Biodiversity education can be challenging for educators as biodiversity is complex and evolving with multiple definitions. Previous research indicates that personal experiences with nature can help students learn and retain environmental lessons in a more meaningful way than other teaching methods. Previous research defined the process model of meaningful understanding with five steps (building on personal experience, meaningfulness, comprehensibility, sense of learning, understanding) for students to develop science subject matter affinity through subjective and objective means. For example, a scientist may serve as a model of someone who understands biodiversity through emotional connection and personal experience, in addition to objective research means. In this study, the researchers implemented visual learning tactics to elicit a personal nature experience in students to help them understand biodiversity researchers and topics through empathy. They aimed to find out how students understand biodiversity topics using the process model of meaningful understanding and how that process can influence teaching.
The researchers guided 6, 90-minute group discussions during which they showed photographs and a video to stimulate a conversation about biodiversity among the students. The group discussions included 18 students (3 students in each group) from grades 9 and 10 in a German secondary school (ages 14 to 16 years). The photographs included scenes with multiple species to illustrate the interactions between animal and plant species. These photos included a coral reef, a herd of zebras in the savannah, and people outdoors. The video had three segments of an interview with a biodiversity scientist. The researchers theorized the scientist would serve as an ideal model of someone who understands biodiversity through subjective and objective means. The video was meant to prompt multiple ways of understanding from the students and help them imagine their own nature experiences.. The video was about the life cycle of the dusky large blue butterfly and the species' interactions with two other species. After each segment, the students were given a chance to debrief about what they learned. The researchers recorded the group discussions, analyzed the data, and identified four categories of the understanding process, based on this specific analysis.
The results showed the students experienced a process of understanding during the group discussions. The students described their understanding in two ways during the debriefs: 1) they felt their biodiversity knowledge increased between the beginning and end of the discussion, and 2) they got a different perspective of biodiversity by literally looking at photographs and watching the video. For example, one student shared prior to this experience, they may have only talked about the fact there are many species as opposed to the many functions of one species. Another student shared the photos and video helped them see the differences among each zebra in the zebra herd. The researchers established four categories in the understanding process for the purpose of this study by combining sense of learning and understanding from the process model of meaningful understanding into sense of learning. The four categories (building on personal experiences, meaningfulness, comprehensibility, and sense of learning) were applied to the students' responses across all six discussion groups. At least 1 category was applied to 16 of the 18 students, and only 1 student demonstrated all 4 categories. Almost 90% of students derived meaningfulness from the video during the group discussions. The researchers concluded when students apply personal meaning and their experience in nature to biodiversity lessons, they can gain insights into the science and role of researchers in biodiversity, leading to a deeper understanding of the complex field.
There were limitations in this study. The researchers acknowledged the students may have undergone more understanding processes than they shared aloud which would have been unaccounted for in the data analysis. Further, there was no delineation of how the group dynamic impacted the individual student experience of the understanding process. The small sample size renders the results not generalizable.
The researchers recommended personal nature experiences can help secondary school students conceptualize and comprehend biodiversity in a meaningful way. Further, the teaching practice of providing space for students to reflect on their own personal experiences in nature can be applied to the field of environmental education and help students understand complex systems.
The Bottom Line
Biodiversity education is a complex subject for students to grasp. The researchers in this study used visual learning tactics to elicit a personal nature experience in students to help them understand scientists and biodiversity topics through empathy. The results showed the students experienced meaningful understanding during the group discussions. The researchers concluded when students apply personal meaning and their own experiences in nature to biodiversity lessons, they can gain insights into the science of and role of researchers in biodiversity, leading to a deeper understanding of the complex field. Teachers can support this learning by providing space for students to reflect on their own personal experiences in nature.
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