Student understanding of species diversity in communities 2011

Student understanding of species diversity in communities. 2011 Ecological Society of America Presentation Laurel Hartley 1, Brook Wilke 2, Cornelia Harris 3 and Jonathon Schramm 2 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER 1, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2 and CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES 3 Culturally relevant ecology, learning progressions and environmental literacy Long Term Ecological Research Math Science Partnership August 2011 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.

Student understanding of species diversity in communities. Laurel Hartley 1, Brook Wilke 2, Cornelia Harris 3 and Jonathon Schramm 2 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER 1, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2 and CARY INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES 3

Why do we need biodiversity? Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy • Biodiversity is rapidly declining

Why do we need biodiversity? Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy • Species perform vital ecosystem functions/services.

Why do we need biodiversity? Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy • The more diverse a population or community is, the more resistant it might be to perturbations like disease

Why do we need biodiversity literacy? Should we expect citizens to make or accept changes in policies that affect How much do citizens need to know How can a reader decide whether to them on the basis of simplified trust claims, especially when reports to make sense of the information in popular media, leaving “technical are contested in popular press? popular media and policy? details” to the experts?

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Goal of our Work • Develop a grades 6 -12 learning progression for biodiversity – selection and evolution – inheritance and plasticity – recognition of biodiversity – community structure – community interactions

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Our working definition of a learning progression § Learning progressions are descriptions of increasingly sophisticated ways of thinking about a subject. § Conceptual coherence: “make sense”/ tell a reasonable story § Empirical validation: grounded in empirical data about real students § Compatibility with current research: built on findings of the best research about both student learning and scientific thought

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Upper Anchor Framework Scale Processes Principles Individual Life cycles Seasonal cycles 1. An organism’s physical traits and behaviors are the result of genes being expressed within a determined range, moderated by the environment 2. Matter and energy are necessary for life cycle processes 3. Matter and energy are transformed as they are used by biota for life processes Population Evolution 1. There is phenotypic and genotypic variability among individuals in and between populations 2. Matter and energy are finite and limit the growth of populations 3. There is differential survival and reproduction in populations based on fitness of traits and chance 4. Dispersal of individuals into and out of a population can change the populations size and/or gene frequencies Community/ Ecosystem Succession Community Assembly Food Webs 1. Dispersal/Movement 2. Abiotic conditions/resources 3. Interactions between and among organisms 4. How organisms interact with one another affects how they change themselves and the environment in ways that then change the nature of the interactions between those organisms

Methods Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Observe patterns in student thinking (literature search and pilot studies) Define Content Area Construct a model about we how think students progress Revise the model assessments Test the model teaching experiments

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Methods Written Assessments (MD, NY, CO, MI, CA) School Level Tests (2011) Tests Pre Post (2010) Interviews (2010) Middle School 587 401 698 58 High School 325 286 672 47 Teachers 50 32 38

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Methods Written Assessments (MD, NY, CO, MI, CA) Clinical Interviews (MD, NY, CO, MI, CA) School Level Tests (2011) Tests Pre Post (2010) Interviews (2010) Middle School 587 401 698 58 High School 325 286 672 47 Teachers 50 32 38

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Methods • Created rubrics for each item based on a small set of student answers • Tested rubrics with 30 student answers each, then refined rubrics • Used rubrics to code (i. e. - assign categories to) interview data – Refined rubrics – Eliminated unreliable questions • Coded remaining student written answers with refined rubrics – 10% of answers were coded by multiple coders – Less than 80% reliability led to another round of developmental coding • Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis is on-going

Recognition of Diversity Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy The forests of the northeast United States look a lot like the forests in northern 4 Europe. They have similar-looking trees and similar-looking animals. Community (Dis)Similarity If you took a bunch of seeds from a 3 European forest and planted them in a northeast United States forest, what do you think would happen? Please explain why. (n=398) 2 Recognizes diversity among seeds; not all the seeds are the same in terms of traits / characteristics, but no reference to environmental conditions 1 Some seeds would survive, some would die due to individual variation and varying environmental conditions. The seeds would all grow or die learning to adapt/evolve OR because of climate or soil or weather are different The seeds will all grow OR the seeds would all die (no diversity in seeds or environment)

