Journal of Baltic Science Education

561-562

Authors: Editorial Board

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2023 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/

564-567

Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas

There is no doubt that environmental education at an early age is significant for human development. When we refer to an early age, we mean the preschool and the primary stage of education (preschool education institution and primary school). It is obvious that the foundations of personality are formed at this stage, primarily a positive attitude towards nature and the surrounding world. At this stage, the child begins to distinguish himself from the environment, an emotional and value attitude towards the environment, nature, himself, and other people, etc., is formed. On the other hand, knowledge corresponding to a certain age of a personality (e.g., ecological), norms and rules of interaction with nature are required, on the other hand, it is extremely important to develop empathy for nature through various activities (e.g., actively solving certain environmental problems). It can be reasonably stated that the formation of values, nature cognition and a sustainable lifestyle are three essential factors determining (describing) the importance of environmental education. Thus, environmental education at an early age not only helps to develop environmental awareness but also promotes abilities and the attitude, which can determine a sustainable and responsible lifestyle in the future. From this point of view, the continuity and sustainability of this education is extremely significant. Environmental education in primary school can have a long-term effect on children’s moral and worldview behaviour and contribute to sustainable development and global well-being. The period of primary education is a suitable and favourable environment for the formation of children’s positive and rational attitude towards the environment, promoting environmental awareness and developing a sustainable lifestyle.

579-599

Authors: Hana Choi, Ilho Yang, Seongun Kim, Sungman Lim

An integrated understanding of illustrations and texts is crucial for students to comprehend science teaching learning materials. Intervention methods can be employed to facilitate this integrated understanding. This study examined the effects of Eye Movement Modeling Examples (EMME) and Prompting interventions on the learning of illustrated scientific texts among primary school students. Furthermore, the study compared the reading strategies and learning comprehension of fifth-grade students who utilized EMME, an approach that facilitates learning through observational methods, with those who used Prompting, a method that directly guides learning through linguistic information. The study analysis revealed that EMME had a significantly greater effect on integrated reading strategies and learning comprehension compared with Prompting. Specifically, the EMME group exhibited an integrated reading strategy that involved relating the illustrations and texts, whereas the Prompting group and the control group did not demonstrate the same strategy. In addition, the post-test results indicated that the EMME group achieved higher average scores in verbal and pictorial factors compared with the other two groups.

615-630

Authors: Nur Huda, Eli Rohaeti

The role of motivation in chemistry learning has long been explored and has become an exciting research topic worldwide. The aim of this study was to explore whether gender, class and students' anxiety influenced the motivation to learn chemistry among upper-secondary school students in Indonesia. The Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire II and the Chemistry Anxiety Questionnaire were used to examine the influence of multiple predictors through multiple linear regression analysis tests. Participants in this study were 1,211 upper-secondary school students in Indonesia. This study proves that gender has a significant influence on students' motivation to study chemistry, with female students being more motivated to study chemistry than male students. Interesting research results can be seen in the anxiety variable anxiety, specifically in the chemistry learning anxiety aspect, which has a negative correlation with motivation to study chemistry. The regression model of the three factors revealed in this study accounts for 13.8% of the overall proportion of upper-secondary school students' motivation to study chemistry in Indonesia. The results of this study were corroborated using the interview transcript data with 10 students, who extracted several other predictors to influence motivation to study chemistry, including learning experience, learning environment, and digital literacy.

641-652

Authors: Sinem Yalgin, Kemal Akkan Batman, Mert Bastas

Science education in primary school is critical for establishing a comprehensive understanding of the nature of science. Students with positive attitudes towards science courses are more likely to achieve academic success. Measuring and fostering positive attitudes is essential for effective instructional planning. This study aimed to develop a measurable scale to assess the attitudes of fourth-grade elementary school students in Northern Cyprus towards Science and Technology Courses (STC). While developing the Student Science and Technology Attitude Scale (SSTAS), the literature was reviewed, and 168 students were asked to write essays about STC. A pool of attitude items was created by analyzing the literature and essays, and expert opinions were sought. The preliminary scale was prepared based on expert consultation. The study group included 651 randomly selected fourth-grade students during the 2020-2021 academic year. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted to determine SSTAS's construct validity. The results indicated that the scale is valid and reliable, comprising three dimensions. The first dimension measures students' attitudes towards the teaching process, with 13 items. The second dimension assesses students' negative attitudes, including five items. The third dimension evaluates students' attitudes towards experiments, containing five items.

668-681

Authors: Qiang-Wen Lin, Yu-Zhou Luo

Physics education aims to develop sophisticated thinking abilities and enhance conceptual depth, but student interest has decreased, emphasizing the importance of teacher quality in fostering success and positive attitudes. The aim of the study was to examine the physics teachers' self-efficacy, innovative teaching, and comprehensive teaching approach levels. As data collecting instruments, self-efficacy, innovative physics teaching, and comprehensive teaching approach scores were utilized. In the pilot research group, validity and reliability assessments were conducted on the scales. The primary research involved 241 physics teachers. As the measurement variables were constantly changeable, Latent Profile Analysis was utilized. The present study's results suggest that teachers have high self-perceptions in various dimensions related to teaching effectiveness, including self-efficacy, innovative teaching, and comprehensive teaching approach. These results are consistent with previous research that has shown a positive relationship between teacher self-perceptions and teaching effectiveness. Future research could explore the relationship between teacher self-perceptions and student achievement to better understand the impact of self-perceptions on student outcomes. Overall, the results of this study highlight the importance of supporting teachers' self-efficacy and providing opportunities for innovative teaching and professional development to improve comprehensive teaching approach.

701-718

Authors: Tugen Xu, Jiaying Xu, Xiaoqing Xu, Jijian Lu

This paper proposes a blended teaching design model on WeChat Platform-based SPOC and carries out an empirical study of its applicability and effectiveness in lower-secondary school science teaching. Participants were from two eighth grade classes with different academic performance, and after conducting the same blended teaching, it was found that pre-class knowledge transmission on the WeChat platform considerably enhanced students’ classroom participation, which was also highly related to their improved post-class test scores. The improvement in the performance of the weak groups is more obvious. In addition, backend data from the WeChat platform revealed that the number of resource clicks was significantly higher than the total number of students, indicating that the sharing function of the WeChat platform facilitated the sharing of educational resources. Seven in-service science teachers were also interviewed to qualitatively evaluate and analyze the teaching model from the perspective of in-service teachers. The comprehensive results indicate that the teaching model constructed in this study achieves good results, facilitates the development of students’ independent learning ability, and allows for the integration of this blended teaching model into lower-secondary curriculum.

737-740

Authors: Editorial Board

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2023 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/