Abstract

GALVAN PEREZ, Laura  and  GUTIERREZ PEREZ, José. Conceptual maps as an evaluation instrument: an experience in environmental education through the study of aquatic ecosystems. Rev. Actual. Investig. Educ [online]. 2018, vol.18, n.1, pp.442-477. ISSN 1409-4703.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/aie.v18i1.31840.

The aquatic ecosystems generate a number of essential services for maintaining human well-being and maintaining life in the biosphere. However, human activity is having a great impact on these ecosystems, altering the operation and maintenance of them, as well as putting at risk the survival and the human well-being. For this, it is fundamental to determine if the different didactic resources that work the theme water in the formal education, are allowing to generate such knowledge and an environmental social conscience. The objective of this article is to design and apply a conceptual map evaluation model to a sample of 23 students from 3rd level of Compulsory Secondary Education, in order to detect, on the one hand, the previous ideas, and on the other hand, the identification of conceptual and attitudinal learning about water, following the development of an educational resource. For this purpose, a mixed classroom intervention plan was carried out, consisting of 3 work sessions, using conceptual maps as a data collection technique. The results of the research indicate that the analysis of each element of the conceptual maps (number of concepts, number of connectors, level of hierarchy, visual impact and relations between concepts) increased after the application of the didactic resource. In conclusion, the educational resource fosters the conceptual and attitudinal learning about water, obtaining better levels of learning.

Keywords : conceptual maps; environmental education; water; educational resources.

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