Exploring Common Misconceptions on the Cell Concept

Abstract

The concept of cells is the basis of understanding in biology because this concept forms an understanding of various biological processes and structures. However, there are still many students who have difficulty in understanding it. This study aims to identify and analyze the misconceptions that often occur in the concept of cells, the causes of misconceptions and methods to uncover misconceptions. In this study, we systematically reviewed of ten scopus indexed articles and eight nationally indexed articles. The literature review was conducted by searching, screening, analyzing, and synthesizing the articles. The results of the literature review showed that some common misconceptions in cell concepts include misconception about cell structure, cell organelle function, membrane transport, and cell division. Misconceptions that occur are also caused by two factors, namely factors from students and from outside students. Factors from students are their prior knowledge and confidence level. External factors include books, peers, and teachers. There are several methods that can be used to uncover misconceptions such as open-ended questions, multiple choice, diagnostic test, interview, and drawing test. The results of identifying misconceptions can be used as a reference or consideration for teachers and students so that they are more careful when learning cell concepts. This research can also be used as material for improvement from the teacher factor, because misconceptions are retention, it is necessary to improve learning strategies that pay attention to these misconceptions that can improve students' understanding of cell concepts and improve student learning outcomes.