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Exploring plant and animal content in elementary science textbooks
Abstract
Student knowledge about plants is typically less than student knowledge about animals. Textbooks are a commonly-used curriculum material in elementary grades and contain embedded cultural ideologies that may impact instruction. This study analyzed two nationally-syndicated elementary science textbook series to explore their presentation of plant and animal content. The results indicated that the amount of animal content was greater than plant content in each series. An even greater difference was found in the number of plant and animal examples used within the textbooks. There were more than twice as many animal examples as plant examples in both textbook series, and the most repeated animal examples were more likely to correspond to scientifically-appropriate classification categories. The study also identified differences in the plant and animal topics covered in the textbooks; the topic of plant parts was the plant topic with the highest coverage in each textbook series, while for animals, the topics of animal needs, adaptations and types had the highest coverage depending on the textbook series. This study suggests there may be an ideology favoring animals within these elementary science textbooks and that teachers need to supplement their instruction with additional plant information to facilitate student learning about plants.
... One example is the notion of "plant blindness", as suggested by the findings of this study, where few children could name specific plant species, especially when compared to their ability to identify animals, which is consistent with other studies [51][52][53]. Despite the relatively weak visual cues for identifying plants, especially when they are not in bloom or bearing fruit, a possible explanation lies in the influence of media and educational materials that portray plants as more of a collective presence that contributes to the overall ambiance of settings rather than independent plant types and species [54,55], compared to animals, which have more distinctive features and resemblance to human traits (e.g., the ability to move and make sounds) and therefore often play key roles in children's stories [56]. The differences in children's descriptions of animals between conceptual and accessible personal constructs of nature may also reflect the impact of media and education, as well as their daily experiences in the city, on their personal constructs. ...
Rapid urbanization over the last few decades has resulted in children growing up in cities increasingly disconnected from the natural world. A better understanding of children’s conceptions of nature in cities is needed to try to address this unfortunate trend. This study was conducted within four core districts of Beijing, China, and involved interviewing 81 children aged 8 to 12 years to explore their general, conceptual understanding of nature and accessible nature and how it manifests in their daily lives. Some of these children (N = 54) were involved in a follow-up photo Q-sort task aimed at investigating their perceptions of nature in the city, which required them to sort 33 stimuli photographs in piles according to their perceived “naturalness”. The interview data were content analyzed, while the photo-sorting data were subjected to various statistical analyses, including Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). These analyses identified three distinct ways children perceive nature in the city, reflecting ecological, emotional, and visual values for nature in the city. The findings highlight the influence of personal experiences, education, the media, and evolutional predispositions on children’s constructs of nature. The findings can guide environmental design and education actions aimed at integrating nature in urban settings that align better with the children’s conceptions of nature.
... Organizamos os dados em uma matriz eletrônica de análise baseada em estudos realizados por outros pesquisadores (Caravita et al., 2008;Schussler et al., 2010), com colunas para registros de: 1) cada organismo encontrado em texto ou imagens (excluindo repetições para explicações aprofundadas dentro de um mesmo trecho); 2) classificação (grupo e subgrupo); 3) localização no material; (entre outros aspectos analisados em outras publicações). Foi mantido na matriz o nome mencionado pelo material (populares ou científicos, ou ambos simultaneamente). ...
