Longitudinal Studies — Providing Insight into Individual Themes in Science Learning and Students’ Views of Their Own Learning

The present paper reports on findings from an analysis of twenty-three students’ conceptualisation of ecological processes and the students’ reflections over their understanding of these processes. The students were interviewed eleven times from 9 to 15 years of age about conditions for life and decomposition, and the role of the flower. Characteristic individual themes in the students’ conceptions can be followed year by year. At 15 and 19 years of age, the students listened to audiotapes of what they said respectively as 11- and 15-year olds. I asked each student to comment what they heard and to describe how they thought their understanding had developed. The students were asked to describe how they had developed their understanding. Through analysis of the students’ descriptions of themselves as learners, it was possible to discern their different views of learning in relation to fundamental ecological processes.