Journal of Baltic Science Education

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of hands-on activity enriched instruction on sixth grade students’ achievement (on sense organs) and attitudes towards science. In this study, Science Achievement Test and Science Attitude Scale were used to assess students’ achievement on sense organs and students’ attitudes towards science, respectively. Also, hands-on activities about sense organs were prepared. This study was conducted with 2 teachers and 4 classes and total of 140 sixth grade students in the public elementary schools at Keçiören district of Ankara in the fall semester of 2002-2003 academic years. One class of each teacher was assigned as experimental group and treated with hands-on activity enriched instruction and other class was assigned as control group and treated with traditional instruction. At the beginning of the study, both teachers were trained for how to implement hands-on activity enriched instruction in the classrooms. The Science Achievement Test and The Science Attitude Scale were applied twice as pre-test and after three week treatment period as a post-test to both experimental and control groups to assess and compare the effectiveness of two different types of teaching utilized in science course. The data obtained from the administration of post-test were analyzed by statistical techniques of Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA). The statistical result indicates that hands-on activity enriched instruction was more effective than traditional instruction. However, the statistical results failed to show a significant difference between the experimental and control groups attitudes toward science.

The present article starts with a concise report of three important waves of innovation in Western science education, one in the 1960s, one in the 1980s, and one in the 2000s. The background of each wave is concisely explicated in terms of dissatisfaction with the foregoing curriculum and the rise of new general theories on teaching and learning. The reported innovations have influenced the agenda of research in science education in the Western world. In the second part of the article, the main trends in topics and methods of this research are reported. Finally, some main trends in science teacher education are concisely addressed.

Science career expectations can be affected by personal science beliefs and social supports. Framed in Expectancy-Value Models, this research studied the influence of science beliefs (science interest belief, self-efficacy belief and value belief) and social supports (parents and teachers) on students’ science career expectations by the survey of 798 10th grade students. Based on Structural Equation Model, it was found that: 1) science interest belief, self-efficacy belief, value belief and parents’ support can directly predict students' expectations of science careers; 2) the effect of student’s perception from parents and teachers support on science choice preferences and career engagement are mediated through the effects on students’ interest, self-efficacy and value in science. Therefore, teachers and parents should enhance students’ science beliefs and identity for the improvement of their science career expectations. Keywords: influencing factors, science career expectations, Structural Equation Model, 10th grade students.

The purpose of this study is to compare alternative conceptions of chemistry teachers and Grade 11 students on the subject of 'rate of reaction'. This study was conducted with a total of seventy chemistry teachers and seventy two grade 11 students. To collect data, a 'rate of reaction' concept test comprising 9 lead and 10 sub-questions (in total 19 items) were employed. Also, a structured interview session was conducted with 10 chemistry teachers and 13 grade 11 students. Since the chemistry teachers and grade 11 students possessed similar alternative conceptions, it can be deduced that the chemistry teachers seem to have been principal source at transmitting their alternative conceptions to the grade 11 students. It is recommended that, a common database or website should be created to afford the current chemistry teachers to easily access to improved teaching materials and/or instruments in chemistry education.

Teachers use different pedagogies to improve learners’ performance. The study explored the effect of Computer Simulations (CS) on Grade 11 learners’ performance when taught Plants Biodiversity. A Solomon Four-Group design was used to cater for internal and external validity. Sixty-six learners were assigned to two Control Groups (CG) taught using CS and 66 learners to two Experimental Groups (EG) taught using Talk and Chalk Method (TCM). The pre-test was administered to EG1 and CG1, while post-tests were administered to all four groups. Focus Group Discussion Interviews (FGDI) were conducted with 12 learners: six from EG and six from CG. Quantitative data were analyzed using a T-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that EG outperformed CG (T-test; ANOVA; p < .05). Boys’ and girls’ performance in EG did not differ significantly, suggesting that CS favour both gender to perform well. CS positively influenced EG learners’ attitudes towards Biodiversity topic, but not CG. Thus, CS is an effective tool for enhancing learners’ performance. Keywords: computer simulations, Solomon Four-Group Design, learners’ performance, Talk and Chalk Method (TCM)

The aim of the research was to identify how Slovenian primary and secondary school students of various age groups explain the particulate nature of the states of matter of water and air. The qualitative research included five 12, 14, and 16 year old students. A semi-structured interview including four computerdisplayed tasks was used for the data collection. The research results show that all of the students correctly identified the states of matter of water at the particulate level, but not of air. It was found that the students had difficulty justifying their selection. The study confirmed the existence of: (a) misunderstanding regarding the interpretation of the particulate nature of matter, (b) a failure to distinguish between particle and matter, and (c) the inadequate description of submicroscopic level of matter with macroscopic level concept. The survey results provide an insight into the mindset of students and serve as a starting point for teachers’ lesson planning.

