Using student drawings of biogeochemical cycles to explore earth systems thinking abilities

Research has shown the highest level of understanding in the geosciences to be the ability to think about the Earth as a dynamic system. The Earth system contains four spheres: the geosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and the atmosphere. These spheres are linked through the biogeochemical cycles that move matter and energy through the various parts of the Earth system. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by examining how undergraduate students perceive fluxes and reservoirs of important elements within the Earth system: namely carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Through interviews, concept drawings, and surveys, undergraduate students’ conceptions and alternate conceptions about the Earth System and biogeochemical cycles were collected. This study revealed that undergraduate students in both STEM and non-STEM fields tend to hold a “bio-centric” view of the carbon cycle and have more limited conceptions in terms of detail and breadth of the nitrogen and phosphorous cycles. Students who took more STEM courses and were in more interdisciplinary fields tended to have more nuanced (though not necessarily complete) conceptions of these cycles. Implications for this study involve the improvement of teaching biogeochemical concepts across disciplines, but also inform our knowledge about using these cycles in the context of systems thinking. This work also provides a baseline for future work on developing learning progressions for biogeochemical cycles and complex Earth systems and in assessing systems thinking abilities through student knowledge of biogeochemical cycles.

Research Article| November 01 1959 A Study of College Introductory Biology Courses Julian L. Solinger Julian L. Solinger Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1959) 21 (7): 298–307. https://doi.org/10.2307/4439169 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Julian L. Solinger; A Study of College Introductory Biology Courses. The American Biology Teacher 1 November 1959; 21 (7): 298–307. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4439169 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of an intervention on primary school students’ construction of knowledge on ocean acidification and the development of their systems thinking. Eighty-five 11 to 12-year-old students from five different classes of two public primary schools in Greece participated in the 8-h intervention. The intervention included inquiry-based and knowledge-integration activities, and students worked in groups during all activities. Rich pictures, made by the groups at the beginning and the end of the intervention, were used to evaluate their progress in their knowledge concerning the carbon cycle, as well as in their systems thinking. Our findings showed that the intervention contributed to primary students’ conceptual knowledge of the carbon cycle and the inclusion of ocean acidification in the carbon cycle. It also helped them improve their systems thinking, indicating that students’ systems thinking at this age could be developed through formal instruction with interventions which emphasize content knowledge and use an earth systems approach. Moreover, our findings indicate that the systems thinking perspective can serve as an effective approach to help children better understand and critically engage with complex environmental issues, such as ocean acidification.

This paper describes the results obtained for the affective engagement of students with systems thinking (ST). In prior work, the authors have developed and validated a questionnaire instrument for measuring affective engagement of undergraduate engineering students with ST. This paper presents results obtained when the questionnaire was used with undergraduate students. Two surveys with different versions of the questionnaire, one using positive grammar questions only and the other using a mix of positive and negative constructs, were used to measure the students’ engagement with ST and its relationship with gender, age, and work experience. Each questionnaire version was applied to a different sample, the first, 186 participants, completed the positive grammar version, and, the second group of 163 completed the mixed version. The results show that participants in both studies valued ST in each of the three dimensions of the ST construct. Statistical tests confirmed no significant gender differences in either study. Student engagement with the practical dimension of ST was shown to vary, with statistical significance, with groups of age, years of work experience, and country of the university.

Abstract. Wetlands are the single largest natural source of methane (CH4), a powerful greenhouse gas affecting the global climate. In turn, wetland CH4 emissions are sensitive to changes in climate conditions such as temperature and precipitation shifts. However, biogeochemical processes regulating wetland CH4 emissions (namely microbial production and oxidation of CH4) are not routinely included in fully coupled Earth system models that simulate feedbacks between the physical climate, the carbon cycle, and other biogeochemical cycles. This paper introduces a process-based wetland CH4 model (WETMETH) developed for implementation in Earth system models and currently embedded in an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. Here, we (i) describe the wetland CH4 model, (ii) evaluate the model performance against available datasets and estimates from the literature, and (iii) analyze the model sensitivity to perturbations of poorly constrained parameters. Historical simulations show that WETMETH is capable of reproducing mean annual emissions consistent with present-day estimates across spatial scales. For the 2008–2017 decade, the model simulates global mean wetland emissions of 158.6 Tg CH4 yr−1, of which 33.1 Tg CH4 yr−1 is from wetlands north of 45∘ N. WETMETH is highly sensitive to parameters for the microbial oxidation of CH4, which is the least constrained process in the literature.

