International Journal of Science Education

ISSN: 0950-0693 (Print) 1464-5289 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsed20

The Effects of Using Concept Mapping for

Improving Advanced Level Biology Students'
Lower- and Higher-Order Cognitive Skills
Sharon Bramwell-Lalor & Marcia Rainford
To cite this article: Sharon Bramwell-Lalor & Marcia Rainford (2014) The Effects of Using
Concept Mapping for Improving Advanced Level Biology Students' Lower- and HigherOrder Cognitive Skills, International Journal of Science Education, 36:5, 839-864, DOI:
10.1080/09500693.2013.829255
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.829255

Published online: 19 Aug 2013.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 553

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tsed20
Download by: [Universiti Sains Malaysia]

Date: 25 December 2015, At: 04:19

International Journal of Science Education, 2014

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Vol. 36, No. 5, 839 864, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.829255

The Effects of Using Concept Mapping

for Improving Advanced Level Biology
Students Lower- and Higher-Order
Cognitive Skills
Sharon Bramwell-Lalora and Marcia Rainfordb
a

Science Department, Browns Town Community College, Browns Town, Jamaica;

School of Education, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica

This paper reports on teachers use of concept mapping as an alternative assessment strategy in
advanced level biology classes and its effects on students cognitive skills on selected biology
concepts. Using a mixed methods approach, the study employed a pre-test/post-test quasiexperimental design involving 156 students and 8 teachers from intact classes. A researcherconstructed Biology Cognitive Skills Test was used to collect the quantitative data. Qualitative
data were collected through interviews and students personal documents. The data showed that
the participants utilized concept mapping in various ways and they described positive experiences
while being engaged in its use. The main challenge cited by teachers was the limited time
available for more consistent use. The results showed that the use of concept mapping in
advanced level biology can lead to learning gains that exceed those achieved in classes where
mainly traditional methods are used. The students in the concept mapping experimental
groups performed significantly better than their peers in the control group on both the lowerorder (F(1) 21.508; p , .001) and higher-order (F(1) 42.842, p , .001) cognitive items of
the biology test. A mean effect size of .56 was calculated representing the contribution of
treatment to the students performance on the test items.

Keywords: Alternative assessment; Concept mapping; Formative assessment; Higher-order

cognitive skills; Lower-order cognitive skills

Corresponding author. School of Education, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7,
Jamaica. Email: marciarainford@gmail.com
# 2013 Taylor & Francis

840 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Introduction
Enrollment trends in higher education in the Caribbean and elsewhere reveal that
although the number of students pursuing tertiary education continues to increase,
fewer students register for science programmes than for non-science programmes.
It would seem that comparatively fewer students are considering pursuing science
as a viable career path than business and other options from the social sciences
(National Science Board, 2012; University of the West Indies [UWI], n.d.). At the
secondary level, many students have shied away from doing science as there is wide
spread perception that this is hard, partly because of the abstract nature of many
science concepts and the large number of concepts they are required to understand.
The difficulties students encounter learning these abstract concepts have been
further exacerbated by inappropriate teaching and assessment techniques which do
not facilitate the development of higher-order thinking and conceptual change.
Some of these higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) have been flagged as areas for
improvement based on biology students performance on the Caribbean Advanced
Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). The 2011 CAPE results revealed percentage
passes of 81.39, 93.42 and 80.90 for Unit 1 chemistry, physics and biology, respectively. However, based on the quality of the responses to examination questions,
biology teachers and examiners for CAPE have raised concerns about the students
ability to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking and application of knowledge in new contexts. For example, the report for candidates performance on Unit 1, Module 3, question 3 from the June 2011 examination stated
Transcribing data from a graph into a table format and interpreting data, as expected for
Parts (b) (i), (ii) and (iii), were both well done. However, most candidates scored zero for
Part (b) (iv), signalling that development of critical thinking skills is needed. (Caribbean
Examinations Council, 2011, p. 2)

In commenting on the performance on question 6 from the same examination

paper, the report indicated that For Part (a) (ii), while many candidates seemed to
understand what was required, several had difficulties in using their knowledge to
explain the immunological process and simply stated information (Caribbean Examinations Council, 2011, p. 2). In the specific recommendations for teachers, the report
indicated that
While factual knowledge is important, such knowledge cannot be readily applied if there
is little or no understanding of the basic principles. The absence of such understanding is
evident in the poor responses to questions requiring some critical thinking or synthesis of
information. (Caribbean Examinations Council, 2011, p. 2)

The comparatively low percentage of candidates who obtained the highest grades of
I III for CAPE biology seems to support these assertions. For the 2011 examinations,
only 47.19% of the candidates scored grades I III for Unit 1 biology (Caribbean
Examinations Council).
Cognitive skills have been classified into lower-order and higher-order skills. Zoller
(2002) defines lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS) as simply knowing (i.e. basic recall

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 841

of memorized information) or applying basic information to familiar situations.
HOCS are sometimes linked to the skills beyond the comprehension level in
Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives in the cognitive domain (Jackson &
Soyibo, 2002). HOCS has been used as an encompassing term that includes activities requiring critical and evaluative thinking, decision-making and problem-solving
(Zoller & Pushkin, 2007), as well as the ability to transfer learning to other situations
(Kretchmar, 2008). Based on our experiences as science educators at secondary and
post-secondary institutions we have concluded that science students easily grasp
concepts that involve the use of LOCS but have difficulty moving beyond this type
of learning to apply their knowledge and solve problems.
The demand for mastery of these higher-order skills becomes even more critical as
students transition from introductory to advanced level courses in secondary schools
and undergraduate programmes, as they are essential for science career advancement
(Parker & Gerber, 2000; Zohar & Dori, 2003). However, many teachers are not sure
of how to help students to develop these skills. The difference in the required levels of
thinking between lower and upper secondary grades is so wide that many advanced
level science students struggle to maintain the degree of success that they enjoyed
during their lower secondary years of schooling. Many times the expected shift in
thinking is not fully understood by students, and teachers do not necessarily focus
on helping them to recognize the gaps between their performance and the required
standards.
The Caribbean Examinations Councils grading scheme for CAPE recognizes
Grades I V as passing grades. Students who are awarded a Grade I have demonstrated an excellent grasp of the principles, concepts and skills in the syllabus, and
are able to competently apply these to problem situations. On the other hand, those
students who are awarded a Grade V are competent in these skills but only at the
minimum acceptable level. One can infer from this that students who score a Grade
I have demonstrated exceptional competence in HOCS. An analysis of the CAPE
Unit I biology results from 2007 to 2011 indicates that only an average of 18.7% of
the Caribbean students achieved Grade 1. The Unit II results were slightly higher
in that 25.7% of the students who received passing grades earned a Grade 1. Selvaratnam and Mavuso (2010) reported that first-year university students in South Africa
lacked relevant skills needed to assimilate scientific concepts and relationships implying that these skills were not acquired in secondary schools.
It is, therefore, not surprising that many studies have focused on how to improve the
learning outcomes of science students with respect to their application skills (Parker &
Gerber, 2000; Stanger-Hall, 2012; Woolnough, McLaughlin, & Jackson, 1999; Zohar
& Dori, 2003). The reality as suggested by McCaslin and Good (1992) is that often
there is non-alignment between a curriculums stated goals and course characteristics
that should demand and support students use of HOCS. In other words, there seems
to be gaps between curricular goals, what and how teachers teach, and the learning
outcomes displayed by their students.
The issue of concern, then, is whether current teaching and assessment practices
promote students HOCS. Many science educators and researchers do not think

