Using a field trip to investigate the development of biology students'knowledge on local wetland ecosystem birds

Abstract

This study investigated the development of Grade 11 biology students’ knowledge of wetland birds with the use of a field trip. The three research questions guiding the study were: “What is the conception of Grade 11 biology students’ knowledge on birds found in Pitseng wetland ecosystem?”; “How does Grade 11 students’ knowledge of birds in Pitseng wetland develop with the use of field trip approach overtime?” and “What is the difference between the conception of male and female students on wetland birds if any?” The research involved 34 participants, and the research instruments for generating data were observation and open-ended questionnaire and a students’ field worksheet. The students’ knowledge was assessed within the ecological literacy framework. The analysis of data was both qualitative and quantitative descriptive. The findings revealed that students’ knowledge on wetland birds increased with the use of field trip overtime. The study concludes that field trip is an effective strategy for studying birds in the local ecosystem, and for developing students’ ecological literacy. It is recommended that the method should be used widely in the teaching of biology and that further research should explore its use in the study of birds, with focus on students’ ecological conceptions in schools located in different regions of the country, and the data be analysed in terms of other demographic variables, such as age and home background.