European Journal of Health and Biology Education

Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios
Pernilla Granklint Enochson 1 * , Andreas Redfors 1
More Detail
1 School of education and environment, Institution mathematic and natural sciences, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, SWEDEN
* Corresponding Author
Research Article

European Journal of Health and Biology Education, 2012 - Volume 1 Issue 1, pp. 3-29
https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202

Published Online: 15 Jul 2012

Views: 574 | Downloads: 166

How to cite this article
APA 6th edition
In-text citation: (Granklint Enochson & Redfors, 2012)
Reference: Granklint Enochson, P., & Redfors, A. (2012). Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios. European Journal of Health and Biology Education, 1(1), 3-29. https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202
Vancouver
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Granklint Enochson P, Redfors A. Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios. European Journal of Health and Biology Education. 2012;1(1):3-29. https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202
AMA 10th edition
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Granklint Enochson P, Redfors A. Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios. European Journal of Health and Biology Education. 2012;1(1), 3-29. https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202
Chicago
In-text citation: (Granklint Enochson and Redfors, 2012)
Reference: Granklint Enochson, Pernilla, and Andreas Redfors. "Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios". European Journal of Health and Biology Education 2012 1 no. 1 (2012): 3-29. https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202
Harvard
In-text citation: (Granklint Enochson and Redfors, 2012)
Reference: Granklint Enochson, P., and Redfors, A. (2012). Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios. European Journal of Health and Biology Education, 1(1), pp. 3-29. https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202
MLA
In-text citation: (Granklint Enochson and Redfors, 2012)
Reference: Granklint Enochson, Pernilla et al. "Students’ Ideas About the Human Body and Their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios". European Journal of Health and Biology Education, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 3-29. https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201202
ABSTRACT
Analyses of students’ ideas about the organ system in the human body and how these relate to their thoughts about living a healthy life are presented. The study concerns 9th grade students (15/16 years) in Sweden. The empirical data consists of drawings and answers to written questions, both open and multiple-choice, and interviews with students and teachers. Comparing explanations of a well known scenario (eating a sandwich) to other that are less often discussed (taking a painkiller and drinking water) we report that it is difficult for the students to transfer knowledge of pathways in the digestive system shown in explanations of the sandwich-scenario to the other scenarios. Most difficulties are shown for explanations of the drinking of water, since these explanations require connection of three different organ systems. More than half of the interviewed students believed that there is nutritious substance in water, but most of them were unable to specify what it would be. The students with the most developed understanding of the painkiller pathway were satisfied with taking medical substances to elude pain, and were not interested in other alternatives.
KEYWORDS
REFERENCES
  • Carvalho, G. S., Silva R. and Clement P. (2007). Historical Analysis of Portuguese Primary School Textbooks (1920-2005) on the topic of Digestion. International Journal of Science Education, 29(2), 173-193.
  • Carvalho, G. S., Silva R., Lima N., Coquet E. and Clement P. (2004). Portuguese primary school children’s conceptions about digestion: identification of learning obstacles. International Journal of Science Education, 26(9), 1111-1130.
  • Carvalho G. S. and Clément P. (2007). Relationships between Digestive, Circulatory and Urinary Systems in Portuguese Primary Textbooks. Science Education International, 18(1), 15-24.
  • Clément, P. (2003). Situated conceptions and obstacles: the example of digestion and excretion. In D. Psillos, P. Kariotoglou, V. Tselfes, E. Hatzikraniotis, G. Fasspooupoulos, & M. Kallery (Eds.) Science education research in a knowledge-based society, (89–98). Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic.
  • Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E. and Scott, P. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational Researcher, 23(7), 5–12.