Abstract. Simulation of the carbon cycle in climate models is important due to its impact on climate change, but many weaknesses in its reproduction were found in previous models. Improvements in the representation of the land carbon cycle in Earth system models (ESMs) participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) include the interactive treatment of both the carbon and nitrogen cycles, improved photosynthesis, and soil hydrology. To assess the impact of these model developments on aspects of the global carbon cycle, the Earth System Model Evaluation Tool (ESMValTool) is expanded to compare CO2-concentration- and CO2-emission-driven historical simulations from CMIP5 and CMIP6 to observational data sets. A particular focus is on the differences in models with and without an interactive terrestrial nitrogen cycle. Overestimations of photosynthesis (gross primary productivity (GPP)) in CMIP5 were largely resolved in CMIP6 for participating models with an interactive nitrogen cycle but remaining for models without one. This points to the importance of including nutrient limitation. Simulating the leaf area index (LAI) remains challenging, with a large model spread in both CMIP5 and CMIP6. In ESMs, the global mean land carbon uptake (net biome productivity (NBP)) is well reproduced in the CMIP5 and CMIP6 multi-model means. However, this is the result of an underestimation of NBP in the Northern Hemisphere, which is compensated by an overestimation in the Southern Hemisphere and the tropics. Carbon stocks remain a large uncertainty in the models. While vegetation carbon content is slightly better represented in CMIP6, the inter-model range of soil carbon content remains the same between CMIP5 and CMIP6. Overall, a slight improvement in the simulation of land carbon cycle parameters is found in CMIP6 compared to CMIP5, but with many biases remaining, further improvements of models in particular for LAI and NBP is required. Models from modeling groups participating in both CMIP phases generally perform similarly or better in their CMIP6 compared to their CMIP5 models. This improvement is not as significant in the multi-model means due to more new models in CMIP6, especially those using older versions of the Community Land Model (CLM). Emission-driven simulations perform just as well as the concentration-driven models, despite the added process realism. Due to this, we recommend that ESMs in future Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) phases perform emission-driven simulations as the standard so that climate–carbon cycle feedbacks are fully active. The inclusion of the nitrogen limitation led to a large improvement in photosynthesis compared to models not including this process, suggesting the need to view the nitrogen cycle as a necessary part of all future carbon cycle models. Possible benefits when including further limiting nutrients such as phosphorus should also be considered.

Systems Thinking Competencies have become extremely important and widely studied due to increasing systems complexity. Because of this, when they are taught, it is extremely useful to identify whether or not students own Systems Thinking Competencies in order to design a specific teaching strategy. This research applied an Adapted Holistic Scoring Method to assess Concept Maps developed by postgraduate and undergraduate engineering students in order to identify Systems Thinking Competencies. It had two phases. At the first one, Students showed an acceptable knowledge of cost estimation drivers, and a certain level of Systems Thinking Competencies. In the second phase, both cost estimation drivers and Systems Thinking Competencies showed an improvement. Mann-Whitney U-test was applied in order to identify if there were significant differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2. Confidence level of 95%, and a significance level of 0.05 was considered.

The Earth system is maintained in a unique state far from thermodynamic equilibrium, as, for instance, reflected in the high concentration of reactive oxygen in the atmosphere. The myriad of processes that transform energy, that result in the motion of mass in the atmosphere, in oceans, and on land, processes that drive the global water, carbon, and other biogeochemical cycles, all have in common that they are irreversible in their nature. Entropy production is a general consequence of these processes and measures their degree of irreversibility. The proposed principle of maximum entropy production (MEP) states that systems are driven to steady states in which they produce entropy at the maximum possible rate given the prevailing constraints. In this review, the basics of nonequilibrium thermodynamics are described, as well as how these apply to Earth system processes. Applications of the MEP principle are discussed, ranging from the strength of the atmospheric circulation, the hydrological cycle, and biogeochemical cycles to the role that life plays in these processes. Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and the MEP principle have potentially wide-ranging implications for our understanding of Earth system functioning, how it has evolved in the past, and why it is habitable. Entropy production allows us to quantify an objective direction of Earth system change (closer to vs further away from thermodynamic equilibrium, or, equivalently, towards a state of MEP). When a maximum in entropy production is reached, MEP implies that the Earth system reacts to perturbations primarily with negative feedbacks. In conclusion, this nonequilibrium thermodynamic view of the Earth system shows great promise to establish a holistic description of the Earth as one system. This perspective is likely to allow us to better understand and predict its function as one entity, how it has evolved in the past, and how it is modified by human activities in the future.

