Natural and Social Sciences Project Learning E-Module to Improve Science Process Skills in Aspects of Substances and Their Changes in Vocational Schools

Electronic modules are one solution to help students master and apply Science Process Skills in terms of creative economic and social aspects of substances and their changes. This research aims to provide a bibliometric literature review regarding developing the Natural and Social Sciences Project e-module. Articles were found using Publishing or Perish (PoP) software with the Google Scholar database. 67 out of 80 articles found in the Google Scholar database from 2015 to 2022 were analyzed in this research. Selected references are then managed using reference management software, namely Mendeley. After managing the database, this research classifies and visualizes it using VOSviewer software. This review provides an appropriate reference point for further research on the ‘IPA E-module’. The research conclusion is that online tutorials are more effective than non-online for teaching science process skills to students. Through the Natural and Social Sciences Project e-module, which is practical and valid, the science process skills of vocational school students increase

Good for learning, bad for motivation? A meta-analysis on the effects of computer-supported collaboration scripts

Scripting computer-supported collaborative learning has been shown to greatly enhance learning, but is often criticized for hindering learners’ agency and thus undermining learners’ motivation. Beyond that, what makes some CSCL scripts particularly effective for learning is still a conundrum. This meta-analysis synthesizes the results of 53 primary studies that experimentally compared the effect of learning with a CSCL script to unguided collaborative learning on at least one of the variables motivation, domain learning, and collaboration skills. Overall, 5616 learners enrolled in K-12, higher education, or professional development participated in the included studies. The results of a random-effects meta-analysis show that learning with CSCL scripts leads to a non-significant positive effect on motivation (Hedges’ g = 0.13), a small positive effect (Hedges’ g = 0.24) on domain learning and a medium positive effect (Hedges’ g = 0.72) on collaboration skills. Additionally, the meta-analysis shows how scaffolding single particular collaborative activities and scaffolding a combination of collaborative activities affects the effectiveness of CSCL scripts and that synergistic or differentiated scaffolding is hard to achieve. This meta-analysis offers the first counterevidence against the widespread criticism that CSCL scripts have negative motivational effects. Furthermore, the findings can be taken as evidence for the robustness of the positive effects on domain learning and collaboration skills

VALIDITAS PERANGKAT PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS INKUIRI TERBIMBING UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KETERAMPILAN PROSES SAINS PADA MATERI GETARAN DAN GELOMBANG

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan kevalidan perangkat pembelajaran yang berbasis inkuiri terbimbing pada materi getaran dan gelombang untuk melatihkan keterampilan proses sains (KPS). Perangkat pembelajaran yang dideskripsikan meliputi silabus, rencana pelaksanaan pembelajaran (RPP), lembar kegiatan siswa (LKS) dan lembar penilaian. Jenis penelitian ini menggunakan deskriptif kuantitatif. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah teknik survei yang dilakukanoleh 3 validator ahli yang terdiri dari ahli materi, ahli pedagogi, dan praktisiyaitu 2 dosen ahli IPA dan 1 guru IPA SMP. Instrumen penelitian yang digunakan adalah lembar validasi. Penilaian validitas perangkat pembelajaran diukur berdasarkan hasil validasi. Hasil validasi yang didapatkan berupa skor dan saran untuk perbaikan. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah analisis validasi ahli menggunakan modus. Hasil validasi silabus menunjukkan modus sebesar 4 sehingga termasuk kategori valid. Hasil validasi rencana pelaksanaan pembelajaran (RPP), lembar kegiatan siswa (LKS) dan lembar penilaian juga menunjukkan hasil yang sama yaitu modus sebesar 4 sehingga termasuk kategori valid. Hasil tersebut menunjukkan bahwa perangkat pembelajaran dikatakan valid dan layak digunakan dalam proses pembelajaran dengan dilakukan revisi berdasarkan saran yang telah diberikan validator. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah perangkat pembelajaran berbasis inkuiri terbimbing dinyatakan layak dari aspek validitas untuk meningkatkan keterampilan proses sains siswa pada materi getaran dan gelombang.Kata Kunci: perangkat pembelajaran, inkuiri terbimbing, keterampilan proses sain

