The Regulation of Gene Expression Conceptual Understanding of Undergraduate Biology Students M Iqbal Najib Fahmi (a), Hidayati Maghfiroh (a), Wachidah Hayuana (a), Hikmah Buroidah (a), Maya Agustin (a), Nindiana Choirunisa^ (a), Deny Setiawan (a), Siti Zubaidah (a*)
a) Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl.Semarang 5, Malang 65145, Indonesia
*siti.zubaidah.fmipa[at]um.ac.id
Abstract
Genetic advancement is crucial as it supports science and technology and touches all aspects of human existence. Therefore, materials such as the regulation of gene expression become essential to be comprehensively reached by undergraduate biology students. However, this material is complex and requires good visual representation. Therefore, undergraduate biology students need more effort to understand it. This study aims to determine biology students^ understanding of the concept of regulation of gene expression. We used qualitative research methods to analyze the understanding of the regulation of gene expression in biology students taking the Genetics II course from February to April at the State University of Malang. The first stage conducted material analysis and developed the Regulation of Gene Expression Concepts Assessment (RGECA) test instrument. Then, the data was obtained according to the level of understanding with the help of Microsoft Office Excel for Windows. The results showed that the RGECA instrument was valid and reliable, so we can use it to demonstrate the understanding of undergraduate biology students. Furthermore, the answers given by students show that biology students have a good understanding of the regulation of prokaryotic gene expression but a bad understanding of the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. Most undergraduate biology students have difficulties understanding post-transcriptional modification, RNA splicing, and DNA methylation. The results of this study can be used as a basis for improving the quality of genetic learning.
