How to Teach Photosynthesis? A Review of Academic Research (original) (raw)
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Pedagogical Research
Biology, known as the science of life in its most general definition, is one of the branches of science closest to individuals due to the subjects it contains. Therefore, knowing the concepts related to biology correctly is important for the sustainability of the learning process. In this study, it was aimed to determine the conceptual perceptions and misconceptions of prospective science teachers about photosynthesis. The research using the case study was carried out in 2020-2021. The study group of the research consists of 57 pre-service science teachers studying in the first and fourth year of a state university in Turkey. The structured interview form and focus group interview form prepared by the researchers were used as data collection tools. As a result of the research, it was determined that the conceptual perceptions of the pre-service science teachers about the substances taken from the external environment in the photosynthesis process, photosynthesis products, and the importance of photosynthesis for the ecosystem were not sufficient. In addition, in the study, it was determined that pre-service science teachers had misconceptions about the definition of photosynthesis, energy source and the importance of photosynthesis for the ecosystem.
Scientific Conceptions of Photosynthesis among Primary School Pupils and Student Teachers of Biology
• Photosynthesis is the most important biochemical process on Earth. Most living beings depend on it directly or indirectly. Knowledge about photo-synthesis enables us to understand how the world functions as an ecosystem and how photosynthesis acts as a bridge between the non-living and living worlds. It is, therefore, understandable that photosynthesis is included in national curricula around the world. The practice unfortunately shows that students at all school levels mostly learn about photosynthesis by rote. Consequently, they have difficulties understanding this vital process. Research also shows many misconceptions in relation to photosyn-thesis among students of different ages. Based on these, the main aim of our study was to explore the scientific conceptions about photosynthesis held by primary school pupils and student teachers of biology. Data were collected using a questionnaire containing seven biology content questions. The sample consisted of 634 participants, 427 primary school pupils (aged 11–14), and 207 student teachers of biology (aged 20–23). We found that the populations of primary school pupils and student teachers of biology differ greatly concerning scientific conceptions of photosynthesis. The student teachers showed good and complex understanding of photosyn-thesis, while pupils showed some misconceptions (location of chlorophyll and photosynthesis in a plant, transformation of energy in photosynthe-sis). Analysis of the development of scientific conceptions about photo-synthesis with age showed that there is very little progress among primary school pupils and none among biology student teachers. More involvement of student teachers of biology in practical work at primary schools during their study was suggested to make student teachers aware of, and better understand pupils' misconceptions.
European Journal of Educational Research, 2018
The aim of the research is to determine the perceptions of the preservice science teachers about the photosynthesis and to reveal the relation between these perceptions and the misconceptions of the existing concepts. In the research, field scanning method was used as a descriptive research method. The sample of the research is composed of 355 preservice science teachers trained in different universities. For the selection of the sample, purposeful sample selection was used and attention was paid to the fact that the preservice science teachers had taken the General Biology-I and General Biology-II courses at the undergraduate level in the determination of the class level to be included in the study. The "Photosynthesis Concept Achievement Test" (PCAT) developed by the researcher and composed of 4 questions was used as a data collection tool. Quantitative data obtained from the study were analyzed using SPSS.20 package program while content analysis was performed in the an...
Understanding of photosynthesis concepts related to students’ age
2015
In Croatian schools, the complex photosynthesis concept is presented several times during primary and secondary school, each time with more detail. The problems in understanding photosynthesis processes are known from many previous studies and our own research ; thus we aimed to investigate how the students’ understanding of the basic photosynthesis concepts increases during the schooling period, and is it enhanced by gradual introduction of new contents. The present study was conducted on 269 students from 6 schools and 35 students preparing to be biology teachers. To test the students’ conceptual understanding, we implemented a question about the trends of O2 and CO2 gas concentrations during the night, which was expected to lead students to a correct explanation of photosynthesis, including the issues of the plants’ respiration and the absence of photosynthesis. Students of all age groups gave mainly incomplete explanations. The best result was achieved by the youngest participan...