The 2020 pandemic led to the immediate lockdown of schools and universities worldwide with far-reaching implications for educators and learners. Individual stories of lockdown and isolation are documented using direct quotations from discussion forums, emails, live chats, and structured journal entries from the Blackboard learning management system. A ‘qualitative sense’ of a common narrative of turmoil and success within this ‘new [ab] normal’ is established. Educators’ contrasting accounts of uncertainty and hope are highlighted. The notion of anticipatory anxiety as a result of social lockdown restrictions is covered in terms of its impact on mental health and wellbeing, with special reference to the neuroscience that underpins this phenomenon. Strategies for the management of stress-related autonomic nervous system activation, as well as for building resilience and coping skills in classrooms, are highlighted, along with the need to address issues of cognitive dissonance and fatigue caused by increased online/blended teaching demands during uncertain times. The online format was found to be potentially impersonal and cold without the essential ‘human factor’. Despite technology in education there has to be human and social interaction, as well as support online. The most benefit was derived from live sessions and social interaction. Keywords: mental health, well-being, progressive education, psycho-social issues, coping strategies

This research aims to examine: (a) how Physics teachers who participated in a STEM project, adopted and implemented a STEM activity in the context of a pandemic; (b) from the perspective of Physics teachers, what were the effects on students' learning of a STEM activity implemented in the context of the pandemic; (c) what challenges had Physics teachers faced in implementing the STEM activity during the pandemic. A qualitative and interpretive methodology was used. The participants are four Physics teachers who implemented a STEM activity on sound, during the pandemic. Data were collected through interviews and written reflections. The study has shown how, in a crisis context such as COVID-19, which affected schools all around the world, teachers were able to deal with it and kept developing a STEM activity, revealing the main challenges and effects on student learning, from the teachers’ points of view. Moreover, it was clear that carrying out with success a STEM activity, in such an adverse scenario, was strongly related with teachers who found new strategies and keep students motivated, by guiding them proficiently, and that requires to merge scientific and technological knowledge. Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic context, physics teachers, online teaching, STEM activity

Nowadays, we all are sitting in our homes and watching what is going on in the world, as if we are watching a science fiction movie, in which we have the leading role. Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), which first appeared in Wuhan (Abdulamir, & Hafidh, 2020; Ait Addi et al., 2020 Aljofan, & Gaipov, 2020; Sorooshian, 2020) and later turned into a pandemic affecting the entire world, does not discriminate between the degree of democracy, finances, religion, gender, ethnicity and region. World is a fireplace and we all are “burning”. In the countries where the pandemic is progressing rapidly, all health professionals, regardless of their area of expertise, have been called to the field. This reminds us of the need to revive the general perspective that we have begun to forget. That is to say, no matter how specific our area of expertise is, we are obliged to keep the general perspective of our field and basic doctrines constantly fresh.

To limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus conditions of lockdown were enforced by countries globally. Universities and schools revised the mode of delivery from contact teaching to online teaching and learning. This qualitative research was conducted at one university in South Africa and explored STEM discipline lecturers’ reflections on the use of online technologies and the factors which enable or constrain online teaching and learning. Three lecturers from STEM disciplines involved in online teaching were purposively selected to participate in this study. Data were generated via semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. The findings reveal that lecturers supplement the use of Moodle and Zoom with WhatsApp, the factor that enabled online teaching was the availability of data to lecturers and students. In contrast, the factors that constrained online teaching and learning were the technical training received for online teaching, the mismatch between pedagogy and students’ learning styles, the pressure of balancing work-home life and assumptions made about the availability of conducive home environments for learning, connectivity, and availability of devices for online learning. These findings have implications for professional development for online teaching and recommend that universities adopt WhatsApp to be a formal platform for online teaching and learning. Keywords: learning style, online teaching and learning, pandemic, reflections, WhatsApp

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.

World Health Organization (WHO) health policy for Europe “Health 2020” became a stimulus for many countries to renew their national health policies, and it is a guide of actions (WHO, 2013). Long-term studies proved that health is closely linked to socio - economic indicators, among which age plays a major role, and education. Given that there are as many healthy people as possible, it is especially important to form the most important young people attitude to health, to develop a personality who would take care of the health of yourself, your family and those around you. Schools, colleges, and universities are the medium in which a mature generation of future intellectuals are capable and possessed to have a major influence on the development of the state and, with knowledge of the principles of good health, to contribute to and to shape the health policy of the right country, its implementation and at the same time to the population of the country improving health (Misevičienė et al., 2017).

One of the general problems in science education for different students at comprehensive school is understanding the nature of physical and chemical changes. Without a clear picture of the fundamental differences on sub micro level, it is not possible in the future to follow general rules of chemical reactions between substances, as well as to understand the use of different materials in everyday life. Students of the grades 9 and 11 were asked to fill in a special questionnaire, in which questions about real physical and chemical changes from students' daily life were included. The results testify that the knowledge and understanding of the essence of chemical reactions has slightly increased in Latvia, although the general results show that understanding of the nature of phase transitions and chemical reactions is still insufficient, especially at the grade 9 levels.

Teachers’ intention to use technology is a major factor in its effective use in learning including in developing countries. This research empirically investigated on factors that influence Pre-Service Science Teachers’ (PSSTs) intention to use Web 2.0 in learning through Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in Indonesia. The goals of the research were to (a) report if the TAM is a valid and reliable model to explain PSSTs intention to use Web 2.0, and (b) inform the factors of PSSTs’ intention to use Web 2.0 in learning. Seven hundred and five PSSTs from five universities completed a 24-item online questionnaire based on the TAM constructs comprising perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, facilitating conditions, attitudes, and intention to use Web 2.0. Results obtained using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) informed that (a) facilitating condition and subjective norm significantly influenced perceived ease of use; (b) subjective norm significantly affected perceived usefulness; (c) both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness was a significant factor predicting attitude; and (d) attitude, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness significantly influenced intention to use Web 2.0. Overall, the TAM is a valid model to help explain Indonesian PSSTs’ intention to use Web 2.0 in learning. Keywords: Web 2.0, technology acceptance model, pre-service science teachers.

