University students' conceptions about the concept of gene: Interest of historical approach

Boujemaa Agorram (1) , Pierre Clement (2) , Sabah Selmaoui (1) , Salah Edine Khzami (1) , Jamal Chafik (3) , Abdellatif Chiadli (4)

1 École normale supérieure [ENS] - Marrakech
2 EA S2HEP - Sciences et Société ; Historicité, Éducation et Pratiques
3 Faculty of Science Education, Centre International de Pédagogie et de Gestion Universitaires, Rabat, Morocco
4 Faculty of Science Education, Centre International de Pédagogie et de Gestion Universitaires, Rabat, Morocco

Concepts of genetics are often difficult to teach, specifically the central concept of gene. Even the scientists disagree when defining this concept. This paper investigates university students' understanding about the gene and its functions. The results show the dominance of two conceptions of the gene: the Neoclassical model and the Mendelian model. The existence of hybrid conceptions and the lack of the modern model show that students are unable to mobilize the knowledge taught in biology. These results suggest to improve the teaching methods of genetics, for instance, by developing activities that bring students face to face with their conceptions.

Mots clés: gene concept; gene functions; genetic determinism; historical models; students' conceptions

Domaines: Education; Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Boujemaa Agorram, Pierre Clement, Sabah Selmaoui, Salah Edine Khzami, Jamal Chafik, et al.. University students' conceptions about the concept of gene: Interest of historical approach. US-China Education Review, ISSN 1548-6613, USA, 2010, 7 (2), pp.9 - 15. ⟨hal-01024976⟩