Ecological understanding 1: Ways of experiencing photosynthesis

This article is the first in a set of two concerning ecological understanding. It is based on a study conducted with a phenomenographic approach. In the study, ten teacher students, chosen by theoretical and selective sampling, were interviewed on two occasions to capture qualitatively different ways in which the function of the ecosystem could be experienced. To explore this, two problem solving situations were arranged. Using a systems approach the functional aspects of the ecosystem were explored, with photosynthesis, recycling, and energy as units of analysis. The results are four categories of descriptions identified in relation to photosynthesis. The results indicate that the idea of transformation is crucial to more complex ways of understanding photosynthesis. This idea divides the categories into a consumptional and a transformational group. The categories are also found to be hierarchical in terms of inclusion of specific, critical aspects forming more and more complex ways of thinking.