The rapid increase in the use of Web 2.0 technologies has led to changes in school curricula because they are a powerful tool for developing innovative ways of teaching and learning. These technologies have also changed how teacher education programmes prepare pre-service teachers. Thus, as a predictor, pre-service teachers' self-efficacy is important for the development of their computer skills. A descriptive research design was employed. The data were collected using a Web 2.0 technologies educational usage scale and a computer-related self-efficacy perception scale. The sample of the study involved 146 (F:70, M:76) student teachers in a teacher education course at Ziya Gokalp Education Faculty of Dicle University during the 2011-2012 academic year. The data were analysed using means, t-tests, and one-way ANOVAs. The study revealed that student teachers used Facebook the most frequently to communicate, access class material, hold discussions and form academic groups. Student teachers with Internet access at home used Web2.0 technologies more frequently than those without Internet access at home. The frequent use of Web 2.0 by student teachers provides teachers with the possibility for more student-centred learning activities in the classroom.

In order to explore the development of research of science teacher(RST), 904 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) core set based on bibliometric methods through R software were analyzed in this research. Specifically, it examined the co-occurrence relations of countries/regions, major journals, most cited references, and hot keywords from the macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic level of RST. The results showed that the core strength of RST is mainly from traditional industrialized countries such as the United States, Australia, and Britain. And some top journals in science education (such as Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education) has to pay more attention on RST, it may also appeal to lots of top journals in general teacher education (such as Journal of Teacher Education, Teaching and Teaher Education). The research on science teachers was guided by several educational theories about teacher research, such as the teacher epistemological belief, reflective practice, and PCK. Moreover, theories in science education such as scientific literacy, scientific conceptual change also becomes the theoretical basis for science teachers’ teaching practice and scientific inquiry instructing. The knowledge, key competences, dispositions, and professional development of science teacher are the main keywords and hot topics in the field of RST. Keywords: science teacher research, bibliometric analyses, Web of Science.

The main aim of this research is to analyse ten volumes of Journal of Baltic Science Education (JBSE) according to the authors' nationality and research topics of the articles published in the journal between 2002 and 2011. The journal published ten volumes, 27 issue and 166 articles since 2002. The articles were submitted by 343 authors from 31 countries. Statistical analyses show that the authors from Turkey are ranking highest in terms of the number of published papers. Latvia and Lithuania follow Turkey as second and third countries. The study found out that the articles regarding learning-conception, teaching, learning-context and goals, policy and curriculum most frequently investigated by the researchers. However, in 2002-2011, there is no article related to informal learning. The researchers gave less attention to cultural, social and gender issues when compared other research topics in the scope of JBSE.

In the recent empirical studies Pey-Yan Liou utilizing existing items and derived variables of international large-scale assessment (ILSA) data, the three major methodological deficiencies, including the use of a single item to define a construct, the statistical properties of ordinal data, and the fitness of the measurement structure for different scenarios, are examined. To overcome these issues, this study proposes an integrated approach to evaluating items and constructing derived variables in a given situation. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and the item response model are utilized to evaluate student attitudinal items and derived variables from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 Taiwanese data. The results suggest that the three-factor model composed of 12 items is optimal for the data, not the default factor structure in the database. The implications of evaluating items and creating derived variables from ILSA data for the education research community are also discussed.

Hygiene education is becoming increasingly popular and is now addressed in both formal and informal education systems. Examining hygiene education research and developing a vision for the future will lead to creating a roadmap for future research as well as an analysis of past research. Research on hygiene education encompasses a variety of subtopics. It is critical for future researchers and thematic studies in this area to determine if there is a pattern to these concerns that cover a wide range of topics. The purpose of this study is to examine the topic of hygiene education using bibliometric analysis. From the Scope Database, 503 records remain for bibliometric analysis. This results in an average number of 5.02 publications per year. 1973 people contributed to the study. Among the top 10, most influential sources in terms of the number of articles are four websites related to dental hygiene. The United States leads the world in both the number of publications and a total number of citations, followed by Canada and China. Most of the research was related to oral hygiene education. Keywords: bibliometric analysis, hand hygiene, hygiene education, dental hygiene

Since 1995, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) implemented the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) as an international comparative study. This article aims at identifying the correlations of science classroom instructions with TIMSS science achievement of eighth graders among countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia. The freely downloadable secondary data were analyzed using a plug-in for SPSS, i.e., the International Database (IDB) Analyzer (version 4.0) of IEA using an imputation methodology involving plausible values so that student’s performance can be reported. This study found that Southeast and East Asian countries with high average science achievement adequately emphasized academic success, have teachers with job satisfactions well as facing few challenges, have students with sense of belonging to school. Based on the research findings, policy recommendations were made to the Malaysian Ministry of Education to boost Malaysian eighth graders' science performance in the forthcoming TIMSS studies. Keywords: Classroom instructions, comparative study, leadership motivation, science achievement, TIMSS

