System thinking and feeding relations: learning with a live ecosystem model

Abstract

Considering well-documented difficulties in mastering ecology concepts and system thinking, the aim of the study was to examine 9th graders' understanding of the complex, multilevel, systemic construct of feeding relations, nested within a larger system of a live model. Fifty students interacted with the model and manipulated a variable within it in the course of this model ecosystem yearlong inquiry, in a laboratory/traditional learning environment. Students' written responses to 10 pretest-posttest probes underwent fine-grain analysis regarding 53 descriptors of the system of feeding relations. Overall, students exhibited initial system thinking, manifested in different levels of increased ability to identify: system components, processes, levels, and their interrelations; ecosystem patterns and control mechanisms; equilibrium shifts; and spatial and temporal aspects of feeding relations. However, many still exhibited a deficient understanding of the system studied, reflecting a deficient system thinking. Implications for systemic ecology teaching and learning are discussed.Keywords System thinking Á Live system model Á Long-term inquiry Á Ecology instruction and learning Á Junior high school Instruction of ecology poses great difficulties for students' learning (e.g., Hogan and Fisherkeller 1996;Reiner and Eilam 2001). These difficulties are usually attributed to ecology's interdisciplinary nature, to ecological theories' low level of generality, formalization, and verifiability (del Solar and Marone 2001), to the complex systemic nature of ecosystems (Grotzer and Bel Basca 2003;Hmelo-Silver et al. 2007), to the need to comprehend biological systems of increasing levels of complexity (Model et al. 2005), and to students' prior knowledge (Vosniadou 1994). For most biology students, learning biology mostly involves memorizing details about static components of phenomena while disregarding systemic changes in time (Wilensky and Reisman 2006). Learning about a system's components alone does not ensure students' development of system thinking.

Moss in the Classroom: A Tiny but Mighty Tool for Teaching Biology

“…We were interested in understanding the way in which students thought about biology after they participated in mosscosms. We obtained a glimpse of their thinking in their written conclusions from the project, and the majority could be considered low-order cognitive skills (expected for grades [6][7][8], yet some students made higher-order statements that included analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of their projects (3, 6) (Appendix 3). Potentially appropriate assessments of this project would evaluate student understanding of experimental design concepts (e.g., (5, 7)) as well as their perceptions of ownership and investment in their projects (10).…”

“…Using live ecosystems in the classroom can help students interact with biology at the systems level (8), thus addressing a core concept of Vision and Change's Systems learning objective: Living systems are interconnected and interacting. It furthermore directly meets national calls for students to "do" science in the classroom (1).…”

Determining the Middle School 7th Grade Students’ Levels of Understanding the Concept of Ecosystem via Worksheets

“…Ekosistemlerin karmaşık sistemler olamaları, öğrencilerin derinlemesine bir kavrayış geliştirmesini güçleştirmektedir (Eilam, 2012;Grotzer, 2009;Hmelo-Silver, Marathe ve Liu, 2007;Jordan vd., 2009). Ekosistem kavramının derinlemesine kavranabilmesi için öğrencilerin bu sıkı ilişkiyi fark etmelerinin ve ekosisteme bütüncül olarak bakabilmelerinin sağlanması önemlidir.…”

“…Alanyazındaki çalışmalar, birçok öğrencinin özellikle ekosistemdeki karmaşık ilişkileri kavrayamadığını göstermektedir. Örneğin ekosistemlerin biyotik ve abiyotik öğeleri arasında hiç ilişki olmadığını (Adeneyi, 1985) veya tek yönlü bir ilişki olduğunu (Eilam, 2012;Sander vd., 2006) düşünmektedirler. Hogan (2000)'ın çalışmasında da 11 yaş grubu öğrencilerinin besin ağındaki düzensizliklerle ilgili verdikleri yanıtların, daha karmaşık iki yönlü ve döngüsel ilişkilerden çok, tekyönlü ve doğrusal olduğu saptanmıştır.…”

“…) ve ekosistemdeki ilişkilerden sadece birinin anlaşılma düzeyinin (Arkwringht, 2014;Eilam, 2012;Gotwals ve Songer, 2010) ortaya koyulduğu çok sayıda çalışma mevcutken, sınırlı sayıda çalışmada, ekosistem kavramının bütüncül olarak anlaşılma düzeyinin incelendiği (Sander vd., 2006;Hogan, 2000;Yörek vd., 2010) görülmüştür. Bunlardan iki tanesi (Sander vd., 2006;Yörek vd., 2010) lise öğrencileri (15-17 yaş) üzerinde yapılmışken sadece bir tanesi (Hogan, 2000); ortaokul öğrencileri (11 yaş) üzerinde yapılmıştır.…”