Student interests — the German and Austrian ROSE survey

Elster, Doris

doi:10.1080/00219266.2007.9656100

Cited by 50 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Many researchers have found related findings of positive relationships between student interest and learning (Logan and Skemp, 2005, Trumper, 2006, Elster, 2007. However, there are also many findings that this interest declines as students pass through the secondary school years (Jenkins and Pell, 2006, Osborne et al, 2003, Schmidt, 2000.…”

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This definition is applicable to situations in the classroom where the interests of students in academic areas are reflected in actions such as time and effort spent studying a particular subject, willingness to engage in additional activities involving the subject area besides that given by the teacher, and voluntarily selecting the subject for further study. Various researchers have indicated positive relationships between student interest and learning (Logan and Skamp, 2005;Trumper, 2006;Elster, 2007). Simpson et al (1994) pointed to various research results (Gardner, 1975(Gardner, , 1996Schibeci, 1944) which indicated the importance of cultivating students' learning interests about science.…”

Section: Perceived Difficulty Of Science Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is particularly noteworthy that a variety of researchers also found significant gender differences in attitudes towards, and interest in science, with girls losing interest faster than boys in secondary schools (Krapp, 2002;Trumper, 2006;Elster, 2007). Logan and Skemp (2008) indicated that these gender differences were most likely to be connected with a number of variables related to classroom experiences, including pedagogical variables.…”

Section: Gender Difference In Interest In Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Science Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Difficult Topics in the Integrated Science Curriculum of Lower Secondary Schools in Barbados

Ogunkola¹,

Samuel²

2011

WJE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussion Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Perceived Difficulty Of Science Topicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender Difference In Interest In Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Science Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Difficult Topics in the Integrated Science Curriculum of Lower Secondary Schools in Barbados

Ogunkola¹,

Samuel²

2011

WJE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Medicinal plants are clearly number one with regard to interest across all age groups and so they rather contradict findings on a more general level ("plants") that imply botanical content is not interesting for students (Elster 2007;Sjøberg and Schreiner 2010). Moreover, students' interest in medicinal plants does not follow the general trend of decreasing interest in biological topics with increasing age, as often described in the educational science literature of the last decades, (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Plant blindness leads people to overlook plants in everyday life and therefore they do not gain knowledge about them (Wandersee and Schussler 1999;Schussler, Link-Pérez, Weber and Dollo 2010). Furthermore, studies on students' interest in biological topics show that botanical issues are the most boring for students (Elster 2007;. During adolescence their interests shift from animal biology rather to human biology and the interest in plants decreases even more (Baram-Tsabari and Yarden 2007; Baram-Tsabari, Sethi, Bry and Yarden 2010; Osborne and Collins 2001;Tamir and Gardner 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering patterns of interest in useful plants. Frequency analysis of individual students’ interest types as a tool for planning botany teaching units

Pany

Heidinger

2014

Mult.J.Edu.Soc.Tec.Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The paper presented examines how useful plants can help counteracting "plant blindness" -a phenomenon leading people to overlook plants in everyday-life. Recent research indicates that people are most likely interested in useful plants, hence this group of plants could be used to trigger interest in botanical content in general. This study has investigated the structure of interest in five subgroups of useful plants (medicinal plants, stimulant herbal drugs, spice plants, edible plants, and ornamental plants). For this purpose, the FEIN-questionnaire (Fragebogen zur Erhebung des Interesses an Nutzpflanzen = Questionnaire acquiring interest in useful plants) was filled in by N = 1,299 pupils from grade 5 to 12. Data analysis shows (for all age groups and both genders) that medicinal plants and stimulant herbal drugs trigger high interest while spice plants, edible plants and ornamental plants raise only lower interest. However, mean values do not allow conclusions on an individual level (e.g. in a school class). In order to gain information about the interest structure in a specific target group teachers deal with in practice, we have analysed the interests on an individual level using frequency analysis of different interest types. Results show that stimulant herbal drugs seem to strongly polarize students, whereas medicinal plants are interesting for almost the whole sample. Eventually, medicinal plants turned out to be well suited to introduce botanical content by means of plants catching the interest of as many students as possible. Therefore, medicinal plants should be established as flagships counteracting plant blindness.

show abstract

Botanical boom: A new opportunity to promote the public appreciation of botany

Burke

Sherwood

Clune

et al. 2022

Plants People Planet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Societal Impact Statement Plants are indispensable to life on Earth. Securing our future requires protecting plant biodiversity and the development of climate‐resilient crops. Activities fostering public appreciation of plant science, and promoting plant‐related professions, are therefore critical. These efforts can be hindered by plant awareness disparity, manifesting as difficulty in recognizing the presence and importance of plants. However, interest in plants as a hobby and as lifestyle elements has rapidly increased in younger demographics over the last decade. We suggest these topics should be exploited urgently by researchers and educators to increase further the reach of science communication, thereby enhancing societal awareness of botany and stimulating interest in plant‐related degrees and career pathways. Summary Plants are the basis of life on Earth as we know it and the study of plants is essential to protect our future. Yet botany and plant science are in crisis and suffer a low uptake at the level of undergraduate degrees. Increasing science communication about exciting advances in our knowledge of plants and their importance to society may be a strategy to counteract this. Here, we comment on the recent trends in the public perception of plants and explore them using infoveillance tools. Our observations highlight that paradoxically over the last decade public interest in plant‐related topics has increased considerably, with the advent of a new type of social media influencer—‘plantfluencers’. Additionally, recent studies demonstrate that the COVID‐19 pandemic has boosted awareness of the therapeutic value of interacting with plants and their positive effect on human well‐being. We suggest that this offers a window of opportunity to develop an appreciation of plant science among the wider public, who are reconnecting with plants in new ways. Plant‐focused communities and online groups on social media platforms can facilitate engagement with new audiences. In particular, trends relating to houseplants, plant‐based diets and the benefits of interacting with plants on mental health and well‐being together provide an attractive springboard for science outreach and botany‐focused conversations. Here, we discuss these trends and make recommendations for researchers and educators.

show abstract

Student interests — the German and Austrian ROSE survey

Cited by 50 publications

References 6 publications

Science Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Difficult Topics in the Integrated Science Curriculum of Lower Secondary Schools in Barbados

Science Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Difficult Topics in the Integrated Science Curriculum of Lower Secondary Schools in Barbados

Uncovering patterns of interest in useful plants. Frequency analysis of individual students’ interest types as a tool for planning botany teaching units

Botanical boom: A new opportunity to promote the public appreciation of botany

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About