RESUMO: Um importante papel da escola é ensinar os conhecimentos científicos, como os relacionados à biodiversidade, possibilitando a interpretação do mundo pelos estudantes. Para tanto, visando subsidiar futuras produções de materiais didáticos, este trabalho objetiva investigar quais seres vivos são do conhecimento e interesse de um grupo de estudantes paulistas e, quais seres vivos são representados nos materiais didáticos adotados em suas escolas. Na análise dos materiais didáticos, todos os organismos mencionados foram registrados em uma matriz. Os demais dados foram coletados com os alunos por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas e questionários. Após a análise qualitativa e quantitativa, constatou-se que tanto os estudantes, quanto os materiais didáticos fazem maior referência a animais em detrimento de outros organismos, como plantas e microrganismos, e têm pouco interesse por fungos. Logo, estes grupos podem ser mais explorados por futuros materiais didáticos para fomentar o conhecimento dos estudantes sobre a biodiversidade
... The early primary school biology curriculum covers the topic of humans, animals and plants. Plants appear to receive less emphasis in the science curriculum and biology textbooks with regards to these three issues as compared to animals (Schussler et al. 2010). As a result, children may have a greater interest in animals than plants and tend to overlook and dismiss the latter as living things (Patrick and Tunnicliffe 2011). ...
This study aimed to investigate primary school children’s understanding of
photosynthesis. We employed children’s drawings as an instrument and
conducted one-to-one follow-up interviews with 48 children of primary
school age (7–13 years old) in a national primary school, in a suburban
area of Melaka, Malaysia. The findings of the study indicate that as
children progressed through primary school, their understanding of the
concept of photosynthesis improved. The study sheds light on the
varying levels of conceptual understanding of photosynthesis among
primary school children and how this can inform the teaching strategies
of science teachers to facilitate children’s understanding of this concept.
In addition, this study makes a valuable contribution to research on
biology education by demonstrating that using drawings as a research
instrument alone is insufficient to fully capture young children’s
conceptual understanding.
One of the biggest problems in teaching botany is the so-called ‘plant blindness’ (Wandersee & Schussler 2001). Most people overlook plants in their daily lives and are hardly interested in their diversity and functions. As a result, however, students are often denied access to central biological concepts (such as the importance of plants as producers in the material cycles of an ecosystem) (Schussler, Link-Pérez, Weber & Dollo 2010). In order to counteract this ‘plant blindness’ in the classroom, it is recommended, in line with the findings of educational psychology, to teach botanical content using plant species that interest students, since interest in a subject is considered an important prerequisite for building subject knowledge (Deci & Ryan 1993). The results of recent studies suggest that the group of useful plants is potentially considered interesting by students (Hammann 2011; Krüger & Burmester, 2005).
Τα φυτά σπάνια αντιλαμβάνονται ως οργανισμοί, αλλά ως ένα είδος «πράσινης μάζας» με τα φύλλα και τους μίσχους να θολώνουν σε ένα αδιαμφισβήτητο μοτίβο πράσινων αποχρώσεων. Οι άνθρωποι αδυνατούν να δουν τα φυτά στο περιβάλλον τους, γεγονός που οδηγεί στην αδυναμία αναγνώρισης της σπουδαιότητας των φυτών για την ανθρώπινη ζωή. Οι Wandersee και Schussler εισήγαγαν έναν νέο όρο για το συγκεκριμένο φαινόμενο «τυφλότητα απέναντι στα φυτά» (PlantBlindness). Στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας ήταν ο προσδιορισμός της εμφάνισης των φυτών και των ζώων, στα εγχειρίδια της Γλώσσας του Δημοτικού Σχολείου. Μετά από λεπτομερειακή μελέτη των εγχειριδίων παρατηρήθηκε, ότι σε όλες τις τάξεις, ο αριθμός των ζώων είναι μεγαλύτερος από ότι των φυτών και είχαν υψηλότερο βαθμό επανάληψης. Ακριβώς το αντίθετο συμ-βαίνει με τις γενικές έννοιες των φυτών και των ζώων. Όσον αφορά τις σελίδες που εμφανίζουν εικόνες/φωτογραφίες μόνο με ζώα είναι πολυάριθμες σε σύγκριση με τις σελίδες που εμφανίζουν μόνο φυτά.
