Teaching Cell Biology in Primary Schools

Abstract EN

Basic concepts of cell biology are essential for scientific literacy.

However, because many aspects of cell theory and cell functioning are quite abstract, students experience difficulties understanding them.

In this study, we investigated whether diverse teaching resources such as the use of replicas of Leeuwenhoek’s microscope, visualization of cells using an optical microscope, construction of three-dimensional cell models, and reading of a comic book about cells could mitigate the difficulties encountered when teaching cell biology to 8th-grade primary school students.

The results suggest that these didactic activities improve students’ ability to learn concrete concepts about cell biology, such as the composition of living beings, growth, and cicatrization.

Also, the development of skills was observed, as, for example, the notion of cell size.

However, no significant improvements were observed in students’ ability to learn about abstract topics, such as the structures of subcellular organelles and their functions.

These results suggest that many students in this age have not yet concluded Piaget’s concrete operational stage, indicating that the concepts required for the significant learning of abstract subjects need to be explored more thoroughly in the process of designing programs that introduce primary school students to cell biology.