Effect of PDEODE Teaching Strategy on Turkish Students' Conceptual Understanding: Particulate Nature of Matter

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of activities developed in accordance with PDEODE teaching strategy on students’ understanding of the particulate nature of matter. The sample of the study consists of the first grade students who study in the Primary School Teacher Education Program. In order to determine the conceptual change on students a test consisting of 8 questions was applied to the sample. This test was applied as pre-test, post-test and delayed post-test. The difference between the measurements was found statistically significant (p0.05)

How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle?

Many studies have been conducted in recent years on the explanations given by preschool-age children about different natural phenomena. Nonetheless, very few studies have actually focused on the important domain of matter and its transformations. Specifically, the field of chemical reactions remains unexplored. This qualitative study aims to investigate the explanations of twenty-two 5- to 6-year-old children about combustion, while at the same time evaluating the effect of prior experience with science activities on their interpretations. For this study, the following experiment was proposed: burning a candle inside an inverted vessel. The following data collection tools were used: a Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) strategy and audio and video recordings. The children’s explanations were analysed using classification frameworks, which had been developed in previous studies. The results of this study suggest that young children tend to provide naturalistic explanations about combustion. This finding is an indicator that young children are able to construct mental representations within this conceptual domain. Likewise, the results indicate that children who are used to engaging in inquiry-based activities may be more likely to establish a relationship with previous learning experiences to interpret other natural phenomenaThis research was funded by FEDER/ Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities/National Agency of Research, grant number EDU2017-82915-R and grant number PGC2018-096581-B-C22S

Coaching teachers to integrate technology: The effects of technology integration on student performance and critical thinking

This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study that investigated effects of technology integration practices of teachers in a 5th grade students’ scores and critical thinking in a public school, and introduced coaching for technology integration as a strategy to train in-service teachers for technology integration. The purpose of the research was to analyse how technology integration in science course effects on student's performance and critical thinking. The participants were 132 students and four teachers in elementary public school. The study used an experimental research design by having a control and research group (68 were in the two teachers’ classrooms that were using technology without coaching intervention and 64 were in the other two teachers’ classrooms, coached by the researchers to integrate available technologies). The data were collected through pre-test and post-test, classroom observation and semi-structured interview with teachers. The results showed that coached teachers integrated technology more frequently, purposefully and diversely. Additionally, the results indicated that technology integration positively affected student performance and student critical thinking behaviours in the 5th grade science unit

EFFECTIVENESS OF ANALOGIES ON STUDENTS' UNDERSTANDING OF CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM

This study investigates the effect of analogy-based instruction (ABI) versus traditional instruction on students' understanding of chemical equilibrium in a first-year general chemistry course. A quasi-experimental design was used in the study. The study utilized a pre-test/post-test design and one comparison group (CG) and one experimental group (EG) were used in the study. In the study, a delayed-test was also implemented to both groups' students in addition to pre- and post-tests. Each treatment (analogy and traditional) was randomly assigned. The study was carried out in two different classes in the department of science and engineering during the 2009-2010 academic years at Marand Azad University in Iran. In Iran, chemical equilibrium has been studied in fourth year in chemistry course of secondary school. Participants in the study were 65 university students who enrolled in the general chemistry course, from the two classes of the same teacher. One class was randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=30) while the other was the control group (n=35). Twelve analogies were used in experimental group. Four of them were adapted from the literature and the others were prepared by the researchers. During a five-week period; each group received an equal amount of instruction. The Chemical Equilibrium Achievement Test (CEAT) was administered as pre-test, post-test and delayed-test to collect data. The CEAT consisted of 20 multiple-choice questions prepared by the researchers. Collected data were analyzed by using t-test and ANCOVA. The results of the study indicated that the students in the experimental group showed significantly greater achievement than the students in the control group. Based on the results, we can say that analogies can help students visualize abstract concepts, organize their thinking about a given topic, and learn a topic meaningfully

The effect of interactive computer animation and simulation on students’ achievement and motivation in learning electrochemistry

Electrochemistry is difficult to learn due to its abstract concepts involving macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representation levels. Studies have shown that students can visualize and improve their understanding of chemistry by using interactive computer animation and simulation. This study reports the effect of interactive computer animation and simulation module named “Interactive Electrolysis of Aqueous Solution” (IEAS) developed to aid students in learning electrolysis. A pre and post-test control quasi-experimental design was carried out to investigate the effects of the IEAS on students’ achievement and motivation in electrochemistry topics. This study involved 62 16-years-old male students from two different secondary schools. Pre and post electrochemistry achievement tests (EAT) and pre and post-Instructional Material Motivation Surveys (IMMS) were used. For EAT, using one-way ANOVA, it shows that there was a significant difference in the post-test mean score in this study on the understanding of the electrolysis concept between students in the treatment and control groups [F (1, 60) = 5.15, p <0.05]. The qualitative results also provided evidence that the students in the treatment group had a better conceptual understanding than the control group, especially at the microscopic representation level. For the IMMS test, there was a significant difference between the treatment and control groups in terms of the mean score of the post motivation IMMS test where p <0.05 in chemistry learning [F (1,59) = 266.89, p <0.05]. Thus, it can be concluded that IEAS has an impact on enhancing the students’ understanding of the electrolysis concept, and the students are more motivated to learn electrochemistry

