Mageswary Karpudewan

University of Science Malaysia | USM · School of Educational Studies

In this study attempt was made to model the environmental literacy of Malaysian preuniversity students enrolled in a matriculation college. Students enrolled in the matriculation colleges in Malaysia are the top notch students in the country. Environmental literacy of this group is perceived important because in future these students will be joinin...

In the context of Value-Belief-Norm Theory, a prior study revealed that the teaching of disaster risk reduction in existing school curricula is a form of pro-environmental behavior. However, there is limited if any that explored profession-specific values, beliefs, and norms on environmentalism. This paper reports a finding of a study about the pos...

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) plays a pivotal role in ensuring the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Within the context of integrating technology into lessons, PCK has evolved into Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). The acquisition of TPACK by teachers implies mastery of its seven components. TPACK is both content and...

Toys play a crucial role in a child's cognitive development. Existing literature suggests that parents' toy purchasing decisions are significantly influenced by their demographic profiles. The safety aspect of toys has been consistently highlighted in research. However, the exploration of parents' deliberate consideration of green and sustainable t...

There has been a noticeable surge in the number of publications focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion within the realm of chemistry education. While these publications have shed light on various strategies to foster gender and ethnic equality, a consensus is emerging regarding the integration of these concerns into the landscape of chemistry...

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted students' motivation for learning. As students return to schools in the post-pandemic era, their motivation for learning continues to deteriorate due to challenges in...

This study attempted to explore the opportunities for disaster risk reduction in the science curriculum of the Philippine basic education program and reflect on how disaster risk reduction education may be used as a platform to foster scientific literacy. It contributes to the body of knowledge, on one hand, as it accounts in detail the different d...

Integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is expanded to integrated STrEAM, where the “r” denotes the amalgamation of reading and writing elements to bridge the gap between STEM disciplines. Since integrated STrEAM is a new approach, it is pivotal to gauge the teachers’ self-efficacy in executing integrated STrEAM teaching....

The remarkable upsurge in the attention for STEM education globally has inspired many countries including Malaysia to formulate STEM education policies to reform the existing segmented teaching of the four STEM subjects towards integrated teaching. One of the Malaysian government’s initiatives include establishing a framework as a guide for teacher...

Integrating Project-Based Learning (PjBL) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in elementary schools can increase the quality of human resources in industrialization and globalization to maintain the environmental system and fulfill 21st century competencies. The research method used Quasi-Experiment from elementary schools...

AimOutbreaks of infectious diseases, namely dengue, rabies, leptospirosis, influenza, and chickenpox, have sparked the need to educate people on the diseases. For this purpose, infectious disease-based socioscientific instruction (IDSSI) was developed, and the effects of IDSSI in enhancing knowledge of diseases and nurturing character and values we...

In an effort to promote integrated STEM education, the Malaysian government has integrated STEM teaching framework within the science and mathematics curriculum specifications to guide the science and mathematics teachers to design and implement interdisciplinary teaching while teaching science and/or mathematics concepts. Some of the factors that...

The study was undertaken to examine within a single model the relationships between the teachers’ perceived self-efficacy beliefs and their intention to practice STrEaM teaching in the classroom. The acronym STrEaM refers to the expansion of integrated STEM, merging it with a focus on reading, writing, and arts, for connecting the four STEM discipl...

It has been more than 20 years since the value-belief-norm theory of environmentalism has been conceptualized. The said theory has been used as a lens and has guided scholars in exploring and understanding pro- environmental behavior, however to date, there has been no study conducted that attempted to explore and report the bibliometric properties...

The onset of COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected all sectors of the society including the education sector. Schools at all levels were forced to adopt measures that allow for continuity of the educational process while maintaining health safety. Considering the scope and impact of COVID-19 pandemic, a collective behaviour may be necessary to eff...

Citation: Mohamed Ali Khan, N.S.; Karpudewan, M.; Annamalai, N. Moving Beyond the One-Size-Fits-All Model in Describing the Climate Conserving Behaviors of Malaysian Secondary Students. Sustainability 2021, 13, 18. https://dx.

Background There is a somewhat common understanding that links teaching and environmentalism. This may be because schools are pioneers or are often used as platforms for many environmental advocacies. Years of research have demonstrated that teaching increases awareness and concern for the environment and encourages people to protect the environmen...

Alarming global environmental problems have created urgency for educating the general public on pro-environmental attitudes. Previous studies indicated that the formation of pro-environmental attitudes significantly depended on society's cultural background and socio-demographic characteristics. Malaysia is a multicultural country with multi-ethnic...

In the advent of the rapid technological advancement of The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), computational thinking is recognised as an essential skill in the 21st century across all disciplines, especially in STEM, as it trains students to have the cognitive flexibility to deal with complex problem-solving. Computational thinking (CT) is natura...

In the advent of the rapid technological advancement of The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), computational thinking is recognised as an essential skill in the 21st century across all disciplines, especially in STEM, as it trains students to have the cognitive flexibility to deal with complex problem-solving. Computational thinking (CT) is natura...

