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Teachers need knowledge of species and species identification skills for teaching the structure and function of ecosystems, and the principles of biodiversity and its role in sustainability. The aim of this study is to analyze Nordic student teachers’ views on the most efficient methods and strategies to teach and learn species and species identification, and to find some trends about how well their views are reflected in a species identification test. Student teachers in Finland, Norway, and Sweden (N = 426) answered a questionnaire consisting of fixed and open-ended questions, and a species identification test. An analysis of variance, Chi-Square, and t-test were used for quantitative data and an inductive content analysis for qualitative data. Results showed that outdoor teaching and learning methods are more efficient than indoor methods. The majority of student teachers considered outdoor experiential learning with living organisms as the most efficient teaching and learning method. Student teachers who highlighted outdoor experiential learning and outdoor project work as their most efficient methods received significantly better results in the species identification test than the others. Field trips and fieldwork were emphasized as the most important sources in schools and universities, while the Internet was the most important source among media. The student teachers underlined teachers’ expertise in the form of in-depth understanding of subjects and supervising skills for efficient teaching both outdoors and indoors. Therefore, teaching and learning of species and species identification as the practical part of biodiversity and sustainability education is emphasized as an integral part of teacher education programs.
Irmeli Palmberg; Sirpa Kärkkäinen; Eila Jeronen; Eija Yli-Panula; Christel Persson. Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Most Efficient Teaching and Learning Methods for Species and Species Identification. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5231 .
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg, Sirpa Kärkkäinen, Eila Jeronen, Eija Yli-Panula, Christel Persson. Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Most Efficient Teaching and Learning Methods for Species and Species Identification. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (19):5231.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg; Sirpa Kärkkäinen; Eila Jeronen; Eija Yli-Panula; Christel Persson. 2019. "Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Most Efficient Teaching and Learning Methods for Species and Species Identification." Sustainability 11, no. 19: 5231.
People’s knowledge about nature, their interest in nature, their nature experiences, and their values and emotions regarding nature are factors that promote people’s positive views on environmental issues and sustainability. Knowing the variation and patterns in teachers’ and student teachers’ views is an essential step in considering the ways in which sustainability might be interpreted and enacted in schools and in teacher education. The aim of this study is to analyze student teachers’ views on the importance of species and species identification in general and as a part of their professional development regarding their understanding of biodiversity and sustainability. A total of 426 student teachers in Finland, Norway, and Sweden answered a questionnaire consisting of fixed and open-ended questions. Mixed methods were used: t test and analysis of variance for quantitative data and inductive and deductive, model-based content analysis for qualitative data. According to the majority of student teachers (85%), both species identification and biodiversity are important for sustainability; species identification in general was important to 58% of them. Their statements about importance contained mostly ecological views (46%), followed by emotional (17%), educational (16%), and utilitarian (11%) views. The remainder of the student teachers’ statements (10%) contained negativistic or indifferent views. The reasons for the low percentage of educational views are discussed. The implications of the results for teacher education worldwide are emphasized, especially the importance of those teaching methods that have the potential to increase student teachers’ understanding of sustainability.
Irmeli Palmberg; Mikaela Hermans; Eila Jeronen; Sirpa Kärkkäinen; Christel Persson; Eija Yli-Panula. Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Importance of Species and Species Identification. Journal of Science Teacher Education 2018, 29, 397 -419.
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg, Mikaela Hermans, Eila Jeronen, Sirpa Kärkkäinen, Christel Persson, Eija Yli-Panula. Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Importance of Species and Species Identification. Journal of Science Teacher Education. 2018; 29 (5):397-419.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg; Mikaela Hermans; Eila Jeronen; Sirpa Kärkkäinen; Christel Persson; Eija Yli-Panula. 2018. "Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Importance of Species and Species Identification." Journal of Science Teacher Education 29, no. 5: 397-419.
