EXPLORING PRE-SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDINGS OF COUNTABILITY AND INFINITY IN WEBQUEST BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Infinity concept is difficult to understand because of its nature. Even if the concept of infinity doesn’t directly take part in mathematics curriculum, it takes place on many topics such as lines, planes, sets, irrational numbers, limit, differentiation, and integration. The present study examined pre-service mathematics teachers’ understandings of infinity and countability concepts in WebQuest based learning environment. Twenty-nine pre-service teachers participated at the study. Data were collected through a questionnaire developed by the researchers and semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed by using phenomenology research method. The findings of this study revealed that pre-service teachers generally defined infinite sets as the sets whose elements continue infinitely. They inclined to define countable sets as bounded sets, finite sets, and the sets with known elements. Whereas most of the students stated countable finite sets and countable infinite sets were existent, they also expressed uncountable finite sets and uncountable infinite sets were non-existent. They used natural numbers set as an example for the countable infinite sets. This research presented some implications for teacher education programme in the light of obtained findings.  Article visualizations

Computer-Assisted Instruction in the Mathematics Intervention Classroom

The studies selected for this paper includes traditional and technological methods used in classrooms. The headings for these in the paper include: Math Strategies, Technology Use Strategies, and Cooperative Math and Technology Use. The reasoning behind this is to show a comparison between the different results given in all formats

USING A VIRTUAL WORLD FOR SCIENCE INSTRUCTION WITH FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS

This qualitative study\u27s purpose was to integrate virtual classroom assignments with traditional classroom activities. The integration of these virtual classroom assignments were used to assess the benefits of technology integration in a science classroom. Thirteen fifth and sixth grade students learned about the evolution and traits of organisms in accordance to the State of Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations. This unit followed a unit on animal systems. Students were given a pretest and posttest (in concept map form and unit test in essay form). Objectives were taught using a combination of lecture, discussion, and in class activities. The unit also contained three virtual world activities. Following each virtual world activity, students were given a questionnaire to give feedback regarding the retention of subject matter and presentation of material. The virtual world activities enhanced the animal systems unit. Students were able to learn the objectives and then extend their knowledge through interactive simulations and presenting their creations. Students also greatly benefitted from the social aspect of Biome. Students were able to understand big picture ideas and make real world connections through social expression, artistic expression and the sharing of their ideas

Information And Communication Technology As A Pedagogical Tool In Teacher Preparation And Higher Education

Under the current trend of globalization and economic dynamics, the accountability of our educational systems is being seriously tested. In response to the demands of the future, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore has wisely proposed several initiatives to promote the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, and to increase the competitiveness of the workforce by emphasizing inquiry-based learning, higher order thinking, and problem solving (i.e., Thinking Schools Learning Nation, Students Effective Engagement and Development). This study asserts that these two goals, rather than being mutually exclusive, are highly related. Research has shown that integrating technology in teaching and learning can have positive influences on higher order thinking, students motivation, inquiry-based learning, attitudes, achievement, and peer interactions in the classrooms (Bennett, 2001; Schofield, 1995)

The Effects of a Professional Development Program for Technology Integrated Algebra Teaching

This study examined technological pedagogical content knowledge change of middle school mathematics teachers who participated in a professional development program designed to integrate technology into teaching algebra. Twenty-eight middle school teachers from 20 different schools participated in the study. The data collection tools were technological pedagogical content knowledge survey, reflective journals, lesson plans, and program evaluation forms. The data analysis showed that the participants’ technological pedagogical content knowledge increased significantly. In addition, participants wrote lesson plans that included effective use of technology to teach algebra contents. The positive effects of the professional development program seem to be related to the following components of the program: the usability of the program activities in middle school classrooms, program’s focus on using technology in teaching algebra, the introduction of new technological tools and software related to mathematics, and the interactive nature of the program

Using WebQuest Based Instruction to Enhance Students’ Critical Thinking

The study was executed to investigate the effects of teaching via WebQuest Based Instruction on students’ critical thinking in comparison to teaching through traditional mode of instruction. Murthy Critical Thinking Scale (2014) was used to assess students’ critical thinking. The study was carried out with ninth grade science students who were selected from government schools of Chandigarh and were randomly separated into two groups: the control group who received conventional mode of instruction and experimental group exposed to WebQuest based instruction created by the researcher. Both descriptive as well as inferential statistics (t-test) were employed to analyze the data. The findings of the research illustrated a noteworthy variation in critical thinking between two groups where students of experimental group dominated over control group students, hence demonstrating the substantial positive effect of WebQuest based instruction on student’s critical thinking. In view of the acquired results, the researcher recommended the use of WebQuest based instruction during teaching learning process and also proposed to provide proper training to teachers in how to implement the WebQuest in educational practices

