 120 elementary school teachers, ranged from twenties to fifties in age, working in Taegu city. The instrument was developed by researchers and was categorized into four: cell as the basic units of life, morphology of cell, function of cell, growth of individual from the viewpoint of cell. The results are as follows: First, about 80% of teachers had two perspective outcome of cell: Cells are the basic units of life on earth. But the potato and meat, which we used to eat as food, are not constructed of cells but aggregated of nutrients. Second, most of elementary school teachers recognized that shapes of the cell in organisms were diverse, but some of them only could present several kinds of shape on cell. The 35% of teachers had misconception that shape of cell is all the same in a individual. It shows that this result is caused by lack of opportunity to observe the various kinds of cells. Third, most teachers understood tell can be seen only through a microscope. Yet in comparison with relative size, it was revealed that misconception of cell size was induced by the term of 'basic unit'. In addition, they thought that large organisms are built from large cells, and small organisms from small cells. Fourth, Elementary school teachers used to confuse the terms between chloroplast and chlorophyll, and believed that the genetic material was contained only in the reproductive cells and seeds. It was also revealed that they thought the nutrients such as starch and fat are located at intercellular space. Fifth, the 60% of teachers conceived correctly that growth of individual depends on mitosis and increase in cell number. The rest of them, however, misunderstood that it is due to the increase of tell volume.