Developing Student Understanding of Biodiversity: Learning Progressions

1. Using learning progressions to describe how students develop increasingly sophisticated understandings of biodiversity    2013 Ecological Society of America Presentation Written by: Jennifer Doherty1, Laurel Hartley2, Cornelia Harris3, Andy Anderson1, Alan Berkowitz3, John Moore4 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY1, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER2, CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES3,, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY4 Culturally relevant ecology, learning progressions and environmental literacy Long Term Ecological Research Math Science Partnership August 2013 Disclaimer: This research is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation: Targeted Partnership: Culturally relevant ecology, learning progressions and environmental literacy (NSF-0832173). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

2. Using learning progressions to describe how students develop increasingly sophisticated understandings of biodiversity    Jennifer Doherty1, Laurel Hartley2, Cornelia Harris3, Andy Anderson1, Alan Berkowitz3, John Moore4 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY1, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER2, CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES3,, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY4

3. Our goal is to develop a learning progression for biodiversity • “Learning progressions are descriptions of successively more sophisticated ways of thinking about a topic that can follow one another as students learn about and investigate a topic over a broad span of time.” • Anchored at the lower end by what we know about how younger students reason • Anchored at upper end by what experts in the field believe students should understand when they graduate (NRC, Taking Science to School, 2007)

4. How do you create a learning progression? Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Observe patterns in student thinking (literature search and pilot studies) Define ContentArea Construct a model about we how think students progress Revise the model teaching experiments assessments Test the model

5. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Questions ecologists ask about ecosystems Why do you find particular species where you find them? How are organisms alike and different? How and why do organisms interact with each other? How and why do organisms interact with their environment?

6. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Written question approach We started using a written question approach • Created questions about community assembly • Administered questions to many students • Conducted validation interviews • Revised questions and re-administered to many students • Looked for patterns emerging across questions

7. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Challenges with assessing student understanding of ecosystems • Ecosystems are complex • Governed by a large variety of principles • Principles vary in importance depending on context • Students lack experiences with the natural world • Don’t have many experiences • Experiences are geographically constrained • Many students have spent more time watching movies and nature shows than actually being outdoors

8. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Scenario interview approach • Include most relevant principles and characteristics of ecosystems • Provide rich context in which students can apply principles in a series of related items • Specify a set of temporal relationships that make it possible to assess whatever combination of principles and characteristics we want to focus on • Allow us to focus on a core issue for environmental literacy, the effects of disturbances on ecosystems

9. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Methods • Developed 3 scenarios • Administered semi-structured interviews • Student in rural Michigan, suburban Colorado, and urban Baltimore, Maryland • 46 grade 6-12 students • 3 undergraduates • 4 post-doctoral researchers ecology

10. Native Asia Florida Everglades Scenario 1: Python Introduction to the Florida Everglades

11. Forest Suburb Scenario 2: Habitat Fragmentation and Lyme Disease Risk

12. Scenario 3: Loss of Kelp Forest Habitat

13. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Analysis methods Used grounded theory to look for trends in how students think about: • How communities are assembled • Biotic interactions • Abiotic interactions • Dispersal • How communities and ecosystems respond to disturbances

14. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Results: Two trends Ecological/ Systems Reasoning Number of Indicators for Type of Reasoning Anthropomorphic/ Analogic Reasoning Learning progression level

15. Community AssemblyExplaining Ecosystems and Subsystems Black: Linking processes that students at all levels can tell us about Green: Upper anchor accounts based on ecological/ systems reasoning Red: Lower anchor accounts based on anthropomorphic/ inappropriate analogic reasoning.

16. Community AssemblyExplaining Ecosystems and Subsystems Black: Linking processes that students at all levels can tell us about Green: Upper anchor accounts based on ecological/ systems reasoning Red: Lower anchor accounts based on anthropomorphic/ inappropriate analogic reasoning.

17. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Population Growth • INTERVIEWER: In general, do you think we might see pythons becoming more abundant in other parts of the U.S. as the next couple of decades go by? • RESPONDENT: No ….. Like it’s probably like it doesn’t rain too much over here, but like in here [Florida] it rains…..they like the weather more here than other places. ….Because of the living things, the weather and the plants ….[OR] Like they [Humans] would feed them, take care of them, make sure that no one tried to kill them.

18. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Population Growth • INTERVIEWER: In general, do you think we might see pythons becoming more abundant in other parts of the U.S. as the next couple of decades go by? • RESPONDENT: I don’t think that [pythons becoming more abundant in northern us] will happen because I think the temperature preference, tolerance of the snake is probably going to keep it more toward the south. I assume it’s like a lot of other reptiles, as it gets colder, the metabolism slows down to the point where it doesn’t even really move that much.

19. Community AssemblyExplaining Ecosystems and Subsystems Black: Linking processes that students at all levels can tell us about Green: Upper anchor accounts based on ecological/ systems reasoning Red: Lower anchor accounts based on anthropomorphic/ inappropriate analogic reasoning.

20. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Population Growth • INTERVIEWER: Do you think the population of pythons in Florida will grow more rapidly or slower or about the same as the native snakes to Florida? • RESPONDENT: I think they might start growing more rapidly first if they’re trying to … like if pythons live in large groups or something in their native land. Then they’re probably trying to make up for the population . Because animals mate to kind of survive. They have babies to survive in a way to keep their family going. I think once their population is comfortable enough for them, I think, it would start to slow downuntil it’s about the same rate as their native.

21. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Population Growth • INTERVIEWER: Do you think the population of pythons in Florida will grow more rapidly or slower or about the same as the native snakes to Florida? • RESPONDENT: I’m gonna lump Burma into the rest of what I know about Southeast Asia … they have issues with deforestation and filling in the wetlands. … in the native population, Asia, the suitable habitat is shrinking. The everglades are a very … regulated environment. They constantly have water because the water going into the everglades is regulated. There is a lack of predators to keep the population down … only limits are … competition with themselves, competition with other organisms for resources, and/or whatever temperature differences there are.

22. Community AssemblyExplaining Ecosystems and Subsystems Black: Linking processes that students at all levels can tell us about Green: Upper anchor accounts based on ecological/ systems reasoning Red: Lower anchor accounts based on anthropomorphic/ inappropriate analogic reasoning.

23. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Acclimation by Individuals • INTERVIEWER: So there’s these two sibling sets, one in Burma and one in Florida. Would you expect the traits of the baby pythons born in Burma to be different than the traits of the baby pythons born in Florida? • RESPONDENT: They could be similar, but they might also be different because they are two different environments…. I think it would take time to get used to, because like for us kids that move, like they’re young and then they move to a different state and a new school, they take time to adapt to their environment; their new school, their new home. So I think it would probably happen like that.

24. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Acclimation by Individuals • INTERVIEWER: So there’s these two sibling sets, one in Burma and one in Florida. Would you expect the traits of the baby pythons born in Burma to be different than the traits of the baby pythons born in Florida? • RESPONDENT: No. I imagine they would be the same …. So whatever genetics or series of traits that they get from both parents, as well as environmental controls mostly dealing with what resources they’re able to gather

25. Community AssemblyExplaining Ecosystems and Subsystems Black: Linking processes that students at all levels can tell us about Green: Upper anchor accounts based on ecological/ systems reasoning Red: Lower anchor accounts based on anthropomorphic/ inappropriate analogic reasoning.

26. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Dispersal by Individuals • INTERVIEWER: How could they [fish] have gotten there [a new kelp forest]? • RESPONDENT : Well if it was like a totally brand new one, they would probably just find it on their own. And they would just think of it as a safe environment for their young to live. But if it was near this, it would probably be like one of the babies from the mom, the mom told them … however they talk. Told them that this is a good place to live. You get a lot of nutrients and there are no predators.

27. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Example: Dispersal by Individuals • INTERVIEWER: How could they [fish] have gotten there [a new kelp forest]? • RESPONDENT: I think if would just kind of be almost like somewhat accidental that they come across this kelp forest, I mean if they’re used to living where they would maybe they were migrating or like moving to mate or something and then they came across this kelp forest and decided that that’s where we want to live now.

28. Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Summary • Reducing reliance on anthropomorphic/ inappropriate analogic reasoning • Inappropriate analogies------- Appropriate analogies • Building capacity for ecological reasoning • focus on actors and places/settings----- understanding the world as a dynamic hierarchical systems

29. Thank you! Questions? Please email me: dohertyjh@gmail.com OR Visit our website: http://edr1.educ.msu.edu/EnvironmentalLit/index.htm