0000000000135037
AUTHOR
Astrid Von Albedyll
Much more than old wine in new skins : students' and adults' knowledge on grapevine and vineyards as a starting point for new topics in school
Young people continually lose contact to their natural surroundings and agriculture. As school is one of young people’s main source of knowledge it should bring students and nature back together, by using agricultural examples. This research examines German students’ and adults’ knowledge on plant biological basics and viticulture choosing grapevine as an agricultural example of plants. It was undertaken as a paper-and-pencil test with participants of different ages and from different educational backgrounds. The results reveal the weaknesses of participants’ knowledge concerning botanical as well as viticultural aspects. Additionally, the results show a positive correlation between their a…
“I Learned It through the Grapevine…”: Exploring Atypical Ecosystems in Schools as a New Out-of-School Learning Site
Ecology may be seen as one of the main topics of biological education as it functions at the interface of several other aspects of biology. Although it may easily be conveyed through field trips and hands-on activities, it is taught theoretically most of the time and in traditional ecosystems like forests or lakes. For this study, new teaching material has been developed that demonstrates the exploration of more special or “atypical” ecosystems in biology classes. It combines working in a local vineyard with hands-on elements for school. By exploring a human-made ecosystem, which is different from those traditionally used, students gain content knowledge and get to know scientific methods. …