• About
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   Institutional Repository Home
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Institutional Repository Home
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Institutional RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartmentThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartment

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Investigations of the Wild: The Development of Students' Scientific Practice and Knowledge During Ecological Fieldwork

    Forsythe, Michelle Elizabeth
    : https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/etd-07252016-220357
    http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13590
    : 2016-07-28

    Abstract

    For the past decade science education has increasingly advocated for student participation in the practice of science. However, current representations of scientific practice often under-represent and under-theorize the practices of field-based domains such as ecology. In addition, although ecology has gained increased precedence in K-12 science education, there is a need to better understand what might be productive approximations of practice for students studying field ecology. This dissertation consists of three papers that collectively investigate how to support student learning within the domain of field ecology. The first paper, Wild Designs: The practice of field ecology and its implications for K-12 science education, probes the nature of the practice of field ecology and the forms of learning environments that might potentially support students in this practice. This paper expands the discussion of scientific practice by synthesizing what research studies have uncovered about how ecologists construct knowledge in field settings. The findings highlight the primary practices of field ecologists and the ways in which the nature of field settings shape these practices. The second paper, Sampling in the Wild: How attention to variation supports the development of middle school students’ sampling practice, focuses specifically on how student encounters with variation during ecological fieldwork advance their sampling practice. The findings suggest three ways in which students’ attention to variation within the context of their ecological investigations supports their development of a more sophisticated practice of sampling. Finally the third paper, Disciplining the Wild: The co-development of students’ scientific knowledge and practice during ecological fieldwork, explores how students’ ecological knowledge and practice writ large develop during fieldwork. This paper reports on how case study of one team of four middle grade students changed their perception and their understanding of ecological relationships as well as the ways in which they investigated ecological questions while investigating a local creek. As a set, these papers contribute to current issues and trends in science education by detailing the opportunities that are made available through ecological fieldwork for student development of ecological knowledge and practice.
    Show full item record

    Files in this item

    Icon
    Name:
    Forsythe.pdf
    Size:
    1.766Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    View/Open

    This item appears in the following collection(s):

    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations

    Connect with Vanderbilt Libraries

    Your Vanderbilt

    • Alumni
    • Current Students
    • Faculty & Staff
    • International Students
    • Media
    • Parents & Family
    • Prospective Students
    • Researchers
    • Sports Fans
    • Visitors & Neighbors

    Support the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries

    Support the Library...Give Now

    Gifts to the Libraries support the learning and research needs of the entire Vanderbilt community. Learn more about giving to the Libraries.

    Become a Friend of the Libraries

    Quick Links

    • Hours
    • About
    • Employment
    • Staff Directory
    • Accessibility Services
    • Contact
    • Vanderbilt Home
    • Privacy Policy