Adivina quién es el invasor: Un material didáctico manipulativo para enseñar ecología en educación secundaria

Abstract

Invasive species are the second greatest threat to global biodiversity, and Colombia faces this issue across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, the teaching of ecology at the secondary school level is often fragmented and content-centered, while students tend to maintain linear conceptions of trophic relationships. This article presents the design of “Guess Who the Invader Is”, a manipulative educational material aimed at promoting a transition from a linear to a systemic understanding of trophic relationships, using invasive species found in Colombia as the teaching content. The study adopts a qualitative, descriptive-propositional approach within the framework of educational design research. The material consists of three ecosystem classification boxes (terrestrial, lentic/lotic aquatic, and marine-coastal), thirteen educational cards featuring invasive species from Colombia, and technical cards describing their ecological effects. The game is inspired by the dynamics of “Guess Who I Am”: students ask questions and make inferences to identify the species on their card and classify it within the corresponding ecosystem. A Natural Sciences teacher conducted a formative evaluation of the proposal, highlighting the resource's engaging, dynamic, and flexible nature, as well as its potential to promote active participation, collaborative work, and motivation. However, the teacher also pointed out the need to clarify the learning objectives and integrate the game with prior activities. The results correspond to a formative evaluation of the design and do not allow conclusions to be drawn regarding its effects on learning, as classroom implementation is still pending.