A Good way to design a unit on the flow of matte

When teaching units on the flow of matter and energy in living systems, the authors believe it is important that middle school teachers pay attention to their students’ thinking about the wa... See More

When teaching units on the flow of matter and energy in living systems, the authors believe it is important that middle school teachers pay attention to their students’ thinking about the way the world works. They will find that their students will come to class with a variety of ideas—some correct, some incorrect, and some partially correct—about the topic. An awareness of their students thinking can enable the teachers to more easily connect new content to their students existing knowledge, and helps clarify and correct existing misconceptions with new science-based understandings. To assist the teachers, the authors have included six figures or charts; Figure 1: Defining and clarifying the content, Figure 2: Concept map of interactions involving the flow of matter and energy in living systems, Figure 3: Misconceptions related to the flow of matter and energy in living systems (this was very thorough), Figure 4: Eliciting, analyzing, and addressing students’ conceptions of the flow of matter and energy in living systems, Figure 5: Developing a student diagram for relating plants and animals to food (using a Venn Diagram), and Figure 6: Using purposeful language to prevent the formation or reinforcement of misconceptions. This article is an excellent source to help teachers design and implement a unit about the flow f matter and energy in living systems.

Flow of Matter and Energy in a System

The article brings to light there are several misconceptions students have regarding the flow of matter and energy in living systems. Of particular interest was figure 3 which identified th... See More

The article brings to light there are several misconceptions students have regarding the flow of matter and energy in living systems. Of particular interest was figure 3 which identified the misconceptions and corresponding correct ideas. Figure 4 provided information for eliciting, analyzing and strategies for addressing students’ conceptions of the flow of matter and energy in living systems. Figure 6 identifies frequently used phrases, inaccurate interpretations and alternative wordings to help students understand the concept. I appreciated the thoroughness of the authors outlining student thinking around the flow of energy and the implications for teaching.