Journal of Baltic Science Education

1-2

Authors: Editorial Board

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2023 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/

4-9

Authors: Paolo Bussotti

Among the mathematical methods which are taught in the last years of almost every high school, the mathematical induction deserves particular attention. It can be used both to define mathematical entities and to prove theorems. The second use is more common at high school level and is easier. Thus, I will basically focus on it, though analysing in depth two definitions by induction. The aim of this contribution is to offer the basic elements for a didact unit which could be developed in six/seven hours of lesson. In this editorial a didactic unit has been proposed. Here only the basic elements have been given. The unit might be enriched by tracing the history of the inductive principle, which is interesting and formative from an educational standpoint (see, e.g., Palladino-Bussotti 2002). From an epistemological-methodological perspective, it should be pointed out that mathematical induction is a method of proof, but not a method of discovery. It is not a heuristic procedure. The presentation of an organised set of lessons on the principle of mathematical induction is significant and appropriate in the last years of high school because: 1) it introduces the learners within a method typical of whole numbers; 2) it connects mathematical issues with logical ones; 3) it is useful in order to clarify the difference between the way of reasoning connoting mathematic and that typical of empirical sciences. Hence, it is also useful in a science education context; 4) it can be related to the history of mathematics, so as to show that mathematics is also a humanistic discipline, born from conceptual problems, and not only a technical one; 5) it has also connection with epistemological themes linked to the heuristic of mathematics.

20-36

Authors: Thumah Mapulanga, Yaw Ameyaw, Gilbert Nshogoza, Elton Sinyangwe

Since pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) influences the teaching-learning process, it has dominated research on teacher effectiveness. This case study explored teachers’ enacted topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) during the biology lesson study stages: planning, teaching, and reflecting. The enacted TSPCK in two video-recorded research lessons was analysed qualitatively. The results showed that the teacher enacted both high-order and low-order pedagogical actions in the enactment of the TSPCK on eight themes, namely: teaching strategies, classroom interactions, representations, curricular saliency, conceptual teaching strategies, students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions, and what makes teaching or learning difficult. The results also show that the teachers’ collective planned TSPCK was more developed than their personal TSPCK, indicating that participation in the lesson study improved the teachers’ TSPCK. The study is important as it shows how teachers enact their personal and collective TSPCK in respiration. It also demonstrates the potential of lesson study to improve teachers’ PCK through collaborative planning and reflection on taught lessons. The study recommends using lesson study to improve teachers’ enacted TSPCK in respiration, and biology as a whole.

57-72

Authors: Jongwon Park, Hye-Gyoung Yoon, Insun Lee

Postulating that academic papers can positively impact the actual teaching practices of science teachers, this study analysed the process of understanding and utilising academic papers by science teachers to teach scientific creativity in their schools. The 45–hour graduate course of three science teachers was explored to identify the difficulties teachers encountered in trying to understand academic papers and to discover how to solve these difficulties. Second, which aspects should be considered when developing teaching materials for scientific creativity to be used in schools were analysed. A transformation model of an academic paper was proposed to understand this process, and the results were organised accordingly. According to this model, it was emphasized to translate academic papers from a general and abstract state to a local and concrete state. Therefore, the role of science educators as knowledge translators was discussed for more practical and effective use of academic papers in school. This study is expected to contribute to research-based teaching by linking academic research with teaching practice.

83-99

Authors: Tolga Saka, Tufan Inaltekin

Exploring science teachers' classroom assessment behaviors is a way to understand the professional knowledge competencies underlying effective teaching practices. One of the most important components of in-class assessments is teacher questions. However, studies examining teacher questions that provide support to accurately determine student learning and manage the lesson effectively are quite limited. This research presents a case study of a science teacher in Turkey regarding the question types and questioning proficiency in the teaching of 5th grade "Measurement of Force and Friction" and "Matter and Change". The data have been collected through course observations. The study used an observation evaluation protocol to analyze the video recordings taken from the science teacher's lectures. The results of this study showed that about half of the questions that the science teacher has asked in his class remain at a partially appropriate and inappropriate level, and that the teacher mostly prefers questions that aim to evaluate real information and summarize what is important in his courses. These results point to the need for professional development on a teacher's questioning practices. Therefore, it can be said that those who plan professional development programs for science teachers should consider efforts to improve teacher questioning practices.

