2008 Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 151-159
In order to introduce the observation of pollination mutualism between Ficus erecta and Blastophaga nipponica as a teaching material for biological education in upper secondary schools, we developed a teaching program and tested its effectiveness in a class of the Faculty of Education, Mie University, using a questionnaire form. The teaching program consisted of observations of the male syconia of F. erecta and B. nipponica living in the syconia. Twenty students from Mie University participated in the survey. Seven students (35%) responded that the teaching material was "effective" for biological education and 11 students (55%) responded "effective if improved". For this study, however, we had no data on effectiveness based on actual classroom research in upper secondary schools. Therefore, future research should focus on teaching material to be evaluated in upper secondary schools by utilizing more detailed analyses and a larger population. Symbiosis and mutualism have been little described or even ignored in biology textbooks in the upper secondary schools. even though these concepts illustrate very important interactions between organisms. In the present study, the potential for observing pollination mutualism as a teaching material for biological education was confirmed.
