{"title":"COMPONENTS OF GEOGRAPHICAL PRACTICE POWER COMPETENCY (GPPC) FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: CONCEPTUALIZATION, CONTEXTS, AND CONTENT","authors":"Yanhua Xu, Zile Liu, Peiying Lin","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.1083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.1083","url":null,"abstract":"Geographical practice power is a key competency essential for students' overall development. It is, therefore, important to understand its concepts, contexts, and content. Practical activities following scientific and operable principles in real geographical situations would enable students to unleash their potential across the curriculum. The primary aim of this study was to design and validate a conceptual, contextual, and content framework for geographical practice power competency (GPPC) of primary and secondary school students in China. The study used a three-step mixed-method research design with expert opinions collected through interviews and questionnaires. The dimensions of GPPC in this study included the mental processes of cognition, awareness, attitude, and behavior. A compilation of the attributes of GPPC for primary and secondary school students was proposed. There was a general consensus among the evaluators regarding the conceptual, contextual, and content framework of GPPC. When the weight values of the four dimensions and sub-dimensions of GPPC were calculated, it was found that they played different roles in the framework. Contrary to the expectation that scientific argumentation would be the most important dimension of GPPC, this study found that information acquisition was rated the most important. In each GPPC sub-dimension, consciousness received the highest weighting.\u0000Keywords: geographical practice power competency, primary school students, secondary school students","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42214320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Alarabi, Hassan Tairab, Yousef Wardat, Shashidhar Belbase, Suzan Alabidi
{"title":"ENHANCING THE LEARNING OF NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION USING COMPUTER SIMULATIONS","authors":"K. Alarabi, Hassan Tairab, Yousef Wardat, Shashidhar Belbase, Suzan Alabidi","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.946","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.946","url":null,"abstract":"This quasi-experimental study was conducted in two secondary schools in a major city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to examine the impact of Computer Simulations (CSs) on students’ learning of Newton’s Second Law of Motion (NSLOM) in grade 11 compared to traditional face-to-face education. The study used Newton’s Second Law of Motion Achievement test (NSLMAT) as a pre and post-test to collect the data. Altogether 90 students aged 16-17 (grade 11) participated in this study. Two grade 11 girls' classes (40 students) and two grade 11 boys' classes (50 students) were chosen randomly to participate in this study. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Results showed that CSs, through visualization, aided in establishing connections and brought attention to the concepts and details of NSLOM. In addition, CSs yielded better results than those taught in face-to-face education. The Results also suggest that CSs greatly impacted both female and male students. CSs helped female and male students gain a better understanding of NSLOM topics. The study recommended that physics teachers integrate CSs into their teaching and use them as valuable tools to improve student learning outcomes.\u0000Keywords: computer simulations, United Arab Emirates, Newton’s Second Law of Motion, students’ performance","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43413808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"EXPLORING EFFECT ON PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' STEM ATTITUDE DETERMINED VIA STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING","authors":"Simai Liu, Shao-Na Zhou, Shao-Rui Xu, Hua Xiao","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.1052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.1052","url":null,"abstract":"As STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education gets more and more attention from society, students' attitudes towards STEM are increasingly concerned. However, there was scant research that has empirically documented the relations among STEM attitude, learning motivation and metacognition. This research used Structural Equation Modeling to examine the above relations. Data were collected from 845 primary school students from grade 4 to 6, regarding their STEM attitude, learning motivation, metacognition, and their sociodemographic characteristics (family socioeconomic status). The results showed that metacognition played a mediating role in the effect of learning motivation on STEM attitude. The family socioeconomic status played a moderating role in the effect of metacognition on STEM attitude, and students with higher family socioeconomic status had a stronger effect on STEM attitude. This research also suggested that it is worth considering the improvement of students' learning motivation to facilitate STEM attitude through promoting their metacognitive skills, meanwhile balancing the gap between students under the difference of socioeconomic level in STEM education. \u0000Keywords: learning motivation, metacognition, STEM attitude, Structural Equation Modeling","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46065519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"EARLY CHILDHOOD PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ READINESS FOR USING DRAWING AS A SCIENCE TEACHING STRATEGY","authors":"Ainara Achurra, T. Zamalloa, Araitz Uskola","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.911","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.911","url":null,"abstract":"The use of drawings for science learning helps students to develop communication, modelling, and reasoning skills. Teachers should be trained to use them. This study addresses the readiness (knowledge, confidence and awareness of the importance and usefulness of drawings) of 120 preservice teachers (PSTs) for using teacher-made drawings as a strategy for teaching science, after participating in activities in which they used drawing as a way to represent scientific knowledge. The knowledge of how to draw was analysed by evaluating the presence of interrelated components, mechanisms and phenomena in drawings of the digestive system. Open questions were used to examine three aspects: confidence, awareness of the importance and awareness of the usefulness. Exploratory cluster analyses were also conducted. 