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

842 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

that they do (Arburn & Bethel, 1999; Berenson, 1995; Stanger-Hall, 2012). Bol and
Strage (1996) believe that teaching and assessment methods have traditionally been
directed towards the mastery of content which requires only LOCS, rather than
improving critical thinking skills. This is due in part to the traditional approach to
science teaching which is commonly based on lectures aimed at presenting large
amounts of content in a short time. The development of students HOCS requires
strategies where learners are given opportunities to develop knowledge structures or
representations that will allow them to retrieve and use the information in the future.
Various researchers have argued that a major reason for the apparent mismatch
between teaching and the level of learning that is desired from students rests with
assessment (Ennever 2006; Gallagher, 1991; Gottfried & Kyle, 1992; Kahn, 2000).
Silva (2009) points out that teaching and encouraging students to utilize higherorder thinking skills is necessary but it is difficult to find experienced and qualified teachers to effectively do this. Ennever (2006), Gallagher (1991) and Kahn (2000) found
that the assessment tasks of secondary school science and English teachers were dominated by multiple choice and short answer item-type items that required recognizing,
memorizing and recalling facts, rather than understanding and applying information.
However, research into teaching and learning now points to the significant success
that formative assessment or assessment for learning strategies have on improving
learning outcomes (Gardner, 2006). Furthermore, formative assessment strategies
have been shown to be feasible for administration in different classrooms and
require a redistribution of effort rather than more effort by teachers (Black, Harrison,
Lee, Marshall, & Wiliam, 2003a). We are, therefore, proposing that one of the reasons
why we may not be seeing the desired evidence of learning in Jamaican advanced level
biology students is that current classroom assessment practices are not targeting the
desired knowledge and skills. In recognition of the apparent non-alignment
between science teaching and students low display of HOCS, recent studies have
called for teaching and assessment strategies that will allow the development of students HOCS (Salih, 2010; Zoller & Pushkin, 2007). One alternative assessment
strategy that has been widely described as being suited for improving students understanding is concept mapping, a technique which was developed by Joseph Novak and
his colleagues at Cornell University. Novak (1979) described concept mapping as a
technique for externalizing concepts and propositions. The concept maps are drawings or diagrams which show how students think concepts are related as it provides
a record of students mental schemata (Angelo & Cross, 1993). The structure of
the map (e.g. hierarchical or linear) is determined by the arrangement of the concepts
and the linking lines (Novak & Canas, 2008). In Novaks model, the development of
concept maps requires students to organize their thoughts concerning the concepts by
writing or labelling the connections among them. Concept mapping has, therefore,
been described as being effective in enhancing both cognitive and meta-cognitive processes in students (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Jegede, Alaiymola, & Okebukola, 1990).
This graphic representation of students understanding of the relationships among
concepts helps them to critically examine their own ideas and compare them with
those of other students. It also offers opportunities for teachers to evaluate the

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 843

students understanding of these relationships and is therefore highly suited for use in
assessment for learning.

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Purpose
In this paper, we present our findings from a study that was undertaken to investigate
the outcomes of teachers use of concept mapping as an alternative assessment strategy on advanced level biology students HOCS. It forms part of a larger study which
examined the effects of using alternative assessment strategies in a formative way, on
the teaching and learning of advanced biology. The central idea proposed in this study
is that students HOCS will develop if they are provided with instructional and assessment activities that allow them to use these skills. Studies have been carried out on the
benefits of alternative assessment strategies such as concept maps, on students learning, and potential for improving students critical thinking skills in science (Kinchin,
2000; Novak, 1990; Yin, Vanides, Ruiz-Primo, Ayala, & Shavelson, 2005). However,
Clarke (2005) contends that there is relatively limited information on the specific use
of different alternative assessment strategies and the processes in which teachers and
students are engaged. The documented experiences of Caribbean teachers and
students in the use of alternative assessment strategies, and the outcomes of its use
are even more limited. Additionally, there is little empirical research into the effect
of concept mapping on developing students HOCS. In this regard, attempts were
made to provide answers to the following research questions.
(a) Does the use of concept mapping as an alternative assessment strategy result in
any significant difference to students performance on biology LOCS and
HOCS items?
(b) What are the experiences of students and teachers when concept mapping is used
as an alternative assessment strategy in advanced level biology classes?
The findings of this study on the use of concept mapping strategies in science classrooms will assist us in understanding how teachers and students operate within a constructivist framework. Furthermore, this paper provides a glimpse of possible tensions
that science students and teachers face, as they move towards engaging with less
used alternative types of assessment and how they cope with such tensions. It ultimately will provide evidence of the effect on students academic gain if used more
widely and with more diligence.

Theoretical Basis for Alternative Assessment

The clear association between assessment, learning and pedagogy has been well established (Biggs, 1996). In this section, we will discuss constructivism as a theoretical framework for alternative assessment and implications of its use for teaching and
learning. Constructivism is a theory of instruction that addresses the way knowledge
is constructed, placing emphasis on students active involvement in the learning

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

844 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

process and is based on the works of theorists such as Piaget (1970), Dewey (1956),
Bruner (1968, 1974) and Vygotsky (1978). Constructivism has been further divided
into two strands: cognitive and social constructivism both of which are relevant for
addressing the use of alternative assessment.
Cognitive theorists such as Piaget advocate that the teacher has a role to play in knowledge construction as students cannot simply absorb information but they must experience it in some way. The teachers role is to help novices to acquire expert
understanding of conceptual structures and processing strategies to solve problems by
symbolic manipulation James (2006, p. 55). Elicitation of prior learning by the
teacher through strategies such as classroom dialogue, open-ended protocols and
concept maps are useful in this regard (James, 2006). These serve to scaffold students
understanding of knowledge structures and so pave the way for application of knowledge
in new or unfamiliar contexts. In this way, teaching and assessment are skewed towards
narrowing the gap between what the learner knows and the desired learning outcomes.
Social constructivism addresses the issue of learning from each other in social contexts. Dewey advocated for education to be grounded in real life experiences and
Bruner addressed more specifically the social component of learning. Building on
these ideas, Vygotsy proposed the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development referring to the gap between what learners can do with assistance and what can be done
independently. This gap allows for learning to occur through social engagements
such as peer-led learning and active interactions with the each other and the environment. Students are therefore actively involved in their own learning which is considered to be more effective when undertaken in active, interactive and authentic
contexts (Atherton, 2001; Newmann, 1994) and is described as a social collaborative
activity (James, 2006). The teacher is, therefore, instrumental in creating the appropriate learning environment for these activities to occur. Scaffolding can be initiated
by the teacher but preferably by the student. In this way, students are involved with
both the development and solving of problems.
Alternative assessment strategies such as peer teaching and assessment and selfassessment are more student-centred and correspondingly more closely aligned to
the constructivist understanding of teaching and learning (Black & Harrison,
2001a, 2001b; McDonald & Boud, 2003; So, 2004). These types of assessments
are said to provide a more comprehensive picture of students understanding and
are widely used by teachers when conducting assessment for learning. Anderson
(1998) provides a framework for understanding the differences between traditional
assessment and alternative assessment. An adaptation of Andersons comparison is
represented in Figure 1 to show the differences between these two approaches to
assessment according to six assessment-related descriptors, and their potential for
developing students LOCS and HOCS.
Assessment and Learning
Assessment is a vital link between teaching and learning because it is the tool that teachers use to allow students to demonstrate evidence of their learning (Holmes, 2002).