Sustainability is a complex concept including ecological, economic and social dimensions, which in turn involve several aspects that are interrelated in a complex way, such as cultural, health and political aspects. Systems thinking, which focuses on a system’s interrelated parts, could therefore help people understand the complexity of sustainability. The aim of this study is to analyse student teachers’ level of systems thinking regarding sustainability, especially the ecological dimension, and how they explain the relationship between species identification, biodiversity and sustainability. Nordic student teachers (N = 424) participated in a questionnaire and their open answers were content-analysed and categorised. The results indicate the student teachers’ low level of systems thinking regarding ecological sustainability. About a quarter of them (25.4%) had a basic level including interconnections (13.7%), additional feedback (8.9%) and also behavioural aspects (2.8%), but none of them reached an intermediate or advanced level. The low level of systems thinking could be explained by two main factors: (1) Systems thinking has not been used as an educational method of developing understanding of sustainability in teacher education programmes; and (2) systems thinking is also a result of life experiences; the older ones showing more systems thinking than the younger ones. Therefore, elementary forms of systems thinking should be an educational method already in primary education.
Irmeli Palmberg; Maria Hofman-Bergholm; Eila Jeronen; Eija Yli-Panula. Systems Thinking for Understanding Sustainability? Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Relationship between Species Identification, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. Education Sciences 2017, 7, 72 .
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg, Maria Hofman-Bergholm, Eila Jeronen, Eija Yli-Panula. Systems Thinking for Understanding Sustainability? Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Relationship between Species Identification, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. Education Sciences. 2017; 7 (3):72.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg; Maria Hofman-Bergholm; Eila Jeronen; Eija Yli-Panula. 2017. "Systems Thinking for Understanding Sustainability? Nordic Student Teachers’ Views on the Relationship between Species Identification, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development." Education Sciences 7, no. 3: 72.
Sustainability is internationally often emphasized as an essential aim of higher education, but more as a principle than on the practical level. This is also obvious in the academic education of primary teachers in Finland. Therefore, it is a great challenge for Finnish teachers to include sustainability in their teaching and everyday life in schools. The aim of this article is to critically analyze why the implementation of sustainability in teacher education is so intricate and to discuss possible solutions with Finland—a country highly valued for its education—as an example. The article reports outcomes from educational policy documents and research on educational, philosophical, scientific and social aspects of sustainability, including evaluation of how sustainability has been implemented in schools and at universities, especially among teacher educators. In addition, the article builds on analyses of comprehensive university strategies and primary school teacher education programs. We found these reasons for the ignoring of sustainability in the Finnish teacher education: sustainability is in conflict with overall trends in society and politics, teacher education takes place at universities and is based on separate academic disciplines. Sustainability is also intricate because it is strongly connected to ecological literacy and it is value dependent. Universities need to overcome these obstacles and become forerunners in the sustainability process.
Lili-Ann Wolff; Pia Sjöblom; Maria Hofman-Bergholm; Irmeli Palmberg. High Performance Education Fails in Sustainability? —A Reflection on Finnish Primary Teacher Education. Education Sciences 2017, 7, 32 .
AMA StyleLili-Ann Wolff, Pia Sjöblom, Maria Hofman-Bergholm, Irmeli Palmberg. High Performance Education Fails in Sustainability? —A Reflection on Finnish Primary Teacher Education. Education Sciences. 2017; 7 (1):32.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLili-Ann Wolff; Pia Sjöblom; Maria Hofman-Bergholm; Irmeli Palmberg. 2017. "High Performance Education Fails in Sustainability? —A Reflection on Finnish Primary Teacher Education." Education Sciences 7, no. 1: 32.
There are very few studies concerning the importance of teaching methods in biology education and environmental education including outdoor education for promoting sustainability at the levels of primary and secondary schools and pre-service teacher education. The material was selected using special keywords from biology and sustainable education in several scientific databases. The article provides an overview of 24 selected articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals from 2006–2016. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Altogether, 16 journals were selected and 24 articles were analyzed in detail. The foci of the analyses were teaching methods, learning environments, knowledge and thinking skills, psychomotor skills, emotions and attitudes, and evaluation methods. Additionally, features of good methods were investigated and their implications for teaching were emphasized. In total, 22 different teaching methods were found to improve sustainability education in different ways. The most emphasized teaching methods were those in which students worked in groups and participated actively in learning processes. Research points toward the value of teaching methods that provide a good introduction and supportive guidelines and include active participation and interactivity.
Eila Jeronen; Irmeli Palmberg; Eija Yli-Panula. Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability—A Literature Review. Education Sciences 2016, 7, 1 .
AMA StyleEila Jeronen, Irmeli Palmberg, Eija Yli-Panula. Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability—A Literature Review. Education Sciences. 2016; 7 (1):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEila Jeronen; Irmeli Palmberg; Eija Yli-Panula. 2016. "Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability—A Literature Review." Education Sciences 7, no. 1: 1.
