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Teachers’ perspectives and practices on biodiversity web portals as an opportunity to reconnect education with nature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2020

Ana Picanço Open the ORCID record for Ana Picanço [Opens in a new window] ,
Ana Moura Arroz Open the ORCID record for Ana Moura Arroz [Opens in a new window] ,
Isabel R Amorim Open the ORCID record for Isabel R Amorim [Opens in a new window] ,
Sónia Matos Open the ORCID record for Sónia Matos [Opens in a new window]  and
Rosalina Gabriel Open the ORCID record for Rosalina Gabriel [Opens in a new window]
Ana Picanço*
Affiliation:
cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
Ana Moura Arroz
Affiliation:
cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
Isabel R Amorim
Affiliation:
cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
Sónia Matos
Affiliation:
Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS), Polo Científico e Tecnológico da Madeira, Caminho da Penteada, piso-2, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal School of Design, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, 74 Lauriston Place, EdinburghEH3 9DF, UK
Rosalina Gabriel
Affiliation:
cE3c – Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Ana Picanço, Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Biodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers play a crucial role in how biodiversity, and in particular local biodiversity, is understood. To provide insight into how to improve communication on the subject, we investigate teachers’ perspectives and social representations regarding biodiversity, their fluency in terms of Internet use, their familiarity with biodiversity web portals and perceived pedagogical usefulness of technology. A sample of 243 K–12 schoolteachers of multiple scientific domains from eight Azorean islands answered an online survey, including three free-word association tests using inductive terms such as ‘Internet’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘familiar biodiversity portals’. Overall, the schoolteachers failed to incorporate the multidimensionality of the biodiversity concept (including natural science teachers) or to show technological fluency, and they tended not to use biodiversity web portals as tools to engage students in teaching activities. Our results indicate that teachers’ perspectives about biodiversity need to be broadened and improved and that it is worth exploring whether information and communication technology represents a window of opportunity to do so. As an example, biodiversity web portals, which are widely recognized as trustworthy information repositories, may be used to engage teachers in this endeavour.

Keywords

Azoresbiodiversity educationdigital educationfree-word associationICTnature experienceplace-based educationsocial representations
Type
Research Paper
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 25 - 32
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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Footnotes

‡

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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