Rural students’ conceptual understanding of diffusion and osmosis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine students’ understanding of the topic “Movement of Substances Across the Plasma Membrane” that covers the concepts of diffusion and osmosis. This study adopted the survey research design. A total of 288 students studying in Grade 10 in rural secondary schools were assessed. The instrument used is a test called the Movement of Substances across the Plasma Membrane (MSPM) is a two-tier multiple-choice question test with a high reliability coefficient (r = 0.877). The results show that the majority of students, i.e. 54% of the students obtained average scores. The findings reveal that the overall performance of the students in terms of their understanding of the concepts of diffusion and osmosis was unsatisfactory. An implication of the study is that the MSPM test (two-tier diagnostic test) provides a feasible approach for evaluating students’ understanding and for identifying students’ coherent understanding of the diffusion and osmosis concepts. It was found that even though students chose the correct option at the first tier of the test, but it was revealed that students provided misconceptions when had to give explanations to their options in the first tier. The misconceptions identified in the study could serve as a resource for Biology teachers to promote meaningful learning.