Mangrove Ecology for Eighth Grade Conservation through Education

Laura Groves

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Lowman, Margaret

Keywords

Mangrove, Conservation, Education

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

Mangrove conservation education is not included in any of the Florida Department of Education's science course descriptions. However, mangrove ecosystems are vital to the ecological as well as economic health of Florida. To promote effective conservation of this ecosystem the public must be informed of the services provided by mangroves. This subject should be included in the natural science curriculum of the state's schools to broaden the local awareness of the importance of mangrove ecosystems and the services they provide. Therefore, I designed a unit on mangroves to teach students at the eighth grade level. The implementation of this curriculum at a local school assumed the following hypothesis: students who participate in mangrove studies will better comprehend the basic ecology of mangroves and general aspects of mangrove conservation. Comprehension levels were measured by administering pre and post-tests to participating students. There was statistically a significant improvement in the test scores, and these data support my hypothesis that student's comprehension of mangrove ecology and conservation would improve by participating in this mangrove unit.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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