113-129

Authors: Fauziah Sulaiman, Jeffry Juan Rosales, JR., Lee Jae Kyung

Issues like why students felt far from physics and did not choose physics as their prime learning option are familiar in education. This paper aims to study the effectiveness of the STEM-Project-Based learning module in physics on students' personal interest and sense-making and effort. This research used the quasi-experimental model, employing a two-group pre-survey-post-survey design. Quantitative data were collected using the Colorado Learning Attitude about Science Survey (CLASS) instrument at two selected schools in Sabah, Malaysia, and Seoul, Korea. The sample size was 88 Form 4 students in Malaysia and 66 second-year high school students in Korea who learned classical mechanics. The students were divided into two groups, respectively, i.e., the experimental group (Malaysia=44, Korea=33) and the control group (Malaysia=44, Korea=33). Participants in the experimental group were intervened with the integrated STEM-PBL physics module, whilst participants in the control group learned physics through a conventional approach for eight weeks. Participants in both groups were then administered a pre-survey before and post-survey after the intervention. This research showed that the integrated STEM-PBL physics module significantly improved students' personal interest, and sense-making and effort after the intervention. The paper also highlighted the research's implications and suggestions.

153-166

Authors: Yi-Kuan Tseng, Fan-Sheng Lin, Wernhuar Tarng, Yu-Ling Lu, Tzu-Ling Wang

Physical and virtual labs have unique capabilities that can influence how students learn from them. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of physical and virtual manipulatives on students’ learning of heat and temperature and to examine the influence of various combinations of physical and virtual manipulatives. A total of 205 participants were divided into four groups: only physical manipulatives, only virtual manipulatives, physical-virtual manipulatives, and virtual-physical manipulatives. Students’ knowledge acquisition was tested using Pre-test–Post-test design. The results showed that physical and virtual manipulatives are as effective in facilitating students’ learning of state changes, but virtual manipulatives are more beneficial to students’ learning of thermal expansion and contraction than physical manipulatives are. Physical-virtual manipulatives are more effective than virtual-physical manipulatives or physical manipulatives alone are to promote students’ learning of heat and temperature, but this effect is similar to that of virtual manipulatives alone. The results suggest that virtual laboratories can effectively model abstract concepts. The better effect of the physical-virtual operation sequence on learning does not depend on whether the two types of experiments are combined or on the sequence of operations but on the type of experiment when its advantages actually contribute to learning.

182-184

Authors: Editorial Board

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2023 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/

1121-1122

Authors: Editorial Board

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 21, No. 6A, 2022 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/

1124-1125

Authors: Dušica D. Rodić, Saša A. Horvat

According to the European Commission, education, science, technology, research and innovation are a prerequisite for achieving a sustainable EU economy. EU leaders have agreed to work towards a European Education Area by 2025 to take full advantage of education, training, and culture (EU, 2019). Scientific literacy takes center stage in major reforms in education and is often presented as a key goal of science education. This is due to the idea that scientific literacy could be a prerequisite for the economic survival and technological development of the society, at least if judged by the research based on correlations between large-scale international testing results and country’s economic prosperity level (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2010). Chemical literacy presents a significant constituent part of scientific literacy, given that the use of various chemicals plays a vital role in our daily lives whether we are talking about food, medicine, clothing or climate change.

1143-1164

Authors: Vera M. Divac, Filip Stašević, Marina D. Kostić, Daliborka Popović, Jelena Đurđević Nikolić

Development of entrepreneurial capacities, entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial culture among students is one of the goals of modern education. In Serbia, there is an idea and vision of entrepreneurial education in the chemistry domain, which is also regulated by the curriculum. Despite these facts, a curriculum that supports entrepreneurship and a large scope for chemistry entrepreneurship, primary schools still lack in activities that could develop competencies related to entrepreneurship in students. Within this research, a series of activities were designed with the aim to enhance students' entrepreneurial competencies. Proposed activities were based on inquiry-based learning (IBL) and project-based learning (PBL) as their characteristics support entrepreneurial education. The conducted study involved 18 high-achieving students in the chemistry domain. Data obtained from pre- and post-questionnaires confirm the assumptions of present researchers that the proposed activities could improve some students' entrepreneurial skills. The results from the second questionnaire, which examined the impact of conducted activities on the students’ entrepreneurial skills and abilities, reveal that when an approach like this is used as the teaching method, some entrepreneurial peculiarities within students can be increased.

