| Abstract [eng] |
It has been nearly thirty years since Elisabeth Schussler and James Wandersee, two American botanists and biology educators, introduced the concept of “plant blindness” (1998). They used this term to describe the “inability to see or notice plants in one’s environment.” In recent years, this important topic has regained attention. This work aims to highlight plants as the most important group of organisms for the existence of ecosystems, to analyze the level of attention they receive in the Lithuanian primary school science curriculum, and to encourage teachers to reflect on whether sufficient emphasis is placed on plants in science lessons. The work presents the results of tasks completed by teams of third-grade students from 14 primary schools (each team consisted of two students), based on an analysis of their worksheets. In a plant recognition task, students were asked to name ten plants shown in slides. All teams correctly identified linden, spruce, pine, and sunflower, while only two teams correctly named celery. Students were then asked to indicate which of these plants are herbaceous and which are coniferous. Five pairs of students correctly identified all herbaceous plants: celery, marigold, dandelion, bulrush, and sunflower. The same number of teams failed to classify juniper as a conifer. Another task revealed that students can independently learn new botanical concepts, comprehend written texts, and complete related tasks. However, about one-third of the teams made mistakes in at least one of the six reading comprehension questions. This suggests student distraction, lack of attentiveness, and insufficient engagement with the text. |
