Students' Prior Ideas Regarding the Content of Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Deinny José Puche Villalobos
Additional contact information
Deinny José Puche Villalobos: Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

Pedagogical Constellations, 2026, vol. 5, issue 1, 346-361

Abstract: The objective of this study was to uncover the prior knowledge of third-year secondary school students regarding the biological concepts of photosynthesis and respiration. It employed a positivist methodology with a descriptive field research approach and a non-experimental, cross-sectional design. Data was collected using a five-question questionnaire and the Mentimeter app. The study population consisted of 30 students. The results reveal that the students do not feel prepared to address the topics of photosynthesis and respiration. Few recognize the molecules involved, and most acknowledge the importance of these processes. Prior knowledge is quite limited, but most students can recognize and associate concepts such as energy, ATP, glucose, and growth. It is concluded that the situation is difficult; however, on the occasions when these topics are addressed, it is noted that students have minimal ideas to address the issues, but that teachers must evaluate their teaching-learning strategies, taking into account the time required, empathizing with the ways in which they learn, and acknowledging when they fail to achieve their goals.

Keywords: Biology; students; photosynthesis; ideas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://pedagogicalconstellations.com/index.php/home/article/view/174 Abstract page (text/html)
https://pedagogicalconstellations.com/index.php/home/article/download/174/225 Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cvp:pedagi:v:5:y:2026:i:1:id:174

DOI: 10.69821/constellations.v5i1.174

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Pedagogical Constellations from Plataforma de Acción, Gestión e Investigación Social
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Daniel Roman Acosta ().