Teachers’ professional development (PD) is considered to be a topic of interest in science education. This study examines the impact of professional development in science pedagogy (PD in PED) on students’ achievement and how it influences teachers’ instruction based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS)2019. The sample comprised 2,968 fourth-grade students and their 145 teachers and 3,265 eighth-grade students and their 150 teachers in Hong Kong. Teachers’ emphasis on science investigation (TESI) was included as a mediating factor. Multilevel mediation analyses revealed that PD in PED was significantly positively related to students’ science achievement, while the link between PD in PED and students’ science achievement was positively and completely mediated by TESI in the fourth grade. However, TESI had no mediating effect in the eighth grade, a finding that may be attributed to the characteristics of teacher PD programmes in different grades. The results also show that many teacher PD programmes are not of high quality and are intellectually superficial from the perspective of students’ achievement gains. Implications for teacher PD practices are discussed as well. Keywords: professional development, science achievement, hierarchical linear model, TIMSS

Development of Human personal as well as social Life means continuing physical and spiritual (mental) changes all around them and within them. Corresponding changes traditionally reflected by humans as evolution (reformational) or revolution (transformational) processes, that are realizing corresponding quantitative or qualitative steps within the development of people’s Life Activities. First 20 years of 21-st Century presented a real start of serious qualitative changes as a process of implementation up to date achievements of modern Science and Technologies. These are transformational changes not only within physical background of our traditional Life, but fast developing of corresponding changes also within our spiritual (or mental) Life (Broks, 2016). The central phenomenon within the mentioned processes above today is the development of overall computerization of physical as well as mental Life Activities of Humans. Global, regional, local explosion of information as an artefact of revolution within Computer Science and Information Technology marks the above mentioned beginning of the 21-st century. So, our life today is becoming more and more complex by means of increasing diversity and speed of corresponding changes. Virus COVID-19 attack has just only accelerated these changes. Global turnover of Biological as well as Computer viruses is part of modern Life today for tomorrow.

It is crucial to educate students on the basis of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to develop 21st century learning skills. However, there is little research on the contribution of the attitude towards STEM specific discipline to 21st century learning skills. This study aimed to examine the extent to which students’ attitude towards science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) contributes to 21st century learning skills. Data were collected from 779 students from three primary schools and two secondary schools with the S-STEM questionnaire. Quantitative data were analyzed with structural equation modelling. The results revealed that (a) students’ science attitude, and engineering and technology attitude had positive effects on 21st century learning skills, and (b) students’ science attitude and mathematics attitude positively affected 21st century learning skills indirectly through the mediating role of technology and engineering attitude, and (c) the school year partially played a moderating role. The finding highlights the importance of valuing STEM attitude across disciplines. In particular, students’ engineering and technology attitude is more conducive to improving students’ 21st century learning skills. It also suggests the need to pay attention to the changing effect of STEM attitude on 21st century learning skills driven by the school year. Keywords: 21st century learning skills, mediating role, STEM attitude, structural equation modelling

The students’ engagement was deemed significant to research due to the changing study structures from course-based to student-centered and competence-based in sustainable science higher education. Still, its change and coping strategies is considered as somewhat unfamiliar learning environment. Research examined students’ engagement to the learning approach of a flipped-classroom model for sustainable science course with the Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). It assesses research proposals, which students are utilizing to learning, and engagement and individual abilities as well. The research was conducted with the students enrolled in the “Atmospheric Pollution” course of the Environmental Science undergraduate program (n=64). The results obtained through the R-SPQ-2F showed the students’ number reaching higher “deep approach” in their learning increased at the course end, while it can be observed that the students’ number marking “surface approach” below the mean value was slightly lower (pre- and post-test comparison). It can be concluded that students are employing more engagement in their works and enhancing their personal skills as well with the teaching methodology. Results obviously specified that the study structure change was a phase into correct emphasis to improve students’ engagement in the flipped sustainable science education. Keywords: engagement, science learning, R-SPQ-2F, flipped-classroom, sustainable education, study approach.

The computer-aided 3D modelling which is one of the innovative technologies can offer great opportunities to improve students' skills. The aim of this research was to examine the effects of computer-aided 3D modeling activities on pre-service teachers’ spatial abilities and attitudes towards 3D modeling and the relevant course. The study group of the research was composed of 55 pre-service IT teachers at a state university in Turkey. The research was carried out in quasi-experimental design based on pre-post test model. The experimental research was carried out with the experimental group for 14 weeks. During the 3D modeling learning/teaching process, a five-stage education framework based on problem-based and project-based learning approaches was used. "Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test" and "Attitude Scale towards 3D Modeling and 3D Modeling Course" were used as data collection tools in the research. As a result, it was found out that computer-aided 3D modeling activities improved the spatial abilities of pre-service teachers also increased their attitudes towards 3D modeling and the course. It was concluded that the education of computer-aided three-dimensional modeling offers important opportunities to improve spatial abilities. Keywords: 3D modeling education, 3D modeling, 3D modeling attitude, pre-service teachers, spatial ability.

