An Investigation of Secondary Students' Mental Models of Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect

Autor/inn/en	Varela, Begoña; Sesto, Vanessa; García-Rodeja, Isabel
Titel	An Investigation of Secondary Students' Mental Models of Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect
Quelle	In: Research in Science Education, 50 (2020) 2, S.599-624 (26 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0157-244X
DOI	10.1007/s11165-018-9703-1
Schlagwörter	Secondary School Students; Schemata (Cognition); Climate; Foreign Countries; Spain + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sekundarschüler; Cognition; Schema; Kognition; Klima; Ausland; Spanien
Abstract	There are several studies dealing with students' conceptions on climate change, but most of them refer to understanding before instruction. In contrast, this study investigates students' conceptions and describes the levels of sophistication of their mental models on climate change and the greenhouse effect. The participants were 40 secondary students (grade 7) in Spain. As a method of data collection, a questionnaire was designed with open-ended questions focusing on the mechanism, causes, and actions that could be useful in reducing climate change. Students completed the same questionnaire before and after instruction. The students' conceptions and mental models were identified by an inductive and iterative analysis of the participants' explanations. With regard to the students' conceptions, the results show that they usually link climate change to an increase in temperature, and they tend to mention, even after instruction, generic actions to mitigate climate change, such as not polluting. With regard to the students' mental models, the results show an evolution of models with little consistency and coherence, such as the models on level 1, towards higher levels of sophistication. The paper concludes with educational implications proposed for solving learning difficulties regarding the greenhouse effect and climate change. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01