Journal of Baltic Science Education

179

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, JBSE, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2020

186-200

Authors: Öyküm Esra Aşkın, Ersoy Öz

Identifying key determinants of success plays an important role in efforts of assessing the current state of educational practices and implementing effective actions to improve academic performance. Given how important is accurate identification of these determinants for valid comparisons, the aim of this research was to present extensive comparative results on 8th grade students' science success for 39 countries. To this end, a total number of 229,493 students' information obtained from the last cycle of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study was handled. Unlike previous studies in which success has been tried to be explained with some factors, this research extended the literature by investigating the effective factors as well as gender-related variability on science success with a holistic view. Using heterogeneous choice models, unobserved heterogeneity caused by gender difference was tested and controlled. The findings showed that gender variability was evident for 10 countries. Furthermore, factors associated with students' future educational goals, home educational resources and confidence were found as the common determinators of science success in all participant countries. Another notable finding was all factors, except time spent on doing homework, tended to differentiate the success status between girls and boys of 22 countries.

220-233

Authors: Zvonka Cencelj, Boris Aberšek, Andrej Flogie, Metka Kordigel Aberšek

Science, technology and engineering functional literacy should be developed purposely in the school system – like any other competence, it does not develop spontaneously. For this purpose, a didactic model, the Metacognitive Model for Developing Science, Technology and Engineering Literacy (McM_T&E), was developed. Apart from acquiring knowledge and skills from the field of technology and engineering, the McM_T&E is equally focused on developing functional literacy in the field of technology and engineering, as well as in the field of science, through the development of students’ metacognitive knowledge about reading strategies for reading STE explicatory texts and for reading manufacturing instructions. The McM_T&E was implemented in a Technology and Technique’ (T&T) class, grade six, in Slovenia. Results show that focusing on science, technology and engineering literacy in Technology and Engineering classes by using the McM_T&E model increases the students’ science, technology, and engineering functional literacy, which is a fundamental competence in the 21st century.

247-260

Authors: Serpil Kiliç Depren

In the last decade, the usage of advanced statistical models is growing rapidly in many different disciplines. However, the Quantile Regression Mixture Model (QRMIX), which is a developed approach of the Finite Mixture Model (FMM), is an applicable new method in the educational literature. The aim of the proposed study was to determine factors affecting students' science achievement using the QRMIX approach. To reach this aim, data of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, which has been conducted by the Organization Economic for Co-Operation and Development (OECD) every 3 years, was used. Dataset used in the research is composed of 6,115 students from Singapore, which is the top-performer country among the participant countries, and 5,895 students from Turkey. The results showed that the factors affecting students' science achievement and its importance on the achievement differentiated according to the achievement levels of the students. In conclusion, it was revealed that Turkish students with the lowest science achievement level should be supported with home possessions, perceived feedback, and environmental awareness and Singaporean students with the lowest achievement level should be supported with perceived feedback, enjoyment of science, and epistemological beliefs.

276-288

Authors: Irene Lue Leh Ping, Lilia Halim, Kamisah Osman

Science educational standards are increasingly emphasising on argumentation skills. However, students’ argumentation skills are often not developed well as their experience of science knowledge in schools is often in the form of uncontested facts. This research asserts that argumentation skills should be developed through explicit teaching of argumentation while engaged in practical work that draws on students’ science process skills. In turn, developing argumentation skills also improves their science process skills. Thus, this research sought to examine the effect of the Modified Argument-Driven Inquiry approach (MADI), Inquiry without Argument approach (IWA), and the conventional practical work approach (CON) on the development of argumentation and science process skills of Grade 10 students in practical biology. This research employed the quasi-experimental methodology involving Pre-test Post-test Non-equivalent Control Group design. The data were collected through tests on argumentation skills, science process skills and diffusion and osmosis concepts’ understanding. The MANOVA results showed that there was a significant improvement in the argumentation skills, science process skills and biology understanding among the students who experienced the MADI approach in practical biology. In contrast, students who experienced the IWA approach in practical biology showed significant improvement only in biology understanding.

298-316

Authors: Jana Skrabankova, Stanislav Popelka, Marketa Beitlova

Graphs are often used to represent mathematical functions, to illustrate data from social and natural sciences, or to specify scientific theories. With increasing emphasis on the development of scientific research skills, the work with graphs and data interpretation are gaining in importance. The research involved an eye-tracking experiment conducted to evaluate student work with graphs in physics. Eye-movement data were recorded using the GazePoint eye-tracker. A total of 40 third-year grammar school students participated in the research. These students were allocated into three groups by a physics teacher. These groups were called PLUS, AVERAGE and MINUS. The PLUS group showed excellent results in education and included gifted physics students. The MINUS group was composed of the opposite end of this cognitive spectrum, whose members made the most mistakes in graph reading. The aim of the experiment was to find the differences between students allocated to these three groups and to evaluate whether the allocation based on the teacher’s experience, long-term observations and the students’ previous achievements was sufficient. The results showed that students from all three groups had problems with reading graphs in physics. According to the eye-movement data, several students who had been incorrectly assigned to groups were identified.

333-336

Authors: Editorial Board

End page, JBSE, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2020