Στα εγχειρίδια της γλώσσας του Δημοτικού σχολείου παρατηρήθηκε, ότι σε όλες τις τάξεις, ο αριθμός των ζώων που μαθαίνουν οι μαθητές είναι μεγαλύτερος από ότι των φυτών και είχαν υψηλότερο βαθμό επανάληψης. Αντιθέτως, οι γενικές έννοιες των φυτών (π.χ. δέντρα, θάμνοι, λουλούδια κ.τ.λ.) ήταν πολυάριθμες από αυτές των ζώων (π.χ. ζώα, πουλιά, ψάρια κ.τ.λ.). Ακόμη παρατηρήθηκε ότι στις δύο πρώτες τάξεις του δημοτικού οι μαθητές μαθαίνουν περισσότερα ζώα και φυτά σε σύγκριση με τις άλλες τάξεις, ενώ τον μικρότερο αριθμό ζώων τον συναντάμε στα εγχειρίδια της τρίτης δημοτικού.
p style="text-align:justify">The aim of this study is to find out the preferences of students (150) in the first year of the study of the Preschool and Primary Education programme. The data was collected using a questionnaire in the first seminar focusing on science content (a course called Science Propaedeutics) to determine the preferences of pre-service teachers. The aim was to find out the (un)popularity of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education covering the subjects of Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Technology and Chemistry in Slovakia. The results showed that students are interested in science education. The findings also showed that students prefer more biological topics (humans and plants) and less physics, chemistry, and mathematics. They also preferred topics that they knew from everyday life. The results revealed a negative correlation between students' concerns about teaching science in their future practice and their interest in science education. We found it necessary to connect the topics to everyday life and avoid mathematical calculations. So we can increase their interest in these areas/issues in the Science Propaedeutics course.</p
Background: Education for students with disabilities continues to develop to meet the demands of changing times so that students with disabilities can receive learning in an inclusive environment and their talents and interests continue to develop. The research aims to determine plant diversity in Indonesian textbooks based on class, disability specifics, and book themes at the elementary school level.
Methods: The data was collected from 190 books from six grades and five disability categories (blind, deaf, autistic, physically disabled, and mentally disabled).
Results: The results found 172 plant species from 61 families. The total frequency was 3642 from all textbooks, and the species that had the highest relative frequency levels was Cocos nucifera (8.79%). The book with the highest species frequency was fifth grade autistic, with 387. Based on content analysis in each chapter, it was found that the cultural score in first grade and instrumental in sixth grade was the highest, with 80 chapters. The dominant plant type was herbaceous at 63.95%. Plants were also categorized into several different types. Several types of threatened species were also found in the textbook. Most of the plants discussed were in the horticultural category.
Conclusions: The results of this research can be a reference regarding plant content to better explore threatened species as a conservation education effort. Apart from that, the low level of introduction of plants in textbooks could be reviewed for more effective methods for introduction.
This paper explores the production of introductory financial accounting textbooks in the UK. Despite being a pervasive pedagogical device (see Brown and Guilding, 1993, Accounting Education: an international journal, 4(2) pp. 211-218), there has been little research carried out which examines the role or contents of textbooks in accounting education. This is a surprising gap in the literature when one considers the numerous concerns that have been expressed regarding the content of accounting education, the values which it projects and the type of student which it produces. Drawing on contemporary research into textbooks, this paper considers accounting textbooks to be 'cultural artifacts' which may reflect the cultural, ideological, and political interests of particular groups in society. In this regard, introductory financial textbooks have the potential to reinforce cultural homogeneity through the advancement of shared attitudes. This study is based upon 12 semi-structured interviews with both textbook authors and commissioning editors. Results indicate that the contents of textbooks are the product of complex social and cultural relations. Whilst conflicts and negotiations may characterize the production process, the knowledge that is considered most 'legitimate' tends to be mandated, either directly or indirectly, by professional accounting bodies through course accreditation requirements. Furthermore, this knowledge reflects wider cultural issues and assumptions regarding the structure of society and of how it should be organized.
