Android tablet applications for lower secondary education to promote understanding of Mendelian inheritance and dominant and recessive traits

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  • タブレットを用いたシミュレーション活動が中学校理科での遺伝の規則性の学習と優性の概念へ与える影響
  • タブレット オ モチイタ シミュレーション カツドウ ガ チュウガッコウ リカ デ ノ イデン ノ キソクセイ ノ ガクシュウ ト ユウセイ ノ ガイネン エ アタエル エイキョウ

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Abstract

<p>In order to promote information and communications technology (ICT) education, demand for the development of tablet-learning materials continues to increase. In this study, we created two simulations for teaching “genetic regularity and genes” in a lower secondary school science class. The first application simulated following genetic regularity. When parents have genotypes of heterozygotes, the ratio of offspring genotypes is “dominant homozygotes: heterozygotes: recessive homozygotes” = “1: 2: 1” and the ratio of offspring traits is “dominant traits: recessive traits” = “3: 1.” When our tablet application was used in the class, students were able to create more offspring genotypes and to get more accuracy results from simulation as compared to the general method of using chopsticks. Our second application was a simulation showing that the terms of a “dominance” trait or a “recessive” trait is not related to the selective advantage or disadvantage of the individual. The industrial melanism of a species of moth was provided as an example. In this simulation, it was assumed that the dominant and recessive traits were black and white body colors, respectively. The application simulated the likelihood of survival of the moths. The black (white) moths were at an advantage for survival when the background color was black (white), whereas they were at a disadvantage for survival when the background was white (black). We expected that using the application would help the students to realize that the terms “dominance” and “recessive” are not related to selective advantage or disadvantage. When our tablet application was used in the class, most of the students were able to reach the conclusion that a dominant trait was not necessarily mean a selective advantageous trait. However, as a result of questionnaire survey, the students’ misconception for dominance and recessive was not revised.</p>

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