Responsible research and innovation in science education: insights from evaluating the impact of using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values

The European Commission policy approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is gaining momentum in European research planning and development as a strategy to align scientific and technological progress with socially desirable and acceptable ends. One of the RRI agendas is science education, aiming to foster future generations' acquisition of skills and values needed to engage in society responsibly. To this end, it is argued that RRI-based science education can benefit from more interdisciplinary methods such as those based on arts and digital technologies. However, the evidence existing on the impact of science education activities using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values remains underexplored. This article comparatively reviews previous evidence on the evaluation of these activities, from primary to higher education, to examine whether and how RRI-related learning outcomes are evaluated and how these activities impact on students' learning. Forty academic publications were selected and its content analysed according to five RRI values: creative and critical thinking, engagement, inclusiveness, gender equality and integration of ethical issues. When evaluating the impact of digital and arts-based methods in science education activities, creative and critical thinking, engagement and partly inclusiveness are the RRI values mainly addressed. In contrast, gender equality and ethics integration are neglected. Digital-based methods seem to be more focused on students' questioning and inquiry skills, whereas those using arts often examine imagination, curiosity and autonomy. Differences in the evaluation focus between studies on digital media and those on arts partly explain differences in their impact on RRI values, but also result in non-documented outcomes and undermine their potential. Further developments in interdisciplinary approaches to science education following the RRI policy agenda should reinforce the design of the activities as well as procedural aspects of the evaluation research

The Use of Webquest For Teaching English Vocabulary in An EFL Young Learners Context

In Globalization era, English teaching has been incorporated to the use of internet and virtual reality to buildup language learning which is attracting academic interest. How to create a good English learningenvironment for the Indonesian primary students-whose native language obviously not English- to learnEnglish has become a challenging issue.  Web Quest is an inquiry-oriented online learning activity in whichall of the information used by learners nowadays is drawn from the Internet. Online learning languagethrough Web Quest is no longer limited to online communication such as mails, chat, forums, or other onlineactivities for learners to visit occasionally. Some studies also addressed the use of Web Quest as anapplication in online leaning which were integrated in learners’ study experience and able to promote Englishlearning interest. This study is one of the examples of such issue in which it focuses on the effect of WebQuest-based learning on vocabulary mastery of primary learners. The study took place in Bandung, WestJava. In addition, this was conducted in one of famous English course which is facilitated with the internetand computer as media for learning English language. The researcher took one class as participants of thestudy. They were primary students ranging from 9 to 10 years old that had mostly the same English languagelevel. In addition, this study used pre-experimental design with one group pre-test-post-test design. The resultof the study indicated that using Web Quest was effective in teaching English vocabularies to the primarystudents. This means that there was significant difference of students’ achievement in vocabulary masterybefore and after Web Quest treatment

The Use of Webquest for Teaching English Vocabulary in an EFL Young Learners Context

In Globalization era, English teaching has been incorporated to the use of internet and virtual reality to buildup language learning which is attracting academic interest. How to create a good English learningenvironment for the Indonesian primary students-whose native language obviously not English- to learnEnglish has become a challenging issue. Web Quest is an inquiry-oriented online learning activity in whichall of the information used by learners nowadays is drawn from the Internet. Online learning languagethrough Web Quest is no longer limited to online communication such as mails, chat, forums, or other onlineactivities for learners to visit occasionally. Some studies also addressed the use of Web Quest as anapplication in online leaning which were integrated in learners' study experience and able to promote Englishlearning interest. This study is one of the examples of such issue in which it focuses on the effect of WebQuest-based learning on vocabulary mastery of primary learners. The study took place in Bandung, WestJava. In addition, this was conducted in one of famous English course which is facilitated with the internetand computer as media for learning English language. The researcher took one class as participants of thestudy. They were primary students ranging from 9 to 10 years old that had mostly the same English languagelevel. In addition, this study used pre-experimental design with one group pre-test-post-test design. The resultof the study indicated that using Web Quest was effective in teaching English vocabularies to the primarystudents. This means that there was significant difference of students' achievement in vocabulary masterybefore and after Web Quest treatment