Advances in neuroscience studies have brought new insights into the development of Executive Functions (EFs) of the brain and its influence on understanding science concepts. This study was conducted to examine the relationships between three main components of EF: working memory, inhibition, set-shifting and understanding of the Force concept amon...

A study of transition metals includes studying the physical and chemical properties of first-row d block metals in the Periodic Table. The curriculum on transition metals emphasizes learning the physical...

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of using Radioactivity Remote Laboratory Activities (RRLAs) in enhancing Form Four (equivalent to Grade 10) students’ understanding of radioactivity and motivation to learn science. For this purpose, in this study, a repeated measures one-way ANOVA design was utilized in which 54 Form Four non-sci...

Ecology involves learning the multiple processes that occur in an ecosystem in a non-linear manner. For students to understand the complexity of an ecosystem and the processes, an interdisciplinary teaching and learning strategy is essential. Crossing the four disciplines that constitute STEM education, characterizes STEM education as an interdisci...

This paper presents an exemplar of blending the principles of participatory action research and elements of grounded theory in a disaster risk reduction education case study. It illustrates and describes a modified methodological approach that was used during the needs' assessment and analysis phase of a multiphase study on teaching of disaster ris...

Laboratory work is crucial for learning chemistry. What students experience and take away from a laboratory class is a first-hand experience for students. Abstract concepts are made concrete through a good laboratory pedagogical strategy. In this study, secondary school teachers’ views on current chemistry laboratory and how green chemistry experim...

Cognitive neuroscience education is a new trend in educational psychology research. In the context of science education, research performed from the perspective of neuroscience is gaining incremental importance. The findings of studies on neuro-cognitivism have significant implications in designing classroom teaching and learning strategies. Notabl...

Past studies suggested writing incorporated with multiple modes of representations (MMR) were able to reduce students’ misconceptions and teaching using technological tools can promote the use of MMR in presenting the answers in open-ended tests. As such, in this study, a writing-to-learn (WTL) activities integrated with graphic organizers using th...

This study reports the effectiveness of nanoscience activities in enhancing secondary school students’ understanding of two chemistry concepts: structure of atom and acid and bases. For the purpose of this study, quasi experiment was employed to 163 Grade 10 students from the Northern Region of Malaysia. Sample from the experimental group was expos...

Climate change is a daunting phenomenon that requires serious and urgent attention from various stakeholders. The severity of the extreme weather changes has urged the weather and climate to be an integral part of mainstream education. However, the aim of the contemporary climate change education in cultivating behavioral change is in vain. This is...

STEM education is gaining incremental attention globally to fulfill the acute shortage of STEM workforce. Executing STEM education is frequently viewed as a complex and challenging agenda. The current study proposes Integrated STEM-lab activities in teaching and learning of electrolysis. The activity uses real-world context as a platform to exhibit...

This study was conducted to reduce the incidence of alternative conceptions about transition metals among form six students. A quasi-experimental design was carried out involving 79 students from two intact classes that were randomly classified as the treatment (N=47) and the comparison (N=32) groups. Information and communication technology-based...

Laboratory experiences are essential for learning science like chemistry. Learning of abstract concepts occurs more concretely in a laboratory setting. A good pedagogical strategy is essential as the laboratory affects students’ learning and what they take away from a laboratory course. In addressing the shortfalls of the existing laboratory, green...

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore Year 1 pupils' understanding about sinking and floating after learning using Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies. A total of 16 Year 1 pupils of low socio-economic background from one class in a rural school participated in this study. The participants were from disadvantaged rura...

Attitude towards learning science is a well-researched domain for more than four decades. Globally, studies on attitude still stay relevant following the decline in enrollment in science-related studies across many levels. Particularly, emergent of new sciences in this century calls for a shift in the content included in school science, to be more...

Purpose – Many students associate science with negative feelings and attitudes which discourage them from continuing with science. This is supported by findings indicating a positive correlation between attitude and achievement. The learning environment is an important construct that influences students’ attitude. Following the claim that attit...

Climate change is a phenomenon that frequently increases the incidences of natural disasters such as droughts, bushfires, floods, and extreme weather. Climate change requires timely and urgent attention specifically from the educators. This is because climate change is accelerated by human activities. Hence, it is imperative to educate the children...

The empirical studies testing the assumption that Executive Functions (EF) and metacognition are significantly interrelated are still lacking. It is evident from past studies that metacognition closely related to EF. However most of the studies investigate metacognition separately by EF. This is because metacognition is a broad term, encompassing b...

Climate change is one of the most important environmental issues affecting our society today and we need to educate the citizens about the impact on human lives. An attempt was made to integrate experiential-based climate change education into the teaching and learning of secondary school Biology lessons on the topic of Endangered Ecosystem to impr...

Existing studies report on the importance of instilling environmental literacy among students from an early stage of schooling to enable them to adopt more pro-environmental behaviors in the near future. This quasi-experimental study was designed to compare the level of environmental literacy among two groups of students: the experimental group (N...