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 845

Figure 1.

Differences in theoretical assumptions between traditional and alternative assessment

Traditionally, this evidence has been obtained at the end of instruction by way of
summative assessment. As shown in Figure 1, this approach to assessment which is
primarily conducted for accountability purposes has been aligned to a behaviourist
view of teaching and learning where the focus has been on the outcomes of learning.
One of the concerns raised about the overuse of summative assessment in schools is
the tendency to use items that test only the LOCS (So, 2004). The comprehensive
review of over 250 publications covering a range of countries, school subjects and
age groups by Black and Wiliam (1998) revealed that formative assessment can
result in learning gains with effect sizes as high as 0.7. The report which has so far
been unchallenged supports arguments about the limitations of traditional assessment
and provides evidence of the rich potential of formative assessment for improving
learning. This work has served to stimulate much of the research on assessment
which has sought to provide evidence of how teachers use assessment for learning
strategies to more adequately support teaching and learning over the past decade.
The assessment for learning approach broadens the purpose of assessment to
include a conscious attempt by teachers and students to use assessment to improve
students learning. This can be achieved when the assessment information is used
to provide feedback on students understanding of concepts.
Formative assessment is used by teachers to identify, and respond to students
learning with the aim of enhancing that learning while learning is occurring (Black
& Harrison, 2001a, 2001b; Cowie & Bell, 1999). In classrooms featuring formative

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

846 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

assessment, teachers make frequent, interactive attempts to assess their students
understanding. This enables them to adjust their teaching to better help individual
students to achieve the learning objectives. For example, the assessment information
is used to identify gaps and weaknesses and to determine what adjustments need to be
included in teaching and learning to ensure improved performance. Teachers also
actively involve students in the assessment process, providing them with opportunities
to help develop useful skills such as HOCS (Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development, 2005).
Formative assessment is compatible with alternative assessment strategies because
it is largely concerned with the assessment process and alternative assessment tasks
can be designed in such ways as to provide information on this process (Chiappetta,
Koballa, & Collette, 2002). They also require students to construct their own
responses, and so teachers can use them to gain an understanding of what students
are thinking and how they construct meanings (Chiappetta et al., 2002; Popham,
2010). Teachers can use the information gained from the assessment process to
help to coach their students in how to further develop their HOCS. One such activity
that has been associated with the development of students HOCS is concept
mapping.
Concept Mapping
Concept mapping can be used as an instructional strategy (Esiobu & Soyibo, 1995),
or as an assessment tool (Rice, Ryan, & Sampson, 1998). During concept map construction, the learner attempts to make links between concepts and generates a visual
picture representing how he/she organizes his/her knowledge structure or conceptual
framework within a domain (Willerman & MacHarg, 1991). In this way, the map can
act as an indicator of the quality of learning and level of thinking of students. So
(2004) points out that the use of concept maps to indicate students level of thinking
is advantageous over other methods, in that, it is quicker to construct, more direct and
is less verbal than other types of written work.
There is much variation in how concept mapping techniques can be used to tap
different aspects of students cognitive structures. According to Ruiz-Primo (2000),
a concept map assessment could be characterized based on how much information
is provided to the students that directs its degree of directedness (Figure 2).
Concept map types can be classified on a continuum ranging from high-directed to
low-directed (Ruiz-Primo, Schultz, Li, & Shavelson, 1998). High-directed concept
mapping tasks provide students with the concepts, connecting lines, linking phrases
and the map structure while low-directed tasks allow students to decide which and
how many concepts they include in their maps and how concepts are related. An
example of a very high-directed mapping technique is fill-in-the-map, while the construct-a-map represents a low-directed map. The low-directed map holds the greatest
promise for fostering and assessing students HOCS. Novak and Canas (2008)
explain that in the creation of new knowledge, for example, in a low-directed map,
cross-links often indicate the level of the learners creativity and ability to utilize

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 847

Figure 2. Degree of directedness in a concept map assessment task

Source: Ruiz-Primo et al. (1998, p. 3).

knowledge. They feel that two features of concept maps that are important in the
facilitation of creative thinking (a component of HOCS) particularly in the hierarchical concept map is the ability to search for and characterize new cross-links.
Several researchers point to the benefits of incorporating concept maps in science
teaching. Stow cited in So (2004) reported findings where students concept maps
on the water cycle at the end of an intervention period revealed a greater range of connections and a greater understanding of the grammar needed to complete the label
lines. The conclusion from this study was that concept maps provide opportunities
for students to examine their own progress and identify changes in knowledge
leading to meaningful learning.
Prezler (2004) used concept maps in a cooperative learning setting among college
students and assessed their performance in biology against when they were taught by
traditional methods. The teacher recorded concept terms on the board, circulated
among the groups asking questions and encouraged students to explain their reasoning. Prezler reported that students scores on a biology test on the related concepts
were higher when they were associated with cooperative concept mapping than
when they were not.
Novak and Canas (2008) feel that the greatest challenge in implementing alternative assessment strategies such as concept mapping is to change the prevailing model
of teachers as disseminator of information. They also point out the existing challenge
of changing assessment practices that now rely primarily on multiple-choice tests that
measure mainly rote recall of information, to those tasks that require students demonstrating their understanding of basic concepts by using them in novel problem-solving
situations.
Methodology
This study employed a mixed methods embedded-experimental design (Creswell &
Plano Clarke, 2007), where the qualitative data played a secondary, supportive role
to the quantitative data (Figure 3). The quantitative aspect of the research employed
a non-equivalent pre-test/post-test control group design (Creswell, 2003; Gay &

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

848 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

Figure 3. Embedded-experimental model

Source: Creswell and Plano Clark (2007, p. 68).

Airasian, 2000), on intact class groups, so as not to disrupt normal class activities
(Jackson & Soyibo, 2002).

