Pre-Service Teachers’ Ideas and Misconceptions about the Nutrition, Reproduction and Importance of Plants: A Case Study in Spain

Science education encounters a number of obstacles to its progression. Among them are preconceptions or misconceptions, which can be persistent even among teachers. In order to find out what are these preconceptions o misconceptions about plants of future primary school teachers, the present research was carried out. A questionnaire was used during three academic years to collect information from pre-service teachers. Among the results, incomplete knowledge of plant biology and serious errors in relation to plant nutrition stand out. This seems to indicate the need to change traditional methodologies and use other active methodologies that allow future teachers to have real contact with the living beings in their environment.

Plants constitute the fundamental fabric of ecosystems. They are part of infinite relationships between species and participate in numerous processes essential for the maintenance of biological diversity. This importance is even greater in territories such as the Region of Murcia, where environmental conditions, to which human intervention is joined, continuously test the survival of many species [1].

However, plant science and its study at different educational levels is not of great interest to many students [2]. This can be considered surprising because of the importance of plants for life on Earth [3].

Numerous authors highlight the complexity of the teaching-learning of the contents related to plant biology, regardless of the educational level in question. Previous conceptions are detected that do not coincide with the scientifically accepted models especially in terms of plant nutrition and reproduction [4-8].

It should also be noted that the textbook is the most widely used teaching material in Primary School. However, science textbooks have a number of shortcomings or errors. This becomes even more important when the most used curricular materials are the textbooks and these presents several deficiencies in terms of plant science [9,10]. In this sense, teachers should have sufficient scientific knowledge to be able to carry out an adequate didactic transposition of scientific content into the classroom.

Future primary school teachers, when they begin their training in Science Teaching should have the basic knowledge of the Natural Sciences such as Zoology, Geology, Botany, Ecology, etc. In the same way, teachers in training must be able to know, manage and expand the curricular contents of Primary Education related, implicitly or explicitly, to the biology of plants (Table 1).

The teaching of living things should provide pupils with the knowledge and skills to understand life in nature. In this sense, the teaching of biology is becoming increasingly important, either because of the impact of technology on our lives or because of the environmental problems that influence us negatively [11].

According to the importance of plants as part of biological diversity and the sustenance of life on the planet and given the complexity of the issue in its educational approach, it is essential that in the process of teacher training we become really aware of our limitations, but also of our potentialities.

The objective of this work is to verify the level of knowledge about plant biology that teachers in training have and their misconceptions about plants. This is a very important issue taking into account that many of these misconceptions are pervasive, resistant to be changed by traditional teaching methods and remain intact during the university years and even after [12]. Once known the misconceptions or incomplete knowledge of pre-service teachers, the intention is to adapt, for the future, the teaching practice to the needs of the students, taking advantage of their previous knowledge and the natural resources at our disposal. By making students the center of any action of teaching innovation, we will be able to provide future teachers with the necessary tools for their future professional practice [13].

For the present research, a classroom activity is designed based on a questionnaire of 14 open questions. The questions are related to various basic aspects of plant biology that every primary school teacher should know.

The activity was carried out between the academic years 2016 and 2018. 86 students participated, 64% were women and 36% were men. The participants were students of the subject Natural Environment, studied in the university teacher training studies at the University of Murcia (Spain). The average age of the research participants was 21 years old.

The data collected from the questionnaires were subjected to a qualitative content analysis, using Excel software to tabulate the data and Jamovi software to calculate the frequencies.

Faced with the question of what a plant is, raised in a simple and very open way in order to accommodate all the possible concepts that the students have, there is a full coincidence in the fact that plants are living beings. Other attributes mentioned in the responses, although to a lesser extent, refer to cell type, multicellularity, autotrophy, photosynthesis and body constitution (Table 2).

Faced with the question of the basic elements necessary for the life of plants, there is a high coincidence in terms of two elements such as light and water. The answers are somewhat minor when mentioning mineral elements, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Temperature, also a key factor for plant life, is mentioned in very little proportion (Table 3).

Faced with the question of what photosynthesis is, a fundamental biological process on Earth, almost half of the students relate the process to the nutrition of plants and the synthesis of organic molecules, although without detailing the process or the substances involved. Just under a third recognize photosynthesis as the absorption of carbon dioxide and oxygen emission, a fact that, without being false, we can say that it is not the main objective of the process. A minimum proportion indicates the presence of chlorophyll as a molecule necessary for the capture of light energy. Finally mention that approximately 15% of students have totally wrong ideas about photosynthesis (Table 4).

Asked about the process of respiration in plants, the students mostly agree that this process exists, however the vast majority links it only to a gas exchange, looking for an analogy with the pulmonary ventilation processes of terrestrial vertebrates. Few relate respiration to the cellular process by which the release of energy occurs for the maintenance of the functions of the organism. In addition, there are some students who identify breathing and photosynthesis as the same process (Table 5).

The question of plant reproduction yields a number of key concepts such as pollination, flower, fruit, seed and germination, as well as two major types of reproduction: sexual and asexual. However, the proportion of responses containing these concepts are surprisingly low. In addition, although the process of pollination is identified, curiously in no case is the process of fertilization of the egg mentioned (Table 6).

Faced with the question of what the fruit is, the students, who in the previous question did not relate the fruit to the process of reproduction of plants, offer a greater proportion of answers that do relate to the reproduction process. The highest proportion of responses identifies the fruit as the plant organ that contains the seeds. Minimally mentioned is its origin of the maturation of the ovary. Answers are also offered that do not explicitly link the fruit with plant reproduction and yet interpret it as the product or ultimate goal of the plant. Finally, in a minimum proportion, fruit with seed and with the fertilized and mature egg are identified (Table 7).

Faced with the question related to the importance of plants for planet Earth, almost half of the students mention the supply of oxygen, which other species can use. To a lesser extent, the removal of CO2, the presence in trophic pyramids or other environmental services are explicitly mentioned (Table 8).

Taking into account the objective of this research (to verify the knowledge about plant biology that teachers in training have and their misconceptions about plants) and the results obtained, we can summarize the following conclusions:

The low proportions of correct answers in relation to key concepts of plant biology seem to point to a low and incomplete knowledge of plants.

The biggest conceptual errors detected, as reflected in previous research by other authors, are those related to complex processes that are not observable to the naked eye, such as photosynthesis and respiration.

There is a lack of an integrative global vision of plant biology in relation to ecological processes and ecosystem services.

Both misconceptions and insufficient knowledge about plants confirm the resistance to change these ideas. This could be a consequence of the persistence of traditional teaching methods.

The above invites us to the following reflection: if, after more than 30 years of educational research on the teaching and learning of plants, certain misconceptions still persist, there must be one or more points in the teaching-learning line (preschool, primary school, secondary school or university) where gaps in knowledge can be improved and misconceptions can be removed.

Maybe, improving the scientific competence of the general public requires a change in the curriculum and teaching methods. Moreover, improving the scientific competence of future primary school teachers may require changes in university curriculum in order to work on both the scientific knowledge of the content and the didactic knowledge of the content, which will allow an adequate didactic transposition of the content to the classroom so that primary school students achieve an adequate scientific competence.

To this end, it is necessary to continue to intensify educational research and, above all, to propose new active teaching methodologies based on direct contact with the environment, on experimentation, or on transversality with other subjects through STEAM activities.

The author expresses that there is no conflict of interest in relation to this research.

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