{"title":"THE THINKING OF STUDENTS AGED 15-18 IN EXPLAINING THE DISSOLUTION PHENOMENON","authors":"Guanxue Shi, Shanshan Lu, Hualin Bi","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.337","url":null,"abstract":"Explaining natural phenomena by determining causal relationships is conducive to understanding scientific concepts. In science education, numerous studies examine students' causal reasoning. Given the importance of core ideas for students’ understanding of how and why a phenomenon occurs, the study focused on the relationship between students' understanding of atoms/molecules interactions and the nature of reasoning. This study drew on a framework that identifies essential components of students' reasoning, which was used to analyze the dissolution phenomenon in the example of salt in water. Students in grades 9-12 (N=147) explained the dissolution of salt. The results showed that there were five types of reasoning: simple descriptive, fuzzy causal, linear causal, interactive causal, and mechanistic. More students in higher than lower grades exhibited non-causal reasoning. Based on the students' drawings of atoms/molecules interactions, the study summarized performance in the association category. Students’ performance in drawing indicated that their understanding of particle interactions was limited. The results showed that there was a large correlation between understanding of the core ideas and reasoning types. \u0000Keywords: core ideas understanding, causal reasoning, dissolution phenomenon, small-sample qualitative study","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48821096","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":"SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND SELF-EFFICACY IN SOUTH KOREA: GENDER DIFFERENCES","authors":"","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.269","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.269","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined students’ perceptions of their science learning environment and how it relates to their metacognition and self-efficacy. An exploratory study (N=186 South Korean secondary science students from a large-city urban school) used two instruments: Outcomes-Based Education Learning Environment Questionnaire [OBLEQ]; Self-Efficacy and Metacognition Learning Inventory-Science [SEMLI-S]). Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that that Korean students’ mean score of science learning environment was 2.98, representing male students scored highest on Involvement (M=3.24), while female students scored highest on Cooperation (M=3.00). In addition, regarding students’ perceptions on their self-efficacy and metacognition learning in science, the mean score of SEMLI-S was 3.16, with both male and female students’ highest score on Learning Risks Awareness (3.34 and 3.25 respectively). Further, the students’ perceptions on science learning environment predicted students’ metacognition and self-efficacy. The Investigation subscale, which emphasizes processes of inquiry, was the dominant predictive factor for both male and female students’ self-efficacy and metacognition. The subscale Involvement was the next best significant predictor of male students’ metacognitive orientation. Personal Relevance, Responsibility for Own Learning, and Differentiation filled that role for female students. \u0000Keywords: constructivist pedagogy, science learning environment, secondary students, self-efficacy, students’ metacognition","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48874305","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":"SHOULD EPONYMS BE KEPT? EMPHATIC YES","authors":"","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.188","url":null,"abstract":"Conducting research in science education, the authors of the Journal of Baltic Science Education surely remember eponyms in school subjects and university courses. Eponym is a term that includes the name of the person, who discovered a species (biology), explored a glacier (geography), synthesized a compound (chemistry), formulated a law (physics), invented a device (engineering), proved a theorem (mathematics), treated or suffered a disease (medicine), etc. Most chemists and chemistry teachers know, e.g., such eponyms as Avogadro number, Wurtz reaction, Mendeleev table, Liebig condenser, Claisen adapter, Berthollet salt, asf.\u0000 Eponyms are a relatively new domain of scientific terminology: they first appeared in the 19th century, when the development of science and technology grew rapidly, and scientists decided to honor brilliant colleagues, attaching their names to the discoveries they made. Before this, scientists used words from national and Latin languages to name discovered phenomena.","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47733582","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 PHYSICS TEACHERS’ TECHNOLOGICAL, PEDAGOGICAL AND CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR LEARNERS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ELECTRICITY","authors":"J. Kotoka, J. Kriek","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.282","url":null,"abstract":"The technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework was developed incorporating content, pedagogical and technological knowledge. Studies used TPACK constructs and reported on teachers’ TPACK and student learning, but none explored the correlation between teachers’ TPACK and the achievement of their learners. This research followed an exploratory correlational research design involving 1423 Grade 11 learners and their 42 Physics teachers in a South African district after electricity was taught. A self-report questionnaire may not truly measure teachers’ TPACK, therefore, learners’ perceptions of their teachers’ use of technology were explored. The correlation between the Physics teachers’ TPACK and the achievement of their learners in electricity was established. Four validated research instruments were used, namely, the Learner Electricity Achievement Test (LEAT), the Learner Confirmatory Questionnaire (LCQ), the Teachers’ Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Questionnaire (T-TPACKQ) and the Learners’ Confirmation of the Teachers’ Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Questionnaire (LC-T-TPACKQ). Findings indicate a statistically significant difference between teachers’ views of their TPACK and the views of their learners. The correlation between teachers’ TPACK and the achievement of their learners was not statistically significant. These results can influence the professional development of teachers in respect of the use of technology in teaching.