High School Students's Misconceptions on Genetics and Evolution

고등학생(高等學生)들의 유전(遺傳)과 진화(進化)에 대(對)한 오개념(誤槪念)

In this study, in order to find our high school students' misconceptions on genetics and evolution, a free-answer form of questionnaire, specially designed through analysis of high school biology curriculum, was developed and sent to one hundred and eight high school students in Seoul area. Their responses were collected and qualitatively analyzed. Main results of the study can be summarized as follows: 1. Some students misunderstood that aquired chracters are inherited. 2. Several students weren't instructed clearly about gene. For example, they responsed that genes are not material, composed of proteins, exist only in reproductive cells and are not in plant cells at all. 3. Some students confused chromosome with chlorophyll, dorminant (in dorminant character) with excellent. They are caused by similar spells in Korean letter 4. Half students misconceptualized that organisms evolve just when their environment changes for the worse. 5. Many students believed orthogenesis.