Revealing Student Knowledge of the Cell Through Student-Generated Drawings!
Marci Lessman1 , Lisa Montplaisir2 , Tara Slominski2 , 1 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University , 2 Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University!
# of Students"
# of students"
56!
60!
45!
50!
53!
43!
41!
35!
40!
Bottom 5%" 20!
30!
20!
3!
10!
3!
Top 5%"
19!
13!
12!
5!
4!
2!
2!
40!
38!
35!
30!
21!
25!
20!
15!
1!
2!
3!
4!
5!
6!
7!
8!
9!
10!
11!
12!
13!
14!
15!
10!
5!
Cell Wall Only!
14!
1!
12!
1!
3!
10!
26 Total Incorrect
Structures" 1!
8!
6!
12!
3!
4!
2!
3!
1!
0!
0!
1!
8!
9!
6!
1!
1!
1!
3!
2!
3!
Cell Wall, Membrane,
Vacuole, and
Chloroplasts!
Vacuole Only!
"
1!
3!
1!
•  Include & label significant parts "
Cell Wall, Membrane,
and Vacuole!
Plant Cell
9!
6!
1!
Student Examples"
2 Total Incorrect
Structures"
2!
12!
1!
!
Figure 5. Grouped Non-Animal Cell Structures per Student Drawing"
"
§  n = 73 !
§  Cell membrane and vacuole included to clearly distinguish between animal
and non-animal cells!
§  62 students clearly depicted a non-animal cell (with a cell wall)!
§  Student examples (below) include 2 or more non-animal cell components!
2!
3!
2!
Non-Animal Cell Components"
3-5 Incorrect Structures!
2 Incorrect Structures!
1 Incorrect Structure!
4!
Drawing Question!
16!
Cell Membrane and
Vacuole!
16!
!
Figure 1. Correctly Labeled Structures per Student Drawing"
"
§  Mean = 7.92 Basic Cell Structures
!!
§  Standard Deviation = 2.82!
§  Middle 90% of students within 1.7 standard deviations of the mean!
§  Outer 10% of student drawings further analyzed in Figure 3 and Figure 4!
!
18!
Student
Example !
3!
0!
# of correctly labeled cell structures"
1!
Student
Examples
1 & 2!
10!
Cell Wall and Membrane!
0!
Human Anatomy and Physiology with drawing as a weekly assignment !
429 student drawings collected prior to instruction on cells!
Students given 5-10 minutes to complete drawings!
Voluntary participation!
Start by drawing a cell "
70!
0!
Methods!
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
73!
80!
# of drawings with
incorrect structures"
Student-generated drawings:!
§  Can reveal what students are thinking1. !
§  Allows students to demonstrate their knowledge in a spatial form2 versus
linear form, as in text or a verbal explanation. !
§  Reveal student difficulties3 which is helpful for both the student and the
instructor in assessing student difficulties with basic cell structure in Human
Anatomy and Physiology.!
Student drawings were coded to answer the following questions:!
!
1.  Do students who draw more correctly labeled cell structures represent
those structure in a more in-depth and anatomically correct manner?"
"
2.  How likely are students to draw non-animal cell characteristics?"
Non-Animal Cell Structures!
Basic Cell Structures!
Why Drawings?!
4!
5!
6!
7!
8!
9!
10!
11!
12!
1!
13!
14!
15!
16!
# of correctly labeled cell structures"
Which parts are involved in the following typical cell activities? "
•  Protein synthesis
""
•  Distribution of materials "
•  Energy transformation "
•  Communication with other cells "
•  Acquisition of materials & removal of wastes " •  Structural support"
"
"
"
2!
!
Figure 2. Incorrect Structures per Correctly Labeled Cell Structure Group"
"
§  n = 98; 70 drawings in the group contained only 1 incorrect cell structure!
!
§  Rubric quantified the number of correct and incorrect cell structures !
§  Cell structures refers to all organelles, supporting fluids, protein structures,
membranes, and membrane projections depicted.!
§  Rubric was applicable to all cell types!
30!
4!
25!
14!
15!
10!
10!
10!
5!
5!
3!
2!
2!
2!
1!
Golgi App.!
Nucleolus!
DNA/
Chromatin!
Lysosomes!
Cytoplasm!
0!
Nucleus!
Cell
Mitochondria!
Membrane!
Cell Wall!
Ribosomes!
Basic Cell Organelles"
Student Example 1"
§  1 Correct Structure !
§  2 Incorrect Structures!
§  Depicts basic cell structure!
§  Utilizes use of simple circles and lines
!!
!
Student Example 2"
§  9 Correct Structures!
§  1 Incorrect Structure!
§  Most structures correctly identified but
not depicted in a correct relationship
with other structures!
3"
Conclusions!
§  Students clearly struggle with physiology. Of the 429 drawings collected, no
students answered the physiology portion of the question.!
§  Drawings in the top 5% show more in-depth and detailed cell representations.!
§  4 or more cell components with minimal incorrect structures were represented
by 95% of students. !
§  Student drawings in the bottom 5% do not represent accurate knowledge of
the cell!
§  Some students may be having difficulties differentiating between the cell wall
and cell membrane (see Figure 5)!
§  3 student drawings clearly depicted non-animal cells!
26!
20!
2"
6!
Tail End Groups!
# of students"
Rubric!
1"
!
Figure 3. Student Drawings in the Bottom 5%"
"
§  n = 31; 10 basic cell structures present within the population!
§  83.9% of population depicted the nucleus in their drawing!
§  No other structures indicated a clear majority within the population!
7!
Cited Literature!
# of Students"
1.  Ranaweera, Sisika Priyani Nelum, and Lisa Marie Montplaisir. “Students’ illustrations of the Human Nerbous
System as a Formative Assessment Tool.” Anatomical Sciences Education 3.5 (2010): 227-233.!
35!
30!
25!
20!
15!
10!
5!
33!33!33!32!32! 31!31! 30!30!
2.  Gobert, Janice D., and John J. Clement. “Effects of Student-Generated Diagrams versus Student-Generated
Summaries on Conceptual Understanding of Casual and Dynamic Knowledge in Plate Tectonics.” Journal of
Research in Science Teaching 36.1 (1999): 39-53.!
Structures present in bottom 5%!
26! 25!
Structures present in top 5%!
16!
11!
3.  Flores, Fernando, Ma Eugenia Tovar, and Leticia Gallegos. “Representation of the cell and its processes in
high school students: an integrated view.” International Journal of Science Education 25.2 (2003): 269-286.!
8! 8! 7! 6!
4! 4! 4! 3! 3! 3! 3! 3! 2! 2! 2! 2!
1! 1! 1! 1! 1!
0!
Acknowledgements!
Student Example 3"
§  16 Correct Structures!
§  Does not contain any incorrectly
labeled structures!
§  Cell structures are labeled in-depth
(structures within structures) and with
detail!
Basic Cell Organelles"
Thank you to the Fall 2012 NDSU Human Anatomy and Physiology students, North Dakota State University,
and fellow CiDER REU faculty and students.!
!
Figure 4. Student Drawings in the Top 5%"
"
§  n = 33; 34 basic cell structures present within the population!
§  100% of population depicted mitochondria, ribosomes, and the golgi
apparatus in their drawing!
3!
!
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF DUE-1156974. Any opinions, findings,
conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
National Science Foundation.!
5!