Industry 4.0 and its applications are one of the most important issues of countries that want to keep their competitiveness in the field of scientific, technological and innovation in today's world. The Countries that are not able to adapt to Industry 4.0 processes will not be able to develop scientifically and technologically or keep up with current innovation processes. One of the aims of this paper is to explain the concept of industry 4.0 to our readers in a comprehensible manner and to show how much science education is actually related to industry 4.0. In a general sense, Industry 4.0 or in other words, the 4th Industrial Revolution is an expression that includes many modern automation processes, large databases that communicate with each other, robotic devices and dark factories, in short, quality production technologies. In addition, Industry 4.0 includes modern technologies such as additive manufacturing, autonomous robots, big data, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, system integration, internet of things, cybersecurity, cloud computing, machine learning, deep learning etc. These technologies play an important role especially in the formation of new smart factories.

The purpose of this study is to determine pupils' misconceptions about the electricity and the effects of 4MAT teaching method on these misconceptions. For this purpose, a non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design was adopted and a three tier test with a sample of 100 ninth grade pupils was used to detect pupils' misconceptions about the electricity. The analysis of the data showed that pupils have the following misconceptions; local reasoning, attenuation model, empirical rule model, shared current model, current-potential difference confusion, short circuit misconception, current flow as water flow, power supply as a constant current source model and sequential reasoning etc. It was determined that the frequency of most of the misconceptions decreased after the application of the innovation. A greater fall was observed in the experimental group which suggests that the 4MAT teaching method was more effective than the traditional method in reducing misconceptions. Based on the results of this study, investigation of the effects of 4MAT teaching method on other complicated subjects of physics such as magnetism, regular circular momentum is suggested for further studies.

This research aimed to examine the impact of caricature drawings in the acquisition of scientific concepts and attitudes of 4th grade students for basic education towards science. The sample of the research consisted of 162 students from4th grade. The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences at (p =.001) between the two groups in acquisition of scientific concepts in favour of experimental group. In addition to that, females scored significantly more than males in the post-test (p =.001), whereas the interaction between group and gender was not significant. The results also indicated that there were statistically significant differences (p =.001) between the two group in the attitudes towards science in favour of experimental group scores. The gender also has a significant impact on developing positive attitudes towards science in favour of females, whereas the interaction between group and gender was not significant. Finally, there was a statistically significant difference (p =.001) between pre-and post-application of students’ attitudes towards science scale in favour of post-application for the experimental group. Accordingly, the research recommends the use of caricature drawings to help students’ in the acquisition of scientific concept and developing positive attitudes towards science.

This experimental research aimed to find the effectiveness of the 5E model of education for achievement in science among students with hearing impairment at the elementary level. An instructional package was developed following the 5E model for one unit from a science subject in grade VIII. A science test was developed by the researcher to test the achievement of students of grade VIII with hearing impairment. This test was validated by experts, pilot tested, subjected to item analysis and the reliability of the test was calculated. The test with 38 items was used as a pre-test and post-test during the study. Thirty-four students of grade VIII were selected from a school and were random assigned to two groups. One group was randomly assigned as the experimental group and the other served as the control group. The research followed a pre-test-post-test control group design. The performance of both groups was compared to evaluate the effectiveness of instructions based on the 5E model. A significant improvement was found in the performance of the experimental group as compared to the control group. It was concluded that hearing impaired children can perform better in science if they are taught through approaches promoting construction of knowledge, such as in the 5E model.

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. Keywords: descriptive content analysis, 5E educational model, science education, science process skills

The purpose of this research is PhD., Associate Professor, to investigate effect of 5E learning cycle instruction on 4th grade students' mental ability in the unit of "Introduction to the Matter". The subjects of this study were 160 students from four different classes enrolled to Science Course in an Elementary School in TURKEY. Non-equivalent pre-test/post-test control group design was used. Two of the classes randomly chosen as experimental group (79) took 5E learning cycle instruction, and the other two chosen as control group (81), took traditional instruction. Word-Association Test (WAT) was administered to the experimental and the control groups as pre- and post-tests to measure the students' mental ability related to Unit of "Introduction to the Matter". The data collected from WAT was converted into mind maps by using content analysis and cut off point methods. As a result of application, while "Introduction to the Matter" subject was seen as a whole on the mind maps of the experimental group of students, mind maps of the control group students were seen to be composed of piecemeal knowledge islets. Hence, it proves that the experimental group students learn terms in a more meaningful and more interrelated way than the control group students.

Science process skills (SPSs) play a significant role in science education. This research aimed to determine the acquisition level of 5th-grade students in SPSs with classroom activities. The research was a case study, and the data were collected by focus group interviews, document analysis, and observations. The sample of the research was six students from the fifth grade selected based on maximum variation sampling. Science process skills focused worksheets, focus group interview schedule, and observation forms were used as data collection tools. As a result, it was found out that the students were at the average or above the average level in observing, predicting, measuring, comparing and classifying skills; and they were at below the average level in inferring, organizing data, identifying and using experimental materials, processing data and formulating models, controlling variables, experimenting, interpreting and inferring. Also, it was determined that students with high academic achievement have more acquisition in SPSs. Besides, it was found out that the development of SPSs is gender neutral, it depends on the number of activities that are made in the classroom and what is the role of the students in these activities. Keywords: gender in science process skills, lower secondary school, science achievement, science activities, science process skills.

