This study investigates what knowledge pre-service student teachers bring into natural science courses about organ systems and what knowledge they believe is important when teaching in the future. The empirical data were collected from a group of pre-service student teachers specializing in grades 1–3 and grades 4–6. The data were collected from a drawing of a human figure. The students were instructed to draw the internal organs inside the figure and describe what happens in the body from the time a person drinks water until the person urinates. The survey also includes knowledge questions with multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The results indicate that the student teachers’ knowledge shows that it is challenging to connect more than two organ systems. One fifth of the students had the knowledge to compare three organ systems, but one-third of the students gave non-scientific explanations. But there was no clear link between knowledge of the pathway of water through the body, knowledge of the importance of drinking water for the body and knowledge of the kidney function. The pre-service teachers identified challenges in their future profession, such as limitations in their own knowledge. However, few considered students’ interest to be a challenge.

School development is important in society. This study investigates how questions work as an information carrier between different levels in a school organization. The questions are organized in a hierarchy, with the regional steering committee’s overarching question at the top and then distributed further on to the municipalities to interpret the questions that engage with their practice management. At the bottom of the hierarchy are the schools, and they create the final professional research questions that engage with day-to-day practice. Previous studies show that supporting and challenging each other can lead to the development of new knowledge in the organization. This is an empirical study based on documents with questions from the three levels (regional, municipal, and school). The questions were collected and the content in the questions was analyzed. The results show that it is possible to develop an organization by asking development-related questions, from top to bottom, in a hierarchical organization. However, problems arise when the developing questions require interpretation, and the interpretation leads to the shifting of the original goal. In this study, the aim at regional-level students and knowledge/learning was shifted to a focus on teachers and teaching especially at school level.

Hur fungerar vi? Kroppen och dess organ fascinerar men felaktiga förklaringar till hur allt hänger ihop förekommer bland både barn och vuxna. Vad händer till exempel med vattnet som vi dricker?

This study aims to determine what pre-service teachers know about the path of water through the body, and how they intend to explain this knowledge to five-year-old preschool children. This study aims to see the opportunities young children in preschool can obtain from an explanation of the nature of science related to an everyday life activity. A questionnaire was distributed to 42 pre-service teachers participating in the study. They study part time at the university (75% studying and 25% working), and most of the students are or have been working in preschools. All the students have passed the mandatory science courses. Data were collected through a questionnaire where the students explained their knowledge using drawings, and explaining pedagogic standpoints in open-ended questions. The results concluded that four pre-service teachers could sufficiently explain the workings of three organ systems. However, only one of the four intended to mention the three systems necessary for providing a coherent explanation of the body to a five-year-old child. Even the pre-service teachers who could describe more than one system did not intend to explain what they knew to the children. A typical response from the students was that they would seek facts together with the child.

This study investigates what prior knowledge the students in the teacher programs have about the path of water through the body when they start taking the science courses and what their intentions are, i.e. what they think or believe is important knowledge, as they will later teach. The empirical data for this study is collected in a group of teacher students specializing in grade f-3 and grade 4-6. The information is collected via a questionnaire that consists of a drawn figure where the students draw and describe what they think is happening in the body from when they drink water until the liquid is urinated out. Besides, there are several knowledge questions on the same survey with multiple-choice alternatives and some open-ended questions relating to their future profession as teachers. The results show that the teacher students' prior knowledge is like that seen in previous studies when they connect more than two organ systems is problematic. Nearly a third had nonscientific explanations. These students stated that the most important they want to teach their pupils is the function of water but there were only 12 of 48 who answered that the transportation of nutrients and heat regulation. 

The body is a mystery for many people, not least because we cannot see what lies inside our own bodies. One of the most well-known systems is the digestive system, especially the tube that runs from the mouth-esophagus-stomach to the various intestines. It becomes more problematic when we ask people to explain how more than one organ system is interconnected. Images around us usually depict one organ system at a time or sometimes two, but almost never three organ systems together. Even in textbooks, the same pattern persists rarely, if ever, do three organ systems appear simultaneously in a single image. The consequence of this is that it becomes difficult to explain how water is transported within the body. To describe how water travels from the mouth until it is excreted as urine, one needs to understand the relationships between at least three organ systems: the digestive system, circulatory system, and excretory system. Beyond these systems, there are also the nervous system, lymphatic system, etc., but in this text, we focus on the first three systems.

I have conducted four major studies, three of which are published in journals, and a fourth that has been presented at research conferences and will eventually be published in a journal. The first study was conducted in Sweden [1], and the second in South Africa [2]. Both studies were conducted with grade 9 students and explored not only water but also two other scenarios: what happens when one eats a sandwich and when one takes pain medication. The studies were based on surveys and interviews with both students and teachers. The results revealed that a significant portion (approximately 25%) of students held non-scientific explanatory models—explanations that were not taught or supported by textbooks. Interestingly, the explanatory patterns differed significantly between Swedish (and other European) studies and those conducted in South Africa. This phenomenon likely exists in other countries and cultures, although few studies have explored it. Very few students were able to connect three organ systems (≤ 10%).

The third [3] and fourth [4] studies were based on surveys of pre-service teacher education students. These included pre-service preschool teachers who had completed their natural science courses, as well as pre-service teachers who had not yet begun their science studies and would be teaching grades 4 to 6. Notably, these were adults who had received most of their education in compulsory schools and high schools. Among these students, non-scientific explanatory models were also prevalent. Therefore, it is crucial for educators to help students view the body as a system rather than separate islands of organs. 

Keywords: Water, organ, organ systems, grade 9, higher education, misconceptions   

References

[1]        Granklint Enochson, P. & Redfors , A.(2012) Sweden Student´s Ideas About the Human Body and their Ability to Transfer Knowledge Between Related Scenarios. European Journal of Health and Biology Education Vol. 1, No. 1 &2, July 2012, page:3-29

[2]       Granklint Enochson, P., Redfors A., Dempster, E. R. & Tibell, L. A. (2015) Ideas about the Human Body among Secondary Students in South Africa. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Vol 19, s. 199-211

[3]        Granklint Enochson P. (2022) Pre-service teachers’ ideas about the path of water through the body and their intentions about explaining it to preschool children. Journal of Biological Education August 2022 online, s 1-10 

[4]     Granklint Enochson P. (2024) Teacher students' prior knowledge of water pathways and what they think is essential pupils’ knowledge. Conference paper NFSUN 24, Reykjavik, Iceland