Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.21796/jse.2021.45.3.275

Analysis of Secondary School Students' System Thinking on the Cycle of Matter in Earth System: Considering the Impact of Human Activity on the Cycle  

Oh, Hyunseok (Chuncheon National University of Education)
Lee, Kiyoung (Kangwon National University)
Kim, Kwonjung (Kangwon National University)
Publication Information
Journal of Science Education / v.45, no.3, 2021 , pp. 275-291 More about this Journal
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the level and characteristics of system thinking of middle and high school students on cycle of matter in the Earth system considering the impact of human activities on the cycle. For this purpose, we developed items for assessment and assessment rubric through the analysis of 2015 revised curriculum and applying systems thinking, respectively. Middle and high school students who participated in the Korea Earth Science Olympiad were the subjects of this study. The level of system thinking was determined using the assessment rubric for student responses collected using items for assessment. The characteristics of system thinking were identified using word analysis. Based on these, the improvement of the curriculum considering the impact of human activities was discussed. The results of the study are as follows: first, the system thinking level of most secondary school students was low in identifying or classifying system elements for matter cycle, and high levels, such as system relationship or generalization of patterns, were found to be relatively small. It was found that students had a higher level of system thinking in the carbon cycle than in the water cycle. Second, in terms of the characteristics of system thinking about water cycle, water was recognized as a major system element and mainly related with evaporation between atmosphere and other system elements. Whereas, in the carbon cycle, carbon dioxide was regarded as a major system element, and photosynthesis and respiration were represented in relation with the biosphere. Third, for education considering the impact of human activities on the matter cycle in the Earth system, it is proposed improving the curriculum considering the socio-ecological system by extending the existing earth system.
Keywords
system thinking; water cycle; carbon cycle; human activity; Earth system;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 4  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Alerby, E. (2000). A way of visualising children's and young people's thoughts about environment: A study of drawings. Environmental Education Research, 6(3), 205-222.   DOI
2 Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., & Orion, N. (2010b). Four case studies, six years later: developing system thinking skills in junior high school and sustaining them over time. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(10), 1253-1280.   DOI
3 Lee, J., Han S., & Park, T. (2017). Conception of carbon cycling in high school students according to the difference of spatial perception ability. Journal of Korean Society of Earth Science Education, 10(3), 308-322. (in Korean)   DOI
4 Mohan, L., Chen, J., & Anderson, C. W. (2009). Developing a multi-year learning progression for carbon cycling in socio- ecological systems. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 46(6), 675-698.   DOI
5 Oh, H. S., & Kim, C. J. (2010). An analysis of earth system understandings (ESU) of 8th-grade students' imagery about 'the Earth' represented by words and drawings. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 31(1), 71-87. (in Korean)   DOI
6 Libarkin, J. C. (2006). College student conceptions of geological phenomena and their importance in classroom instruction. Planet, 17(1), 6-9.   DOI
7 Seong, Y., Maeng, S., & Jang, S. (2013). A learning progression for water cycle from fourth to sixth graders with ordered multiple-choice items. Journal of the Korean Elementary Science Education Society, 32(2), 139-158. (in Korean)
8 Ministry of Education [MOE]. (2015). 2015 revised science curriculum. Ministry of Education 2015-74 (in Korean).
9 Johnson, J. K., & Reynolds, S. J. (2005). Concept sketches-Using student- and instructor-generated, annotated sketches for learning, teaching, and assessment in geology courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(1), 85-95.   DOI
10 Lee, H., Fortner, R. W., & Mayer, V. J. (2004). Earth systems education: An integrated science curriculum construct for Korea. The Secondary Education Research, 52, 397-426.
11 Gunckel, K. L., Covitt, B. A., Salinas, I, & Anderson, C. W. (2012a). A learning progression for water in socio-ecological systems. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(7), 843-868.   DOI
12 Oh, H. S., Kim, J. H., Yu, E. J., & Kim, C. J. (2009). An analysis of students' cognitive characteristics through a drawing activity in teaching module of the earth systems education. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 30(1), 96-110. (in Korean)   DOI
13 Orion, N., & Basis, T. (2008). Characterization of high school students' system thinking skills in the context of earth systems. Presented in the 2008 NARST Annual Meeting. March, 2008. Baltimore, U.S.A.
14 Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., & Orion, N. (2010a). System thinking skills at the elementary school level. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(5), 540-563.   DOI
15 Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., & Orion, N. (2005). Development of system thinking skills in the context of Earth System education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42(5), 518-560.   DOI
16 Gobert, J. D., & Buckley, B. C. (2000). Introduction to model-based teaching and learning in science education. International Journal of Science Education, 22(9), 891-894.   DOI
17 Gunckel, K. L., Mohan, L., Covitt, B. A., & Anderson, C. W. (2012b). Addressing challenges in developing learning progressions for environmental science literacy. In A. Alonzo & A. W. Gotwals (Eds.), Learning progressions in science. Boston, MA: Sense Publishers.
18 Kim, B., & Maeng, S. (2020). Characteristics of Elementary Students' System Thinking in Learning of Water Cycle. Elementary Sience Education, 39(3), 412-432. (in Korean)
19 Jeong, K. S., & Jeong, J. W. (2007). Alternative Conceptions of High School Students about the Crust and Interior of the Earth. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 28(3), 266-276. (in Korean)   DOI
20 Lee, D. E., Jeong, J. W., & Kim, Y. J. (2008). Understanding the water cycle process and composition elements of high school students. Journal of the Korean Association for Research in Science Education, 28(1), 24-31. (in Korean)
21 Libarkin, J. C., Anderson, S. W., Dahl, J., Belifuss, M., & Boone, W. (2005). Qualitative analysis of college students' ideas about the earth: Interviews and open-ended questionnaires. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(1), 17-26.   DOI
22 Oh, H., Lee, K., Park, YS., Maeng, S. & Lee, JA. (2015). An analysis of systems thinking revealed in middle school astronomy classes: The case of science teachers' teaching practices for the unit of stars and universe. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 36(6), 591-608. (in Korean)   DOI
23 Lee, D. Y., Oh, E. S., Kim, H. B., & Jeong, J. W. (2013). Analysis of carbon cycling concepts based on earth systems perspective of high school Students. Journal of Science Education, 37(1), 157-169. (in Korean)   DOI
24 Lee, H., Cho, H. J., & Lee, H. N. (2007). An analysis of undergraduate students' mental models on the mechanism of the moon craters formation. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 28(6), 653-670. (in Korean)
25 NGSS Lead States (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA. 533 p.
26 Shepardson, D.P. (2005). Students ideas: What is an environment? The Journal of Environmental Education, 36(4), 49-58.
27 Son, M. H., & Jeong, D. H (2019). Development worksheet and rubric for system thinking assesment -Focused on the earth system unit in 'Integrated Science'. School Science Journal, 13(1), 78-94. (in Korean)   DOI