Engineering design process-oriented STEM activities are activities that involve solving a real-world problem with teamwork by using integrative engineering design and engineering applications using scientific and mathematical concepts and 21st century skills. The research aimed to examine the effects of engineering design process-oriented STEM activities, which were developed for sound concept, on the conceptual development of 6th grade students. In the research, comparative case study design was used. The study group consisted of 40 students attending a middle school in Kayseri, Turkey. The teaching was carried out by the activities in science curriculum in the control group, while it was carried out by engineering design process-oriented STEM activities in the experimental group. Each student was individually interviewed using 11 open-ended questions in a verbal format. The mean of Kappa coefficients of the questions was 0.93. As a result of content analysis, 11 categories, including 21 themes and 81 codes, were obtained. When the differences between pre- and post-interviews were examined, it was seen that conceptual understanding levels of the students in experimental group were more positive than the students in control group. This shows that engineering design process-oriented integrated STEM activities have positive effects on students’ conceptual understanding of sound. Keywords: case study, conceptual development, engineering design, STEM

The purposes of this study are to develop a computer-assisted instructional material, which involves animations, virtual lab and educational computer applications, based on 7E learning model towards the methods of Mohr and Volhard in the unit "precipitation titrations" delivered in some quantification chemistry courses and to identify the effects of this material on student achievement. The study employs the design of quasi-experimental with control and experiment groups to which pre- and post-test were administered. The participants of the study includes 89 vocational high school students. The data were collected through the administration of the test which was used as both pre- and post-test. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the achievement test was found to be 0.756. The findings obtained were analysed through t-tests. The findings indicate that post-test scores of experiment group and control group on the achievement test were statistically significant different. This difference indicates that the software has positive effects on student achievement.

The aim of this research was to examine the effects of the Augmented Reality (AR)-supported teaching activities on the academic success, motivation of students towards science learning and attitudes of students towards AR application, in the scope of the seventh grade science course, "Solar System and Beyond" unit. For this purpose, "Solomon Four Group Model", which controls the internal and external validity, was used. Research was conducted with 120 students in two different schools and involved two experimental and two control groups established by random method. Experimental (1) and Control (1) groups received data collection tools as pre-test and post-test, while Experimental (2) and Control (2) groups received only post-test. During the six-week research, the students were taught in the experimental groups using the 'Star-Tracker, Spacecraft, iSolarsystem, Space-4D' mobile AR applications, while the control groups were taught with the activities envisaged in the curriculum. "Solar System and Beyond Success Test" and the "Students' Motivation to Science Learning" scale, were used as data collection tools. Findings from the research showed that teaching with AR applications significantly alters the success of students and motivation towards science learning. This showed that teaching with AR applications is effective. Keywords: augmented reality, academic success, solar system, Solomon four-group model, 7th grade students.

This research focuses on students’ higher-order cognitive skill (HOCS)-oriented learning to construct effective hierarchical thinking abilities in their chemical particulate nature of matter. For in-depth knowledge and profound understanding, this research deals with students’ positive developments towards HOCS with a special guidance to Marzanos’ taxonomy. The methodology starts from the retrieval and comprehension of HOCS-centered assessment instrument to students’ analysis and knowledge utilization of transitional performances. 326 participants were assigned to take natural science curriculum in 2019 academic year. With the help of 7 scholars’ implements, the importance of content validity and inter-rate reliability were constructed through instrument developments of students’ HOCS performances. All research results indicated that more distributions of HOCS thinking abilities reached up to the target response of 38.0% analysis task and 27.30% knowledge utilization in Marzanos’ spectrum. This research is beneficial and advantageous that students will be capable of additional learning efficiency in their multiple interactive engagements with academic resources and suggestions from instructors, researchers, and science educators. Key words: HOCS-oriented learning, knowledge utilization, Marzanos’ taxonomy, particulate nature of matter

Open-ended problem-solving skills have been identified as employable skills, which undergraduate students will need to have in order to cope with real-life problems in their workplaces after graduation. However, the development and assessment of these skills have been inconsistent across courses offered in universities. This research examined undergraduate students’ ability to engage with open-ended chemistry problems, and the influence of their working memory space on problem solving. The research is a descriptive research design that employed a survey method for collection data. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 665 students from 19 chemistry departments in Nigerian universities. The students’ ability to solve open-ended problems was measured in terms of their performance and was found to be below average (< 50). The female students outperformed their male counterparts in the chemistry open-ended problem-solving test (ChemOPST). A strong positive correlation was found to exist between students’ working memory capacity and their performance in the ChemOPST. The research concludes on the need for experiential-based learning of chemical concepts which could help students build a knowledge base that is required to engage with problems that have real-life applications. Keywords: open-ended problems, working memory, chemistry problem-solving, university students.

Science learning requires visuospatial thinking. Accordingly, spatial ability is regarded as the key to learning science well, but its effects are sometimes not as significant as expected. To this end, this research aims to conceptualize spatial abilities and to clarify their relation to science learning based on an analysis of empirical studies. Content analysis of 39 studies showed that (1) intrinsic-dynamic skills are the most frequently measured, (2) the explored science topics mostly involve well-established knowledge, (3) the effects of spatial ability on science achievement are inconsistent, and (4) educational interventions are not always effective in improving students’ spatial abilities or science achievement. It is argued that domain knowledge interferes with the study results and that domain-specific spatial ability exists, referring to apply spatial-type and domain-specific knowledge. Supported by cognitive theories and empirical evidence, a model is constructed to exhibit the relations between domain-general and domain-specific spatial ability as well as their effects on science achievement. According to the model, the two spatial abilities functionally partially overlap in the operations of spatial skills, and educational experience and malleable spatial skills are reciprocal; however, improvement in general spatial ability, involving the function of the central executive system, is likely limited. Keywords: domain-generality, domain-specificity, spatial ability, domain knowledge, science learning, educational intervention

