Ecological succession: analysis of the concepts of newly admitted students of Biology graduate through the history and transposition of this concept.

• Grant number: 10/04135-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2011
• End date: February 29, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Educational Teaching and Learning
• Principal Investigator: Osmar Cavassan
• Grantee: Patrícia da Silva Nunes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The ecological succession concept, which has a potential integrator in the ecologyteaching, has undergone several transformations since it was developed. To understandit is necessary to know other concepts such as the population, ecosystems, relationshipsbetween living beings and habitat. The understanding of this process is justifiedbecause, through this, it´s possible to understand the vegetation dynamics, essential,among other things, the practice of land reclamation. Even considering the importanceof this concept, many times, it's clear that elements necessary for its understanding, asthe communities' dynamic nature are presented in a distorted way, including emphasison existence of a stable climax. Thus, in view of the importance of this concept, thisstudy aimed to examine how newly admitted students (pre-service teachers' education inBiology´s graduation) understand it, to obtain an indicator to assist in the strategiesteaching definition that take into account their misconceptions. We choose thisaudience, because these future biology's teachers, in first year of graduation, they carrymany of the concepts learned in high school and they haven't received intervention ofcollege studies. To understand the concepts presented by the respondents were analyzedtextbooks and handouts used by them during high school, as well as historical textsabout the concept. In addition, we constructed a semiotic diagram, which helped in theanalysis of the schemes prepared by undergraduates. In the textbooks analysis we foundthat the concept is often presented in a dogmatic, simplistic and fragmented way,disregarding the complexity of the phenomenon. Moreover, the prospects of fewresearchers were explored in these materials, leaving a clear predilection for Clements'deterministic theories, over the Gleason's probabilistic theories, indeed contradictory,because the gleasonian's prospect the most accepted by the scientific community innowadays. It's noteworthy that not suggesting here that all knowledge produce byscientists to be transfer into elementary education, as an accumulating data. However, itis noted that the content taught to students are those who make a difference to theirlives. Finally, at the research end we was concluded that there is a strong relationshipbetween the textbook and the respondents conceptions, it's necessary therefore toreview the quality of these materials, as noted in other studies. We infer the need thattextbooks treat more fully the ecological succession concept, showing, for example,through the history of science, the agreements and disagreements between theresearchers and linking the various concepts necessary for their understanding, allowingstudents to understand these concepts as interdependent. This strategy would meet theintegrated view that it's required by the Ecology teaching.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

NUNES, Patrícia da Silva. Sucessão ecológica: análise das concepções de estudantes ingressantes em um curso de Biologia por meio da história e transposição deste conceito. 2012. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências. Bauru Bauru.