Description of the Sample

The research population included students who had just embarked on advanced level
studies in biology. The majority of institutions that offer advanced level biology in
Jamaica follow the CAPE biology curriculum. Biology is a two-unit subject and one
unit is usually taught over a period of an entire academic year. Examinations are
written at the end of each unit and students are required to complete two units in
order to complete the programme.
Ninety of these students and their 3 teachers formed the treatment group, and 66
students along with 5 teachers formed the control group. Table 1 shows the distribution of the students by gender. For the qualitative focus of the study data were
obtained from five students and two of the teachers from the treatment group. With
respect to the teachers of the treatment group, Ms Thomas taught at a co-educational
Community College in rural Jamaica. At the time of the study, she was fairly new to
teaching having taught for one year only, but she expressed great eagerness and enthusiasm in receiving information on any strategy that would assist her in the teaching
learning process. Ms Angel, on the other hand, was an experienced advanced level
biology teacher who taught at a co-educational Traditional High school located in
rural Jamaica. The third teacher, Ms Davis was from a Technical High School in
rural Jamaica. She had already been familiar with concept mapping but had never
used it in her teaching before the study.

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 849

Table 1.

Composition of students in the treatment groups

Treatment group

Gender

Concept mapping

Control

Total

Male
Female
Total

35
55
90

35
31
66

70
86
156

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Instrumentation
The Biology Cognitive Skills Test constructed by the researchers was used to measure
the students academic performance on selected biological concepts. The items on the
test were constructed based on topics in Module one of the CAPE biology Unit I syllabus as this was the aspect of the syllabus covered in the first term of the academic
year when the study was conducted. These topics were as follows: Aspects of biochemistry (water, carbohydrates, lipids and proteins), Cell structure, Membrane
structure and function, and Enzymes. The test items were constructed to distinguish
between students use of their LOCS and HOCS. We used the two categories
suggested by the CAPE biology syllabus to assist with distinguishing between the
items, namely: Knowledge and Comprehension requiring the use of LOCS and
Use of Knowledge requiring the use of HOCS.
The test had six open-ended and eight multiple-choice items. The multiple-choice
items represented varying degrees of difficulty (based on calculated difficulty index
values), good discriminating power, and adequate coverage of the biology concepts.
The open-ended items were allotted three marks each and the multiple-choice
items one mark each. The maximum score possible on the test was 26 points
(Table 2). In preparing the test, a table of specifications was constructed to ensure
that all topics were assessed and that both types of cognitive items were similarly distributed between the multiple-choice and open-ended items. The instrument was
piloted among a group of 37 students in order to determine its appropriateness and
reliability. An alpha coefficient of r .62 was obtained which indicated that there
was a moderate relationship between the items on the test. Furthermore, intermarker reliability was performed on the open-ended items to determine consistency
among raters. Spearmans rho correlation yielded a statistically significant reliability

Table 2. Distribution of items and points allocated on the biology cognitive skills test
KC items (LOCS)

Number of items
Points

UK items (HOCS)

Multiple choice

Open ended

Multiple choice

Open ended

TOTAL

4
4

3
9

4
4

3
9

14
26

850 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

value of 0.84 (p , .000) indicating that the consistency between the two markers
based on the ranks of the scores obtained for the students was excellent (Cicchetti,
1994). Furthermore, a Kappa coefficient of 0.63 (p , .000) indicated good agreement between the two markers (Altman, 1991).

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Implementation
The experimental period commenced at the beginning of the school year so that teachers and students of the treatment group could become accustomed to working
with the new methods rather than in the middle of the year when habits and routines
would have already been established (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, & Wiliam,
2003b). It was our intention for the teachers to use the concept mapping strategy
as a formative assessment tool as this is reported as having great potential for facilitating learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Just before the research period began the
teachers in the experimental group were provided with reading materials about formative assessment and concept mapping. Discussions were held with each teacher
to provide opportunities for clarification of how concept mapping could be used
in regular teaching. Issues such as the sharing of learning objectives, the use of comments rather than grades in providing feedback and the need for providing opportunities for students to work in collaborative environments were discussed. Teachers
were encouraged to incorporate the use of concept maps in ways best suited for
their own classes. We also provided samples of concept maps on the topics that
the teachers would be teaching. They were introduced to possibilities for using
high- and low-directed concept map during instruction (Ruiz-Primo et al., 1998).
The teachers were encouraged to include these strategies as a supplement to their
regular classroom practices. After being clear on the various ways they could use
the maps, they worked out their own implementation schedules based on their individual classroom practices. The sequence of topics taught in term one was aspects of
bio-chemistry: water, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins; cells and enzymes for all the
teachers.
The teachers in the experimental groups used the strategy in a variety of ways.
Concept maps were used as a revision/study tool, a teaching tool and for assessment
purposes. The maps ranged from teacher-constructed maps at different stages of completion to student-constructed maps. Concept mapping was carried out individually,
in groups and as a whole-class exercise at various points in the lesson.
Concept maps were used by the teachers to assess students level of thinking. For
the high-directed maps the teachers only looked for correct insertion of the concept
words. On the other hand, for the low-directed maps the teachers looked at how
students arranged their maps (e.g. number of links and cross-links), the number of
concepts they included, how much of the topic content they represented, and how
they used labels to explain the links and cross-links.
The students in the control group were exposed to the same biology curriculum
during the period under study. The topics that they were taught was done over the
same time period as the treatment groups. However, the teachers in the control

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 851

group did not utilize concept mapping in their regular instructional practices which
normally involved lectures, discussion and practical work.
It is possible that the presence of the researchers for observations, interviews or to
meet with teachers could have made students feel special (particularly those who were
interviewed) and could have influenced their responses. However, we did everything
possible to encourage cooperating teachers to maintain their normal routines in their
classrooms. The students were not offered any incentives neither were there any perceived benefits for participation in the study.
At the beginning of the term before teaching had started, the pre-test was administered by the class teachers for both the experimental and control groups. Teaching
lasted for 14 weeks from September to December. During this time, teachers reported
on their progress via telephone conversations. No attempt was made to interfere with
the teachers use of the concept mapping strategy. At the end of the period of instruction, the post-test was administered by the class teacher. Interviews with the selected
teachers and students also took place separately, during and at the end of the period of
instruction. Interviews gave the researchers the opportunity to explore the experiences
of both the students and their teachers as a result of their being engaged with the
alternative assessment strategies in a formative way in the research process. The interview data could also be used to explain any trends observed in the quantitative data.
The interviews were open ended and guided by an interview schedule (see Appendix 1
for sample questions). Each lasted approximately one hour each and was audio-taped.
For the purpose of analysis, the interview data were transcribed, then coded to identify common or emerging themes, to look for individual variations, and generally to
extract critical information that indicated how both teachers and students responded
to the use of the alternative assessment strategies.
Results
The first purpose of the study was to find out if there were any significant differences
in the students post-test cognitive skills on the biology LOCS and HOCS items based
on their involvement in concept mapping activities. Evident in Table 3 is that there
were differences in the students pre-test performance on the test items in favour of
the control group.
The control students performance on the items testing LOCS was statistically significantly higher than that of their experimental group counterparts at the start of the
experimental period (F(1) 21.508; p .000). Table 3 indicates a similar trend in
the results for the HOCS items. The analysis of variance results revealed that these
differences, however, were not statistically significant (F(1) 1.6; p . .05). These
results suggest that at the start of the experimental period the students were not equivalent with respect to the use of their LOCS, but they exhibited similar HOCS.
After the period under study there was an increase in the students post-test performance on the test (Table 3). The table further indicates that the students in the
treatment group made higher mean gains on both items types (LOCS 99.7%;
HOCS 133%) than those in the control group (LOCS 31.6%; HOCS 65.2%).

