The Impact of a Novel Curriculum on Secondary Biology Teachers’ Dispositions Toward Using Authentic Data and Media in Their Human Impact and Ecology Lessons

Abstract

This study examines how the implementation of a novel curriculum, that emphasizes the use of published scientific data and media to learn about human impact and ecological function, influenced ninth-grade biology teacher (N-36) dispositions toward using data and media in their ecology and human impact lesson plans. It explores how integration of these elements shaped their lesson plans. Research questions addressed are 1. How do teachers' use of data and media change as a result of implementing this novel curriculum? 2. How do the integration of data and media influence teachers' lesson plans? Findings show that implementation positively affected teachers’ dispositions toward using authentic data and real-world media about scientific research to explain how people impact ecological function. Teachers also demonstrated increased appreciation and capacity for using data and media for learning how humans disrupt ecological function. Importantly, prior to implementation, 42 % of teachers specifically reported not using data when teaching human impact. Additionally, content analysis of teachers' lesson plan reports shows that focusing lesson plans around data and media can support teachers in making human impact lessons more specific and that a data- and media-centered curriculum can assist teachers in moving away from discussions of the generalized effect of people on the environment to specific real-world examples of how humans impact ecological function.

Keywords:

• Environmental education
• Scientific data
• Media
• Curriculum
• Ecology

Acknowledgments

I thank J. Koch and JSTE’s anonymous reviewers for their sharp insights and feedback on this manuscript and S. Gano, J. Becker, D. Silvernail, B. Torff, R. Thorne, M. Chin, S. Bothra, and A. Bickerstaff for their valuable work on this project. I also thank the New York CityPUBLIC school teachers who used and improved the resources in their classrooms. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF grant #s 733269, 0918629). Any opinions expressed in this manuscript are those of the author and not of the National Science Foundation.