69% scored low in knowledge, more than 90% scored high in awareness of the importance and of the usefulness. 28% showed high confidence. No PSTs with high knowledge and low confidence were found. All PSTs with high knowledge showed high awareness of the importance. It is concluded that in order to prepare teachers for using drawings in science teaching, teacher education programs should include the development of drawing skills that could enhance their confidence and awareness of its importance. \u0000Keywords: early childhood education, drawing science, teachers’ readiness, science education","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45449564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOL: SOME SIGNIFICANT POINTS","authors":"Vincentas Lamanauskas","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.908","url":null,"abstract":"The problems of natural science education remain extremely relevant. Over the last two decades, international conferences and symposia dedicated to the study of issues of natural science education have been held in many countries and at various levels. It was especially emphasized that the natural science literacy of society is insufficient, and its relevance will only increase in the 21st century. Early natural science education promotes and develops natural science literacy (Ferreira et al., 2015). In general, various changes have taken place and are taking place in the field of natural science education: the content of education is changing, the search for more effective forms and methods of teaching is taking place, etc., on the other hand, new quality society needs are emerging. There is no doubt that the significance of natural science education for the development of a child’s personality is extremely high.","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45434371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"DIFFERENCES IN CHEMISTRY TEACHERS’ ACCEPTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE ACCORDING TO THEIR USER TYPE: AN APPLICATION OF EXTENDED UTAUT MODEL","authors":"Kateřina Chroustová, A. Šorgo, M. Bílek, M. Rusek","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.762","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.762","url":null,"abstract":"In this research, a model to determine chemistry teachers’ acceptance of educational software in secondary education is proposed. The model extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. Data were collected from 556 Czech chemistry teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. With respect to the significant differences among technology users and various types of nonusers, the research model for each user group was tested too. The results showed significant differences in the individual models for each group of technology user. In the model for ‘current users’ of educational software, the influence of facilitating conditions on current users’ use of educational software behavioural intention is stressed. In addition, non-planning users’ behavioural intention seems to be influenced by their personal innovativeness in IT, social influence, and performance expectancy. Behavioural intention and attitude towards using educational software affect each of the tested models, with attitudes being an even stronger predictor of educational software usage than behavioural intention. The models contribute to the understanding of teachers’ acceptance of educational software, which can be utilized in both pre- and in-service teacher training, considering technology mastery a necessary teacher competence.\u0000Keywords: chemistry teachers’ motivation, educational software use, secondary education, technology acceptance","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43819733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Henriette Manishimwe, W. Shivoga, Venuste Nsengimana
{"title":"EFFECT OF INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING BIOLOGY AT UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RWANDA","authors":"Henriette Manishimwe, W. Shivoga, Venuste Nsengimana","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.862","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.862","url":null,"abstract":"Attitude has been regarded as a motivating feeling for the learning of biology. However, how inquiry-based learning contributes to attitude change towards the learning of biology has not yet been studied in Rwanda. This study intends to determine the effect of inquiry-based learning on students’ attitudes toward learning biology. A sample of 228 secondary school students at the upper secondary level in Rwanda was used. A quasi-experimental design with pre-and post-test was employed. One group was randomly assigned to the control group (N = 109) under the conventional teaching method, while the second group participated as the experimental group (N = 119) under the inquiry-based learning method. Biology attitude questionnaire (BAQ) was tested and a Pearson reliability of .89 coefficient was found, and hence the BAQ was adopted and used for the control and treatment groups before and after learning microbiology. Results asserted a significant effect of intervention in favor of the experimental group. However, a significant effect of the treatment on students’ attitude change in relation to gender was not identified. The study recommends using inquiry-based learning to promote attitude toward learning biology as it raises students’ interest to learning biology and alleviates the difficulty of its concepts.