Bridging the educational research-teaching practice gap: Conceptual understanding, part 2: Assessing and developing student knowledge.

The first paper [1] in this two-part miniseries on conceptual understanding discussed expert and novice conceptual knowledge, the multifaceted nature of conceptual understanding, and the cognitive skills essential for constructing it. This second article presents examples of instruments for the assessment and development of five facets of conceptual understanding that require competence in the cognitive skills of mindful memorization, integration, transfer, analogical reasoning, and system thinking. We also argue for the importance of explicitly assessing these facets of conceptual understanding as part of all biochemistry and molecular biology curricula so as to develop expert knowledge in our students.