Preconceptions and relations used by children in the construction of food chains

Abstract

This study shows two aspects: the predator-prey relations and the preconceptions held by children (9)(10) years old) on the construction of food chains. The subjects of the study were 506 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children from the Mexican education curriculum. The conclusions are based on a single application of an instrument after a lecture in the classroom. The instrument consists of three tasks. The outcome showed that the classification of herbivorous and carnivorous is based in children's preconceptions of size and ferocity. These preconceptions guide the children's selection of the higher-level predator in the construction of a food chain. Another element used by children is the predator-prey relation in the construction of a food chain. The results shed light on the difficulties students have at higher education levels in the resolution of food webs and the relationships with ecosystems.One of the most important issues in science teaching at all educational levels is the relationship between living organisms and their environments. This is why there is interest in studying the construction and conceptualization of food webs and food chains, understood as relationships between populations of producers and consumers from different trophic levels. Food webs and food chains are important for the comprehension of more complex concepts in ecology. Such concepts are considered by science teachers to be an important and difficult part of teaching biology (Finley, Stewart, & Yarroch, 1982).An investigation of food webs by Griffiths and Grant (1985) found a set of preconceptions using a model of a learning hierarchy employed to assess problem solving of food webs. From these preconceptions, it is worth stressing the following points:I . The interpretation of food web dynamics is made in terms of a single food chain. 2 . In a food web, a change in one population will only affect another population if the two 3. The change in size of a prey population has no effect on its predator population.populations are directly related as predator and prey. Brumby (1982) has also reported the student's understanding of a food web in terms of food chains, which supports the above-mentioned points.Further, Webb and Boltt (1990) showed that the predator-prey relation is the principal component in the student's construction of a food chain. This relationship is not translated to other routes in a food web, if it has no effect on contiguous populations.

Determination of secondary school students cognitive structure, and misconception in ecological concepts through word association test

“…were not given to the keyword "food chain". Gallegos et al (1994) determined that students thought that while the food chain consists of prey and predators, it does not include producers. In contrast, in our study, it was observed in the concept webs that students gave "plants" as response for the keyword "food chain", but they were not aware of "prey" and "predator" (Figure 1.d).…”

“…Extensive research has shown that cognitive structure and misconceptions related with ecology can be determined with various instruments such as open ended questions (Adeneyi, 1985;Brehm et al, 1986;Bishop and Anderson, 1990), multiple choice questions (Bishop and Anderson, 1990;Gallegos, Jerezano and Flores, 1994;Griffiths and Grant, 1985;Yörek et al, 2010), observations and interviews ( Tekkaya, Çapa and Yılmaz, 2000;Tsai and Huang, 2001;Palmer, 1999;Yörek, et al, 2010), likert type scale (Bozkurt and Cansürgü, 2002). Besides these traditional assessment techniques, some alternative assessment techniques are also used such as word association tests, concept maps, concept webs, structured grids, estimation-observation-expression, diagnostic branched tree, drawings and explanations, flow map, two-tier diagnostic tests (Kurt, 2013;Shepardson, et al 2011, Shavelson, 1974aShavelson, 1974b;Tsai, 2001;Tsai and Huang, 2002).…”

How effective is instructional support for learning with computer simulations?

“…The concrete topic of the computer simulation ''population dynamics and predator-prey relationships'' is considered to be a relevant and difficult part of science education (Finley et al 1982) and is an integral component of the current biology curriculum for eighth graders in German secondary schools. Students frequently display problems in understanding predator-prey relationships (Gallegos et al 1994). For example, they often reveal difficulties in understanding the two-sided dependency of predator and prey (Griffiths and Grant 1985).…”

Transformation de la représentation des concepts scientifiques en écologie chez des étudiants de l’enseignement supérieur

“…(Sundberg, 2003 ;Griffiths & Grant, 1985 ;Gallegos, Jerezano & Flores, 1994) ; -un savoir qui s'écarte du savoir scientifique et qui est source d'éventuels obstacles à l'apprentissage (D'Avanzo, 2007 ;Stamp, 2004 ;Trowbridge & Mintzes, 1988) ; -un savoir utile pour la planification de l'enseignement (Ballantyne, 2004 ;Hogan & Fisherkeller, 1996 ;Munson, 1994) ; -le résultat de l'application de différentes méthodes de recueil et d'analyse (Brody, 1993 ;Mann & Treagust, 1998). La plupart de ces recherches négligent l'aspect « construction » de la représentation, processus qui se situe en amont et en aval du « produit » (Jodelet, 1984).…”