Yoon-Fah Lay
Chwee-Hoon Khoo
David F. Treagust
A. L. Chandrasegaran
Published: Jan. 10, 2013
The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of energy literacy among 276 Form 2 (Grade 8) Malaysian students as no similar study has been previously conducted in the country, as well as the contribution of students’ energy-related knowledge and attitudes on their energy-related behaviors. This was a non-experimental quantitative research using the sample survey method to collect data by using the ‘Energy Literacy Questionnaire’ (ELQ). Independent samples t-test, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple linear regressions were used to analyse the data. The study found that levels of energy literacy were relatively low suggesting that the implemented curriculum …
Buket Yakmaci-Guzel
Emine Adadan
Published: Jan. 10, 2013
The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in 19 preservice chemistry teachers’ understandings of the structure of matter, including the aspects of the physical states of matter, the physical composition of matter, and the chemical composition of matter, before, immediately after, and months after they received a specific instruction. The one-group pre, post, and delayed posttest design was used, and participants’ understandings before, immediately after, and months after the instruction were assessed using the same “three part particulate drawing” classification question constructed by Sanger (2000). Collected data were analyzed according to both the number of scientifically appropriate …
Sami Özgür
Published: April 10, 2013
In this paper, it is aimed to investigate the persistence of misconceptions in the topic of the human blood circulatory system among students in different grade levels. For this reason, after discussions with biology educators, two tests consisting of open-ended questions were developed by the researcher and administered to students in four different grade levels. The first test was administered to 319 5th and 7th grade students in elementary school and the second one was administered to 400 1st and 4th year university students studying in the departments of elementary school teaching, science education and biology education. Data were analyzed …
Mahsa Kazempour
Aidin Amirshokoohi
Published: July 7, 2014
The literature on professional development is replete with studies that utilize survey, interview, and classroom observation data, primarily collected post professional development experience, to explore teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and actions; however, we lack a clear understanding of teachers’ learning process and reflections during the professional development. The current study aims to address the abovementioned gaps in the literature, by utilizing participant reflections and assignments during a summer professional development opportunity, to elucidate the process by which teachers learn about inquiry-based teaching and begin to implement it in their planning, in addition to factors they deem influential in this process. The …
Azra Moeed
Published: Oct. 10, 2013
Internationally, learning science through investigation is promoted as a preferred pedagogical approach. Research presented takes a view that such learning depends on how teachers understand science investigation. Teachers‘ understanding of science investigation was an aspect of an interpretive case study of the phenomenon of science investigation exploring the links between learning, motivation and assessment in year 11 science. Data were collected through a population survey of year 11 science teachers (n=165) in the greater Wellington region through a postal questionnaire (response rate 61%). In addition, all year 11 science teachers in a typical coeducational, middle size, urban secondary school were …
Erin Redman
Published: Jan. 10, 2013
Achieving a sustainable future requires that individuals adopt sustainable behaviors, which are often learned and cemented at a young age. Yet, traditional education efforts have been inadequate in fostering transformative change, in part because many programs focus on fact-heavy, teacher-centered techniques while neglecting the practices that behavioral and sustainability scholars highlight as central to creating change. To address this gap, the present research integrates three critical yet mostly disparate bodies of research— educational pedagogy, behavior change, and sustainability competencies. This interdisciplinary approach to education was implemented and evaluated with a small group of students during an intensive summer program and …
Pei-Ying Tsai
Huey-Por Chang
Wen-Hua Chang
Sufen Chen
Published: Jan. 10, 2013
Science teachers frequently select science news articles as supplementary teaching materials; however, the literature indicates that students encounter difficulties in examining and evaluating the news content and textual elements. This paper reports an instructional strategy of utilizing science news articles and investigates its effectiveness in enhancing students’ cognitive learning outcomes. In this quasi-experimental study, 118 seventh graders from four classes in one secondary school in Taiwan took part in the Science News Instruction (SNI). After eight weeks of instruction about Genetics and Reproduction, all students were requested to present their written arguments to the selected science news article. Two of …
Vasilia Christidou
Irida Tsevreni
Maria Epitropou
Constantinos Kittas
Published: Jan. 10, 2013
The present study explores the use of a conventional school ground of a primary school and its potential as a space for creative play and environmental learning. Children’s play behavior and views of the school ground are explored, as well as their vision for its improvement. The research constitutes part of a wider school ground project and was carried out in a primary school in Volos city, Greece, during the 2010-2011 schoolyear. Geographical and participatory design methods were used that capture children’s experience of space and their will for participation in redesigning their school ground. They included mapping of the …
Vanessa L. Wyss
Diane Heulskamp
Cathy J. Siebert
Published: Oct. 10, 2012
Students are making choices in middle school that will impact their desire and ability to pursue STEM careers. Providing middle school students with accurate information about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) careers enables them to make more knowledgeable choices about courses of study and career paths. Practical ways of helping students understand the nature of science careers are limited. This study investigates using video interviews of STEM professionals as a method for better informing students about STEM career possibilities. ANCOVA analysis was used to compare treatment and comparison student interest in pursuing STEM careers before and after viewing video interviews …
Aydın Kizilaslan
Mustafa Sozbilir
M. Diyaddin Yaşar
Published: Oct. 11, 2012
Inquiry-based learning [IBL] enhances students’ critical thinking abilities and help students to act as a scientist through using scientific method while learning. Specifically, inquiry as a teaching approach has been defined in many ways, the most important one is referred to nature of constructing knowledge while the individuals possess a question about natural worlds and explore the answers for the questions. The aim of this content analysis study was to analyze research related to inquiry based teaching through published research reports in the form of full papers and theses by Turkish researchers. For these purpose national and international journals and …