In Taiwan, substantial resources have been invested in training programs for Aboriginal adolescents in response to their poor occupational achievement. This study examined the relationships between the learning experiences of science training, vocational self-concept, and occupational aspirations among Taiwanese Aboriginal adolescents. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey of 760 Taiwanese Aboriginal adolescents who had successfully completed the science training. The results of this study demonstrated that the Taiwanese Aboriginal adolescents' learning experiences of science training directly and indirectly influenced their occupational aspirations vis-à-vis the effect on their vocational self-concept at the individual level, which in turn directly influenced their occupational aspirations. The findings suggest that the science training programs for Taiwanese indigenous youth may provide sufficient supports in culturally responsive ways to facilitate these trainees' vocational self-concept and occupational aspirations as well as further to achieve the original goals of the science training programs.

This research was embarked on to explore the underperformance of Physical Sciences learners and the subsequent increasing unpopularity of the subject in South African rural schools. As poor academic achievement in science is a concern in many countries and not only in South Africa, qualitative research was undertaken to determine whether assessment can contribute to the improvement of learners? academic achievement in this particular school subject. The research uses the Cultural and Historical Activity Theory as theoretical lens to analyse how assessment can improve the academic achievement of learners. Data were collected by means of face-to-face interviews with teachers, school principals and subject advisers, the ?community? as advocated by the Activity Theory, while focus-group interviews were held with the learners who are the ?subjects? in the Activity Theory. Verbatim findings highlight the views of participants and reveal that though efforts are made to incorporate a variety of informal assessment methods, key issues such as poor formulation of questions, weak comprehension skills and unsatisfactory interpretation of questions, remain a problem. Based on these findings, recommendations for improvement are proposed.

Although "Reproduction, Growth, and Development in Living Things" (RGDLT) is a core topic in the Turkish science curriculum, it is known that students have difficulties in understanding. Integrating concept cartoons and argumentation into the teaching of this unit has the potential to promote students' interest and understanding. This research is the first to compare the effects of concept cartoons and argumentation-based concept cartoons on students' academic achievement in teaching sixth grade RGDLT subjects. The research was performed with two experimental groups and one control group in a secondary school in Turkey. A quasi-experimental research design was used in the research. Analysis of the post-test results revealed that the success of the group using concept cartoons was higher than the control group, but more importantly, the success of the group using argumentation-based concept cartoons was higher than the group using concept cartoons. The results of this research indicate that the academic achievement of students can be increased significantly when concept cartoons and argumentation-based concept cartoon activities are used in addition to the constructivist methods in teaching these subjects. The results of the research serve as a guide for teachers and researchers interested in teaching science and biology subjects. Keywords: argumentation, biology education, concept cartoons, living things, quasi-experimental research

The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of Process-based Teaching Model on student teachers' logical and intuitive thinking skills as well as their academic performances at chemistry laboratory applications. The sample of this research consisted of 60 preservice teachers studying of Faculty of Education in Hacettepe University. Data were obtained via the experimental desing with pre/ posttest control group evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. The experimental group was taught within the process-based teaching model while the control group received training in traditional teacher centered education. The scores obtained by participating experimental and control groups from Logical/ Intuitive Thinking Scale, Performance Test and Structured Grids as one of the alternative measurement and evaluation techniques were compared and contrasted. To determine the student teachers' logical and intuitive thinking styles, the Logical/ Intuitive Thinking Scale developed by Pacini and Epstein (1999) and adapted by Turk (2011). The study concluded that teaching chemistry using process-based teaching model improved students' academic performance as well as their logical and intuitive thinking skills.

The study attempts to determine whether or not Facebook is an environment suiting the Community of Inquiry Framework by investigating the cognitive, social, and teaching presence perceptions of students in Facebook groups and to examine the impact of group size on the CoI model. Additionally, whether or not these three types of presences predicted academic success and motivation were investigated. The data were analyzed through logistic regression analysis, independent samples t-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The study was conducted in a blended course, where Facebook was utilized for online discussions. The study revealed that the relation between cognitive, social, and teaching presences was significant and at a high-level. The high correlation determined among the social, cognitive, and teaching presence perceptions of students in learning communities created on Facebook leads to the consideration that Facebook is a suitable online environment for the COI framework. It is understandable, that all presence perceptions are higher in smaller groups when group impacts are investigated. Other conclusions derived from the study are that academic success was only predicted by cognitive presence and motivation was predicted by both cognitive and teaching presences.

The study attempts to determine whether or not Facebook is an environment suiting the Community of Inquiry Framework by investigating the cognitive, social, and teaching presence perceptions of students in Facebook groups and to examine the impact of group size on the CoI model. Additionally, whether or not these three types of presences predicted academic success and motivation were investigated. The data were analyzed through logistic regression analysis, independent samples t-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The study was conducted in a blended course, where Facebook was utilized for online discussions. The study revealed that the relation between cognitive, social, and teaching presences was significant and at a high-level. The high correlation determined among the social, cognitive, and teaching presence perceptions of students in learning communities created on Facebook leads to the consideration that Facebook is a suitable online environment for the COI framework. It is understandable, that all presence perceptions are higher in smaller groups when group impacts are investigated. Other conclusions derived from the study are that academic success was only predicted by cognitive presence and motivation was predicted by both cognitive and teaching presences. Key words: academic success, cognitive presence, Facebook, motivation, social presence, teaching presence.

