Journal of Baltic Science Education

745-746

Authors: Editorial Board

Cover page, JBSE, Vol. 17, No. 5, 2018

748-750

Authors: Dušica D. Rodić

The conceptual understanding presents a key component of science expertise, and thus the most desirable outcome of science education process. However, reports in the literature describe the opposite reality. The viva voce assessment is probably the oldest type of knowledge examination. Yet, contemporary issues such as the continued expansion of the curricula at all levels of education, large lecture at tertiary level and many other objective reasons, have made written exams more widespread in the teaching practice. Unfortunately, this has made many students learning for tests, and many teachers teaching to the test, thus ultimately turning teaching practice into students’ preparation to test well.

765-777

Authors: Ademola Olatide Olaniyan, Nadaraj Govender

This research reports on the effectiveness of Polya Problem-Solving and Target-Task collaborative learning approaches in electricity amongst high school physics students. It also includes a gender focus. It was an experimental research with a pre-test post-test control group design. The experimental groups were exposed to Polya Problem-Solving approach and Target-Task collaborative learning approach while the control group were exposed to conventional teaching. A total of 180 students were selected and divided equally into three groups, 60 (male adolescent and female adolescent) each. The students were initially pre-tested, followed by teaching and learning in electricity using the treatments, and finally they were post-tested using the Performance Test in Current Electricity (PTCE). Data were analyzed quantitatively with descriptive statistics and ANCOVA, and the research hypotheses were tested at .05 alpha level of significance. The research confirmed that both the treatments, Polya Problem-Solving and Target-Task collaborative learning approaches enhanced the performance of the students based on gender and scoring abilities compared with the conventional teaching.

800-811

Authors: Sibel Kaya, Mustafa Temiz

Even though student questioning is the key aspect of inquiry learning, students ask very few questions in Science classrooms. This research aimed to increase the number of high-level questions posed by primary students during science lessons. An experiment was designed in which the experimental group was taught about the taxonomy of questions that can be asked by students during a science lesson. The quality of selected student questions was discussed as a whole class throughout the implementation. In addition, the experimental group completed the textbook activities at the end of each section in groups, whereas, the control group finished these activities individually. The experiment lasted for 4 weeks (12 lessons), during the ‘Microscopic Organisms and Environment’ unit in two 4th-grade classrooms. After completing each section of the unit, student questions were collected. The questions were classified as either low-level or high-level questions. The findings showed that in the experimental group, there were significantly more high-level questions compared to the control group. The questions were longer and more comprehensive in the experimental group. In both groups, as students’ achievement increased, so did the number of questions they asked.

828-837

Authors: Zulirfan, Zanaton H. Iksan, Kamisah Osman, Sayyidah Nusaibah Mohd Salehudin

One classic problem in science education that is still happening today is the lack of learners’ involvement in scientific activity. This may lead to not instilling positive scientific attitudes and the fostering of positive attitudes towards science is an important aspect that could promote greater interest towards science. The Take-Home-Experiment strategy is an attempt to implement an alternative strategy to ascertain whether its implementation promotes a positive attitude towards science among lower secondary school students. A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the effect of the T-H-E strategy on students' scientific attitudes. A total of 151 students in Form 2 from a lower secondary school at Pekanbaru Indonesia were divided into three groups: T-H-E group, Laboratory-Experimental group and Conventional group. The research used a questionnaire instrument on scientific attitude which consisted of 31 items with a Cronbach alpha reliability index of 0.68. The result of a one-way ANOVA shows that there was a significant difference in scientific attitude of students among these 3 groups. The mean score (mean = 3.21) for scientific attitude of the T-H-E group was higher compared to both the laboratory-experimental group (mean = 3.07) and the conventional group (mean = 2.91). This research found that the use of the Take-Home-Experiment strategy in teaching science has the potential to enhance lower secondary school students’ scientific attitude.

851-866

Authors: Ludvík Eger, Milan Klement, Łukasz Tomczyk, Mária Pisoňová, Gabriela Petrová

The preferences in the use of ICT at school and at home are varied among young people due to development of ICT in the 21st century environment. Educators need to pay attention to differences among groups of ICT users and their influence on teaching and the learning process. The purpose of this research was to identify the levels of ICT competence of university students and to assess differences in their use of ICT with special focus on social networks and mobile phones. The questionnaire survey at four universities in three countries was conducted to identify how university students use ICT for learning and out-of-school activities. The participants were 1348 university students. The obtained results only partially confirmed the general assumption that young people (Millennials) in contemporary society are characterized by skilled use of ICT in their everyday life. The application of cluster analysis found four different user groups according to their use of ICT in their life. Educators should be aware of the user groups’ differences among students and take them into account when planning, implementing and evaluating the teaching and learning process.

878-886

Authors: Menşure Alkış Küçükaydın

Successful students who do not experience anxiety can participate in future progress both at local and international levels. It is necessary to identify students’ anxiety and to enhance research into the effect of anxiety on the cognitive burden of science, which is one of the top priorities for future progress. Thus, the main aim of this research was to explore the effect of students’ science anxiety on metacognitive awareness. The research, therefore, adopts a relational survey model and uses a random selection sampling method. The sample consisted of 346 students with an equal number of males and females. To explore the effect of fifth-grade students’ science anxiety on metacognitive awareness, data were collected by means of a prepared three-part sample form. The first part of the form collected data about gender, classroom size and school campus. The second part contained an anxiety scale for science and technology lessons and the last part used a metacognitive awareness scale. The research results showed that gender is not an important factor for anxiety or metacognitive awareness, but classroom size has an important effect on science anxiety. Nonetheless, students’ science anxiety is a significant predictor of their metacognitive awareness.

904-908

Authors: Editorial Board

End page, JBSE, Vol. 17, No. 5, 2018