1181-1190

Authors: Stanislava I. Olić Ninković, Jasna M. Adamov, Aleksandar P. Rakita

With the development of technology, various new applications are increasingly used in schools. Their implementation often creates a stimulating environment for learning and leads to an increase in student performance. Due to their effectiveness, student responder systems (SRS) and similar mobile applications are increasingly used in teaching. The aim of the research was to examine students' opinions on application of Socrative online platform as a SRS in chemistry classes during formative evaluation. The sample included 77 primary and secondary school students from the Republic of Serbia. Online Socrative quiz was applied to evaluate their knowledge about mixtures (in primary school) and about antibiotics (in secondary school). After the quiz students filled out a questionnaire on their opinions towards the Socrative platform. The questionnaire consisted of 26 items organized in five subscales: advantage, belief, engagement, usability, and satisfaction. The obtained results showed that students had a positive opinion on the application of Socrative in chemistry education. As the positive features, students pointed out real-time feedback and increased engagement and motivation in class. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that students enjoy the use of online platform Socrative, so it is recommended for further use in chemistry classes in order to increase student participation and to develop a more efficient evaluation methodology.

1205-1208

Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 21, No. 6A, 2022 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/

905-906

Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 21, No. 6 Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 21, No. 6, 2022 ISSN 1648-3898 /Print/, ISSN 2538-7138 /Online/

908-910

Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas

The problems of natural science education remain extremely relevant. Over the last two decades, international conferences and symposia dedicated to the study of issues of natural science education have been held in many countries and at various levels. It was especially emphasized that the natural science literacy of society is insufficient, and its relevance will only increase in the 21st century. Early natural science education promotes and develops natural science literacy (Ferreira et al., 2015). In general, various changes have taken place and are taking place in the field of natural science education: the content of education is changing, the search for more effective forms and methods of teaching is taking place, etc., on the other hand, new quality society needs are emerging. There is no doubt that the significance of natural science education for the development of a child’s personality is extremely high.

928-945

Authors: Nadia Ahmed A AL Jadidi, Dalia Abdelwahed Mohamed, Enas Mahmoud Elrefee

There is a severe shortcoming in science programs in kindergartens in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this paper presents a conceptual framework for teaching physics concepts to kindergartens to contribute to the consolidation of scientific knowledge by stimulating the skills of inquiry, problem-solving and scientific thinking among children. The research aimed to study the effect of a program based on simplifying some physics concepts on kindergarten children's knowledge. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observation, video recordings of simple lab instruments for physics concepts, and children's in-app interactions and children's photographs. The sample consisted of (8) children of the age groups (5: 6 years) at the third level in kindergarten. The results indicated that children can be taught some scientific thinking skills. Children who practiced the planned activities developed their knowledge more orderly. Accordingly, it is concluded that the program can indicate the success of introducing natural sciences to the kindergarten stage. The current research recommends studies that show the quality and specifications of programs that suit the child's characteristics at this stage and the nature of education.

967-988

Authors: Shin-Cheng Yeh, Hsin-Ya Li

The concept of "sustainable development" was proposed to re-examine the human development model. Initiated by the United Nations, education for sustainable development (ESD) has become an important tool for educators to achieve sustainable development. Although "Early Childhood Education" (ECE) is often taken as a starting point of ESD, the concept of sustainable development is difficult to integrate into ECE because of its unfamiliarity among teachers. Therefore, picture books can be used to bolster ESD in ECE. This research aims to construct an appropriate book selection guide system that can assist them in selecting picture books independently, objectively, and efficiently through a focus group and modified Delphi method. The guide system is based on three major aspects, covering 8 main guidelines and 21 sub-guidelines. A sustainable development-oriented picture book is defined as “a book that includes the core, values, and concept of sustainable development which can make readers aware of the balance between the environment, society and economy and that attempts to systematically explore problems, generate actions, and solve problems in relation to these three dimensions from a critical and global viewpoint." in this study.