Current paper deals with the teaching of photosynthesis in the elementary school. Within the context of analyzing strategies of language mediation, we investigated how intertextuality affects the subject matter and brings to the fore different interpretations. Activities, which were interesting for students in talking science, were also analyzed. Although a set of activities was prepared, current paper focuses on instances related to the production of meanings and involves cultural contexts on science conversations. It is a challenging affair to encourage students to maintain discussions on science in the classroom with the teachers being relatively tolerant with regard to the silence that ensues. Silence is sometimes questioned even though it does not make any progress in teacher-student relationship. Students must be challenged through questions, investigations and differentiated readings. They may be priceless instances for the establishing learning situations through talking science.
Secondary students' interpretations of photosynthesis and plant nutrition
Students have varying levels of knowledge about photosynthesis, respiration and energy issues prior to teaching. The relationship between photosynthesis and respiration, and plant ecosystems and the food chain are important topics in biology education. However, students' initial ideas can be hard to change even through teaching biology curricula. This paper studies the misconceptions held by Grade 9 students (14 – 15 years old) in Turkey about photosynthesis and plant nutrition. A questionnaire was constructed comprising seven openended questions designed to test students' conceptions about important areas of plant biology. Results showed that students have conflicting, and often incorrect, ideas about photosynthesis, respiration and energy flow in plant ecosystems, even after teaching. This suggests that students' initial ideas are deep-rooted and difficult to change. By developing science curricula and helping teachers become more aware of students' misconceptions, a different approach to teaching this subject area may help to reduce students' difficulties in understanding the concepts of photosynthesis.
Teacher tensions when adopting a new approach to teaching about photosynthesis
Journal of Science and …, 2008
This study examined a Thai biology teacher's creative tensions when she was challenged to adopt a new teaching approach to photosynthesis with her class. The teacher was purposively selected on her need of professional growth. Data from observations and interviews documented the tensions. The data indicated that the biology teacher experienced tensions with regard to her own conceptual knowledge, in initiating teacherstudent discussion and in challenging students' class participation. The teacher's prior professional experience and the researcher's additional reflection may have helped the teacher to solve these pedagogical problems.
Sukkur IBA Journal of Educational Sciences and Technologies
The aim of this study is to find out the misconceptions about the photosynthesis and respiration processes and their causes among elementary levels of Science students. When students come into the classrooms they have a lot of misconceptions/ alternative ideas based on their previous understanding, learning experiences, and observation of their surroundings. It started from the initial level where children construct their knowledge by observing the world. These ideas, beliefs, observations, and make their preconceptions. This research had been conducted to find out the misconceptions about respiration and photosynthesis and their causes. The nature of this research study is an exploratory case study from the private school of Sukkur, Sindh. Semi-structured interviews and unstructured observations were done to conduct the data for this research study to investigate the misconceptions in Science. One private school was selected for this research in Sukkur. The sample size for this re...
International Journal of Biology Education Towards Sustainable Development
This study aimed to determine the results of analyzing students' misconceptions of photosynthesis and plant respiration using a two-tier diagnostic test instrument in science class XII. Photosynthetic and respiration are considered abstract concepts and difficult for students to understand, allowing misconceptions to occur. A two-tier diagnostic test is one of the diagnostic tests that can be used to identify students' misconceptions. This study used a descriptive qualitative method, using a two-tier diagnostic test and interviews instrument. The sample of the research was 75 students. The result showed that the students' misconceptions of photosynthetic and respiration concepts scored 27.9% in the low category. In comparison, the cause of students' misconception can be the need for students' ability to understand the detail of the teacher's explanation.
Development of Preservice Biology Teachers’ Skills in the Causal Process Concerning Photosynthesis
Journal of Education and Training Studies, 2019
Photosynthesis is the most effective cycle and sustainable natural process known in nature. Students who learn the subject of photosynthesis well will also make better sense of other issues such as environmental problems, the state of the atmosphere, greenhouse gases, climate changes, carbon footprints and conservation of forests. The aim of this study is to present an example of a worksheet that investigates the skill levels possessed by preservice teachers’ in the causal process, and also to examine their ability to write a photosynthesis equation by means of a history-based approach that also includes reading skills. The study was conducted with the action research method. The study sample consisted of a total of 71 preservice biology teachers. At the first stage, before the implementation of the worksheet, 34 teacher candidates from within the sample were asked a question with a diagram summarising the photosynthesis process. At the second stage, all the prospective teachers wer...