STUDENTS’ MEANING MAKING IN ECOLOGY EDUCATION

• Teaching and learning in biology and other science disciplines are highly dependent on representations illustrating phenomena too small, big, abstract or complex to be described by words only. Many students have difficulties learning scientific concepts and lack an idea of “the bigger picture”. Earlier research in biology implicate that students have difficulties describing and interpreting food webs and other concepts concerning ecological systems. One area that is attaining a greater interest is the learning possibilities when students’ actively construct representations. Very little attention has, however, been paid to this line of research in the area of ecology. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to identify students' different views on complex ecological concepts and illustrate the manners by which students attempt to link them together for a more holistic understanding. Data consists of students’ drawings and interviews, that together can give a better understanding of how students take advantage of actively constructing representations. Results indicate that students’ interpretations and ideas regarding ecological concepts differ widely. They describe biological concepts with different levels of abstraction and show difficulties combining abiotic and biotic factors in biological cycles. The results give further insights into how explicit focus on ecological process and concepts can be used to scaffold students’ construction of representations. Furthermore, teachers can employ such representations for formative assessment. A better understanding of how students' active construction of representations influences their opportunities for meaning making will increase the opportunities for a deeper, more scientific, reasoning in the science classroom.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Didaktik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Didactics (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

representations

collaborative learning

biological education

Science Education

Naturvetenskap med utbildningsvetenskaplig inriktning

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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