Journal of Baltic Science Education

319

Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, JBSE, Vol. 18, No. 3, 2019

323-334

Authors: Muhammad Aliman, Budijanto, Sumarmi, I Komang Astina, Rozana Eka Putri, Muhammad Arif

Geography learning is meaningless if it is not followed by the development of students' spatial thinking ability. Research aimed to 1) determine the effect of earthcomm learning and conventional learning on geography learning outcomes, 2) find out the effect of spatial thinking ability on geography learning outcomes, 3) find out the interaction between the application of earthcomm learning and spatial thinking ability on geography learning outcomes. Research used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. The research sample was taken from three high schools in Malang City, Indonesia. Geography learning outcomes data were obtained from paper-based test and spatial thinking ability data obtained from spatial thinking test instruments. Data were analyzed using Two Way ANOVA test using SPSS devices. The results of the research, 1) there is an effect of the application of learning to students’ geography learning outcomes, 2) there is an influence of the ability of spatial thinking on geography learning outcomes, 3) there is no interaction between the application of learning and spatial thinking on geography learning outcomes. Efforts to improve learning outcomes and spatial thinking ability are needed by students to face the challenges of global competition.

349-361

Authors: Rita Birzina, Dagnija Cedere, Liva Petersone

The mass-approach in higher education promotes the broadening of students’ number and diversity therefore the question about the young people’s readiness to adapt to studies becomes more and more topical. Students who enrol in the natural science faculties of the University of Latvia (UL) are motivated and have high assessment in biology and chemistry as school subjects. However, the studies already during the 1st term prove that students encounter problems to get adjusted to the study process. In order to find out the key factors that determine the adaptation of the first-year students to studies, an e-questionnaire was developed and 79 students from the Faculty of Chemistry and Faculty of Biology were surveyed. Institutional and personal factors that are focused on the application of transferable skills are mainly those that affect the students’ adaptation in the first term of studies. At the same time such issues of the academic factor as students’ prior knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics and their skill to learn independently are intrinsic for students’ successful studies.

379-388

Authors: Hyuksoo Kwon, Eunsang Lee

The aim of this research was to explore research trends and issues in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in South Korea. To accomplish this, we conducted an analysis of 222 peer-reviewed journal papers related to ESD in South Korea. The research concentrated on identifying four characteristics of ESD research: 1) key publication features, 2) the research topics described, 3) the research design employed, and 4) the types of sample/subjects. The results showed that the initial ESD research began in South Korea in 2005, and the number of the journal papers has increased since 2010. Regarding research topics, more research has been conducted on establishing conceptual or theoretical foundations related to ESD. Moreover, teachers’ attitudes or perceptions and program development associated with sustainable development were studied in depth. There were similar ratios of the theoretical research, quantitative research, and qualitative research regarding research design but mixed methods studies indicating the least ratio. Content analysis was the most prevalent analysis technique for quantitative/mixed ESD research. Regarding data sources or participants, the most common data source was the literature. Several research suggestions were made for assessing ESD programs and in-service teachers’ ESD professional development.

404-416

Authors: Lilia Ellany Mohtar, Lilia Halim, Norshariani Abd Rahman, Siti Mistima Maat, Zanaton H. Iksan, Kamisah Osman

Studies have shown that various factors (the role of formal education, informal education, and community) contribute to the lack of participation in STEM and STEM careers. This research aimed to understand the multi pathways of factors contributing to the interest in STEM careers (STEM careers in physical sciences and STEM careers in life sciences). This research was a survey research which administered a questionnaire randomly to 1485 secondary school students (14 years of age). Data analysis was based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test the hypothesized model. A model containing five constructs, namely environmental factors (learning experiences, media, social influences), self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics respectively, perceptions of STEM careers and interest in physical sciences and life sciences STEM careers was proposed in this research. The results show that students’ interest in life sciences based careers is influence by their self-efficacy and perceptions of the career. Meanwhile, students’ interest in physical sciences based careers is influence only by their self-efficacy and not influence by their perceptions of the career. The need to improve students’ self-efficacy through STEM learning experiences is imperative to ensure continued interest in STEM careers.

435-449

Authors: Mitja Slavinec, Boris Aberšek, Dino Gačević, Andrej Flogie

Contemporary society of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) increasingly requires the education system (i.e., the school) to train competent, creative and proactive professionals who will be able to solve real life problems. If society is to achieve this, some key paradigm changes must occur in education. The school must first prepare a competence-based curriculum and, secondly, school practice should move away from subject-based teaching, towards an interdisciplinary STEM teaching approach. Obviously, to support this, modern learning environments and ICT solutions and tools have to be used. However, since the interdisciplinary STEM approach has already been implemented and integrated, it can be said that a new, integrated science discipline (STEM) has already emerged, together with a transdisciplinary approach to STEM learning and teaching. In the present research, a concrete case of designing, developing and producing a solar chimney was used to demonstrate an integrated approach to learning and teaching, while emphasizing especially the advantages of such an interdisciplinary (transdisciplinary) approach to teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic content. The empirical research shows that such an approach produces incomparably better results, especially on higher cognitive levels, in comparison to traditional approaches to learning and teaching.

466-480

Authors: Shao-Na Zhou, Hui Zeng, Shao-Rui Xu, Lu-Chang Chen, Hua Xiao

Primary education is an essential stage and has an important impact on students’ learning attitudes throughout the coming school years. The research explored the attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics among students through all grade levels in primary school. The Project-based Integrated STEM Program was proposed to study the changes of primary students’ attitudes towards STEM. An assessment of S-STEM which consists of the STEM subscale and the 21st century skills subscale was utilized for both pre-test and post-test. The results showed that primary students exhibited little different attitudes on the S-STEM in the pre-test, regardless of gender and grade level. As evident from the comparison between the pre-test and post-test, the Project-based Integrated STEM Program had a positive effect on student attitudes towards STEM. It is encouraging if there are more STEM-related programs implemented at all educational stages covering the primary level.