Analysis of Korean Middle School Students’ Scientific Interpretation Differences With or Without Arrows in the Energy Pyramid
Abstract
This study analyzed differences in Korean middle school students’ scientific interpretation of the energy pyramid diagram, which is a central concept of ecosystem learning, based on whether or not arrows were presented in the chart. Two classes that did not show statistically significant differences in school science academic achievement were selected. One class was shown the energy pyramid diagram with arrows, and the other without. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for quantitative research. The study found that the group interpreting the energy pyramid with arrows had a statistically significant scientific interpretation than the group interpreting the energy pyramid without arrows. In other words, arrows aided understanding of the concepts of size, biomass, and energy transfer of biological elements in the energy pyramid. In addition, the arrows aided understanding of the meaning of each piece of a pie chart, as the amount of biomass or energy being transferred to the next level of nutrition as pieces of a pie chart. Thus, it was concluded that the arrows in the energy pyramid were efficient visual elements in conveying the flow of matter and energy between living creatures. Based on the results, this study recommends that science textbooks should use arrows for more efficient understanding of scientific phenomena throughout textbooks beyond only the “ecosystem” topic.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Agrawal, R., Gollapudi, S., Kannan, A., & Kenthapadi, K. (2011, October). Enriching textbooks with images. In Proceedings of the 20th ACM international conference on Information and knowledge management (pp. 1847-1856).
Aikens, K., & McKenzie, M. (2021). A comparative analysis of environment and sustainability in policy across subnational education systems. The Journal of Environmental Education, 52(2), 69-82.
Eilam, B. (2013). Possible constraints of visualization in biology: Challenges in learning with multiple representations. In Multiple representations in biological education (pp. 55-73). Springer, Dordrecht.
Eilam, B., & Gilbert, J. K. (2014). The significance of visual representations in the teaching of science. In Science teachers’ use of visual representations (pp. 3-28). Springer, Cham.
Eilam, B., & Poyas, Y. (2010). External visual representations in science learning: The case of relations among system components. International Journal of Science Education, 32(17), 2335-2366.
Eromosele, O. E., & Ekholuenetale, M. (2016). On Misconceptions of Ecological Concepts among Public Senior Secondary Schools Students in Benin City, Nigeria. International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, 27(1), 109-118.
Ge, Y. P., Wang, K. H., Chung, C. H., Chang, H. P., & Unsworth, L. (2014). Comparing the images in Taiwanese and Australian science textbooks by grammar of visual design: an example of biological classification. Chinese Journal of Science Education, 22(2), 109-134.
Han, J. A., & Choi, D. S. (2013). Analysis of Elementary Students’ System Thinking Application Types in Learning Ecosystem. Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Education, 26(2), 253-267.
Han, M. H., & Kim, H. B. (2012). Elementary Student's Reasoning Patterns Represented in Constructing Models of'Food Web and Food Pyramid'. Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education, 31(1), 71-83.
Heiser, J., & Tversky, B. (2006). Arrows in comprehending and producing mechanical diagrams. Cognitive science, 30(3), 581-592.
Hmelo-Silver, C. E., & Azevedo, R. (2006). Understanding complex systems: Some core challenges. The Journal of the learning sciences, 15(1), 53-61.
Ikhsan, F. A., Kurnianto, F. A., Apriyanto, B., & Nurdin, E. A. (2019). The effectivity of environmental education in scaffolding students’ ecological literacy. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 8(3), 398-406.
Jin, H., Shin, H. J., Hokayem, H., Qureshi, F., & Jenkins, T. (2019). Secondary students’ understanding of ecosystems: A learning progression approach. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(2), 217-235.
Jung, H., & Lim, H. (2018). Types and roles of visualization materials in elementary science textbook focusing on infographics. Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education, 37(1), 80-91.
Kesidou, S., & Duit, R. (1993). Students' conceptions of the second law of thermodynamics—an interpretive study. Journal of research in science teaching, 30(1), 85-106.
Khine, M. S., & Liu, Y. (2017). Descriptive Analysis of the Graphic Representations of Science Textbooks. European Journal of STEM Education, 2(3), 6-12.
Kim, D. (2020). The correlation analysis between Korean middle school students’ emotional level and friendship in science learning. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 9(1), 22-31.
Kim, Y., Paik, S. H., Choi, S. Y., Kang, N. H., Maeng, S., & Joung, Y. J. (2015). Analysis on the trends of science education studies related to students' science learning in Korea. Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education, 35(4), 751-772.
Kirsop-Taylor, N., Appiah, D., Steadman, A., & Huggett, M. (2020). Reflections on integrating the political into environmental education through problem-based learning and political ecology. The Journal of Environmental Education, 52(1), 1-13.
Kobori, H., Dickinson, J. L., Washitani, I., Sakurai, R., Amano, T., Komatsu, N., ... & Miller-Rushing, A. J. (2016). Citizen science: a new approach to advance ecology, education, and conservation. Ecological research, 31(1), 1-19.
Krum, R. (2013). Cool infographics: Effective communication with data visualization and design. John Wiley & Sons.
Liu, S. C., Lin, H. S., & Tsai, C. Y. (2020). Ninth grade students’ mental models of the marine environment and their implications for environmental science education in Taiwan. The Journal of Environmental Education, 51(1), 72-82.
Liu, Y., & Khine, M. S. (2016). Content analysis of the diagrammatic representations of primary science textbooks. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(8), 1937-1951.
Novick, L. R. (2006, June). The importance of both diagrammatic conventions and domain-specific knowledge for diagram literacy in science: The hierarchy as an illustrative case. In International Conference on Theory and Application of Diagrams (pp. 1-11). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
O'brien, K., Selboe, E., & Hayward, B. M. (2018). Exploring youth activism on climate change. Ecology and Society, 23(3), 42-47.
Phelan, J. (2013). What is life? : a guide biology, 2nd edition. New York, NY : W.H. Freeman and Co.
Pozzer-Ardenghi, L., & Roth, W. M. (2004). Photographs in lectures: Gestures as meaning-making resources. Linguistics and education, 15(3), 275-293.
Preston, C. (2018). Food webs: implications for instruction. The American Biology Teacher, 80(5), 331-338.
Suryawati, E., Suzanti, F., Zulfarina, Z., Putriana, A. R., & Febrianti, L. (2020). The implementation of local environmental problem-based learning student worksheets to strengthen environmental literacy. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 9(2), 169-178.
Tippett, C. D. (2016). What recent research on diagrams suggests about learning with rather than learning from visual representations in science. International Journal of Science Education, 38(5), 725-746.
Toman, U. (2018). An investigation into the learning of ecological concepts. European Journal of Educational Research, 7(3), 631-638.
Wilks, L., & Harris, N. (2016). Examining the conflict and interconnectedness of young people’s ideas about environmental issues, responsibility and action. Environmental Education Research, 22(5), 683-696.
Wright, L. K., Cardenas, J. J., Liang, P., & Newman, D. L. (2017). Arrows in biology: Lack of clarity and consistency points to confusion for learners. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(1), 1-13.
Yucel, E. O., & Ozkan, M. (2015). Determination of secondary school students cognitive structure, and misconception in ecological concepts through word association test. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(5), 660-674.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
