Shifting the Balance: Engaging Students in Using a Modeling Tool to Learn about Ocean Acidification

Bielik, Tom; Damelin, Dan; Krajcik, Joseph

doi:10.29333/ejmste/99512

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Please create a concept map that describes your understanding of the various factors influencing the spreading of COVID-19"). To produce and save the concept maps, the PBTs used SageModeler (Bielik et al, 2019), an open access online drawing tool, which allowed them to add as many boxes to the drawing board, to connect between them with arrows, and to label the boxes and arrows. The software allowed the PBTs to create and digitally send a shared link of their final concept map.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using concept maps to evaluate preservice biology teachers’ conceptualization of COVID-19 as a complex phenomenon

Bielik,

Jagemann,

Krell

et al. 2023

Front. Educ.

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IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic showed the critical importance of supporting teachers’ and students’ systems thinking when making sense of complex phenomena. This study sets to explore preservice biology teachers’ (PBTs) mental models of COVID-19 as complex phenomenon using concept maps.Methods27 PBTs concept maps of COVID-19 outbreak were collected and taken for analysis. Structural and complexity attributes were identified in participants’ concept maps and the relationships between them were tested, providing statistical analyses using exemplary concept maps.ResultsThe results suggest that the appearance of many concepts in a map (structural attribute) does not necessarily indicate high level of complexity, but rather the amount of simple structural relationships (complexity attribute). On the other hand, the results indicate that higher structural sophistication (e.g., high number of connections and junctions) could be associated with the complexity level of the map.DiscussionThis study provides a practical method for evaluating the complexity level of PBTs’ systems thinking, suggests a possible link between structural and complexity attributes in their concept maps, and demonstrates the need to further support PBTs in developing their systems thinking skills in the context of complex biological phenomena.

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Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using concept maps to evaluate preservice biology teachers’ conceptualization of COVID-19 as a complex phenomenon

Bielik,

Jagemann,

Krell

et al. 2023

Front. Educ.

Self Cite

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“…A driving question has important roles for organizing the sequence of learning activities, providing a context for student engagement in both science content and practices, and guiding continuity and coherence to the full range of activities (Krajcik & Shin, in press). This feature supports students in the problem decomposition aspect of CT by describing a goal for their tasks and specifying a question that needs to be answered through investigative activities; this feature also supports problem decomposition by providing opportunities to explore elements related to a phenomenon (Bielik, Damelin, & Krajcik, 2019).…”

Section: Design Feature 2 Starting With a Driving Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This helps students narrow the scope of the phenomenon by identifying the key elements in the phenomenon that are necessary for explaining the phenomenon in computational models. These activities support students in engaging with "problem decomposition" by providing the opportunity to explore important and relevant elements in a phenomenon for specifying the scope of the model (Bielik et al, 2019;Krajcik & Czerniak, 2018).…”

Section: M2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting computational thinking through project-based learning

Shin

Bowers

Krajcik

et al. 2021

Discip Interdscip Sci Educ Res

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This paper introduces project-based learning (PBL) features for developing technological, curricular, and pedagogical supports to engage students in computational thinking (CT) through modeling. CT is recognized as the collection of approaches that involve people in computational problem solving. CT supports students in deconstructing and reformulating a phenomenon such that it can be resolved using an information-processing agent (human or machine) to reach a scientifically appropriate explanation of a phenomenon. PBL allows students to learn by doing, to apply ideas, figure out how phenomena occur and solve challenging, compelling and complex problems. In doing so, students take part in authentic science practices similar to those of professionals in science or engineering, such as computational thinking. This paper includes 1) CT and its associated aspects, 2) The foundation of PBL, 3) PBL design features to support CT through modeling, and 4) a curriculum example and associated student models to illustrate how particular design features can be used for developing high school physical science materials, such as an evaporative cooling unit to promote the teaching and learning of CT.

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Challenging Greek Primary Students’ Knowledge of Ocean Acidification Using the Carbon Cycle Context

Boubonari,

Papazoglou,

Mogias

et al. 2023

Int J of Sci and Math Educ

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of an intervention on primary school students’ construction of knowledge on ocean acidification and the development of their systems thinking. Eighty-five 11 to 12-year-old students from five different classes of two public primary schools in Greece participated in the 8-h intervention. The intervention included inquiry-based and knowledge-integration activities, and students worked in groups during all activities. Rich pictures, made by the groups at the beginning and the end of the intervention, were used to evaluate their progress in their knowledge concerning the carbon cycle, as well as in their systems thinking. Our findings showed that the intervention contributed to primary students’ conceptual knowledge of the carbon cycle and the inclusion of ocean acidification in the carbon cycle. It also helped them improve their systems thinking, indicating that students’ systems thinking at this age could be developed through formal instruction with interventions which emphasize content knowledge and use an earth systems approach. Moreover, our findings indicate that the systems thinking perspective can serve as an effective approach to help children better understand and critically engage with complex environmental issues, such as ocean acidification.

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Shifting the Balance: Engaging Students in Using a Modeling Tool to Learn about Ocean Acidification

Cited by 6 publications

References 34 publications

Using concept maps to evaluate preservice biology teachers’ conceptualization of COVID-19 as a complex phenomenon

Using concept maps to evaluate preservice biology teachers’ conceptualization of COVID-19 as a complex phenomenon

Promoting computational thinking through project-based learning

Challenging Greek Primary Students’ Knowledge of Ocean Acidification Using the Carbon Cycle Context

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