Previous studies have suggested that pupils have a general preference for studying animals rather than plants. Oft-stated opinions by pupils in the classroom tend to reinforce this view. However, it is not clear if this represents opinions of animals and plants per se, or simply of the animals and plants with which the pupils are most familiar in the school context. By getting pupils to concentrate on living specimens of two unfamiliar organisms (Arabidopsis thaliana and Mellitobia digitata), it was hoped to gain an improved understanding of the reasons for pupils' views without reference to their existing prejudices based on familiar animals and plants. Conclusions only relate to the student sample (162 girls aged 12-17 from one school), but may give pointers to key areas which would benefit from more detailed studies aiming to establish general trends. Overall, the animals were found to be of much greater interest to the students than the plants. The key characteristic that seemed to generate most interest in animals was movement.
EnglishThis paper presents the results of a study of the development of pupils’ knowledge of the process of photosynthesis and the related biological processes of respiration, breathing and digestion. The information already known to primary pupils untutored in biology was assessed and the changes effected by teaching were monitored in the secondary school.The results indicate that concepts which are wrong but which are nevertheless meaningful to the learner may escape detection by the usual methods of testing and are highly resistant to replacement by correct information. The formation of wrong concepts may predate formal instruction or may arise during the course of instruction as a result of the inappropriate use of subsuming information.
he ability of A level students to recognise and name common wild flowers was shown to be very poor. Traineeteachers performed little better and nearly a third of the practising A-level biology teachers tested were able toname only three or fewer wild flowers.Although opportunities exist at primary level for children to learn about the environment, most enter sec-ondary school with a poor knowledge of the organisms around them, particularly plants. At secondary level thedecrease in the importance of whole organism biology in the curriculum, declining opportunities for fieldworkand the concentration of A-level fieldwork on techniques and course assessment allow little time for training inidentification skills. Many A-level students feel that being able to recognise and name organisms is not important. In teaching students to be responsible citizens and to care about their environment, a knowledge of atleast the common organisms around them is vital.Initiatives are needed to engage the interest of primaryschool children and to provide more opportunities for fieldwork at secondary level, including time to teach students to recognise organisms. Training for teachers would be valuable and the role of organisations outside formal education in educating the wider public is also recognised.
This research addressed the following questions: (1) Which science topic do junior high school students prefer to study—plants or animals? (2) Is their preference related to the variables of grade level and sex of student? Public school students from grades 7, 8, and 9 in Avoca, New York participated in the study. Findings show that 9th grade students have a greater interest in biological science topics than do students in the other grades studied. Girls are more interested in biological science topics than boys are. Girls also showed a significant preference for animals over plants. As a group, junior high school students revealed that they prefer animal study over plant study. About half of the student responses categorized as “biological science” did not express a clear-cut preference for either plants or animals. A caution about generalizability is expressed. Interviews of students suggest that the following characteristics of animals are important determinants of preferences: Animals move, eat, have eyes for sight, communicate by sound, exhibit behaviors that are fun to watch, have short and observable live cycles, interact with humans, can learn, have mates, give birth, and raise their young. It was obvious that most students think of mammals when they hear the term “animal.”
Traditional science teaching has relied on 'chalk and talk'. In recent years, 'authentic science' has become an alternative slogan that many educators easily adopted into their pedagogic discourses, for it was associated with 'getting students to do the real stuff'. However, authentic science when it is not accompanied by reflection on representations of knowledge more generally, can also mean to enculturate (and worse, indoctrinate) students to a particular epistemology. In this article, the author provides two examples of invisible ways in which students of ecology are enculturated to particular ideologies. The unreflected matter-of-factness of the discursive and mathematical representations in lectures and textbooks makes the world appear to be typologically decomposable (into variables) which have clear, mathematically fully determined relationships (topologies). In this way, school science has a certain likeness with indoctrination. The author concludes by suggesting that science (or mathematics, history etc.) courses need to have built in moments in which students can critically examine disciplinary knowledge representations and the way these are constituted.
Photocopy of typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, Sept., 1976. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-133).