1004-1025

Authors: Youngshin Kim, Chaewon Oh, Mohadesse Eskandari, Soo-min Lim

Teachers are highly reliant on textbooks for teaching. In the Republic of Korea, science textbooks help students to understand scientific terms through inquiry activities. However, there is a lack of analysis on whether the inquiry activities suggested in these textbooks appropriately cover the terms included in the main text. Therefore, this study assesses the life science units included in widely used lower secondary school science textbooks in the Republic of Korea by analysing the connection between the terms presented in the inquiry activities and the main text using the NetMiner 4.0 programme. The results reveal that the life science units included in the lower secondary school science textbooks are well structured for learning life science terms through the inquiry activities, as the terms presented in the inquiry activities and the main text are well connected. However, the number of terms included in each unit greatly differs and needs to be supplemented with the optimization of the number of terms per unit. The results provide basic data for the future development of lower secondary school science textbooks. Future research should analyse how the terms used in inquiry activities and the main text are connected in real science classes.

1040-1051

Authors: Sungman Lim, Soyoung Yun

This study explores the phenomenon of 'school adaptation of novice primary school teachers' in the process of entering their actual primary school field. This study also studies the achievement of teacher agency and their teacher belief establishment procedure as novice teachers, not only in the actual teaching context but also as teachers who faced a special situation where their given role was different from what they learned from their university life. This study used a 'narrative' methodology. Narrative inquiry starts with 'researcher's narrative', which begins with the researcher's own story. The participants joined in interviews and submitted their teaching diaries. The participants of this study were three novice in-service teachers who were newly assigned to their primary schools. The research results are as follows. First, the novice primary school teachers achieved teacher agency while adjusting themselves to the school for a year. Second, novice primary school teachers did their best in terms of preparing for their classes in the process of being familiar with their schools’ culture and system. This study highlighted the need for dual support of teaching and administrative tasks for novice primary school teachers.

1069-1082

Authors: King-Dow Su

This research used mixed effects to construct a PBL-STEM (problem-based learning with STEM) questionnaire with high validity and reliability. The benefits of PBL-STEM focused on cross-disciplinary and longitudinal research to analyze students' self-efficacy in life science. All 175 university students who attended this course as an elective participated in this research. The purpose was to evaluate students' performance in the cake-baking practice experiential course and to use unpaired samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and feedback analysis as quantitative and qualitative data. The following are noteworthy results: The t-test showed that five stimulated scales were significantly different and better after the cake-baking PBL-STEM activity. In one-way ANOVA, to engage with more students in STEM activities, improve conceptual learning, and close achievement gaps. The more enthusiastic students are, the more actively they study and think, and the more effectively they improve their PBL-STEM learning. Students' feedback analysis of this teaching activity is beneficial for improving technology, student-teacher engagement, process comprehension, and learning interest. The light of this research will foster a disposition of learning, enhance cake-baking skills, and encourage problem-solving based on their thinking.

1101-1118

Authors: Seraceddin Levent Zorluoğlu, Eylem Yalçinkaya Önder, Betül Timur, Serkan Timur, Elif Güvenç, Ilgım Özergun, Muzaffer Özdemir

Science education focuses on the methods of thinking about and using process skills rather than memorizing scientific facts. 5E educational model aims to learn by discovering scientific knowledge and engaging students in learning environments. The aim of this study was to examine the articles in the field of education related to the 5E educational model and science process skills (SPS) according to some criteria. The search in databases was carried out to cover the articles conducted in the last twelve years (2010-2021). Over the last 12 years, 522 articles on the 5E educational model and science process skills have been examined. In this descriptive content analysis study, randomized sampling came to the fore as the preferred sampling method, lower-secondary school students as the sample type, 11-50 as the sample size, and studies in which the effectiveness of a method was tested as the research type, lower-secondary school science as the research discipline, quasi-experimental as a research design, achievement tests as data collection tools, and frequency/percentage/charts were frequently used in data analysis.

741-742

Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 21, No. 5, JBSE

744-746

Authors: Svatava Janoušková, Martin Bílek

The world faces several crises in the last years. There have been more active conflicts presently than at any time since 1945. More than 82 million refugees must live away from their homes. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and caused economic and social disruption, whose further consequences related to human health and further aspects of well-being can be only estimated so far. Many countries are fighting climate change for a long time and this “fight” has been disrupted by unprecedented energy crises that changes our energy goals from day to day. We are surrounded by uncertainty and worries about the future which rises of populist forces even in the democratic part of the world. So, there is no doubt that we are living through challenging times. There are many strategies for coping with these challenges, one of them is acceptance. It allows us to see reality in the present moment and to move forward. But still, there will likely be many options to choose. We believe that science education is (can become) a means for explaining possibilities and our chances. At least in some of the above crises. And sustainable development indicators with good narratives can be effective educational and information tools bringing evidence about changes in the society and environment (Janoušková et al., 2022).

