Students increased their conceptual understanding of biodiversity after a modeling-based teaching and learning sequence

Biodiversity, a complex and multifaceted concept, is often reduced to species richness in educational contexts and other critical components are neglected (functional types, evenness, interactions, and spatial and temporal distribution). This study investigated students’ and teachers’ modeling-based talk and the impact of a modeling-based teaching and learning sequence (MBTLS) on 17–18-year-old students’ conceptual understanding of biodiversity in a secondary school setting in Argentina. Through the qualitative content analysis of teachers’ and students’ modeling-related talk, this research describes how modeling activities with rubber tokens and threads on a field trip and in the classroom can expand students’ biodiversity understanding beyond species-centered perspectives. It also identifies key teaching strategies (generating, evaluating, and modifying models) and students’ modeling activities (exploration, development, and prediction) that facilitate the construction, evaluation, and refinement of biodiversity models. While species remained the predominant component referred to in modeling-related talk, functional and genetic diversity, among others, gained prominence throughout the MBTLS, showcasing the potential of an MBTLS to broaden biodiversity education. Additionally, the findings highlight the interplay among real, material, and abstract planes of biodiversity models, emphasizing their role in connecting scientific theories to real-world phenomena. Pre- and posttest analyses indicated significant improvements in students’ understanding of biodiversity components and attributes, particularly functional richness and evenness. However, because of teachers’ modifying models and the scarcity of students’ predictions, challenges remain in fostering cyclic modeling practices and including experimentation on the modeling of biodiversity in education. This research underscores the importance of updating curricula and teacher training to incorporate modern biodiversity concepts and modeling strategies, empowering students to make informed socioscientific decisions.