Problem-based biology learning with local biocultural issues for anticipatory competence

Alif Yanuar Zukmadini; Fatchur Rohman; Murni Sapta Sari

doi:10.21009/biosferjpb.70156

Authors

Alif Yanuar Zukmadini Biology Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Bengkulu, Indonesia
Fatchur Rohman Biology Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia
Murni Sapta Sari Biology Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21009/biosferjpb.70156

Keywords:

Biodiversity Conservation, Ethnobiology, Future-Oriented Thinking, Pre-Service Teachers , Sustainability Education

Abstract

Problem-based Learning (PBL) is a common approach in science education. However, incorporating cultural and ecological contexts into PBL remains largely unexplored. This issue is particularly relevant for preparing pre-service teachers to address future environmental challenges, uncertainties, and potential solutions. This study examined whether problem-based learning (PBL) enriched with local biocultural issues could enhance anticipatory competence among pre-service biology teachers. A quasi-experimental two-group pre-test-post-test design was used, involving 45 fifth-semester students enrolled in an ethnobiology course at the University of Bengkulu. A census approach was employed, with one intact class assigned to the experimental group (n = 24) and the other to the control group (n = 21) for the intervention. Both groups followed the same general PBL structure for eight instructional sessions; however, the problem contexts differed. The control group addressed biodiversity problems mainly from ecological and conservation perspectives, whereas the experimental group engaged with local biocultural issues drawn from ethnozoological knowledge and conservation practices on Enggano Island. Anticipatory competence was assessed using six open-ended items covering current and future state analysis, uncertainty evaluation, and creative problem-solving dimensions. ANCOVA showed a significant difference between groups after adjusting for pre-test scores, F = 7.76, p = .008, partial η² = .155. The experimental group also achieved a higher adjusted post-test mean (79.86) than the control group (73.27), with stronger improvement across all three dimensions. These findings suggest that local biocultural enrichment can add meaningful contextual value to PBL and support future-oriented thinking in pre-service teacher-education.

References

Aleknavičiūtė, V., Lehtinen, E., & Södervik, I. (2023). Thirty years of conceptual change research in biology–A review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Educational Research Review, 41, 100556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100556

Andrews, D., Van Lieshout, E., & Kaudal, B. B. (2023). How, where, and when do students experience meaningful learning?. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 31(3), 28-45. https://doi.org/10.30722/IJISME.31.03.003

Bendeliani, N., & Torstensdotter, G. L. (2026). The role of the “problem” in problem-based learning: PBL tutors’ conceptions. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2026.2625211

Benfield, A., & Krueger, R. B. (2021). Making decision-making visible-teaching the process of evaluating interventions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3635. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073635

Brundiers, K., Barth, M., Cebrián, G., Cohen, M., Diaz, L., Doucette Remington, S.,... Zint, M. (2021). Key competencies in sustainability in higher education—toward an agreed-upon reference framework. Sustainability Science, 16, 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00838-2

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587

Correia, N. D. N. R., Bonifácio, K., & Cruz, D. (2026). Human use of Mazama in Latin America and the importance of protected areas: a systematic review of ethnozoological studies. Écoscience, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/11956860.2026.2707723

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Doychinova, K. (2024). A competency-bazed approach in the environmental education of the students-future biology teachers. Acta Scientifica Naturalis, 11(1), 56-69. https://doi.org/10.2478/asn-2024-0006

Ee, L. S., Chinn, L. Y., Zhifeng. Z., Ibrahim, N. H., Surif, J., Abdullah, N., & Fariduddin, M. N. (2023). Problem-based learning module of organic insecticide for the aborigine students in Malaysia. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 12(2), 818-825. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v12i2.24373

Franco, F. M. (2022). Ecocultural or biocultural? Towards appropriate terminologies in biocultural diversity. Biology, 11(2), 207. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11020207

