THE ACADEMIC ESSAY AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY EDUCATION
The incorporation of writing academic essays into biology education is still an unexplored area in Slovak primary schools. However, academic essays can provide pupils with many advantages, as they allow them to develop their abilities to work with academic texts, analyze various types of information, and think critically. Academic essays also, simultaneously, provide teachers with deeper insights into pupils’ thinking about various biology topics. The results of the research, however, show that pupils achieved a relatively low average score in essay writing, with the greatest difficulties occurring in citing, and working with, academic sources. Additional challenges were observed in pupils’ abilities to compare arguments, synthesize information, and formulate their own independent statements, indicating the need for more systematic support in developing these abilities. The analysis of the essays also revealed frequent misconceptions related to bees, which further highlights the valuable diagnostic potential of the academic essay in biology education. In addition, when comparing pupils’ essays with essays generated by artificial intelligence, we found that pupils’ essays were more original and creative, suggesting that despite the proliferation of AI-based tools, essay writing continues to maintain its relevance within the educational process. Furthermore, the results of a questionnaire showed that pupils consider writing essays to be an interesting and useful experience that they could apply in their future studies. The academic essay is therefore a valuable tool that should be systematically implemented in biology education.
biology, misconception, academic essay, artificial intelligence, primary school
Ahmad, S. F., Rahmat, Mohd. K., Mubarik, M. S., Alam, M. M., & Hyder, S. I. (2021). Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Education. Sustainability, 13(22), 12902. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212902
Aljanabi, M., Ghazi, M., Ali, A. H., & Abed, S. A. (2023). ChatGpt: open possibilities. Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics, 4(1), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.52866/ijcsm.2023.01.01.0018
Amirjalili, F., Neysani, M., & Nikbakht, A. (2024). Exploring the boundaries of authorship: a comparative analysis of AI-generated text and human academic writing in English literature. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1347421. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1347421
Bírešová, B. (2014). Ako napísať odbornú esej: Odporúčania k metodike eseje. Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela, Pedagogická fakulta.
Bishop, L. (2023). A computer wrote this paper: What chatgpt means for education. Research, and Writing, 1–37. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4338981
Bunce, D. M., & Vandenplas, J. R. (2006). Student recognition and construction of quality chemistry essay responses. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 7(3), 160–169. https://doi.org/10.1039/B6RP90007K
Cottrell, S. (2005). Critical Thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Cousins, S. E. (2020). The Uncomplicated Essay: A painlessly straightforward formula for writing effective literary analyses. Victoria: Tellwell Talent.
Cumming, A., Lai, C., & Cho, H. (2016). Students' writing from sources for academic purposes: A synthesis of recent research. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 23, 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2016.06.002
Desaire, H., Chua, A. E., Isom, M., Jarosova, R., & Hua, D. (2023). Distinguishing academic science writing from humans or ChatGPT with over 99% accuracy using off-the-shelf machine learning tools. Cell Reports Physical Science, 4(6), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101426
Gavora, P., Koldeová, L., Dvorská, D., Pekárová, J., & Moravčík, M. (2010). Elektronická učebnica pedagogického výskumu. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského v BA. https://bit.ly/32uGOlc
Gežík, P. (2013). Metodika písania vysokoškolských esejí: Verzia 2.0. Bratislava: Slovenská technická univerzita v Bratislave, Ústav manažmentu.
Gurel, D. K., Eryilmaz, A., & McDermott, L. (2015). A review and comparison of diagnostic instruments to identify students‘ misconceptions in science. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education, 11(5), 989–1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a
Haliq, A., Zamsani, Wiedarti, P., & Akhiruddin (2023). Self-acces in digital literacy: Evaluating the quality of information and reliability of sources in writing academic essay. INTERFERENCE: Journal of Language, Literature, and Linguistics, 4(1), 85–96. https://doi.org/10.26858/interference.v4i1.44561
Herbold, S., Hautli-Janisz, A., Heuer, U., Kikteva, Z., & Trautsch, A. (2023). A large-scale comparison of human-written versus ChatGPT-generated essays. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45644-9
Hern, A. (2022, december 4). AI bot ChatGPT stuns academics with essay-writing skills and usability. The Guardian. https://shorturl.at/7hPeS
Holečková, L. (2017). Přínosy písemného zachycení myšlenek studentů pro vlastní reflexi a rozvoj argumentačních dovedností. In P. Krpálek & K. Krelová (Eds.), Autoevaluační kultura a kvalita vzdělávání (pp. 47–50). Praha: Extrasystem Praha.
iŠVP z biológie (2014). Inovovaný štátny vzdelávací program z biológie pre nižšie stredné vzdelávanie. Bratislava: Nivam. https://bitly.ws/3epYQ
Kaba, Y., & Şengül, S. (2016). Developing the Rubric for Evaluating Problem Posing (REPP). International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 8(1), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.15345/iojes.2016.01.002
Knisely, K. (2013). A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology (4th edition). Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates.
Kozárová, N., & Gunišová, D. (2020). Stratégia rozvoja kritického myslenia vo vyučovaní Pedagogiky. Nitra: PF UKF v Nitre.