852 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

Table 3.

Descriptive statistics on the pre-test and post-test scores of the students on biology test
items based on treatment
Pre-test

Variables

Item level

Mean

SD

Mean

SD

Post-test mean gain

Concept mapping group

90

Control group

66

LOCS
HOCS
LOCS
HOCS
LOCS
HOCS

4.87
2.77
6.52
3.13
5.56
2.92

1.75
1.58
2.69
1.94
2.33
1.74

9.73
6.45
8.58
5.17
9.24
5.90

2.02
2.14
2.37
2.17
2.24
2.23

4.86
3.68
2.06
2.04
3.68
2.98

Total

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Post-test

156

It is noted that the students in the treatment group had a calculated mean gain that
was almost two times higher on the HOCS items than the students in the control
group.
In order to ascertain whether the differences among the groups mean post-test
scores were statistically significant, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was
carried out using the pre-test scores as covariates. Tables 4 and 5 indicate that the
differences were statistically significant confirming that students in the experimental
group significantly outscored their counterparts in the control group on both the
LOCS and the HOCS items of the post-test.
This improved performance of the students in the experimental group is worth
highlighting particularly because the students in the control group had significantly
outscored them on the pre-test. Although the groups were initially dissimilar in
favour of the control group, the performance of the experimental group was significantly higher than their peers at the end of the period under study. When the effect
size (Cohens d) was calculated, the results revealed that the students in the experimental group contributed over 50% of the variation seen in the performance on
the post-test items (LOCS 0.52; HOCS 0.59). The concept mapping technique
was therefore shown in this study to be a powerful tool in promoting students conceptual gains in the biology classroom.

Table 4.

ANCOVA on the students post-test scores on biology LOCS items based on their
treatments using their pre-test LOCS scores as covariates

Source of variation
Covariate
Treatment
Residual
Total

p , .001.

SS

Df

MS

146.296
119.360
581.425
14,108.000

1
1
153
156

146.296
119.360
3.800

38.497
31.409

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 853

Table 5.

ANCOVA on the students post-test scores on biology HOCS items based on their
treatment using their pre-test HOCS scores as covariates

Source of variation
Covariate
Treatment
Residual
Total

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

SS

Df

MS

156.345
83.956
558.347
6220.750

1
1
153
156

156.345
83.956
3.649

42.842
23.006

p , .001.

Incorporating Elements of Formative Assessment in the Use of Concept

Mapping
Ms Thomas, being an inexperienced teacher, was more comfortable using the model
maps as guides to make her own concept maps. She reported that she attempted to
incorporate peer assessment, and comments only instead of grades with the use of
the concept maps. She also organized the students to work in groups for the explicit
purpose of peer support. However, the concept mapping activity was sometimes left
to the end of the instructional period to ascertain students progress after teaching a
topic. She also asked students to construct their own maps but she provided them with
concept labels for use. The maps were not graded. They were, however, sometimes
discussed in class and compared with a teacher-constructed map, after the students
had completed theirs. She reviewed the students maps and affixed comments
thereby providing guidance for the students before the final examination. Samples
of concept maps produced by students are given in Appendix 2. The students were
sometimes asked to re-do their concept map which was then reviewed by the
teacher to see whether any improvements had been made. Ms Thomas explained
how this worked.
MT:

INT:
MT:

. . .sometimes I would provide the links, and they would put in the main topics, or sometimes
I would do the main topics and they do the links, sometimes I mix like some names given,
some links and they complete the rest.
so you used it as an assessment tool mainly?
Assessment? Well it wasnt graded in anyway it was just to. . .at the end of the topic it was just
to ensure that they understood the concept or the topic and then wed go through after
like. . .if after theyd go home and then theyd take it and then Id mark it then in class wed go
through and sometimes Id give them like the same concept map over and see how much
how better they would have done after going through.

Concept Maps Used for Summarizing Lessons

Ms Angel took another approach by engaging the entire class in the construction of
the concept map as a summary tool at the end of a topic. As teacher and students discussed the topic together she constructed the concept map on the white board. From
the outset of the study she had indicated that she would use concept maps at the end

854 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

of each topic. She explained that she would teach the class first how to do the map
and that she would do that with eukaryotic cells after which she would ask them to
construct their own for the topic prokaryotic cells. The whole-class exercise on the
board, therefore, was the attempt to teach and model to the entire class how to construct a concept map. After she felt that the students had learnt how to draw the maps,
she encouraged then to make their own.

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Effects of Using Concept Mapping

The teachers mainly saw the use of concept mapping as having a positive impact on
teaching and learning. It facilitated peer assessment and created an environment for
students to learn from each other. Ms Thomas also thought that concept maps
helped students to organize their thoughts by categorizing various bits of information.
In the post treatment interview, she reasoned that this was a benefit to the students as
it prevented them from confusing ideas.
MT:

I think its a very effective tool . . . with the concept mapping because the topics in biology can
be so wide, . . . it basically allows them to be able to segregate or compartmentalize the latest
information under a given topic and not to jumble everything.

The teachers also found that concept mapping helped them to diagnose weaknesses
and identify students misconceptions. For example, in instances where students constructed maps from scratch, Ms Thomas was able to identify the weaknesses in their
HOCS (e.g. not being able to link concepts or exercise the ability to select plausible
alternatives). She explained: One of the things Id do with the concept map Id
ask them if they had an essay based on the subject (meaning the concept or
topic). . .how would they put everything on the concept map in an essay? However,
this diagnosis was better done under close supervision. Ms Thomas explained that
she preferred to supervise concept mapping activities by letting students do them
during class time, as this would allow her to determine whether the students really
understood the content, and to ensure that they were constructing or completing
the map themselves rather than copying from a textbook.
MT:

I think I would always want it to be a class setting because once the students have the
textbooks then its really hard to show who really understands and who does not because
certain students tend to look in textbook to find the answer. If I was supposed to use it
another time. . .then I think Ill confine it to class not as a home assignment. . .for the
classroom. . .and I think I would want to go through their answers and give them back until
they know it.

The students also reported positive experiences with the concept mapping strategy.
Rose described concept maps as being like a skeleton . . .it allows me to have a picture
in my mind of what something is like. Here, concept maps are viewed as graphic organizers, serving as learning aids for visual learners in particular. She also expressed the
view that she found concept mapping to be more useful as a revision tool than as an
assessment tool. Mark appeared to agree with Roses view and explained:

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 855

. . . in a way you have to actually teach yourself, so you understand it more when you have
to . . . because you have to know it more so you study it more so you understand it more so
it works better that way.

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Concept mapping was also viewed as being important for the purposes of selfassessment and as a useful tool to facilitate independent learning. Mark said that
concept mapping is useful as an assessment tool because you will actually know. . .what you know and what you dont know (emphasis) because it comes in details
so you have to know in details what you [are] not understanding. Rose indicated
that she liked the technique so much that she would continue to use it on her own
initiative.