762-787

Authors: Kateřina Chroustová, Andrej Šorgo, Martin Bílek, Martin Rusek

In this research, a model to determine chemistry teachers’ acceptance of educational software in secondary education is proposed. The model extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. Data were collected from 556 Czech chemistry teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. With respect to the significant differences among technology users and various types of nonusers, the research model for each user group was tested too. The results showed significant differences in the individual models for each group of technology user. In the model for ‘current users’ of educational software, the influence of facilitating conditions on current users’ use of educational software behavioural intention is stressed. In addition, non-planning users’ behavioural intention seems to be influenced by their personal innovativeness in IT, social influence, and performance expectancy. Behavioural intention and attitude towards using educational software affect each of the tested models, with attitudes being an even stronger predictor of educational software usage than behavioural intention. The models contribute to the understanding of teachers’ acceptance of educational software, which can be utilized in both pre- and in-service teacher training, considering technology mastery a necessary teacher competence.

801-816

Authors: Hiroyoshi Kinoshita

The importance of critical thinking in science education is widely recognized. However, little research has been conducted on the teaching of critical thinking by teachers. If actual teaching conditions of teachers in the classroom are clarified, effective teaching methods for developing critical thinking in students could be developed. This study administered a questionnaire survey to ascertain how science teachers teach critical thinking in Japanese primary schools. The study population consisted of 291 Japanese primary school teachers with teaching careers spanning 1–38 years. The survey revealed the following. (1) Teachers taught students the importance of conducting experiments by themselves to obtain results. However, teachers did not sufficiently teach students the need to conduct multiple experiments before reaching a conclusion, improve data reliability before making decisions, or examine their conclusions carefully given incomplete data. (2) Compared to teachers with shorter teaching careers, teachers with longer careers taught critical thinking more effectively, particularly in terms of emphasizing positivity and maintaining a healthy skepticism. (3) Teachers who taught emphasized positivity and encouraged multifaceted thinking were more likely to teach about emphasized evidence. The corresponding causal relationship analysis suggests that teaching that emphasizes positivity and encourages multifaceted thinking is key to promoting evidence-oriented instruction.

836-848

Authors: Polonca Legvart, Metka Kordigel Aberšek, Maja Kerneža

Effective natural science teaching in primary schools helps students to form and change their conceptions about nature and natural processes. This is only possible through communicating about learners’ existing misconceptions and the process of transforming them into correct scientific concepts – using a socio-constructivist learning approach. The aim of this study was to find out what happens when the natural science teaching/learning process moves into digital learning environments. Immediately after the end of the Covid-induced school lock down, a sample of 183 first-, second- and third-grade teachers in Slovenia were asked to report about what happened in their science classes during the 11-week school lock down. The results reveal problems originating in very limited digital literacy competences as well as a lack of basic skills (in the first grade), and slowly emerging basic literacy in grades two and three. This had a great impact on the communication between teachers and students and between students themselves. According to research results, the problem significantly affects science teaching and is particularly urgent in didactics of chemistry and physics.

862-874

Authors: Henriette Manishimwe, William Aino Shivoga, Venuste Nsengimana

Attitude has been regarded as a motivating feeling for the learning of biology. However, how inquiry-based learning contributes to attitude change towards the learning of biology has not yet been studied in Rwanda. This study intends to determine the effect of inquiry-based learning on students’ attitudes toward learning biology. A sample of 228 secondary school students at the upper secondary level in Rwanda was used. A quasi-experimental design with pre-and post-test was employed. One group was randomly assigned to the control group (N = 109) under the conventional teaching method, while the second group participated as the experimental group (N = 119) under the inquiry-based learning method. Biology attitude questionnaire (BAQ) was tested and a Pearson reliability of .89 coefficient was found, and hence the BAQ was adopted and used for the control and treatment groups before and after learning microbiology. Results asserted a significant effect of intervention in favor of the experimental group. However, a significant effect of the treatment on students’ attitude change in relation to gender was not identified. The study recommends using inquiry-based learning to promote attitude toward learning biology as it raises students’ interest to learning biology and alleviates the difficulty of its concepts.

