Therefore, there exists an opportunity for research on how students learn about conditional manifestations in general and specifically related to gene expression.
We also envision derivations of this approach that may further emphasize conditional manifestations or other dimensions of complexity in a simulated environment.
For example, there is literature on student reasoning about emergent manifestations (Hmelo-Silver & Pfeffer 2004; Jacobson 2001; Levy & Wilensky 2008; Wilensky & Resnick 1999) but no research, that we could find, about student learning of conditional manifestations.
Continuing with our example of conditional manifestations in gene expression, the next step would be to design a set of instructional material and assessments or to refine existing materials based on results from observations of student thinking.
For the remainder of our example, we chose to consider how teachers could instruct about conditional manifestations within the concept of gene expression due either to gene regulation or epigenetics.
As we investigated literature, we found articles suggesting teaching strategies related to gene regulation and epigenetics (for example, Colón-Berlingeri 2010; Drits-Esser et al. 2014; Heyduck & Harms 2015), but not directly related to reasoning about conditional manifestations related to gene expression.
Focusing on one particular dimension within a biology concept, such as how the manifestations of gene expression are "conditional" or "universal," may direct and simplify how we approach research questions about how students reason about gene expression.
(The conditional is a condition.
Contracts worth billions have been distributed to private firms in what was billed as a radical move to get people back into work, but which is but the latest manifestation of "workfare", where benefits are conditional on a jobless "client" undertaking some training or work experience.
The manifestation of the process of gene expression can be "conditional" because of two different mechanisms: (1) gene expression in different body organs may be due to differential gene regulation or (2) gene expression may be influenced by epigenetics due to environmental factors (Ansel et al. 2008; Shah & Sukumar 2010).
