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Understanding Photosynthesis and Respiration: Is It a Problem? Eighth Graders’ Written and Oral Reasoning About Photosynthesis and Respiration

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Issues and Challenges in Science Education Research

Abstract

Earlier studies show that students at almost all school levels have difficulties in understanding photosynthesis and respiration. However, international evaluations like TIMSS and PISA present students’ understanding without any connection to the teaching and classroom contexts. My research interest is to determine to what extent ecology teaching develops students’ understanding of photosynthesis and respiration and how students demonstrate their understanding in written tests and in a guided interview. Ten weeks of 69 students’ ordinary ecology lessons were observed, their test scores were collected and 23 interviews were conducted. Both oral and written answers confirm substantial learning of photosynthesis and respiration, but the test results and understanding as presented in interviews did not always correspond. A few students with high scores in the tests had problems making comprehensive explanations during interviews, while several students who managed to connect concepts together during the interviews scored poorly in the written tests. Thus, the interviews showed the importance of giving students the opportunity to explain concepts in order to assess their understanding.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Three thousand one hundred Swedish students in 1992 and 620 students in 2003. http://www.skolverket.se/

  2. 2.

    During the lessons, the teachers mostly used the word grape sugar. Grape sugar and dextrose are the same words in Swedish, and the students start to think about the dextrose pastilles when grape sugar is mentioned. Glucose, carbohydrates, sugar, grape sugar, fruit sugar, dextrose, etc. are words used during the lessons. In this chapter, we consistently use the word glucose when it is of little consequence for the context.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

    Helena Näs

Authors
  1. Helena Näs
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helena Näs .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Natural Sciences & Science Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Walk 1, Singapore, 637616, Singapore

    Kim Chwee Daniel Tan

  2. , Dept of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Victoria, Victoria, V8W 2Y2, British Columbia, Canada

    Mijung Kim

Appendix

Appendix

(Ecology test in the eighth grade – only contains the questions with a content of photosynthesis and respiration)

  1. 2.

    Karin fills up a plastic bag with usual air (air is a mixture of gases). Then she puts the plastic bag over the potted plant and ties it round the stem as shown in the figure below. The seal is fully airtight. The plant is put in darkness for a whole night. The following are some statements about what happens to the air mixture in the plastic bag. You are going to put an R after a right statement and an F after a false statement. 1p (p  =  scores in the test):

    1. (a)

      The amount of oxygen increases

    2. (b)

      The amount of oxygen decreases

    3. (c)

      The amount of oxygen stays the same

    4. (d)

      The amount of carbon dioxide increases

    5. (e)

      The amount of carbon dioxide decreases

    6. (f)

      The amount of carbon dioxide stays the same

    figure a_6
  2. 7.
    1. (a)

      What is the process in which the green plants capture light called? 1p

    2. (b)

      Why do raspberries that get more sun light taste sweeter than the ones that have been in the shade? 2p

    3. (c)

      What is the green pigment in plants called? 1p

  3. 8.

    You have an elodea plant in a test tube beneath a shining lamp. What gas comes like bubbles from the plant? 1p

  4. 9.

    A small tree is planted on a meadow. Twenty years later, it has grown into a big tree. The tree has grown taller and the trunk has grown thicker. The tree has many leaves, branches and big roots. The tree weighs 250 k more than when it was planted. Where do these 250 k come from? Explain your answer as fully as possible. 3p

  5. 10.
    1. (a)

      Describe respiration. Please draw to support your explanation. 2p

    2. (b)

      Does respiration take place in both plants and animals? Explain. 2p

  6. 11.

    What purpose do decomposers serve in the ecosystem? 2p

  7. 17.

    In the exhalation air from a polar bear on Greenland, there are molecules of carbon dioxide. We are interested in the carbon atom in one of these molecules. Many years later, this special carbon atom is found again in the front paw muscle of a young wolverine in the Swedish mountains. Describe as carefully as possible the carbon atom’s journey from the polar bear to the wolverine’s paw. 4p

  8. 18.

    Why are there so few top-level predators in an ecosystem compared to plants? Explain as carefully as you can. 3p

  9. 19.

    Use the figure and explain the oxygen and carbon cycles in nature. Please draw arrows that elucidate your description. Use the following words: oxygen, fox, hare, water, carbon atom, grass, respiration, air, glucose, carbon dioxide and decomposers. 4p

    figure b_6
  10. 20.

    You take a glass jar with a lid and put some soil in it. Soil usually has fungus and bacteria in it. You plant some green plants and add water to get humidity. Then you put on the lid and put the jar in a lit place. What will happen in the jar if it is standing there for 5 years without opening the lid. 4p

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Näs, H. (2012). Understanding Photosynthesis and Respiration: Is It a Problem? Eighth Graders’ Written and Oral Reasoning About Photosynthesis and Respiration. In: Tan, K., Kim, M. (eds) Issues and Challenges in Science Education Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3980-2_6

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