\u0000Keywords: electricity teaching, student achievement, learner views, technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), teacher views","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48049558","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":"EXAMINING THE PHYSICS CONCEPTIONS, SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN STEM","authors":"Michael Allan A. Bahtaji","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.10","url":null,"abstract":"Exploring students’ physics conceptions, science engagement and misconceptions in physics together with their association to certain variables (gender, educational background, and program of study) are essential in improving physics teaching and learning. However, few studies have been conducted to explore these three measures and almost none among STEM undergraduate students in the domain of Newtonian mechanics. To explore these measures, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Science Engagement Survey (SES) were administered to 281 STEM undergraduate students. Various statistical tools (ANOVA, t-test, correlations, etc.) have been utilized in the data analyses. The result revealed that gender and previous upper-secondary school strand have no significant effect on physics conceptions but have a significant effect on science engagement. The results also revealed a weak correlation between physics conceptions and science engagement, suggesting that interest becomes more effective when it was developed during the learning process. Finally, the results also revealed that more than 80% of the participants have a misunderstanding about the force direction of a thrown object, confirming that the dominant features of force and motion students have less conform to problems that involve non-contact force. \u0000Keywords: conceptual change, misconceptions, physics conceptions, science engagement.","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41541120","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":"EXAMINING THE TYPE AND QUALITY OF QUESTIONS ASKED BY A SCIENCE TEACHER","authors":"Tolga Saka, Tufan Inaltekin","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.83","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.83","url":null,"abstract":"Exploring science teachers' classroom assessment behaviors is a way to understand the professional knowledge competencies underlying effective teaching practices. One of the most important components of in-class assessments is teacher questions. However, studies examining teacher questions that provide support to accurately determine student learning and manage the lesson effectively are quite limited. This research presents a case study of a science teacher in Turkey regarding the question types and questioning proficiency in the teaching of 5th grade \"Measurement of Force and Friction\" and \"Matter and Change\". The data have been collected through course observations. The study used an observation evaluation protocol to analyze the video recordings taken from the science teacher's lectures. The results of this study showed that about half of the questions that the science teacher has asked in his class remain at a partially appropriate and inappropriate level, and that the teacher mostly prefers questions that aim to evaluate real information and summarize what is important in his courses. These results point to the need for professional development on a teacher's questioning practices. Therefore, it can be said that those who plan professional development programs for science teachers should consider efforts to improve teacher questioning practices.\u0000Keywords: case study, classroom observation, science questions, science teacher questioning","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43285445","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}
B. Radulović, Marina Dorocki, Stanislava Olić Ninković, M. Stojanović, J. Adamov
{"title":"THE EFFECTS OF BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH ON STUDENT MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING PHYSICS","authors":"B. Radulović, Marina Dorocki, Stanislava Olić Ninković, M. Stojanović, J. Adamov","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.73","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.73","url":null,"abstract":"The topic of Direct current is one of the areas where the physics students' lack of deep understanding was identified. The aim of the research was to examine the effect of the blended learning approach on students' motivation for learning physics. The sample included 128 upper-secondary school students from Novi Sad (Serbia) with an average age of 16. Of these, 64 students made up the experimental group and 64 students made up the control group. In the control group, the students did not actively participate in simulated experiments, and in the experimental group learning was realized through the application of the blended learning approach (BLA), since the students had an active role in conducting simulations themselves. The obtained results showed that BLA contributes to the overall motivation for learning physics, as well as self-efficacy and physics learning value. Also, an increase in motivation was observed in two dimensions of motivation among female students in the experimental group. The implementation of BLA caused a significant increase in the motivation of students with lower achievement. Therefore, the main recommendation, based on the obtained research results, would be for teachers to apply BLA to a greater extent because it contributes to student motivation.