An intervention to combat plant blindness in Life Sciences educators

Abstract

There is currently a strong consensus about the prevalence of plant blindness in educators as multiple studies have observed its effects both globally and in the South African context. During this study, a group of Life Sciences educators from the Gauteng province took part in an intervention which informed them about plant blindness and why it should matter to them, and then proceeded to give them a strategy to facilitate meaningful interactions with plants as part of their daily teaching. The proposed strategy involved the use of a mobile plant identification application called Pl@ntNet which allows educators to easily identify plants with their mobile devices and instantly gives them access to information, which could potentially increase their confidence in teaching about these plants. This was presented through an informative and practical workshop which included a treasure hunt for various plants. The influence of this intervention was assessed by collecting data through a preliminary online questionnaire, interviews with each participant, weekly diaries kept by the participants and a final reflection about their experiences. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were analysed and interpreted by means of content analysis and thematic analysis through emergent coding. This study found that an educator-focused intervention could interrupt the positive feedback loop of negative perceptions which exists between educators and learners when botany is taught in classrooms, and kickstart a new positive feedback loop characterised by positive perceptions toward plants. This is a result of educators’ increased confidence and positive perception regarding botany teaching.