Impact Through Images: Exploring Student Understanding of Environmental Science Through Integrated Place-Based Lessons in the Elementary Classroom

Abstract

In the early 1800s, the U.S. President Thomas Jefferson assembled a team of explorers led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to forge a waterway connecting the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. How has this environment changed in 200 years and how do elementary students make sense of those changes? This study looks at the impact of environmental change over time in an integrated place-based curricular unit using visual art and images. This qualitative descriptive case study looks at how visual art and photographic images affect elementary students’ understanding when participating in an integrated place-based environmental science experience. Participants included 25 elementary students, their classroom teacher, and researcher as etic observer. Data were drawn from student journals, in-depth student interviews, teacher interview, and artifacts created by the participants. Three dominant themes emerged: (1) student perceptions about their own efficacy, (2) students’ scientific misconceptions, and (3) development of students’ critical thinking skills. Through this study, elementary students utilized mediated experiences to increase confidence in their ability to be part of their own learning experience by the inclusion of images in place-based environmental science lessons.