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Reflecting on Graphs: Attributes of Graph Choice and Construction Practices in Biology.
Aakanksha Angra1, Stephanie M Gardner2
1School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332.
CBE Life Sciences Education
|August 20, 2017
Summary
Undergraduate biology students struggle with graphing compared to graduate students and professors. Experts plan data before graphing and focus on function, unlike students who rely on intuition.
Area of Science:
- Biology Education
- Scientific Visualization
Background:
- Effective graphing is crucial for biological sciences, requiring quantitative and disciplinary skills.
- Previous research highlights student graphing difficulties but lacks insight into reasoning.
- The metarepresentational competence framework guides the investigation of graphing expertise.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in graphing reasoning and quality among undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors.
- To identify specific areas of difficulty and expertise in scientific graphing.
Main Methods:
- Think-aloud interviews were conducted with participants from different academic levels.
- A pen-and-paper graphing task was used to assess graphing practices.
- Participant reasoning and graph quality were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Professors consistently planned data before constructing graphs.
- Graduate students and professors focused on graph function and experimental design during reflection.
- Undergraduate students often relied on intuition and meticulously plotted all data without transformation.
Conclusions:
- Significant differences exist in graphing reasoning and approaches across academic levels.
- Expert graphers transform data and align graphs with research questions, considering statistics and sample size.
- Findings offer targets for improving undergraduate and graduate biology education in scientific graphing.
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