Recognition of Diversity Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy The forests of the northeast United States look a lot like the forests in northern Europe. They have similar-looking trees and similar-looking animals. B. If you took a bunch of seeds from a European forest and planted them in a northeast United States forest, what do you think would happen? Please explain why. (n=398) Proportion of Answers 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0 Middle School High School Teacher

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Function of Diversity A forest typically has several different types of trees. Why are there several types of trees instead of one best-adapted type of tree? (n=71) Prevalence of Diversity 4 Accounts for variation in space or time leading to multiple niches AND talks about how various species dispersed into the forest 3 Uses adaptation or niche diversity to explain how variation in space or time leads to multiple niches OR talks about how various species dispersed into the forest 2 Uses the words adapt/niche/natural selection but doesn't explain what that means OR because of the climate/weather OR because there are lots of seeds 1 Variations on “that is the way it is, ” OR humans or other organisms need tree diversity

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Function of Diversity Proportion of Answers A forest typically has several different types of trees. Why are there several types of trees instead of one best-adapted type of tree? (n=71) 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0 High School

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Function of Diversity Proportion of Answers Beech and maple seedlings grow well in shade. Cottonwood seedlings, on the other hand, grow better with more sunlight. Here is an explanation of how a forest grew on a sand dune over 150 years. Use the information above to help you explain why after 80 years, the tallest trees were cottonwood, but after 150 years, the tallest trees were beech and maples. (n=243) 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0 Middle School High School

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Interactions Item Oysters are filter feeders that live in the ocean and eat plankton (microscopic floating plant-like organisms). a)What kinds of things do you think could cause a change in the amount of plankton in the water? b)Explain how oysters and plankton interact with each other. Think about how one organism might help or harm the other. c)If the number of oysters decreases, how might that impact the plankton population? What else would you need to know to feel confident about your answer? d)What kind of information would you need to figure out how a decline in oysters might affect other parts of the ecosystem, besides the plankton?

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy 4 Interactions Rubric Explains connections between abiotic and biotic Biotic 3 Biotic Explains multiple connections but still focuses on biotic Biotic Predator-prey 2 1 Biotic Target organism or multiple unconnected organisms

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Interactions Results Oyster Interactions N=127 high school students, 161 middle school students, 120 teachers 80% 70% Percent of Answers 60% 50% 1 40% 2 3 30% 4 20% 10% 0% Middle School High School Teacher

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Teaching Experiment Biodiversity: Diversity in a Leaf Pack – – Getting kids outside, engaged and exploring diverse taxa (macro and micro) Grounding experiences in their local place Students will: 1) learn how biotic and abiotic conditions affect the presence/absence of different stream taxa in leaf packs 2) understand that an organisms’ feeding activities influence the abiotic environment, and that the abiotic environment can influence the presence/absence of organisms

Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Biotic-Abiotic-Biotic Question Look at the pictures above and decide which one you want to answer questions about. Which one would you pick? a) What does the living thing you picked eat? How does it get its food? b) What abiotic (non-living) factors does it change as it gets its food? c) What kinds of living things would be affected by the changes you described in Part B? d) In what way would the living things you listed in Part C be affected?

Biotic-Abiotic-Biotic Question Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy N= 181 middle school students, 78 high school students 60% Percent of Answers 50% 1 40% 2 30% 3 4 20% 10% 0% Middle School High School

Interactions Recognition & Function Learning Progressions for Environmental Literacy Summary • Most students identify some basic types of visible organism groups (level 1) or more specific common groups (level 2), but aren’t often able to describe individual species, particularly those that aren’t visible to the naked eye. • Many students recognize that species have different traits or functions, but don’t link these differences to descriptions of species diversity in ecosystems. • Predator-prey (and other biotic) relationships are the most common • Students see the connection between the environment and an organism, but fail to recognize the possibility that organisms may be changing the environment • Students can list multiple abiotic factors, but don’t usually explain how those factors are connected to the food web • Students may need more content to get to a level 4 answer, which may not be possible with a written assessment.

Thanks to: (NSF-0832173) • Partner teachers & students • Intrepid team of coders & developers • Shawna Mc. Mahon • Contact: laurelhartley@gmail. com schram 25@msu. edu Questions?