  • Granklint Enochson, P. (2008). Elevers föreställningar om kroppens organ och kroppens hälsa utifrån ett skolsammanhang. (Licentiate thesis) Linköping University.
  • Granklint Enochson, P. and Redfors, A. (2011). Fem elevers föreställningar om organsystem – vad händer i kroppen när vi dricker vatten?. NorDiNa, 7(2), 160-178.
  • Khawaja, C. C. and Saxton, J. (2001). It all depends on the question you ask. Primary Science Review, 60, 7-11.
  • Magntorn O. and Helldén G. (2007). Reading new Environments: Students ability to generalise their understanding between different ecosystems. International Journal of Science Education, 29(1), 67-100.
  • Mann M. and Treagust D. F. (2010). Students´conceptions about energy and the human body. Science Education International, 21(3), 144-159.
  • Martinez-Losada och Garrido (2011). What do Children Aged Four to Seven Know about the Digestive System and the Respiratory System of the Human Being and of Other Animals? International Journal of Science Education, 33(15), 2095-2122.
  • Mathai S. and Ramadas J. (2009). Visuals and Visualisation of Human Body Systems. International Journal of Science Education, 31(3), 439-458.
  • Mayer, R. E. (2002). Rote versus meaningful learning. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 226–232.
  • Mortimer, E. F. and Scott P. H. (2003). Meaning making in secondary Science Classrooms. Milton Keynes, Open University Press.
  • Oskarsdottir, G. (2006). The development of children’s ideas about the body: How these ideas change in a teaching environment. PhD Dissertation, Faculty of social sciences, University of Iceland.
  • Osborne, J., Black, P., Wadsworth, P. and Meadows, J. (1994). The Earth in Space (Primary SPACE Project Research Report). Liverpool, Liverpool University Press.
  • Prokop P. and Fancovicova J. (2006). Students´ ideas about the human body: Do they really draw what they know? Journal of Baltic Science Education, No 2 (10), 86-95.
  • Prokop, P., Fancovicová J. and Tunnicliffe, D. (2009). The effect of type instruction on expression of children’s knowledge: How do children see the endocrine and urinary systems? International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 4(1), 75-93.
  • Redfors, A. and Ryder, J. (2001). University physics students´ use of models in explanations of phenomena involving interaction between metals and electromagnetic radiation. International Journal of Science Education, 23(12), 1283-1301.
  • Reiss, M. J., Tunnicliffe, S. D., Möller Andersen, A. M., Bartoszeck, A., Carvalho, G. S., Chen, S.-Y., Jarman, R., Jonsson, S., Manokore, V., Marchenko, N., Mulemwa, J., Novikova, T., Otuka, J., Teppa, S. and Van Rooy, W. (2002). An international study of young people's drawings of what is inside themselves. Journal of Biological Education, 36(2), 58-64.
  • Rowlands, M. (2004). What do children think happens to the food they eat? Journal of Biological Education, 38(4), 167-171.
  • Salomon, G. and Perkins, D. N. (1989). Rocky roads to transfer: rethinking mechanisms of a neglected phenomenon. Educational Psychologist, 24(2), 113–142.
  • SCB (2007). Statistics Sweden http://www.scb.se/Kommunfakta. Accessed 2007-03-01
  • Skolverket (1996). TIMSS provuppgifter, svenska 13-åringars kunskaper i matematik och naturvetenskap i ett internationellt perspektiv. Stockholm, Skolverket och Liber.
  • Skolöverstyrelsen (1988). Naturvetenskaplig undervisning i svensk skola - presentation av provuppgifterna från en IEA-undersökning. F88:3. Stockholm, Skolöverstyrelsen.
  • Skolverket (2009). Syllabuses for the compulsory school. 2:nd edition. Stockholm: Skolverket and Fritzes. http://www3.skolverket.se/ki/eng/comp.pdf. Accessed 2011-04-14.
  • Schönborn K. J. and Bögeholtz S. (2009). Knowledge transfer in biology and translation across external representations: Experts´ views and challenges for learning. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 7, 931-955.
  • Spiro, R. J., Collins, B. P., Thota, J. J. and Feltovich, P. J. (2003). Cognitive flexibility theory: Hypermedia for complex learning, adaptive knowledge, application, and experience acceleration. Educational Technology, 43(5), 5–10.
  • Teixeira, F. M. (2000). What happens to the food we eat? Children's conceptions of the structure and function of the digestive system. International Journal of Science Education, 22(5), 507-520.
  • Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2004). Where does the drink go? Primary Science Review, 85, 8-10.
  • Turner, S., Zimvrakaki, H. and Athanasiou, K. (1997). Investigating childrens´s ideas about fat consumption and health: a comparative study. Health Education Journal, 56(4), 329-339.
  • Vygotsky, L. (1934/1986). Thought and language (A. Kozulin, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
LICENSE
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.