The ability of students to think abstractly and formally is one of the major challenges instructors have faced over time. This is true across all disciplines but more so in the sciences. Concepts such as molecular bonding, biochemical pathways and cellular communication bring the biggest challenges to students as they require one to think outside of one’s normal schema.
Arizona State University Emeritus Professor Anton Lawson, states,
Arizona State University Emeritus Professor Anton Lawson, states,
Concrete thinking is just regarding the facts. On the other hand, abstract thinking goes down below the facts. While some mental process is involved in abstract thinking, no such effort is evolved in concrete thinking. A person with concrete thinking does not think beyond the facts. They do not have the ability to think beyond a certain limit. Concrete thinkers only have a generalized concept for all things. On the other hand, abstract thinkers have a very specific concept of things.
Is there a secret to teaching abstract thinking to learners?
One of the first steps educators can do is take a trip down memory lane and look back at Piaget’s stages of cognitive development (Piaget, 1936). Higher Ed instructors are challenged with students transition from the Concrete stage to the Formal Operations stage (Lawson, 1989).
Post author:
Available Tools to Ease the Transition for Biological Instructors
In my twenty-three years of experience teaching biology, I have found that the use of visual diagrams to be one of the best tools to help my concrete thinkers understand the many abstract/formal biological concepts. The tools available to produce quality visual diagrams have spanned from overhead transparencies to intricate free-hand drawings on a white board, to spending hours of time searching for just the right Google image. Now instructors have an efficient tool to create professional, complex biological diagrams in minutes with BioRender.
Instructors, researchers and graduate students have access to:
The BioRender library of icons and templates has provided an excellent way to create visual tools to help students struggling to transition into the abstract/formal cognitive level, to comprehend and master complex biological processes.
- Over 20,000 icons in the library
- Find icons from neuroscience, immunology, microbiology and many more life science fields
- Create you own templates or choose from a selection of pre–made templates that you can edit
- Users can request new icons as well
- Access to weekly Webinar tutorials
Sample Diagrams from BioRender
If you're interested in using BioRender in your courses, contact the School of Life Sciences Teaching Innovation Center at tic@asu.edu.
References
- Lawson, “A Theory on Instruction: Using the Learning Cycle To Teach Science Concepts and Thinking”, NARST Monograph, Number One, 1989.
- Lawson “Concrete and Formal Thinking Abilities In High School Biology Students”. Journal of Research in Scientific Teaching, Vol, 13, No.3 PP. 227-235 (1976)
- Piaget, “The Origins of Intelligence in the Child”, Volume 3, 1936.
Post author:
Heather Hutcherson, is a Laboratory Coordinator in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.
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