Scientific reasoning ability is essential to get developed in the current digital age, particularly in the process of judgement and decision-making in complex problems. Few studies have conducted an in-depth exploration of scientific reasoning ability, especially in relation to the confidence level and gender. The scientific reasoning ability of Indonesian upper-secondary school and university students were examined and compared with previous recorded data of US students. In this study, the data were collected from 372 university and 528 upper-secondary education students in Indonesia. Students’ scientific reasoning ability was measured using a scientific formal reasoning test (FORT). In addition, confidence level and metacognitive data was collected through self-reported measures. Two-way ANOVA was performed to compare mean differences between groups based on academic level and gender and to observe interaction between the variables. Students’ confidence level in selecting the correct answer and distractor answer was analyzed using an independent t-test. The results reveal that many Indonesian students selected specific distractors with relatively high confidence. Moreover, upper-secondary school students and female students selected more distractors than the groups’ counterparts. Finally, the factors related to Indonesian students’ responses to the scientific formal reasoning were discussed. Keywords: confidence level, distractor analysis, gender differences, scientific (formal) reasoning test, scientific reasoning ability, Indonesian student

The aim of this research was to explore e-dishonesty practices among science education undergraduates based on measurement models. The measuring tool was the Internet-triggered Academic Dishonesty Scale (IADS) comprised of ten items for the fraudulence construct and five items for the plagiarism construct as proposed by Akbulut et al. (2008), and another eight items as proposed by Karim, Zamzuri, and Nor (2009) for the construct of misuse in using information technologies by university students. A pilot sample of 125 valid responses and a test sample of 249 valid responses collected from university students in the Science Education program were subjects of factor analyses, non-parametric and invariance test methods. 16-item IADS scale was confirmed in a Romanian higher education context. A second-order factor (e-dishonesty), and three dimensions of first-order factors (plagiarism, fraudulence, and misuse in using information technologies (IT)) were validated. Plagiarism was the most important factor, followed by fraudulence and misuse in using IT. E-dishonesty practices dimensions not varied depending on the sociodemographic profile of undergraduates. The case study research provided a significant contribution to the understanding of ethical Internet behaviors and to generate an appropriate tool to measure the e-dishonesty practices among undergraduates learning science education subjects. Keywords: academic dishonesty, bi-factor models, fraudulence in using IT, human behavior, plagiarism in using IT, misuse in using IT, Science Education, university students.

The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of teaching the "Force and Motion" unit of the Science and Technology class using the Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) technique on self efficacies, test anxiety and academic achievements of seventh grade students. The STAD technique was applied to the experiment group; the existing program based on constructivism to control-1 group, and traditional teaching methods to control-2 group. The analysis of the obtained data was achieved by using the one-way variance analysis (ANOVA). In conclusion, it was determined that the experiment group was more effective than the control groups in respect to self-efficacy and academic achievement. Moreover, significant improvements were obtained in the exam anxiety of the students in the experiment and control-1 groups compared to the group where traditional teaching methods were used.

In this research, the effects of STEM (Science-Technology-Mathematics-Engineering) activities on academic achievement of prospective teachers were researched, their opinions on STEM activities were sought. The research was based on a semi-experimental model with pre-test and post-test control group. During the application phase, the topic of Work-Energy subject was taught through STEM based 5E model in the experimental group, while in the control group, the lessons were conducted using traditional teacher centred teaching. The research group is comprised of second-year students in Elementary Mathematics Education taking Physics I course at the Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey. A statistically significant difference was found in favour of the experimental group in terms of prospective teachers’ academic achievement. In addition, the positive opinions of the prospective teachers from the experimental group on STEM activities were that STEM activities included encouraging group work, assisting students to produce original work, enabling them to do research, and ensuring that the information learned is permanent. The negative opinions of them on STEM activities were insufficient time for the application, the dominance of some students during the group work, and difficulties with noise levels in class. Keywords: academic achievement, prospective teachers’ opinions, STEM activities, work-energy.

The application of student response systems could have a lesser effect on the science education of younger students compared to the effects achieved with older students in language and social science courses. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of the application of Kahoot and Quizizz on the academic achievement of third grade primary school students (9 years old) in a natural sciences course. A total of 113 third grade primary school students participated in this research. During the experimental phase which lasted 4 weeks, the participants were divided into three groups. Out of two experimental groups one group used Kahoot as a learning aid, while the other used Quizziz. The third group was the control group. At the beginning and at the end of the experimental phase, the participants were given an academic achievement test. The results of this research showed that the experimental group which used Kahoot for learning the content of the natural sciences course achieved significantly higher results in the post-test than the control group. There were no significant differences in the academic achievement of the group which used Quizizz and the other two groups. This result indicated that Kahoot could be used effectively as a learning aid in third grade primary education in the field of natural sciences. Keywords: game-based learning, Kahoot, Quizizz, primary education, pre-test-post-test research design, science education