Students’ and student teachers’ decreasing interest in and knowledge of science are, according to many national and international assessments, alarming trends in the Nordic countries. This quantitative and qualitative study of student teachers’ knowledge of core concepts and processes in ecology confirms the low level of student teachers’ understanding of these issues, although a majority consider these issues to be basic knowledge for their teacher competencies. Many of the student teachers did not know what biosphere or succession is. They also had difficulties in explaining what a seed contains and what its role is in the plant’s lifecycle. Several student teachers also had difficulties to explain why photosynthesis is important and how it works. The increasing ecological and environmental illiteracy is discussed as one of the implications for teacher education.
Irmeli Elisabeth Palmberg; Gunnar Jonsson; Eila Jeronen; Eija Yli-Panula. Blivande lärares uppfattningar och förståelse av baskunskap i ekologi i Danmark, Finland och Sverige. Nordic Studies in Science Education 2016, 12, 197 -217.
AMA StyleIrmeli Elisabeth Palmberg, Gunnar Jonsson, Eila Jeronen, Eija Yli-Panula. Blivande lärares uppfattningar och förståelse av baskunskap i ekologi i Danmark, Finland och Sverige. Nordic Studies in Science Education. 2016; 12 (2):197-217.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Elisabeth Palmberg; Gunnar Jonsson; Eila Jeronen; Eija Yli-Panula. 2016. "Blivande lärares uppfattningar och förståelse av baskunskap i ekologi i Danmark, Finland och Sverige." Nordic Studies in Science Education 12, no. 2: 197-217.
Knowledge of species, interest in nature, and nature experiences are the factors that best promote interest in and understanding of environmental issues, biodiversity and sustainable life. The aim of this study is to investigate how well student teachers identify common local species, their interest in and ideas about species identification, and their perceptions of the importance of species identification and biodiversity for sustainable development. Totally 456 student teachers for primary schools were tested using an identification test and a questionnaire consisting of fixed and open questions. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to get a more holistic view of students’ level of knowledge and their preferred learning methods. The student teachers’ ability to identify very common species was low, and only 3 % were able to identify most of the tested species. Experiential learning outdoors was suggested by the majority of students as the most efficient learning method, followed by experiential learning indoors, project work and experimental learning. They looked upon the identification of plants and animals as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ for citizens today and for sustainable development. Likewise, they looked upon biodiversity as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ for sustainable development. Our conclusion is that teaching and learning methods for identification and knowledge of species and for education of biodiversity and sustainable development should always include experiential and project-based methods in authentic environments.
Irmeli Palmberg; Ida Berg; Eila Jeronen; Sirpa Kärkkäinen; Pia Norrgård-Sillanpää; Christel Persson; Rytis Vilkonis; Eija Yli-Panula. Nordic–Baltic Student Teachers’ Identification of and Interest in Plant and Animal Species: The Importance of Species Identification and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development. Journal of Science Teacher Education 2015, 26, 549 -571.
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg, Ida Berg, Eila Jeronen, Sirpa Kärkkäinen, Pia Norrgård-Sillanpää, Christel Persson, Rytis Vilkonis, Eija Yli-Panula. Nordic–Baltic Student Teachers’ Identification of and Interest in Plant and Animal Species: The Importance of Species Identification and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development. Journal of Science Teacher Education. 2015; 26 (6):549-571.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg; Ida Berg; Eila Jeronen; Sirpa Kärkkäinen; Pia Norrgård-Sillanpää; Christel Persson; Rytis Vilkonis; Eija Yli-Panula. 2015. "Nordic–Baltic Student Teachers’ Identification of and Interest in Plant and Animal Species: The Importance of Species Identification and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development." Journal of Science Teacher Education 26, no. 6: 549-571.
According to recent research, the knowledge of species, interest in nature, and nature experiences arethe factors that best promote interest in and understanding of environmental issues and sustainable life style. However, during the past 20 years the knowledge of species has decreased alarmingly among pupils, but also among their teachers. The aim of this study is to make a survey of student teachers’ level of knowledge of species and of factors that have influenced their interest in and capacity for identifying species. Totally 335 student teachers were tested through a species identification test, a questionnaire, and completing interviews. Pupils in grades 7 and 9 and adults were used as reference groups. Student teachers had very varying levels of knowledge of species. Most of them, however, considered it useful to know the most common species of plants and animals in their local environment. The student teachers who had nature-related hobbies as well as practical nature studies in their education, had a considerably better level of knowledge than the others. More than 25 % of the student teachers, however, had a lower level of knowledge (of species) than the average pupils ingrades 7 and 9.
