A Case Study of Constructing the Concept of Reproduction in the Study of Fish Breeding

Abstract

The process of constructing the concept of reproduction through the study of the fish breeding was analyzed by using concept mapping. Sex and fertilization were observed as fundamental concepts in the construction of the reproduction concept. These two concepts were analyzed, and the following points were found. (1) About 50% of the students kept their original concepts about sex throughout the study. (2) All of the students constructed the fertilization concept during the study, and the contents of the fertilization concept were amplified in about 57% of the children by the end of the study. (3) In an analysis using the technique of Fukuoka and Ohnuki (2001), the fertilization concept had 3 points of hierarchy and 6 points of differentiate crossing. At the end of the study, the hierarchy points did not differ much, but the differentiate crossing points showed some divergence between two types of students. The average of the differentiate crossing type students was 4, on the other hand, that of the integrative type was 2. (4) From the observation of the addition of the label "male" in the fertilization concept, the role of the male tended to be slighted in comparison with that of the "female," even after the experience of breeding fish. These results suggest that some problems in constructing the fertilization concept led the students to choose the wrong answer in a test checking the conditions necessary for incubation. (5) It was found that some devices were necessary to construct the concept of the "male" role as essential to the fertilization concept, and concrete plans for such a device were presented.