Fuentes-Vilugrón, G., Saavedra-Vallejos, E., Andrade-Mansilla, E., Zapata-Zapata, V., Riquelme-Mella, E., Caamaño-Navarrete, F., ... & Delval-Martín, P. (2026). Biocultural Spaces and Their Influence on Emotional Regulation and Learning for the Development of Sustainable Schools. Sustainability, 18(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010037

Garavito-Bermúdez, D. (2020). Biocultural learning–beyond ecological knowledge transfer. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 63(10), 1791-1810. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2019.1688651

Ghazali, M., Musa, M., Yakob, N., Hamzah, N. S., Shaari, M. Z., Rashid, R. A. A., ... Basharudin, M. H. (2024). Promoting sustainable development goals (SDGs) in an undergraduate preservice teachers’ mathematics course using DeCoRe+ methodology and assessing students’ SDG understanding through concept mapping. Asian Journal for Mathematics Education, 3(1), 124-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263241231997

Goller, A., & Rieckmann, M. (2022). What do we know about teacher educators’ perceptions of education for sustainable development? A systematic literature review. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 24(1), 19-34. https://doi.org/10.2478/jtes-2022-0003

Hemming, V., Camaclang, A. E., Adams, M., Burgman, M., Carbeck, K., Carwardine, J., Chadès, I.,…., Martin, T. G. (2022). An introduction to decision science for conservation. Conservation Biology, 36, e13868. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13868

Id Babou, A., Selmaoui, S., Alami, A., Benjelloun, N., & Zaki, M. (2023). Teaching biodiversity: Towards a sustainable and engaged education. Education Sciences, 13(9), 931. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090931

Islam, A. Z., Rachmadiarti, F., & Indana, S. (2025). Integrating local environmental issues into a problem-based learning e-book to improve students’ science competencies. JPBI (Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi Indonesia), 11(2), 511-523. https://doi.org/10.22219/jpbi.v11i2.40907

Iwan, I., Sumitro, S.B., Ibrohim, I., & Rohman, F, (2024). The effect of pbl integrated with igya ser hanjob's local wisdom to improve students' problem-solving skills in conservation biology courses. Jurnal Eduscience (JES), 11(1), 20-32. https://doi.org/10.36987/jes.v11i1.5537

Jannah, R., Festiyed, Yerimadesi, Lufri, & Putra, S. (2022). Ethnoscience in Learning Science: A Systematic Literature Review. Scientiae Educatia, 11 (2), 175-184. https://doi.org/10.24235/sc.educatia.v11i2.11488

Jeronen, E., & Jeronen, J. (2026). Bibliometric and Content Analysis of Sustainable Education in Biology for Promoting Sustainability at Primary and Secondary Schools and in Teacher Education. Education Sciences, 16(2), 201. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16020201

Kelley, P. H., & Dietl, G. P. (2022). Core competencies for training conservation paleobiology students in a wicked world. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 851014. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.851014

Kioupi, V., & Voulvoulis, N. (2022). The contribution of higher education to sustainability: The development and assessment of sustainability competences in a university case study. Education Sciences, 12(6), 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12060406

Kleespies, M. W., & Dierkes, P. W. (2022). The importance of the sustainable development goals to students of environmental and sustainability studies—A global survey in 41 countries. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(218), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01242-0

Komala, R., Heryanti, E., & Rinawati, A. (2021). Effect of problem-based learning model on biodiversity problem-solving skills. Biosfer: Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi, 14(1), 120-131. https://doi.org/10.21009/biosferjpb.16325

Kopnina, H. (2020). Education for the future? Critical evaluation of education for sustainable development goals. The journal of environmental education, 51(4), 280-291. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2019.1710444

Lasekan, O. A., Méndez-Alarcón, C. M., Mathew, B. S., & Campos, E. S. (2023). Exploring the potential of a popular EFL textbook to foster both sustainability awareness and competencies among ESD learners: A content analysis approach. Sustainability, 15(16), 12640. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612640

Liulenko, S., Honcharuk, V., & Podzerei, R. (2023). Environmental education and education of future biology teachers. Pedagogy and Education Management Review, (4), 35-41. https://doi.org/10.36690/2733-2039-2023-4-35-41

