title: Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates' Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment.
abstract: This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this allowed us to systematically investigate their problem-solving procedures. We identified a range of procedures and organized them as domain general, domain specific, or hybrid. We also identified domain-general and domain-specific errors made by students during problem solving. We found that students use domain-general and hybrid procedures more frequently when solving lower-order problems than higher-order problems, while they use domain-specific procedures more frequently when solving higher-order problems. Additionally, the more domain-specific procedures students used, the higher the likelihood that they would answer the problem correctly, up to five procedures. However, if students used just one domain-general procedure, they were as likely to answer the problem correctly as if they had used two to five domain-general procedures. Our findings provide a categorization scheme and framework for additional research on biology problem solving and suggest several important implications for researchers and instructors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620.
authors.forename: Luanna B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Prevost
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 plemons@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Paula P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Lemons
mesh_terms: D001695:Biology / Q000193:education*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011340:Problem Solving; D013334:Students; D013850:Thinking; D014956:Writing