Constraints Encountered in Using Concept Mapping

The teachers did not fully appreciate the potential for using concept maps for conducting formative assessment and hence improving learning outcomes. Preparing students to succeed in the CAPE was paramount in the teachers understanding of their
roles and so anything that could be perceived as robbing them of time to cover the
material was viewed in a negative light. Ms Thomas outlined the tension that she
felt in doing concept mapping during class time.
MT:

I did it. I cannot say that I did it for every class because there are times when I was late and at
that time really when it seemed like finishing was more important . . .than say making sure
they understand and I think that is something. . . as a teacher you have to go through. You
know you want them to understand but then when you see so much to do and the time given,
that part of one gets caught up if you dont tell yourself that listen you need to make sure they
understand. A part of me became caught up in finishing and then what Ill . . .I basically say
then once I finish. . . and Id have a bit more time for going through past papers and then I
could try and do the corrections.

In spite of this preferred approach of using non-traditional forms of assessment the

limited time for teaching placed some constraints on the conduct of using concept
maps as a part of routine class activity. She argued that if this were done in class
time it could be viewed by both teachers and students as taking up teaching time
and so it is usually easier for her to say, go home and do it and then take it back.
Ms Thomas explained that this would leave her with more classroom time to cover
the material.
Teachers also reported some amount of tension between engaging in formative
assessment and the students desire to see grades on work done. Ms Angel revealed
that the students saw concept map use as not being important to their own development particularly as they were not graded. She felt that if the maps were to be used as a
part of their term grade they would place more effort into doing them. Even though
she had taught them how to do the maps in class, they did not make any effort to continue the practice outside of class time. Ms Angel suggested that the introduction of
strategies like concept mapping should be done in previous grades so that students
would be used to doing them over a longer period of time. She explained that in

856 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

sixth form [grades 12 and 13] students become very focused on getting a good
(exam) grade but with minimum effort and no extra work. This supports Ms
Thomas view that these strategies are perceived as not being essential in the learning
process.
Students did not always find the concept mapping activity easy to manage. Mark
expressed some level of difficulty in constructing maps stating: we dont get as
much clues as when you were in High School so it takes a lot more here now to ...
put in terms and all that. This comment by Mark describes the use of low-directed
maps that require more thinking and points to the difficulty some students face in
making the transition to the demands of higher-level studies.

Discussion
The findings of this study have revealed several positive outcomes. First, the results of
the study provide some evidence on how to assist students in developing their HOCS.
There was evidence that the use of concept mapping resulted in promoting students
higher-level thinking on the biology topics taught in this study, a finding supported by
Chiappetta et al. (2002). At the beginning of the study students in the control group
had higher scores on the test than the students in the treatment group. This unexpected result could be partly due to differences in how students were taught in previous grades. At the end of the study period the students in the treatment group
made statistically higher mean gains particularly in their performance on the
HOCS items of the test. Because any pre-existing differences between the scores on
the pre-test were removed by using the ANCOVA test, one can assume that the
only differences that remained on the post-test performance were related to the
effects of the treatment variable. The significant main effect from the ANCOVA
results confirmed that the students scores differed according to the type of strategy
that they were engaged in. These findings suggest that the students in the treatment
group had a better understanding on the Biology test concepts, and, therefore, performed better on the post-test than the control group. Their superior performance
was likely to be due to the effects of the strategies utilized in the teaching learning
process by the treatment group.
These findings receive indirect support from Jackson and Soyibo (2002) who
reported that 132 Grades 12 and 13 Jamaican chemistry students recorded a higher
mean gain (3.92% or 316%) on the HOCS items on a chemistry test, than their comparison group (1.18% or 57%) after being exposed to an eclectic instructional
approach. The results in the current study also find some support from one conducted
by Zoller (2002) on 97 first-year university chemistry students in Israel who were
exposed to the traditional lecture method and what Zoller refers to as following the
recipe-type laboratory activities. When they sat a mid-term exam which had both
LOCS and HOCS items, the students recorded the lowest scores on the HOCS
items. Prezler (2004) similarly obtained success in the improvement of college students biology understanding after they were engaged in a cooperative concept

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 857

mapping workshop. These results seem to be suggesting that traditional teaching and
assessment methods may not be compatible with the fostering of HOCS.
It is noteworthy that even in a context where concept mapping was not effectively
used for the purpose of formative assessment its value is heightened based on the
results reported in this study. The calculated mean effect size (0.56) is certainly
favourable. According to Coe (2002), this effect size implies that the average
student in the treatment group scored higher on the biology test than 73% of the students in the control group. This supports the view that concept mapping is very useful
as a meta-cognitive tool and is beneficial in developing students HOCS.
Concept maps are suitable for supporting learning as they provide visual pictures of
how students organize their knowledge structure within a particular domain (Willerman & MacHarg, 1991). Teachers and students in this study expressed the same view.
Teachers described how their students benefited from concept mapping because they
had a tool to use which helped them to organize their ideas. Students also admitted
that concept maps were able to assist them in presenting their ideas about concepts
in a graphical way. While it is true that some students expressed difficulty in building
and working with concept maps, Novak and Canas (2008) suggest that this might be
as a result of years of rote-mode learning practised in earlier school years. This, therefore, is a challenge likely to be encountered by teachers who have an interest in introducing concept mapping as a method of instruction and assessment. That is, getting
their students to move away from traditional ways of learning which they have been
introduced to since their early childhood school years.
Teachers and students response to the use of concept mapping provides another
interesting outcome in this study. They viewed the use of the maps as being useful
for improving understanding of biology concepts. This outcome is encouraging as
the improved performance of the students in the treatment group could serve as a
basis for motivating teachers to incorporate more alternative assessment strategies
such as concept mapping in their practice. Myers and MacBeath (2002) caution
against the top-down approach to reforming teachers practice as this tends to demoralize and dis-empower teachers. Teachers are more likely to adopt new strategies for
use in their classes when they participate in selecting the strategy to be used and there
is evidence of success from using such strategies in contexts such as theirs.
The ways in which concept mapping was used by the teachers, represented various
degrees of directedness (Ruiz-Primo et al., 1998), with the tasks ranging from being
high-directed to low-directed. Low-directed concept maps require more input from
students as they have to provide the correct link words to show relationships
between concepts. Low-directed maps therefore increase opportunities for students
to exercise their creativity and HOCS. As stated earlier, students embarking on
higher-level studies are often faced with the challenge of expressing their ideas in a systematic and coherent way. One of the students in this study indicated that he found
the low-directed concept mapping strategy more challenging and expressed the
view that he needed more time to develop the skills. In order to keep students motivated, it may be prudent when introducing concept mapping for teachers to start off
with high-directed concept maps and gradually introduce the low-directed strategy

