Rooting out teaching-learning difficulties of plant nutrition: a systematic literature review

The Scientific Model of Plant Nutrition (SMPN) is one of the most recurrent models in the science curricula due to its socioecological significance. However, its well-known teaching-learning difficulties hinder students’ construction of mental models of plant nutrition close to the scientific consensus. Thus, this systematic literature review aims to 1) collate the main teaching-learning difficulties of the SMPN described in the literature since the onset of the current century (2000–2022) and, 2) identify educational approaches that have been empirically proven to improve students’ learning on the topic. The analysis has been accomplished in relation to four key ideas emerging from the epistemological analysis of the scientific model: autotrophic nutrition, photosynthesis, respiration and ecosystem dimension. The results reveal that, although the general conceptualisation and comprehension of the model improves throughout the schooling, there has not been any definitive instructional approach to overcome its common and persistent difficulties. Indeed, the problems related to changing scale, reasoning scientifically, and relating processes both vertically and horizontally are particularly deep-rooted across all the educational levels, being the main impediments to achieving integrated and scientifically accurate mental models of plant nutrition. Finally, the implications of these findings for the teaching-learning of the SMPN are discussed.