Journal of Baltic Science Education

1-2

Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2018

4-7

Authors: Peter Demkanin

Physics education is an easy job, making people happy. It is an easy job for all, including teachers and learners. Do you agree? I do, but probably it is good to try to discuss these words somehow in details. Quite often we see, even in our Journal, research results proving that Physics is not so popular. Physics courses require thinking, using correct words, not making too much algebra and calculation mistakes, using arguments. Really, a reasonable portion of pupils does not find Physics lessons as a source of happiness.

19-30

Authors: Cem Gerçek

The purpose of education is to actualise meaningful learning. Therefore, researching the issues on how students process information and how they configure it is important for meaningful learning. The issue of protein synthesis contains a number of abstract topics and concepts. Hence, it is important in biology teaching to be informed of students’ cognitive structures concerning protein synthesis. This research aims to analyse prospective teachers’ cognitive structures about protein synthesis and their degree of understanding the subject. The research group was composed of 17 volunteering prospective teachers who had been chosen through purposeful sampling. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Flow maps and content analysis were used in analysing the data. The results demonstrated that prospective teachers had too many misconceptions about protein synthesis and that their knowledge extent and rich connection are inadequate. The prospective teachers’ degree of understanding protein synthesis was divided into three categories. The results obtained in this research suggested that teachers should be careful in teaching the subject of protein synthesis. Students’ prior knowledge and their misconceptions should be determined and content or contexts to facilitate them to learn an abstract subject such as protein synthesis should be presented.

43-64

Authors: Eylem Yıldız Feyzioğlu, Ercan Akpinar, Nilgün Tatar

The aim of this research was to explore the effect of a Technology-enhanced Metacognitive Learning Platform (TeMLP) on student’s monitoring accuracy and understanding of electricity. An interactive TeMLP was prepared on the electricity unit covering the topics of static and current electricity for 7th graders; the platform contained computer animations, science experiments, e-diaries, and metacognitive prompts. In this research, pre-test/post-test control group semi-experimental model was used. The Metacognition Scale and Essay Questions on Static and Current Electricity were used as data collection tools in this research. In addition, Essay Questions on the Learning Platform and the self-explanations of students in the learning platform database were also used in the experimental group. The pre-test and post-test comparisons regarding the Metacognition Scale for the group showed that the students in the experimental group had significantly higher post-test scores compared to control group students in terms of the control and monitoring subscales. The results of the essay questions on static and current electricity revealed an important difference between the groups favoring learning platform. The views of the students about the software support these results. The conclusions drawn by the research led to recommendations for researchers about the metacognitive prompts to be employed in technology-enhanced learning platforms.

84-96

Authors: Metka Kordigel Aberšek, Boris Aberšek, Andrej Flogie

In a case study conducted in a biology class in Slovenia, six grade students participated in a biology project Writing Versus Typing in a Biology Class. The final task in this project was to write a chapter for a biology textbook with the title Urtica dioica. The task was performed twice: firstly, the text was written by the hand and secondly it was typed on the computer keyboard. Handwritten and keyboard typed scientific texts, textbook chapters, were compared with the special focus on the lexical, syntactic, and semantic level of the text. The purpose of this research was to find out the effect of replacing handwriting with typing in the process of teaching/learning science subjects, where the understanding of texts is of crucial importance. A closer look at the students’ text products in the typing modality reveals that students, while typing, seem to be cognitively overloaded. One of the consequences of this is a lower level of cognitive achievement in their typed text: students show less knowledge, less terminological accuracy, and, above all, a lesser understanding of the interconnection between the items of information provided.

120-135

Authors: Heri Retnawati, Janu Arlinwibowo, Nidya F. Wulandari, Rian G. Pradani

In a teaching and learning process, the mastery of mathematics would support students in learning physics. The aim of the research is to analyse the difficulties of physics teachers’ in conducting teaching and learning process that demands the requirements of mathematical concepts in senior high schools. The research was a qualitative research using phenomenological approach. The data were collected through focus group discussion (FGD) that involved 15 teachers from public and private senior high schools in the Kudus Regency, the Province of Central Java, Indonesia. The analysis was conducted by applying the Bogdan & Biklen model. The results of the research showed several findings if there had been problems of un-synchronism in the material orders of mathematics and physics that hindered the teaching and learning process. The strategies that physics teachers had applied individually are teaching mathematics materials as prerequisite first and making module collaboratively. The new arrangement of teaching and learning materials in mathematics and physics are needed to cover the problems.

152-161

Authors: Anjar Putro Utomo, Erlia Narulita, Kinya Shimizu

The aim of this research was to assess the classification of science test items of TIMSS grade 8 based on higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and determine whether those classified-science test items can be an assessment tool in science class. Sixteen sample test items of HOTS were chosen from 37 reasoning items of TIMSS 1999, 2003, and 2011; which were 6 of analysing, 6 of evaluating, and 4 of creating. The selected items were tested to 410 ninth grade students in 14 public schools in Jember, Indonesia. Data were analysed by using point-biserial correlation to measure the index of discrimination and degree of difficulty at items of each level of HOTS test. The result revealed that the point-biserial index of discrimination for each item was higher than 0.25. The degree of difficulty of analysing, evaluating and creating test items exhibited a similar trend, which was in good range. Each test item has significant validity. Whilst reliability analysis showed that each test item was acceptable and indicating a high level of internal consistency. In conclusion, the classified science test items of TIMSS are good to use as assessment tools to measure HOTS of students in science class.

177-180

Authors: Editorial Board

End page, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2018