Spontaneous Anthropocentric Language Use in University Students' Explanations of Biological Concepts Varies by Topic and Predicts Misconception Agreement.

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Auteurs principaux: Nielson, Catie, Pitt, Emma, Fux, Michal, Nesnera, Kristin de, Betz, Nicole, S Leffers, Jessica, Tanner, Kimberly D, Coley, John D
Format: Artículo científico
Langue:en
Publié: CBE life sciences education 2025
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author Nielson, Catie
Pitt, Emma
Fux, Michal
Nesnera, Kristin de
Betz, Nicole
S Leffers, Jessica
Tanner, Kimberly D
Coley, John D
author_facet Nielson, Catie
Pitt, Emma
Fux, Michal
Nesnera, Kristin de
Betz, Nicole
S Leffers, Jessica
Tanner, Kimberly D
Coley, John D
Nielson, Catie
Pitt, Emma
Fux, Michal
Nesnera, Kristin de
Betz, Nicole
S Leffers, Jessica
Tanner, Kimberly D
Coley, John D
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Spontaneous Anthropocentric Language Use in University Students' Explanations of Biological Concepts Varies by Topic and Predicts Misconception Agreement. Nielson, Catie Pitt, Emma Fux, Michal Nesnera, Kristin de Betz, Nicole S Leffers, Jessica Tanner, Kimberly D Coley, John D Humans Students Universities Biology Language Female Male Thinking Young Adult Comprehension Concept Formation Previous research has shown that students employ intuitive thinking when understanding scientific concepts. Three types of intuitive thinking-essentialist, teleological, and anthropic thinking-are used in biology learning and can lead to misconceptions. However, it is unknown how commonly these types of intuitive thinking, or cognitive construals, are used spontaneously in students' explanations across biological concepts and whether this usage is related to endorsement of construal-consistent misconceptions. In this study, we examined how frequently undergraduate students across two U.S. universities ( = 807) used construal-consistent language (CCL) to explain in response to open-ended questions related to five core biology concepts (e.g., evolution), how CCL use differed by concept, and how this usage was related to misconceptions agreement. We found that the majority of students used some kind of CCL in the responses to these open-ended questions and that CCL use varied by target concept. We also found that students who used CCL in their response agreed more strongly with misconception statements, a relationship driven by anthropocentric language use, or language that focused on humans. These findings suggest that American university students use intuitive thinking when reasoning about biological concepts with implications for their understanding.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_39808720
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher CBE life sciences education
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Spontaneous Anthropocentric Language Use in University Students' Explanations of Biological Concepts Varies by Topic and Predicts Misconception Agreement.
Nielson, Catie
Pitt, Emma
Fux, Michal
Nesnera, Kristin de
Betz, Nicole
S Leffers, Jessica
Tanner, Kimberly D
Coley, John D
Humans
Students
Universities
Biology
Language
Female
Male
Thinking
Young Adult
Comprehension
Concept Formation
Spontaneous Anthropocentric Language Use in University Students' Explanations of Biological Concepts Varies by Topic and Predicts Misconception Agreement. Nielson, Catie Pitt, Emma Fux, Michal Nesnera, Kristin de Betz, Nicole S Leffers, Jessica Tanner, Kimberly D Coley, John D Humans Students Universities Biology Language Female Male Thinking Young Adult Comprehension Concept Formation Previous research has shown that students employ intuitive thinking when understanding scientific concepts. Three types of intuitive thinking-essentialist, teleological, and anthropic thinking-are used in biology learning and can lead to misconceptions. However, it is unknown how commonly these types of intuitive thinking, or cognitive construals, are used spontaneously in students' explanations across biological concepts and whether this usage is related to endorsement of construal-consistent misconceptions. In this study, we examined how frequently undergraduate students across two U.S. universities ( = 807) used construal-consistent language (CCL) to explain in response to open-ended questions related to five core biology concepts (e.g., evolution), how CCL use differed by concept, and how this usage was related to misconceptions agreement. We found that the majority of students used some kind of CCL in the responses to these open-ended questions and that CCL use varied by target concept. We also found that students who used CCL in their response agreed more strongly with misconception statements, a relationship driven by anthropocentric language use, or language that focused on humans. These findings suggest that American university students use intuitive thinking when reasoning about biological concepts with implications for their understanding.
title Spontaneous Anthropocentric Language Use in University Students' Explanations of Biological Concepts Varies by Topic and Predicts Misconception Agreement.
topic Humans
Students
Universities
Biology
Language
Female
Male
Thinking
Young Adult
Comprehension
Concept Formation
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39808720/