Lukawiecki, J., Wall, J., Young, R., Gonet, J., Azhdari, G., & Moola, F. (2022). Operationalizing the biocultural perspective in conservation practice: A systematic review of the literature. Environmental Science & Policy, 136, 369-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.06.016

Méndez-Herranz, M., & Cabello, V. (2025). Learning biodiversity care in everyday life: teacher education in contrasting biocultural contexts. Environmental Education Research, 31(2), 344-363. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2370998

Mróz, A., & Ocetkiewicz, I. (2024). Anticipatory thinking as a key competence in management for sustainability: the results of research among polish teenagers. Sustainability, 16(22), 10036. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162210036

Ningsih, T. Z., Aman, A., Nasrulloh, A., Ofianto, O., Erniwati, E., Asri, Z., ... & Firza, F. (2025). Enhancing communication and collaboration skills through discovery, cooperative and problem-based learning models in Social Studies education. Cogent Education, 12(1), 2500110. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2500110

Otamendi-Urroz, I., Quintas-Soriano, C., Hanspach, J., Requena-Mullor, J. M., Lagies, A. S., & Castro, A. J. (2025). Exploring biocultural diversity: A systematic analysis and refined classification to inform decisions on conservation and sustainability. Ambio, 54(10), 1581-1597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-025-02168-y

Ratinen, I., & Linnanen, L. (2022). The connection of Finns’ environmental awareness to their anticipatory competence. Frontiers in Education, 7, 838005. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.838005

Redman, A., & Wiek, A. (2021). Competencies for advancing transformations towards sustainability. Frontiers in Education, 6, 785163. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.785163

Sudarya, S. A. Z., Suhendar, S., & Setiono, S. (2023). Implication of Problem-Based Scenarios on Students' ESD Anticipatory Competency on the Concept of Environmental Change. BIOEDUKASI, 21(3), 194-203. https://doi.org/10.19184/bioedu.v21i3.40115

Suhendar, S., Widodo, A., Solihat, R., & Riandi, R. (2025). Students' Future Thinking Skills: Implications for School Education Programs. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 9(1), 254-273. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202534029

Umar, M.F., Bariroh, G., Jannah, N.D. K., Rahmat, A., & Riandi, R. (2024). The learning strategy for biodiversity concept: Pedagogical analysis based on technological pedagogical and content knowledge. JPBIO (Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi), 9 (2), 157-170. https://doi.org/10.31932/jpbio.v9i2.3570

Uskola, A., & Puig, B. (2023). Development of systems and futures thinking skills by primary pre-service teachers for addressing epidemics. Research in Science Education, 53(4), 741-757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-023-10097-7

Wilkerson, B. (2025). Advancing sustainability-oriented innovation practice with quality criteria for problem definitions. Heliyon, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e43403

Xu, E., Wang, W., & Wang, Q. (2023). The effectiveness of collaborative problem solving in promoting students’ critical thinking: A meta-analysis based on empirical literature. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01508-1

Yang, C. H., Chuang, M. C., & Chen, D. F. (2024). Role of higher education students’ environmental awareness and environmental concern in the purchase intention of circular economy products. Sustainability, 16(5), 1979. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051979

Yli-Panula, E., Jeronen, E., Vesterkvist, S., & Mulari, L. (2023). Subject student teachers’ perceptions of key environmental problems and their own role as environmental problem solvers. Education Sciences, 13(8), 779. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13080779

York, N. D. L. (2026). Understandings and critiques of biocultural diversity conservation and future recommendations for conservation actors. Conservation Biology, 40, e70131. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70131

Zukmadini, A. Y., Rohman, F., Dharmawan, A., Sari, M. S., Rochman, S., & Razak, S. A. (2024). Potential biodiversity from ethnozoology of Enggano Island: Utilization, quantitative analysis, list of animals conserved by local people, and application of research findings empowering species literacy in biology student teachers. Indonesian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(2), 463-496. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijost.v9i2.71581