Modifying SLH functions: Shifting to a New Perspective
In an innovative approach to teaching ecology, teachers are leveraging the resources of the Science Learning Hub to help students transfer their understanding of food webs from marine ecosystems to their very own school grounds. By contextualizing the concepts to familiar environments and using comparative modeling, students are able to apply the food web framework to local terrestrial ecosystems.
The adaptation process involves several key steps. Teachers highlight species and trophic levels in the school-ground environment that have analogous roles to those in marine systems, emphasizing producers (plants), primary consumers (herbivores, such as insects), and higher-level predators (e.g., birds). Students are encouraged to observe, document, and construct local food webs, employing the same principles learned from marine ecosystems but now applied to organisms in the school grounds.
Visual aids and models from Science Learning Hub resources are used to show the overlapping and interconnected feeding relationships, helping students understand that energy transfer is not linear but a network, applicable in both contexts. Inquiry-based activities are integrated to reinforce scientific and engineering practices, making the learning experience more engaging and conducive to conceptual transfer.
Technology-enhanced interactive tools and multimedia resources may also be used to visualize 3D or augmented-reality representations of food webs, making the transfer more engaging and relatable. This approach aligns with general STEM learning adaptations, though it was not stated explicitly for food webs in the provided results.
A project spearheaded by year 7 and 8 teacher Cath saw her students construct food webs of the local ecosystem using examples found on the school grounds. The students enjoyed the opportunity to explore the school grounds, discover organisms living in the grass and trees, and take photographs. By the end of the activity, students started to understand the effects of removing or reducing a species in the food web through a series of scenarios.
The research project, which involved six teachers from four schools with year levels ranging from 3 to 10, was undertaken over one term and used resources from the Science Learning Hub. Food webs throughout the world have the same basic trophic levels, making this pedagogical strategy applicable across various environments.
The students presented their food webs and other findings to the class and put them on their blogs, demonstrating their understanding of the concepts learned. Despite the initial challenges in grasping the concept of decomposers, students were able to understand the fundamental ecological concepts and see their relevance across different environments, which fosters deeper learning and the ability to transfer knowledge from marine food webs in Science Learning Hub resources to terrestrial food webs found on school grounds.
- Employing resources from the Science Learning Hub, teachers are also encouraging students to apply the principles of education-and-self-development in learning by involving them in the creation of food webs in their local terrestrial ecosystems, promoting meaningful learning through hands-on science.
- By adopting this innovative approach, students not only learn about food webs in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, but also develop essential skills in science, including observation, documentation, and the application of learned concepts to real-world environments, contributing significantly to their overall education-and-self-development.