Enhancing Free-text Interactions in a Communication Skills Learning Environment

Learning environments frequently use gamification to enhance user interactions.Virtual characters with whom players engage in simulated conversations often employ prescripted dialogues; however, free user inputs enable deeper immersion and higher-order cognition. In our learning environment, experts developed a scripted scenario as a sequence of potential actions, and we explore possibilities for enhancing interactions by enabling users to type free inputs that are matched to the pre-scripted statements using Natural Language Processing techniques. In this paper, we introduce a clustering mechanism that provides recommendations for fine-tuning the pre-scripted answers in order to better match user inputs

THE EFFECTS OF VIRTUAL LABORATORY ACTIVITIES ON SCIENCE LEARNING

The purpose of this study was to observe the impact of technology on improving science achievement in Elementary students. In specific, this study examined the effects of virtual science laboratory activities on the science learning of 20 African American students in grades four. Using a quasi-experimental design, students in grades four, were randomly assigned to a treatment (virtual labs) or comparison (traditional hands-on labs) group. Ten students participated in treatment group and ten students participated in the comparison group. The students conducted science experiments for 50 minutes, one time a week, for 8 weeks. Both groups were given a pretest and posttest using the Terra Nova 3 Survey Assessment in Science grade 4 and students’ motivation toward science learning (SMTSL) questionnaire. Gains between the pretest and posttest scores were analyzed for each instrument using the Mann Whitney U test. The New York State Intermediate Level Science Assessment Test (ILSAT) for grade 4 was also administered to the treatment and comparison group and analyzed using the Mann Whitney U test. Students in the treatment group did not show any significant gains in scores, on the Terra Nova 3 Survey Assessment in Science for grade 4 and SMTSL, respectively, than students in the comparison group. Students in the treatment group for the ILSAT showed a significant higher score than students in the comparison group. In conclusion, the intervention had a significant impact on the ILSAT score gains. The limitations of the study and implications for future research were discussed

Conditions Supporting the Development of Scientific Argumentation in High School Chemistry Classrooms: The Role of Question Prompts and an Interactive Simulation

The purpose of this case study was to provide benefit to preservice and inservice science teachers, who have an interest in applying scientific argumentation in their high school chemistry instructions, by investigating role of question prompts and an interactive simulation supporting the development of scientific argumentation. In particular, the study examined the quality of students’ arguments changing over time in scientific argumentation when they constructed and defended their arguments using the “Gas Properties” computer simulation. For this purpose, forty-seven11th grade students from four classes first worked in pairs and then, all the pairs returned the classroom for discussion. One pair was selected as a focal group by their chemistry teachers within each class resulting in a total of four focal groups. The chemistry teachers posed the driving question of Part I to familiarize students with scientific argumentation while exploring the effect of gravity on the behavior of air molecules in space. Then, the teachers challenged the students with the driving question of Part II to help students construct and defend more elaborate scientific arguments while comparing the behaviors of air and Helium molecules in space. I examined what type of arguments participants found convincing and also searched which conditions (i.e. challenged by the driving question, counter-arguments, peer question or self-questions, or prompted by representation of investigation, teacher questions, or similar arguments) helped students to improve their arguments in scientific argumentation. The results depicted that in pair discussions, argumentation was a way of participants’ collectively supporting a scientific claim based on evidence from the interactive simulation and trying to agree on conclusions drawn from this evidence. Though, only two focal groups generated the highest quality of arguments with the waxing and waning amount of consensus over time from Part I to Part II. On the other hand, in classroom discussions focal groups tried to win their opponents over to their points of view and to weaken opposing views with making their evidence visible on the interactive simulation, which led four focal groups to produce the highest quality of arguments from Part I to Part II

Focus, Explore, Reflect and Apply (FERA) Learning Model: Developing Science Process Skills for Pre-Service Science Teachers

The purpose of this study is to describe the application of Focus, Explore, Reflect, and Apply (FERA) learning model in improving science process skills for a pre-service science teacher in primary school. The stages of learning using the FERA learning model consist of four stages, namely focus, explore, reflect, and apply. The sample of this study was the students in the Primary School Teacher Education Study Program at STKIP Sebelas April Sumedang. This research was conducted using Quasy-Experimental method with Non-equivalent Control Group Design. The effectiveness of the treatment was obtained by giving the pretest and posttest to each class one time. The research data was processed by analyzing N-gain, normality test, and average difference using the Wilcoxon and Man Withney U tests. The results showed that the experimental class and the control class had significant mean differences between the science process skills data on pretest and posttest. This shows that learning using the FERA model is more effective in improving science process skills for pre-service primary school science teachers

Instructional Scaffolding in STEM Education: Strategies and Efficacy Evidence

science education; educational technology; learning and instructio