Ability of Slovakian Pupils to Identify Birds

Abstract

A pupil's ability to identify common organisms is necessary for acquiring further knowledge of biology. We investigated how pupils were able to identify 25 bird species following their song, growth habits, or both features presented simultaneously. Just about 19 % of birds were successfully identified by song, about 39 % by growth habit, and 45 % of birds were identified when pupils were allowed to hear their song and to see their growth habit simultaneously. Statistically significant correlation was found between visual and acoustical identification success which suggests that these two stimuli have an additive effect. This study provides direct support for the use of visual and acoustic features of animals when learning about birds in biology lessons.

Knowledge of birds of conservation interest among the people living close to protected areas in Serengeti, Northern Tanzania

“…Bogner (1999) examined the effects of conservation programmes on 10-to 16-year-old students' attitudes about and knowledge of the common swift (Apus apus) and found that specific knowledge about the common swift increased only in younger students. A similar study of bird identification skills with visual stimuli (bird pictures) conducted with elementary students (mean age 12.3 years) and university students (mean age 21.2 years) found that the ability to identify birds did not differ significantly between the two groups (Prokop & Rodak 2009;Randler 2009). Surprisingly, we found that the ability to recognise birds accurately was not positively related to education level.…”

Students (ages 6, 10, and 15 years) in six countries knowledge of animals

“…The word bird was also used, but specific birds (species) were not named. In regard to birds, a study conducted by Prokop and Rodak (2009) found that students may be not be aware of local birds. They asked 154 Slovakian students (110 elementary, 44 university) to identify local birds while looking at pictures and listening to the birds' calls.…”

“…In the past decades, students' knowledge of animals has become a topic of concern to educational researchers (Aguirre & Orihuela, 2010;Bell, 1981;Bell & Baker, 1982;Braund, 1991;Eloranta & Yli-Panula, 2005;Huxham, Welsh, Berry, & Templeton, 2006;Patrick & Tunnicliffe, 2011, Prokop & Rodak, 2009Ryman, 1974;Storm, 1980;Winkler-Rhoades, Medin, Waxman, Woodring, & Ross, 2010). Beginning in the 1980s, Kellert published a series of articles related to American citizens' attitudes and knowledge of animals.…”

Pre-Service Biology Teachers’ and Primary School Students’ Attitudes Toward and Knowledge about Snakes

“…Moreover, to the best of the author's knowledge, no study assessed whether attitudes to and knowledge of snakes differ between school children and adult students. Although this task may seem trivial at first glance, recent research showed that school children have surprisingly similar animal identification skills to those of university pre-service biology teachers (Prokop & Rodák, 2009). What is more, myths and knowledge about controversial animals such as bats or snakes exhibit remarkable similarities even between biology majors and non-majors (Prokop et al, 2009a).…”