1998 Volume 38 Issue 2 Pages 50-57
The science curriculum standard for high schools in Japan places great emphasis on the practice of observation and experimentation. It is necessary, therefore, to develop suitable teaching materials for the practice. The present study was undertaken to see if the method of environmental evaluation based on the faunal composition of butterflies (Tanaka 1988) was suitable for a teaching material for observational and survey exercises in high school biology. The author surveyed the faunal composition of butterflies by Tanaka’s method at Sasazuka, Shibuya, Tokyo and at Naganuma, Hachioji, Tokyo. A similar survey was carried out in a field of Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei, Tokyo, by senior students of the university who were all science education majors. The environmental conditions in Naganuma were evaluated as being mainly in the primitive stage, while those of Sasazuka and the field of Tokyo Gakugei University were mainly in the rural stage.
From the present study, it was confirmed that the present method was applicable to the survey in accessible locations and within a short period. The environmental evaluation based on the faunal composition of butterflies may, therefore, be suitable for one of the survey exercises in high school biology. Educational application of this survey to high school biology is discussed.
