Planning Educational Activities and Teaching Strategies On Constructing a Conservation Educational Modul

Dimopoulos Dimitrios,

Paraskevopoulos Stefanos,

Pantis D. John

Published: Oct. 10, 2009

This paper describes the design of an educational module which aims to raise awareness and change the attitudes of elementary school students about focal endangered species in protected areas. The proposed design builds on, and extends the General Teaching Model. The educational module which was developed through this approach was pilot-tested in two Greek elementary school classes, involving 29 students who provided their opinion through a questionnaire. The results verify that the educational module had a significant effect on the cognitive level and the attitudes of the students. Therefore, it is argued that the proposed design approach can form the …

Conceptual Problems in Biology-Related Topics in Primary Science and Technology Textbooks in Turkey

Musa Dikmenli,

Osman Çardak,

Fulya Oztas

Published: Oct. 10, 2009

Determination of conceptual problems which may cause alternative conceptions in science and technology textbooks is significant to increase in success of pupils and teachers. It is a vital issue to arrange books in a way removing or decreasing these faults in order to improve a better education via textbooks. This study aims to determine conceptual problems which may cause alternative conceptions in biology topics in science and technology textbooks of primary schools. In this study, the units of each textbook were analyzed page by page according to document examination method and conceptual problems were determined. The founded conceptual problems have …

The Effect of Sociocognitive Conflict on Students' Dialogic Argumentation about Floating and Sinking

Dr Michael Skoumios

Published: Oct. 10, 2009

Sociocognitive conflict has been used as a teaching strategy which may contribute to change students’ conceptions about science concepts. The present paper aims at investigating the structure of the dialogic argumentation developed by students, when they are involved in science teaching sequence that have been designed to change their conceptions through sociocognitive conflict strategy. For this purpose, teaching sequence targeted at the elaboration of students’ conceptions about floating and sinking -based on sociocognitive conflict processes- were prepared and implemented among 14 years old students. Next, the dialogues which the students had during the teaching sequence were analysed with the help …

Values, beliefs and norms that foster Chilean and German pupils’ commitment to protect biodiversity

Susanne Menzel,

Susanne Bögeholz

Published: Jan. 10, 2009

Fostering young people‟s commitment to protect biodiversity is an important goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in both, industrial countries and designated biodiversity hotspots. However, little empirical evidence exists to describe factors that influence such commitments. Based on the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, 15 to 19-year-old Chilean (n= 216) and German (n= 217) pupils‟ commitment to protect biodiversity was investigated. Comparisons revealed that Chilean adolescents showed higher personal norms and commitments to protect biodiversity. Regression analysis showed that within the German sample, the „Schwartz‟-value universalism was an important predictor for three different kinds of behavioural commitment. In both samples, „ascription …