\u0000Keywords: blended learning approach, experimental research, physics education, student motivation","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46442771","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":"INTEGRATING MICRO PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND CRUCIAL LEARNING SKILLS IN CHEMISTRY","authors":"Peiyao Tian, Daner Sun, Ruirui Han, Yanfang Fan","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.130","url":null,"abstract":"Active participation in project-based learning (PBL) could develop students` knowledge and crucial learning skills across various disciplines. However, the implementation of PBL in the K-12 classroom is usually impeded by the step-by-step PBL cycle. Micro project-based learning (MPBL), which advocates and adheres to the learning principles and mechanisms of PBL with constraining the learning cycle in shorter periods, has been considered as a lightweight alternative to PBL process. As an exploration, this study explored the impact of MPBL on the conceptual understanding of sodium bicarbonate and the crucial learning skills in chemistry class at upper-secondary schools. The quasi-experimental research was implemented for 125 students, with an experimental group receiving MPBL teaching and a control group receiving conventional teaching. In the study, data including knowledge tests, crucial learning skills survey, and student interview were collected and analysed. The results indicated that MPBL was effective in the development of students’ conceptual understanding and crucial learning skills (i.e., communication and collaboration, information integration, independent learning, and problem-solving). The study will inform the pedagogical innovation in chemistry education and teaching practices in chemistry class.\u0000Keywords: chemistry education, upper-secondary schools, pedagogical approach, sodium bicarbonate","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41676850","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}
Thumah Mapulanga, Y. Ameyaw, Gilbert Nshogoza, Elton Sinyangwe
{"title":"IMPROVING SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ TOPIC-SPECIFIC PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: EVIDENCE FROM LESSON STUDIES","authors":"Thumah Mapulanga, Y. Ameyaw, Gilbert Nshogoza, Elton Sinyangwe","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.20","url":null,"abstract":"Since pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) influences the teaching-learning process, it has dominated research on teacher effectiveness. This case study explored teachers’ enacted topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) during the biology lesson study stages: planning, teaching, and reflecting. The enacted TSPCK in two video-recorded research lessons was analysed qualitatively. The results showed that the teacher enacted both high-order and low-order pedagogical actions in the enactment of the TSPCK on eight themes, namely: teaching strategies, classroom interactions, representations, curricular saliency, conceptual teaching strategies, students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions, and what makes teaching or learning difficult. The results also show that the teachers’ collective planned TSPCK was more developed than their personal TSPCK, indicating that participation in the lesson study improved the teachers’ TSPCK. The study is important as it shows how teachers enact their personal and collective TSPCK in respiration. It also demonstrates the potential of lesson study to improve teachers’ PCK through collaborative planning and reflection on taught lessons. The study recommends using lesson study to improve teachers’ enacted TSPCK in respiration, and biology as a whole. \u0000Keywords: enacted pedagogical content knowledge (ePCK), topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK), respiration, secondary school, lesson study","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46273657","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":"PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ E-LEARNING STYLES","authors":"Dilara Ucar, Serkan Yilmaz","doi":"10.33225/jbse/23.22.167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/23.22.167","url":null,"abstract":"E-learning is becoming more popular than conventional teaching methods, particularly in science education. The use of e-learning has increased worldwide, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, students’ e-learning styles have gained even more importance. The participants of this survey, which aimed to examine e-learning styles for selected variables, consisted of 401 pre-service science teachers from two public universities in Turkey. The personal information form was used to obtain data on gender, university, personal computer ownership status, type of device used to connect to the internet, grade level, number of social network memberships, internet usage purpose, and duration of social media use. Another tool used in face-to-face data collection was the E-Learning Styles Scale (ESS). As a result of the analysis, it was understood that participants’ e-learning style scores were generally on the positive side. In terms of gender, grade level, and duration of social media use variables, there were statistically significant differences in the ESS and some of its sub-dimensions, while differences were found in only some sub-dimensions for the university variables, internet usage purpose, and number of social network memberships. Several suggestions were made in conjunction with the results of the descriptive and inferential analyses.\u0000Keywords: descriptive research, e-learning styles, pre-service science teachers, science education","PeriodicalId":46424,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Baltic Science Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48792801","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}