888-901

Authors: Nyet Moi Siew, Mohammad Syafiq Abd Rahman

This study was conducted to examine the effects of the socio-scientific issue (SSI) approach assisted by the future thinking map (FTM) on five constructs of future thinking, namely i) understanding the current situation, ii) identifying the trends, iii) analyzing the relevant drivers, iv) synthesizing the possibilities or needs of the future and v) choosing with the justification of the desired future. The future-thinking test instrument was developed to measure the level of future thinking. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design was employed. A total of 255 form four students (age 16) from three randomly selected rural secondary schools in Tawau District, Malaysia were assigned to i) SSI-FTM (n = 85), ii) SSI (n = 85), and iii) conventional (CV, n = 85) teaching and learning (TL) strategies. The results of the MANCOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect across all three groups of TL strategies. The ANCOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect of the SSI-FTM TL strategies compared to the SSI and CV TL strategies on the five future thinking constructs. The quasi-experimental study proves that the SSI-FTM TL strategy is effective in nurturing future thinking among form four students in science lessons.

533-534

Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, JBSE, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2022

536-544

Authors: André du Plessis

COVID-19 had a severe impact on teaching and learning in schools and tertiary education institutions. Human Rights Watch (Impact of Covid-19 on Children’s Education in Africa, 2022) posits that due to the closure of many schools in African countries, a significant majority of learners were excluded from continuing their education as learning and teaching halted. The pandemic has also had its effect on the higher education sector within the South African context, however, data about non-attendance and drop-out seems not to be freely available as revealed by searching online. Nonetheless, it is reasonable to assume that there were drop-outs and non-attendance by students, however, not to the same extent as within schools as universities embarked on contingency plans to minimize dropouts. Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha South Africa where the author of this editorial resides, implemented contingency plans within weeks of the COVID pandemic outbreak to offer students ICT devices on loan, e.g. by debiting it against their student accounts while Wi-Fi data access was secured through collaboration with internet providers. It appears that the university sector was able to be more proactive than schools, which can probably be attributed to the fact that the majority of universities have their own ICT infrastructures. In addition, many modules incorporated the use of ICT in various ways, including the use of learning management systems such as Moodle or similar. This resulted in many universities being better prepared to embrace the opportunity to extend online teaching, learning, and assessment in various forms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

558-574

Authors: Eva Hejnová

Cross-age studies have suggested that although children’s notions of scientific phenomena change moderately with increasing age, certain misconceptions persist from preschool to a higher educational level. The purpose of this study was to diagnose the prevalence of selected misconceptions about the particulate nature of matter among pre-service primary school teachers and to compare the findings with the results of lower-secondary learners. The participants in the study were 197 pre-service primary school teachers and 170 ninth graders. The multiple-choice diagnostic test was developed to collect data. In the analysis of the test results, the paired difference test and Pearson’s chi-square independence test for the contingency table were used. Frequency analysis was performed for individual questions in the test and percentages were calculated. The results obtained with primary school teacher trainees demonstrate the existence of a number of misconceptions similar to those observed with ninth graders; some misconceptions were observed to even be present significantly more frequently among pre-service primary school teachers. This study confirmed that age maturity and mere knowledge of scientific concepts such as atoms, molecules, etc. do not have to be sufficient to allow students to better understand the particulate nature of matter.

594-614

Authors: Seong-un Kim

This study studied the types of peer scaffolding presented in scientific experimental activities. The study included 14 university students. For the experimental activity of ‘determining temperature changes using the meridian altitude of the sun,' information regarding experimental behaviors, thinking aloud, discourse, and retrospective interview data were collected and analyzed. A model was derived and utilized for experimental activities to analyze peer scaffolding, wherein students internally structured their experiences with the experimental activities. The results indicated that students utilized seven means of peer scaffolding: ‘demonstrating’, ‘assisting’, ‘monitoring’, ‘posing’, ‘questioning’, ‘explaining’, and ‘suggesting’. Three types of peer scaffolding emerged: task completion-, model elaboration-, and learning support-oriented scaffolding. Each type differed in purpose, main mean, and major explanation details. Additionally, this study has observed the level of the model for the experimental activities and the time that had been provided to understand the experimental procedure influenced the three peer scaffolding types. These outcomes indicate that providing ample time to students independently structure the experimental procedure and supporting other students during experimental activities are essential. Moreover, providing assistance to students in focusing on observable phenomena by reducing the cognitive load required to process the experimental procedure is crucial.

