Playing the notes but ignoring the tune: the narrowness of biology education research

Abstract

‘Alternatives conceptions’ studies of children's thinking have now produced much data on a range of physical science concepts and a smaller range from biology. There is a danger that the application of these results to curriculum design will reinforce the view of school science as a series of unconnected small topics, rather than encouraging the development of a scientific view of the world where phenomena are seen as having several aspects, and need the application of well developed scientific theories adequately to understand them. The case for developing studies of overarching concepts that link several classes of phenomena, using a theoretical perspective other than naive constructivism, is illustrated by a discussion of photosynthesis viewed as a complex series of inter-related topics.

Keywords:

• Children's understanding
• Scientific concepts