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

858 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

as students gain confidence from seeing the benefits of concept mapping to enhance
their HOCS.
The students concept maps allowed teachers to identify learning gaps, misconceptions and misunderstandings. So (2004) similarly highlighted the benefits of
concept mapping to teachers with respect to giving insights to the students learning. The teachers in the present study were able to modify their teaching as a result
of information gathered from the students concept maps and make relevant
changes to their instruction. Teachers were only able to make limited use of
concept mapping as a formative assessment strategy. The challenges expressed by
the teachers to adjust their practice to embrace and sustain the principles of formative assessment by embedding assessment in routine classroom instruction and
provide adequate feedback on students work, signals the need for additional classroom-based teacher support in these areas.
The summative exams had a significant negative influence on students and teachers attempts at utilizing the strategies on a sustained basis. This was perhaps
related to the demands of the syllabus and the short time available to prepare students for high-stakes external examinations. A lack of time to incorporate new
kinds of classroom assessments during regular teaching was also one of the constraints expressed by 14 third-grade teachers in three schools, who were part of
a project which focused on classroom performance assessments (Shepard, 1995).
Even though the gains experienced by the students in this study were significant
enough to possibly be transferable to their performances on summative exams, teachers and students tended to focus less on the use of concepts maps, particularly as
summative exams drew near. We recognize the deep rooted cultural shifts that must
take place for many Jamaican teachers if they are to be more trusting of the principles of formative assessment and assessment for learning. The tension surrounding the use of formative assessment in light of approaching high-stakes examination
is not unique to Jamaica but is well documented in the literature (Harlen, 2005;
Volante & Beckett, 2011). Summative high-stakes assessments are required for
transition at every stage of the education system from primary through secondary
to post-secondary. It will take the collective effort of policy-makers, curriculum
developers, teacher trainers and school administrators to encourage and support
and advanced level biology teachers in the regular use of alternative assessment
methods in their classrooms. The results of this study offer significant justification
for making this shift.
Conclusion
In this paper, we have sought to share the outcomes of the use of concept mapping
strategy to improve advanced level biology students HOCS. The impact of the use
of concept maps was very promising as the students showed significant gains in the
use of their HOCS in biology. These findings are significant as while the use of
concept mapping in science education is widely documented, there is relatively
little empirical research on its impact on students higher-order thinking skills.

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 859

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

This research, therefore, adds to this body of the literature. In addition, the results
highlight the tensions that emerge when alternative assessment strategies are
implemented in contexts where high-stakes assessments are imminent (Harlen,
2005). It also provides insights into the views of students and teachers engaged
in using concept mapping.
When students are able to improve their HOCS, this will provide the springboard
for them to transfer their knowledge and understanding to everyday life situations.
We, therefore, strongly recommend that teachers explore the use of concept maps
in the teaching of biology and other contexts in an effort to improve students understanding and HOCS.

References
Altman, D. G. (1991). Practical statistics for medical research. London, England: Chapman and Hall.
Anderson, R. (1998). Why talk about different ways to grade? Shift from traditional assessment to
alternative assessment. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 74, 5 16.
Angelo, T., & Cross, P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd
ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Arburn, T. M., & Bethel, L. M. (1999). Teaching strategies designed to assist community college science
students critical thinking. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED443663).
Atherton, J. (2001). Constructivist theory. Retrieved from www.dmu.ac.uk~jamesa/learning/
constructivism.htm
Berenson, S. (1995). Changing assessment practices in science and mathematics. School Science and
Mathematics, 95(4), 182187.
Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher Education, 32,
347 364.
Black, P., & Harrison, C. (2001a). Feedback in questioning and marking: The science teachers role
in formative assessment. School Science Review, 82(301), 55 61.
Black, P., & Harrison, C. (2001b). Self-assessment, peer-assessment and taking responsibility: The
science students role in formative assessment. School Science Review, 83(302), 4349.
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2003a). Assessment for learning: Putting
it into practice. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2003b, April). A successful intervention
Why did it work? Paper presented at AERA Symposium on Everyday Classroom Assessment.
58.039.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black: Raising standards through classroom assessment.
Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139 148.
Bol, L., & Strage, A. (1996). The contradiction between teachers instructional goals and their
assessment practices in high school biology classes. Science Education, 80(2), 145163.
Bruner, J. S. (1968). Toward a theory of instruction. New York: W.W. Norton.
Bruner, J. S. (1974). Beyond the information given: Studies in the psychology of knowing. London: Allen
& Unwin.
Caribbean Examinations Council. (2011, June). Report on candidates work in the secondary education
certificate examination general proficiency, Biology.
Chiappetta, E. L., Koballa, T. R., & Collette, A. T. (2002). Science instruction in the middle and secondary schools (4th ed.). New York: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Cicchetti, D. V. (1994). Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments in psychology. Psychological Assessment, 6(4), 284 290.

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

860 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

Clarke, S. (2005). Formative assessment in the secondary classroom. London: Hodder Murray.
Coe, R. (2002, September). Its the effect size, stupid: What effect size is and why it is important.
Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association,
University of Exeter, England. Retrieved from www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/
00002182.htm
Cowie, B., & Bell, B. (1999). A Model of formative assessment in science education. Assessment in
Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 6(1), 101 117.
Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Creswell, J., & Plano Clarke, V. L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Dewey, J. (1956). The child and the curriculum and the school and society. London: University of
Chicago Press.
Ennever, F. (2006). More than multiple-choice. The Science Teacher, 73(7), 54 56. Retrieved from
Academic Research Library database. (Document ID: 1148188171).
Esiobu, G., & Soyibo, K. (1995). Effects of concept and vee mappings under three learning modes
on students cognitive achievement in ecology and genetics. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32(9), 971 995.
Gallagher, J. J. (1991). Prospective and practicing secondary school science teachers knowledge
and beliefs about the philosophy of science. Science Education, 75(1), 121 134.
Gardner, J. (2006). Assessment and learning. London: Sage Publications, Ltd.
Gay, L. R., & Airasian, P. (2000). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (6th
ed.). Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall.
Gottfried, S. S., & Kyle, W. C., Jr (1992). Textbook use and the Biology education desired state.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29(1), 3549.
Harlen, W. (2005). Teachers summative practices and assessment for learning Tensions and
synergies. The Curriculum Journal, 16(2), 207 223. doi:10.1080/09585170500136093
Holmes, P. (2002). Teaching, learning and assessment: Complimentary or conflicting categories for school
statistics. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Teaching Statistics. Retrieved
from http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/publications/1/04_ho.pdf
Jackson, C., & Soyibo, K. (2002). Effects of instruction on performance in chemical energetics. Caribbean Journal of Education, 24, 187 199.
James, M. (2006). Assessment teaching and theories of learning. In J. Gardner (Ed.), Assessment and
learning (pp. 4760). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jegede, O. J., Alaiyemla, F. F., & Okebukola, P. A. (1990). The effect of concept mapping on students anxiety and achievement in biology. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27(10),
951 960.
Kahn, E. A. (2000). A case study of assessment in a grade 10 English course. The Journal of Educational Research, 93(5), 276 286.
Kinchin, I. M. (2000). Using concept maps to reveal understanding: A two-tier analysis. School
Science Review, 81, 4146.
Kretchmar, J. (2008). Taxonomy of educational objectives The cognitive domain (p. 1). Great Neck
Publishing. Retrieved from Research Starters Education database
McCaslin, M., & Good, T. (1992). Compliant cognition: The misalliance of management and
instructional goals in current school reform. Educational Researcher, 21(3), 4 17.
McDonald, B., & Boud, D. (2003). The impact of self assessment on achievement: The effects of
self assessment training on performance in external examinations. Assessment in Education,
10(2), 209220.
Myers, K., & MacBeath, J. (2002). Series editors preface. In A. Harris (Ed.), School improvement:
Whats in it for schools? (pp. ix x). London: Routledge.

