Integrating Botany with Chemistry & Art to Improve Elementary School Children's Awareness of Plants

Abstract

Students need to be aware of plants in order to learn about, appreciate, care for, and protect them. However, research has found that many children are not aware of the plants in their environment. A way to address this issue might be integration of plants with various disciplines. I investigated the effectiveness of an instructional approach based on integration of botany with chemistry and art for increasing students' awareness of plants. The study was carried out in a science summer school for 10- to 12-year- old students (n = 25). A plant awareness questionnaire and a plant blindness test were used as pretests and posttests to assess the effects of the instruction on the students' plant awareness. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the students after instruction. The results indicated that integrating plants with various disciplines might overcome the learning problem of students associated with their "plant blindness." Moreover, this instructional approach can provide students opportunities to learn the names of plants and some concepts in the botanical discipline, as well as help them understand the relationship between plants and other disciplines.