Kubiszewski, I., Noordewier, T., & Costanza, R. (2011). Perceived credibility of Internet encyclopedias. Computers & Education, 56(3), 659–667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.10.008
MacLellan, E. (2004). How reflective is the academic essay?. Studies in Higher Education, 29(1), 75–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/1234567032000164886
Malik, A. R., Pratiwi, Y., Andajani, K., Numertayasa, I. W., Suharti, S., & Darwis, A. (2023). Exploring artificial intelligence in academic essay: higher education student's perspective. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 5, 100296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100296
Medvid, O., & Podolkova, S. (2019). Essay as a form of academic writing. Edukacyjna Analiza Transakcyjna, 8, 215–225. https://doi.org/10.16926/eat.2019.08.13
Mikušiak, M. (2014). Esej. Jazykovedný Časopis, 65(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.2478/jazcas-2014-0003
Morais, M. M., de Oliveira, J. S., Fichberg, I., & Lellis-Santos, C. (2024). Addressing bee diversity through active learning methodologies enhances knowledge retention in an environmental education project. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 20(4), e2420. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/15476
Moskal, B. M. (2000). Scoring Rubrics: What, When and How? Practical Assessment. Research & Evaluation, 7(3), 1–5. https://bit.ly/38qxToE
Neideen, T., & Brasel, K. (2007). Understanding statistical tests. Journal of Surgical Education, 64(2), 93–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2007.02.001
OpenAI (2023). GPT-4 Technical Report. Computer Science. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2303.08774
Papers with code (2024). Language Modelling on Pile – OpenAI ChatGPT. Trending Papers. https://paperswithcode.com/sota/language-modelling-on-pile-openai-chatgpt
Praveenkumar, C., Saravanan, S., & Pradeep, S. (2024). The Bee-Lievers: Untangling Common Myths about Bees. Farm Chronicle – An Agriculture Newslettere, 3(10), 17–20. https://shorturl.at/mo0mo
Průcha, J., Walterová, E., & Mareš, J. (2001). Pedagogický slovník: 3, rozšířené a aktualizované vydání. Praha: Portál.
Razali, N. M., & Wah, Y. B. (2011). Power Comparisons of Shapiro-Wilk, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Lilliefors and Anderson-Darling Tests. Journal of Statistical Modeling and Analytics, 2(1), 21–33. https://shorturl.at/OHTM0
Redman, P. (2006). Good Essay Writing: A Social Sciences Guide. 3. edícia. Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Revell, T., Yeadon, W., Cahilly-Bretzin, G., Clarke, I., Manning, G., Jones, J., Mulley, C., Pascual, R. J., Bradley, N., Thomas, D., & Leneghan, F. (2024). ChatGPT versus human essayists: an exploration of the impact of artificial intelligence for authorship and academic integrity in the humanities. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 20(1), 1–19 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-024-00161-8.
Sharples, M. (2022). Automated essay writing: An AIED opinion. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(4), 1119–1126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-022-00300-7
Soles, D. (2005). The Academic Essay: How to plan, draft, write and revise. Abergele: Studymates limited.
Starý, K., Laufková, V., Stará, J., Novotná, K., Šťastný, V., & Svobodová, Z. (2016). Formativní hodnocení ve výuce. Praha: Portál.
Szántó, J. (2021). Jak napsat dobrý esej. CEMACH. https://is.slu.cz/el/opf/leto2021/EVSNPECR/um/Jak_napsat_dobrou_esej.pdf
Szarka, K., & Brestenská, B. (2014). Prostriedky rozvíjajúceho hodnotenia vo vyučovaní prírodovedných predmetov. In B. Brestenská (Ed.), Inovácie a trendy v prírodovednom vzdelávaní (pp. 131–158). Bratislava: Prírodovedecká fakulta UK v BA.
Šmida, D., Čipková, E., & Nagy, T. (2021). Názory učiteľov a žiakov osemročných gymnázií na písanie odbornej eseje v rámci vyučovania chémie. Biologie-Chemie-Zeměpis, 30(1), 51–67. https://doi.org/10.14712/25337556.2021.1.5
Šmida, D., Nagy, T., & Čipková, E. (2020). Využitie odbornej eseje na hodinách chémie. Biológia, Ekológia, Chémia, 3(24), 29–36. http://bech.truni.sk/
University of Oxford (n.d.). Essay and dissertation writing skills. Oxford University. https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/essay
University of York. (2025, október 9). Essays – Academic writing: a practical guide. York University Subject Guides. https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/academic-writing/essays
Vydra, A. (2010). Akademické písanie. Ako vzniká filozofický text. Trnava: Filozofická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave.
Whitford, E. (2022, december 9). Here’s how Forbes got the ChatGPT AI to write 2 college essays in 20min. Forbes. https://shorturl.at/E8F6x
Whitney, K. S. (2015, jún 15). 6 misconceptions about saving the bees. American Scientist. https://shorturl.at/EvtWK
Wingate, U. (2012). ‘Argument!’helping students understand what essay writing is about. Journal of English for academic purposes, 11(2), 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.11.001
Xiao, Y. (2023). Decoding authorship: is there really no place for an algorithmic author under copyright law? IIC-International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 54(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40319-022-01269-5
Yeadon, W., Agra, E., Inyang, O.-O., Mackay, P., & Mizouri, A. (2024). Evaluating AI and human authorship quality in academic writing through physics essays. European Journal of Physics, 45(5), 055703. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/ad669d
Yeadon, W., & Hardy, T. (2024). The impact of AI in physics education: a comprehensive review from GCSE to university levels. Physics Education, 59(2), 025010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad1fa2
Yeadon, W., Inyang, O. O., Mizouri, A., Peach, A., & Testrow, C. P. (2023). The death of the short-form physics essay in the coming AI revolution. Physics Education, 58(3), 035027. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/acc5cf
Yotovska, K., & Asenova, А. (2013). The essay as a tool for motivation and assessment of students (future teachers in biology). Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 19(2), 293–296. https://www.agrojournal.org/19/02-71s.pdf
Zeegers, P., & Giles, L. (1996). Essay writing in biology: An example of effective student learning? Research in Science Education, 26(4), 437–459. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02357454
Zemach, D.E., & Rumisek, L.A. (2005). Academic Writing: from paragraph to essay. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.