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 861

National Science Board. (2012). Science and Engineering indicators 2012. Arlington, VA: National
Science Foundation (NSB 12-01).
Newmann, F. M. (1994). School-wide professional community. Issues in restructuring schools (Issue
Report 6), Spring, Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. Madison: Wisconsin
Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved from www.wcer.
wisc.edu/archives/completed/cors/Issues_in_Restructuring_Schools/
Novak, J. D. (1979). Applying psychology and philosophy to the improvement of laboratory teaching. The American Biology Teacher, 41(8), 466 474.
Novak, J. D. (1990). Concept mapping: A useful tool for science education. Journal of Research in
Science Teaching, 27, 937 949.
Novak, J. D., & Canas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use
them (Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008). Florida Institute for
Human and Machine Cognition. Retrieved from http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/
ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2005). Formative assessment:
Improving learning in secondary classrooms. Policy Brief, November. Retrieved from www.oecd.
org/publications/Policybriefs
Parker, V., & Gerber, B. (2000). Effects of a science intervention program on middle-grade student
achievement and attitudes. School Science & Mathematics, 100(5), 36242.
Piaget, J. (1970). Piagets Theory. In P. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (pp. 703 732).
New York: Wiley.
Popham, W. J. (2010). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Prezler, R. (2004). Cooperative concept mapping. Journal of College Science Teaching, 33(6), 3035.
Rice, D. C., Ryan, J. M., & Samson, S. M. (1998). Using concept maps to assess student learning in
the science classroom: Must different methods compete? Journal of Research in Science Teaching,
35(10), 1103 1127.
Ruiz-Primo, M. A. (2000). On the use of concept maps as an assessment tool in science: What we
have learned so far. Revista Electronica de Investigacion Educativa, 2(1), 2952. Retrieved from
http://redie.uabc.mx/vol2no1/contents-ruizpri.html
Ruiz-Primo, M. A., Schultz, S. E., Li, M., & Shavelson, R. (1998). Comparison of the reliability and
validity of scores from two concept-mapping techniques. Concept-Map representation of knowledge
structures: Report of year 2 Activities (CSE Technical Report 492). National Center for Research
on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), Center for the Study of Evaluation
(CSE), Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los
Angeles. Retrieved from http://crest96.cse.ucla.edu/reports
Salih, M. (2010). Developing thinking skills in Malaysian science students via an analogical task.
Journal of Science and Mathematics Education in Southeast Asia, 33(1), 110 128. Retrieved
from http://tinyurl.com/b2oroqy
Selvaratnam, M., & Mavuso, N. (2010). Competence of science foundation students in basic intellectual skills. South African Journal of Science, 106(1), 7075. Retrieved from http://www.sajs.
co.za
Shepard, L. (1995). Using assessment to improve learning. Educational Leadership, 52(5), 38 43.
Silva, E. (2009). Measuring skills for 21st-century learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(9), 630634.
Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/byelfc9
So, W. M. W. (2004). Assessing primary science learning: Beyond paper and pencil assessment.
Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 5(8), Article 8. Retrieved from www.ied.
edu.hk/apfslt/v5issue2/sowm/sowm5.htm
Stanger-Hall, K. F. (2012). Multiple-choice exams: An obstacle for higher-level thinking in introductory science classes. CBE Life Sciences Education, 11(3), 294 306.
University of the West Indies. (n.d.). UWI Statistical Review 2009 10. Retrieved from http://www.
mona.uwi.edu/opair/statistics/

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

862 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford

Volante, L., & Beckett, D. (2011). Formative assessment and the contemporary classroom: Synergies and tensions between research and practice. Canadian Journal of Education, 34(2),
239 255.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Interaction between learning and development (M. Lopez-Morillas,
Trans.). In M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in society:
The development of higher psychological processes (pp. 7991). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Willerman, M., & MacHarg, R. (1991). The concept map as an advance organizer. Journal of
Research in Science Teaching, 28(8), 705711.
Woolnough, B. E., McLaughlin, S., & Jackson, S. (1999). Learning by doing Two classroom
studies of pupils preferred ways of learning science. School Science Review, 81(294), 27 34.
Yin, Y., Vanides, J., Ruiz-Primo, M. A., Ayala, C. C., & Shavelson, R. J. (2005). Comparison of two
concept-mapping techniques: Implications for scoring, interpretations, and use. Journal of
Research in Science Teaching, 42(2), 166184.
Zohar, A., & Dori, Y. (2003). Higher order thinking skill and low achieving students: Are they
mutually exclusive? The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12(2), 145181.
Zoller, U. (2002). Algorithmic, LOCS and HOCS (chemistry) exam questions: Performance and
attitudes of college students. International Journal of Science Education, 24(2), 185 203.
Zoller, U., & Pushkin, D. (2007). Matching higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) promotion goals
with problem-based laboratory practice in a freshman organic chemistry course. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 8(2), 153171.

Appendix 1.
Students Interview Schedule
W What do you think is the purpose of assessment?
W What types of assessment are ideal to reveal what a student has learnt? (Why?)
W How do you feel about receiving the learning objectives for each lesson?
W Is this something that a teacher should always do?
W What do you think about concept mapping? Rate it on a scale of 1(lowest) -10
(highest).
W Explain in your own words what a concept map is.
W Have you ever used one before?
W Has concept mapping helped you to learn and understand biology better? (How?
Why?)
W What did you use it to do?
W Do you think it has helped your teacher to help you learn better?
W How do you respond to feedback from tests/classwork and coursework?
W Is concept mapping something you would continue on your own?
Teachers Interview Schedule
W Did anything change about your teaching as a result of participating in this study?
W Were there any elements of concept mapping that you particularly liked?
W Were there any elements of concept mapping that you did not like?

Improving Students LOCS and HOCS 863

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

W How do you usually measure the progress being made by your students?
W How do you normally mark? (right/wrong? Or do you place comments on papers?)
W How did you use the feedback you obtained from your students concept maps?
W Did you try the delayed grades/no grades approach? How did that go?
W Can you identify any drawbacks in the use of concept mapping and formative
assessment?
W Did you experience any challenges between formative assessment and summative
assessment?
W Would you continue to use concept mapping in your classrooms?
W Would you encourage other teachers to use this method in their classrooms?

Appendix 2.
Example of a Student-Constructed Map on the Topic Cells

Example of a Student-Constructed Map on the Topic Enzymes (Showing Teachers

Feedback)

Downloaded by [Universiti Sains Malaysia] at 04:19 25 December 2015

864 S. Bramwell-Lalor and M. Rainford