An ecosystem consists of the biological
community that occurs in some locale, and the physical and chemical factors
that make up its non-living or abiotic environment. There are many examples
of ecosystems -- a pond, a forest, an estuary, a grassland. The boundaries
are not fixed in any objective way, although sometimes they seem obvious,
as with the shoreline of a small pond. Usually the boundaries of an ecosystem
are chosen for practical reasons having to do with the goals of the particular
study.
Gregory Louie on 13 Sep 09This curriculum module contains lessons to be infused into a broader unit on ecosystems. It is divided into six sections. Each section addresses one of a set of six broad and persistent misunderstandings that students have about ecosystems. These misunderstandings stem from how students reason about the nature of causality. The module sections introduce understandings about the nature of causality in ecosystems that students need to develop in order to overcome the misunderstanding and to deeply understand ecosystem concepts. Research shows that students who are taught about the nature of the causal patterns while learning science achieve a deeper understanding than students who are just taught the science