\u0000Keywords: biology education, inquiry-based learning, students’ attitudes, quasi-experimental design","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42556096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TEACHING OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS BY SCIENCE TEACHERS IN JAPANESE PRIMARY SCHOOLS","authors":"Hiroyoshi Kinoshita","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.801","url":null,"abstract":"The importance of critical thinking in science education is widely recognized. However, little research has been conducted on the teaching of critical thinking by teachers. If actual teaching conditions of teachers in the classroom are clarified, effective teaching methods for developing critical thinking in students could be developed. This study administered a questionnaire survey to ascertain how science teachers teach critical thinking in Japanese primary schools. The study population consisted of 291 Japanese primary school teachers with teaching careers spanning 1–38 years. The survey revealed the following. (1) Teachers taught students the importance of conducting experiments by themselves to obtain results. However, teachers did not sufficiently teach students the need to conduct multiple experiments before reaching a conclusion, improve data reliability before making decisions, or examine their conclusions carefully given incomplete data. (2) Compared to teachers with shorter teaching careers, teachers with longer careers taught critical thinking more effectively, particularly in terms of emphasizing positivity and maintaining a healthy skepticism. (3) Teachers who taught emphasized positivity and encouraged multifaceted thinking were more likely to teach about emphasized evidence. The corresponding causal relationship analysis suggests that teaching that emphasizes positivity and encourages multifaceted thinking is key to promoting evidence-oriented instruction.\u0000Keywords: science learning, critical thinking skills, in-service teachers, teaching skills, teachers' training","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47986962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"EFFECTS OF SOCIO-SCIENTIFIC ISSUES BASED ON THINKING MAPS APPROACH ON FUTURE THINKING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS","authors":"N. M. Siew, Mohammad Syafiq Abd Rahman","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.888","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.888","url":null,"abstract":"This study was conducted to examine the effects of the socio-scientific issue (SSI) approach assisted by the future thinking map (FTM) on five constructs of future thinking, namely i) understanding the current situation, ii) identifying the trends, iii) analyzing the relevant drivers, iv) synthesizing the possibilities or needs of the future and v) choosing with the justification of the desired future. The future-thinking test instrument was developed to measure the level of future thinking. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design was employed. A total of 255 form four students (age 16) from three randomly selected rural secondary schools in Tawau District, Malaysia were assigned to i) SSI-FTM (n = 85), ii) SSI (n = 85), and iii) conventional (CV, n = 85) teaching and learning (TL) strategies. The results of the MANCOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect across all three groups of TL strategies. The ANCOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect of the SSI-FTM TL strategies compared to the SSI and CV TL strategies on the five future thinking constructs. The quasi-experimental study proves that the SSI-FTM TL strategy is effective in nurturing future thinking among form four students in science lessons.\u0000Keywords: future thinking, future thinking map, secondary schools, socio-scientific issue","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46359608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A FOUR-TIER DIAGNOSTIC TEST TO DETERMINE PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ MISCONCEPTION ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING","authors":"Ayşe Ceren Atmaca Aksoy, Sinan Erten","doi":"10.33225/jbse/22.21.747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/22.21.747","url":null,"abstract":"Global warming is the most serious problem of our age. The most permanent measure to be taken against this problem is to ensure that individuals receive an effective and well-equipped education, free from misconceptions, which are obstacles to the efficiency of education. In this study, it is aimed to develop a four-stage diagnostic test that can reveal the misconceptions of pre-service science teachers about global warming. The sample of the study, in which the survey approach was used, consists of 401 pre-service teachers studying in the science teaching department at different universities in Turkey. The results show that the test is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to determine the misconceptions, scientific knowledge, and lack of knowledge about global warming. In the study, the factor with the highest percentage of pre-service science teachers’ scientific knowledge and misconceptions was the consequences of global warming, while the factor with the highest percentage of lack of knowledge was calculated as the greenhouse effect factor. It is recommended to use the test to determine the current situation regarding the level and areas where the misconceptions of individuals are concentrated to improve the missing or faulty areas in the science curriculum.\u0000Keywords: conceptual learning, environmental misconceptions, four-tier diagnostic test, global warming","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49266681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}