Students' conceptions of biological membrane models

Abstract

The biological membrane is the central theme of this study. Frequently, the subjects about biological membranes are treated superficially and as simple cell structures. However, the membrane structure and its dynamic are complex and crucial to life existence. This study investigated the conceptions of undergraduate and graduate students about biological membranes and their knowledge about the models that evolved along the recent history of biological sciences. The results revealed that students describe only the Singer and Nicolson membrane model, which was published in 1972, but are unaware of the existence of other models of biological membranes. None of the students mentioned other than the fluid-mosaic model. Our results indicated that the conceptions of students about are associated with two core ideas, function and composition. We suggest that the biological membrane concepts should be taught in a non-mechanical way, including the critical and historical aspects that pushed the evolution of the models.