Irmeli Palmberg. Artkunskap och intresse för arter hos blivande lärare för grundskolan. "Student teachers’ knowledge of and interest in species". Nordic Studies in Science Education 2012, 8, 244 -257.
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg. Artkunskap och intresse för arter hos blivande lärare för grundskolan. "Student teachers’ knowledge of and interest in species". Nordic Studies in Science Education. 2012; 8 (3):244-257.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg. 2012. "Artkunskap och intresse för arter hos blivande lärare för grundskolan. "Student teachers’ knowledge of and interest in species"." Nordic Studies in Science Education 8, no. 3: 244-257.
Students after graduating school must have both, knowledge and basic skills for ac-tive life-action, which includes their ability to evaluate their knowledge and skills for usabil-ity both in everyday life and in future. In this article knowledge of different problems within science education and its usability for future life, evaluated by the Latvian 12th grade stu-dents, has been analysed by using a poll, which has been previously approved in Nordic countries. Results show that Latvian students’ knowledge about different problems of human biology is relatively higher than in other fields of science. On the other hand students demonstrate a lack of skills for generalization, therefore knowledge is sometimes insufficient. Only slightly more than half of students recognized their knowledge in science, obtained at school, as suitable for their future life. Key words: basic skills, human biology, knowledge, school science.
Irmeli Palmberg; Gunita Praulite; Janis Gedrovics. THE LATVIAN 12TH GRADE STUDENTS` UNDERSTANDING OF PARTICULAR ISSUES OF NATURAL SCIENCES. GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS / NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION 2011, 8, 44 -54.
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg, Gunita Praulite, Janis Gedrovics. THE LATVIAN 12TH GRADE STUDENTS` UNDERSTANDING OF PARTICULAR ISSUES OF NATURAL SCIENCES. GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS / NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION. 2011; 8 (1):44-54.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg; Gunita Praulite; Janis Gedrovics. 2011. "THE LATVIAN 12TH GRADE STUDENTS` UNDERSTANDING OF PARTICULAR ISSUES OF NATURAL SCIENCES." GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS / NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION 8, no. 1: 44-54.
Alarming trends in science in Nordic schools, indicating a diminishing interest among students, a lack of knowledge and competence among teachers as well as a decreasing amount of science in teacher education sparked this study of student teachers in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. This quantitative and qualitative study of teacher students’ views of human biology made it clear that human biology is seen as basic teacher knowledge by a majority of the students, in Finland in particular. The student teachers’ level of knowledge in human biology is very low. They have difficulties in explaining basic body functions, for example in relation to the human blood circulation system. They lack understanding of how various body organs work together, a fact that makes teaching and pupil guidance more difficult. Nordic teacher education should provide more time for diagnosing and developing student teachers’ critical and scientific thinking skills as well as problem-based science teaching.
Irmeli Palmberg; Eila Jeronen; Maria Svens; Eija Yli-Panula; John Andersson; Gunnar Johnsson. Blivande lärares (åk 1-6) baskunskaper i Danmark, Finland och Sverige – 1. Kunskaper och uppfattningar om människans biologi. Nordic Studies in Science Education 1970, 7, 54 -70.
AMA StyleIrmeli Palmberg, Eila Jeronen, Maria Svens, Eija Yli-Panula, John Andersson, Gunnar Johnsson. Blivande lärares (åk 1-6) baskunskaper i Danmark, Finland och Sverige – 1. Kunskaper och uppfattningar om människans biologi. Nordic Studies in Science Education. 1970; 7 (1):54-70.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrmeli Palmberg; Eila Jeronen; Maria Svens; Eija Yli-Panula; John Andersson; Gunnar Johnsson. 1970. "Blivande lärares (åk 1-6) baskunskaper i Danmark, Finland och Sverige – 1. Kunskaper och uppfattningar om människans biologi." Nordic Studies in Science Education 7, no. 1: 54-70.