638-650

Authors: Zorana Lužanin, Marija Kaplar, Tatjana Hrubik-Vulanović

The use of infographics for presenting data in the media and on the Internet has become a widespread phenomenon. This study examines how well undergraduates interpret the mean when presented in infographic, their attitudes towards the misuse of statistics, and their perceptions of their knowledge and use of statistics. The infographic was intended for the general public. The questionnaire was developed in a pilot study and then it was presented to a sample of 270 students from universities in Serbia and the USA. The study showed that STEM undergraduates and those who attended a course in statistics interpreted the infographic better. However, between 46% and 65% of those misinterpreted the infographic which indicates that changes are needed in statistics education to improve statistical literacy. Concerning demographic characteristics, somewhat better results were achieved by the American students, while gender had weak significance. Students whose interpretations were more successful perceived their knowledge and use of statistics as better. An extremely low number of students, 7.5%, disagreed that statistics is often misused, while only 14.2% trusted the research results presented in the media. The results from this study can be useful for curriculum developers, teachers, and researchers on statistical education.

663-679

Authors: Christian Bob Nicol, Emmanuel Gakuba, Gonzague Habinshuti

Students' attitude towards a subject is a key indicator of academic performance, therefore its enhancement is imperative for academic success. A sample of 328 grade eleven students was selected using cluster random sampling. Two different study groups; the experimental and control groups, were composed and exposed to the guided inquiry and demonstration methods of teaching chemistry experiments respectively. The Non-equivalent control group research design was employed with instruction lasting six weeks. Data on pre-test and post-test attitudes were collected using a 25-item attitude towards teaching and learning chemistry through experiment survey. Comparisons of mean attitude scores were made between the experimental and control groups, and between the pre-test and post-test for each group. The Mann-Whitney U test analyses indicated a higher mean attitude score for the control group. However, the difference in the mean scores was not statistically significant. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test analyses indicated statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test attitude mean scores for both independent groups. These outcomes show that both methods of teaching chemistry through experiments enhance students' attitudes to essentially the same extent. These findings imply that Liberian teachers can enhance students' attitudes through demonstrations.

694-705

Authors: Muhammet Usak, Harun Uygun, Muharrem Duran

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is one of the most important research topics in science teacher education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the PCK of science teachers with different teaching experiences and examine the effects of teachers' PCK on students' achievement and attitudes toward science. A mixed methods research design was used for the study. Participants were science teachers and their students from two middle schools. Interviews, observation forms, achievement tests, and attitude scales were used as instruments for data collection. Data were collected and analyzed using content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings obtained from the quantitative and qualitative data showed some significant differences between teachers' PCKs according to their teaching experience. The results also showed that the PCK of a teacher with the least experience was lower than that of the other two experienced science teachers. The results indicated that experienced teachers who developed PCKs did not significantly impact student achievement and attitudes. Educational implications and recommendations for further studies are also provided.

720-738

Authors: Yi Zou, Lizhen Jin, Yanbing Li, Tao Hu

Students’ problem-solving ability depends on their understanding of related scientific concepts. Therefore, the modeling and assessment of students’ understanding of specific scientific concepts is important to promote students’ problem-solving ability, as it can find students’ understanding difficulties and explore breakthrough strategies accordingly. Inspired by the theory of knowledge integration and combined with the situational characteristics of science education in China, this study established a conceptual framework about buoyant force, which was applied to model students’ different understandings of it. And based on the established framework, an assessment of buoyant force was designed and tested among 622 Chinese lower-secondary school students. Through the analysis of the test data and the interview outcomes, it was found that students’ understanding of buoyant force could be divided into three levels of knowledge integration including novice, intermediate, and expert. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that an emphasis on the nature of buoyant force can be an effective strategy to help students achieve a deeper conceptual understanding of buoyant force, leading to a more integrated knowledge structure.