Primary School Student Teachersa Understanding of Climate Change: Comparing the Results Given by Concept Maps and Communication Analysis

• Published in: Research in science education (Australasian Science Education Research Association) 2013-10, Vol.43 (5), p.1801-1823
• Main Authors: Ratinen, Ilkka, Viiri, Jouni, Lehesvuori, Sami
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0157-244X; 1573-1898
• DOI: 10.1007/s11165-012-9329-7

Climate change is a complex environmental problem that can be used to examine studentsa understanding, gained through classroom communication, of climate change and its interactions. The present study examines a series of four science sessions given to a group of primary school student teachers (na=a20). This includes analysis of the communication styles used and the studentsa pre- and post-conceptualisation of climate change based on results obtained via essay writing and drawings. The essays and drawings concerned the studentsa unprompted pre- and post-conceptions about climate change, collected before and after each of the four inquiry-based science sessions (in physics, chemistry, biology and geography). Concept mapping was used in the analysis of the studentsa responses. The communication used in the four sessions was analysed with a communicative approach in order to find out the discussion about climate change between teacher and students. The analyses indicated that the students did not have the knowledge or the courage to participate in discussion, but post-conceptualisation map showed that studentsa thinking had become more coherent after the four sessions. Given the results of the present study, proposals for using concepts maps and/or communication analysis in studying studentsa conceptions are presented.