Опубликована Июль 7, 2014
The aim of this case study was to examine pre-service science teachers’ (PSTs) perceptions of their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) development after creating digital stories based on science topics drawn from the national curriculum. A total of 21 PSTs enrolled in Introduction to Computers II participated in the study. Data were collected through a demographics questionnaire, a TPACK diagram, an open-ended questionnaire, interviews, and observations. During the study, feedback was provided to participants during each step of the digital storytelling process: writing the stories, finding related pictures, matching the pictures to the stories; and preparing the digital files. The …
Опубликована Июнь 26, 2013
This paper focuses upon the problem of raising environmental awareness in the context of school science. By focusing, as it does, on the relationship between the self and the natural environment, the paper discusses the difficulties that exist, such as the students’ involvement with the natural world, as their object of study, the empirical treatment and the modeling of the natural world, and the purpose of learning science, as well as the possibilities for promoting the development of such relationship by keeping the natural world, as an object of study, in the foreground of the teachinglearning process. Such possibilities refer …
Опубликована Янв. 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 …
Опубликована Апрель 10, 2014
This study investigates noise pollution levels in two elementary schools. Also, “noise level awareness and sensitivity training” was given for reducing noise pollution, and the effects and results of this training were evaluated. ‘Sensitivity’ training was given to 611 students and 48 teachers in a private and a public school. Questionnaires, sound meter observations, and the reflections of the student teachers participating in the study were used for collecting data. The findings showed that noise levels measured in both schools were much higher than national and international upper limits. The data obtained through the first questionnaire indicated that students and …
Опубликована Янв. 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 …
Опубликована Апрель 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 …
Опубликована Июль 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 …
Опубликована Апрель 10, 2013
The present study aimed to explain elementary teacher candidates’ energy conservation behaviors by using Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory. Participants in this study were 512 students at Faculty of Education from two public universities in Turkey. Of the 512 students, 35.5% were enrolled in the early childhood education program, 30.9% were in the elementary science education program, and 27.7% were in the elementary mathematics education program. The rest of the participants were pursuing a graduate program under the department of elementary education. The results of multiple linear regression analysis reflected that VBN Theory could successfully explain the participants’ energy conservation behaviors. The …
Опубликована Июль 7, 2014
The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of science field trips as educational tools to connect students to classroom concepts. Experiential learning at formal and informal field trip venues increases student interest, knowledge, and motivation. The teacher's role in preplanning, implementation, and reflection often dictates the impact that the field trip will have on students. Science teacher education programs do not traditionally instruct preservice teachers how to plan or coordinate a field trip. Once teachers are empowered and learn how to develop and orchestrate a successful field trip, they will enable students to develop interest in science, …
Опубликована Апрель 10, 2013
In this study, we investigated the ways in which university students connected with science through the use of photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1994) as a pedagogical tool. Results indicated that students came to appreciate their connections to the science that operates in their lives as they reflected on and became empowered with regard to the science content behind environmental issues of interest to them on campus. Photovoice allowed students to authentically inquire about local science, as well as the potential to generate change in their own community. This understanding is significant to science educators because first, it empowers learners to …