The goal of the following study is to investigate whether first-year students in STEM fields that have a low proportion of females (STEM-L) show vocational interests that fit their vocational aspirations. To place our investigation into a broader context, we compared students in STEM-L with students of STEM subjects with a medium proportion of women (STEM-M) as well as with other subjects with a medium or a high proportion of females. We analyzed their vocational interests, vocational aspirations and their interest congruence. In both the comparison regarding interest profiles and the comparison of vocational aspirations, we focused on the things-orientation and people-orientation, all while taking respective gender differences into account. Following the suggestion from previous studies, in a further step we differentiated between subjects within STEM-L. Using data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we analyzed the interest congruence of 5,530 male and 7,406 female students in STEM majors (with a low or medium proportion of women) and non-STEM majors (with a medium or high proportion of women). Students from different subjects showed different magnitudes regarding their things- and people-orientation. STEM-L students had a high things-orientation and a low people-orientation regarding both their interests and aspired occupations. Students of STEM-L and STEM-M showed a lower interest congruence than students from other subjects. With the exception of education, gender differences regarding the people- and things-orientation also existed within most of the subjects. Gender differences partly remain when distinguishing between the different subjects within STEM-L. And so, the result that not all STEM-L subjects are “created equal” is discussed in the context of their theoretical and methodological aspects.

Earth System Model (ESM) advances now enable improved representations of spatially and temporally varying anthropogenic climate forcings. One critical forcing is global agriculture, which is now extensive in land-use and intensive in management, owing to 20th century development trends. Agriculture and food systems now contribute nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and require copious inputs and resources, such as fertilizer, water, and land. Much uncertainty remains in quantifying important agriculture-climate interactions, including surface moisture and energy balances and biogeochemical cycling. Despite these externalities and uncertainties, agriculture is increasingly being leveraged to function as a net sink of anthropogenic carbon, and there is much emphasis on future sustainable intensification. Given its significance as a major environmental and climate forcing, there now exist a variety of approaches to represent agriculture in ESMs. These approaches are reviewed herein, and range from idealized representations of agricultural extent to the development of coupled climate-crop models that capture dynamic feedbacks. We highlight the robust agriculture-climate interactions and responses identified by these modeling efforts, as well as existing uncertainties and model limitations. To this end, coordinated and benchmarking assessments of land-use-climate feedbacks can be leveraged for further improvements in ESM's agricultural representations. We suggest key areas for continued model development, including incorporating irrigation and biogeochemical cycling in particular. Lastly, we pose several critical research questions to guide future work. Our review focuses on ESM representations of climate-surface interactions over managed agricultural lands, rather than on ESMs as an estimation tool for crop yields and productivity.

Systems thinking requires consideration of dynamic processes, how parts of a whole interact through causal relationships, and how such systems change over time, often in response to environmental stimuli. A systems thinking approach is essential to understanding the complexities of metabolic pathways, yet few tools exist to probe students’ proficiency in this area. We have developed and used an assessment instrument to measure undergraduate students’ understanding of biochemical pathway dynamics and regulation in a metabolic context. A community of biochemistry educators was involved in an iterative process of designing and testing the instrument and accompanying rubric. The assessment instrument was embedded on final exams in an introductory biochemistry course and student responses were collected over several terms. Analysis of student responses showed that most students were able to interpret visual conventions in an unfamiliar metabolic pathway. Furthermore, many students could make basic predictions about how the system would be expected to respond to changes. However, fewer students generated nuanced responses that accounted for both microscopic changes at the protein level and macroscopic changes in pathway product outputs. Interviews revealed that students struggled to process the volume of complex information provided in prompts and the metabolic pathway diagram. This suggests that supporting information processing skills may be an important part of teaching systems thinking and metabolic logic.Support or Funding InformationNSF‐DUE‐1224868

