el desempeño de las competencias científicas de uso de pruebas y ...

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The construction of an appropriate notion of energy flow requires students to
acknowledge trophic chains and trophic pyramids as structures showing how
energy is transferred among organisms, and not just as representations of the
predator-prey relationships.
In this research, our interest is focused on analysing how do students apply the
model of energy flow (energy transfer) and how do they transform it into
decisions (in other words, the process of contextualization) in order to solve a
problem of resources management.
Methods, educational context and teaching sequence
The methodology used in this research is qualitative. Using a multiple case study
allows us to explore the complexity of learning processes in a classroom setting.
Our study is framed by discourse analysis, drawing from Gee (2005) criteria for
characterizing episodes in students' talk. For Gee an episode is a sequence of turns
focusing on a topic or activity.
The participants are four classes of 10 th grade students (15-16 years of age) and
their teachers, from two rural high schools in Galicia (North-west of Spain):
Malvela, three classes (N=52), and Daponte, one class (N=14). Teachers and
students are identified with pseudonyms.
The ecology sequence was designed by the researchers and negotiated with the
teachers. The sequence was spread in six class sessions, including activities as
modelling energy flow and trophic pyramids, solving problems related to
resources management and solving an evaluation task about the sustainability of
aquaculture. In this research we focus on the development of two of them: a) the
production of representations of trophic pyramids and b) solving a problem about
marine resources management. Data collection included video and audio
recordings of all sessions, students’ written productions and the researcher’s field
notes.