Atom tracker: Designing a mobile augmented reality experience to support instruction about cycles and conservation of matter in outdoor learning environments

We describe a mobile augmented reality (AR) experience called Atom Tracker designed to help middle school students better understand the cycling of matter in ecosystems with a focus on the concept of conservation of matter and the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Location-based AR allows students to locate virtual "hotspots," where they interact with multiple representations including vision-based AR animations of virtual atoms during ecological processes such as photosynthesis and physical LEGO® -based representations of molecules. This design case describes the design rationale, the iterative design process, the context for implementation, and reflections on the success and limitations of the Atom Tracker AR experience. An augmented reality interface was chosen due to theoretical support for its utility in supporting interaction with multiple representations (both physical and virtual) of atoms and molecules, the ability to condense and expand temporal and spatial scales associated with ecological processes, and its ability to explicitly situate these representations in real-world contexts that could support learning. Two significant design challenges that we recognized were (a) appropriately leveraging narrative, student engagement and agency when designing around the topic of atoms and molecules, which are inanimate and invisible; and (b) designing for engagement with both virtual and physical resources available during the experience

Research-2-Practice Supporting Secondary Science Teachers to Engage with Education Research

Evidence-informed teaching has been a focus for the UK government since 2014 and whilst there is a suggestion that engagement with research to inform practice can enhance the quality of teaching, access to high quality research is a challenge for school-based practitioners. Successful schools make research more accessible to staff by building research resource banks and by collaborating with universities. Whilst stronger schools also support teaching staff to become more independent in their engagement with research, there can be a tension between access to research and the judgement of its quality. Furthermore, teacher workload has been highlighted as a concern across the education sector and this includes that of trainees engaged in initial teacher education. Lesson planning has been identified as something that can be burdensome for trainees and the expectation that they develop individual lesson plans should be reviewed to help address workload issues

Teaching Primary Science with Computer Simulation – an Intervention Study in State of Kuwait

This thesis describes an investigation into use of interactive computer simulations software in primary science education. The research questions are what effects teaching with interactive computer simulations have on students’ achievement, their conceptual change in particular science topics and on their attitudes. The question was investigated in an intervention study that tested use of simulations in two different pedagogical environments. The first environment used simulations in a computer laboratory, with students using blended learning (combining computer-based learning with non-computer learning). In this environment students worked independently on the computer. The second environment is class teaching. In this environment, the simulation was used on one computer, controlled by the teacher, in front of the class. The study also investigated ease of use and looked into practical consideration of computer-based teaching expressed by students and teachers. Three science topics were studied. The novelty of the research is using computer simulations in an Arabic nation, which has widespread use of traditional didactic-oriented pedagogy. Recent educational reforms have made demand for more student-oriented teaching, with use of practical experiments in primary science. This major change is difficult to implement for practical reasons, and the study therefore asks if computer simulations may work as an alternative approach to reach the same aims. The theoretical frameworks for the study are constructivism, conceptual change and cognitive multi-media theory. The first of these looks at the role of the student in learning, the second takes into consideration that students enter school with intuitive knowledge about natural phenomena and the last explains learning with use of computers. The theoretical frameworks were used to guide development of the simulation software and the intervention. The participants were 365 students in year five (10-11 year olds) and eight science teachers in Kuwait, located at eight different primary schools. All schools were single sex, with half the schools of each gender. All teachers were female. The study used a quasi-experimental design and separated the students into two experimental groups and two control groups. The first experimental group, which used simulations in computer labs, had 91 students in four primary schools (two boys’ and two girls’ schools). A matching control group with the same number of students was established in the same schools. The other experiment group had 92 students using simulations in the classroom. This group was also matched with an appropriate control group. The eight teachers taught both experimental and control group students. The control groups used traditional teaching. The experiment was carried out in the academic year 2010-2011. The study measured effects of the interventions with pre- and post achievement tests and attitude questionnaires. Students in the experimental groups also answered a usability questionnaire. A sub-sample of students and all teachers were interviewed for triangulation of the questionnaire data and to learn more about experiences with using the simulation software. The results of the study revealed no statistically significant difference (at the 0.05 level) in achievement or attitude between the students who used computer simulations in the computer laboratory. Students, however, who were taught with simulations in the classroom scored significantly higher on both achievement tests and attitude questionnaires. This benefit applied also to conceptual change of specific topics. In general, the interviews revealed that science teachers and students were satisfied with the simulation program used in science teaching and learning. However, the interviews indicated that there were some problems related to infrastructure and use of computers in the teaching that might have influenced the outcome of the study. These problems are relevant also to use of computer simulations in science teaching more widely