Plastic pollution can both chemically and physically impede marine biota. But it can also provide novel substrates for colonization, and its leachate might stimulate phytoplankton growth. Plastic contains carbon, which is released into the environment upon breakdown. All of these mechanisms have been proposed to contribute global impacts on open ocean carbon cycling and climate from ubiquitous plastic pollution. Laboratory studies produce compelling data showing both stimulation and inhibition of primary producers and disruption of predatory lifecycles at individual scale, but global carbon cycle impacts remain mostly unquantified. Preliminary modelling estimates ecosystem alterations and direct carbon release due to plastic pollution will remain vastly less disruptive to global carbon cycling than the direct damage wrought by fossil fuel carbon emissions. But when considered by mass, carbon in the form of bulky, persistent plastic particles may be disproportionally more influential on biogeochemical cycling than carbon as a gas in the atmosphere or as a dissolved component of seawater. Thus, future research should pay particular attention to the optical and other physical effects of marine plastic pollution on Earth system and ecological function, and resulting impacts on oxygen and nutrient cycling. Improved understanding of the breakdown of plastics in the marine environment should also be considered high-priority, as any potential perturbation of biological carbon cycling by plastic pollution is climate-relevant on centennial timescales and longer.

Note from the EditorsToo often, biology has been considered by both students and faculty as the ideal major for the scientifically inclined but mathematically challenged, even though the advantage of quantitative approaches in biology has always been apparent.Increasingly, biologists are utilizing mathematical skills to create simulations or manage and query large data sets.The need for basic mathematical and computer science (CS) literacy among biologists has never been greater.But does this require a fundamental change in the organization of the undergraduate biology curriculum?What is the utility of math/CS in different areas of biology?How can we best provide math/CS instruction to biologists so that the utility is appreciated?Do all biology students require a stronger math/CS foundation, or only those interested in research careers?Given the speed at which technology changes, what is the best preparation?Three different points of view are offered below.Dr. Roger Brent, President and Director of the Molecular Sciences Institute, reflects on the "innumeracy" common among biologists and argues that significant insights into biological problems may be gained from better mathematical intuition.

Grades are a staple of education and a gateway to future career opportunities. Yet, grading practices can (re)produce inequities and cause students to feel inadequate and unmotivated. Alternative grading practices may address these problems, but these strategies are often time intensive and impractical in larger classroom settings. In this study, we explore an easy-to-implement grading practice, in-class quiz retakes, to conceptualize how grades motivate learning and impact well-being for undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Through the lens of self-determination theory, we conducted semistructured interviews with undergraduates who experienced quiz retakes in two STEM courses. Our results revealed that retakes largely improved students' perceptions of their competence in the subject matter, autonomy in grade outcomes, feelings of relatedness to the instructors, and overall motivation to learn. The majority of students also expressed how traditional grading practices negatively impacted their motivation and well-being. In addition, a quantitative analysis revealed that quiz retakes particularly benefitted students who scored lower on their initial quizzes. We aspire for this study to prompt educators to reconsider traditional grading practices by opting for more equitable and just alternative grading approaches that motivate student learning and mitigate systemic barriers in education.

The global society of today struggles with grand challenges, such as climate change, the degradation of ecosystems, and the loss of bio- and geodiversity, as identified in several documents. The search for solutions to these and other problems on the way to sustainable development necessarily involves a better understanding of the Earth system and its dynamics. The Earth system is composed of five highly dependent and interrelated subsystems that exchange matter and energy. This notion is at the base of what in the literature is named Earth System Science (ESS). Humanity has been profoundly altering the dynamics of this system, leading to the proposal of a new geological epoch—the Anthropocene. Developing a holistic understanding of the complex and tangled relationships between subsystems and the role of human impacts is the target of study of Earth System Education (ESE). With the assumptions of ESS, ESE is emerging as a new approach in science education. Based on a deep knowledge of the planet and the development of specific competencies, such as system thinking, it is possible to perform more actively and consciously in the relationships that citizens develop with the Earth system, enabling the existence of a more viable future for humanity.