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oai:uvadoc.uva.es:10324/805842025-12-15T21:00:31Zcom_10324_1145com_10324_931com_10324_894col_10324_1254

Eugenio-Gozalbo, Marcia Ortega Cubero, Inés 2025-12-15T05:52:21Z 2025-12-15T05:52:21Z 2022 Eugenio-Gozalbo, M., & Ortega-Cubero, I. (2024). Drawing our garden’s insects: a didactic sequence to improve pre-service teachers’ knowledge and appreciation of insect diversity. Journal of Biological Education, 58(3), 512-529 0021-9266 https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/80584 10.1080/00219266.2022.2081243 512 3 529 Journal of Biological Education 58 2157-6009 Insects form a highly diverse taxonomic group, which has fundamental ecological functions, but is currently in a process of mass extinction. Here, we present the first cycle of design, implementation, and assessment of a didactic sequence oriented towards improving pre-service teachers’ knowledge and appreciation of insect diversity. A methodological approach aiming to promote rigorous observation was followed, for which activities consisting of scientific and naturalistic drawing, among others, were included. The sequence was contextualised at a university organic garden, both to make learning meaningful and to promote new personal experiences with alive insects. We present the empirical results of the first implementation with a group of 28 pre-school (3–6 years) preservice teachers at a Spanish university. Assessment was based on the analysis of drawings with a purposely designed instrument to assess constructive accuracy, and on the qualitative analysis of open questions that were posed before and after the implementation. Positive results were obtained regarding participants’ knowledge of insect diversity, and positive impacts were observed also on their attitudes. Improvements to some activities are suggested before subsequent implementations of the didactic sequence. Finally, our study supports the effectiveness of maintaining organically managed gardens as facilities for biological education. eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Drawing our garden’s insects: a didactic sequence to improve pre-service teachers’ knowledge and appreciation of insect diversity info:eu-repo/semantics/article