Learning begins informally when a child starts to construct knowledge about a phenomenon while experiencing that particular phenomenon in real life (Driver et al. 1994a, b).

Due to the ineffective teaching in introducing the water cycle, students have developed various misconceptions about the water cycle. In this study, an attempt was made to elucidate primary students’ misconceptions about the water cycle using drawings and the guided inquiry-based learning approach was used to reduce the incidence of misconceptions....

In this study, green chemistry experiments have been used as learning events in the dual-situated learning model (DSLM), and the effectiveness of green chemistry-based DSLM in reducing misconceptions and improving understanding of acid–base concepts was measured. A total of 59 15-year-old Form 2 (equivalent to grade 8) students participated in the...

This study aimed to eliminate misconceptions related to global climate change identified among Form Four (equivalent to grade 10) biology students using a list of five climate change activities (CCAs). In this study, a quasi-experimental design involving 73 students from two intact classes were randomly assigned to comparison (N = 38) and experimen...

In this study, the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in promoting conceptual understanding and remediating misconceptions about chemical bonding concepts was investigated. For this purpose, the quantitative Chemical Bonding Concept Test (CBCT) and qualitative interviews were employed. The test consisted of 10 two-tier multiple-ch...

This book discusses the importance of identifying and addressing misconceptions for the successful teaching and learning of science across all levels of science education from elementary school to high school. It suggests teaching approaches based on research data to address students’ common misconceptions. Detailed descriptions of how these instru...

It is evident from past studies that attitude plays a prominent role in influencing students learning science across all the levels from primary to tertiary education. The findings of these studies notably indicate that students with positive attitude generally perform well in science assessment. Malaysian students’ performance in science is deteri...

Recent studies emphasize the importance of learning science while considering multiple perspectives on environment, society, economy, and technology, which allows learners to relate what they do in the classroom to the world beyond. In this study, 68 12-year-old primary students from 1 Malaysian school were followed while they engaged in a science...

In a world where environmental degradation is taking on alarming levels, understanding, and acting to minimize, the individual environmental impact is an important goal for many science educators. In this study, a green chemistry curriculum—combining chemistry experiments with everyday, environmentally friendly substances with a student-centered ap...

Advances in neuroscience studies have brought new insights into the development of cognitive functions. This subsequently led to more studies concerning how students learn. This includes studies on the role of Executive Functions (EF) of the brain and its influence on understanding of science concepts. EF is a term referring to the psychological co...

A socioscientific issues integrated instruction was used in the study to resolve college students attitude towards sexually-themed science content. Some 200 college students participated in the study as experimental and control groups. The former consisting of 98 students from one college was taught the content using the socioscientific issues inte...

Students’ ability to correctly set up and solve physics problems is crucial for success in learning physics at all levels. It is evident from the past studies that students’ metacognition plays an important role in influencing students learning physics. The findings of these studies indicate that students with higher metacognitive ability are more...

Classroom learning environment is an important element that contributes to the success of knowledge transfer in the learning process. Learning environment forms an integral part of teaching and learning process particularly in science classrooms. This is because effective learning environment permit students to relate the science knowledge learnt b...

Many researches conducted reported that attitude plays important role in learning science. Attitude is a multi-faceted construct. Therefore, there is no consensus on defining of attitude towards science. Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA) developed by Fraser (1981) is one of the comprehensive instruments to measure the seven distinct and wid...

Advances in neuroscience have brought new insights into studies about structure and component of brain and its relevance to education specifically in science education. In terms of children’s’ cognitive development, Executive Function (EF) of the brain and the role of EF in learning is one of the most researched and studied aspect in neuroscience e...

This quantitative study reports the effects of gender and grade level on secondary students’ attitude towards chemistry lessons. For this purpose, the Attitude towards Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS) was administered to 446 secondary school students between 16-19 years old. The ATCLS consists of four different sub scales: liking for chemistry theor...

This quantitative study reports the effects of gender and grade level on secondary students’ attitude towards chemistry lessons. For this purpose, the Attitude towards Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS) was administered to 446 secondary school students between 16-19 years old. The ATCLS consists of four different subscales: liking for chemistry theory...

In Malaysian education system, chemistry is one of the compulsory subject need to be taken by the science stream students. In recent years, the enrolment of students taking up pure science subjects particularly chemistry has dropped significantly. Students’ attitude is identified as one of the possible treat for students to be less interested in le...

This study investigated the year 12 students’ (N = 56) understanding of chemical equilibrium concepts after instruction using two conceptual tests, the Chemical Equilibrium Conceptual Test 1(CECT-1) consisting of nine two-tier multiple-choice items and the Chemical Equilibrium Conceptual Test 2(CECT-2) consisting of four structured questions. Both...

Educating the next generation of chemists about green chemistry issues, such as waste minimisation and clean synthesis, is vital for environmental sustainability. This book enables green issues to be taught from the underlying principles of all chemistry courses rather than in isolation. Chapters contributed by green chemistry experts from across t...

In undergraduate curriculum research and teaching are two inseparable domains. Following this, attempt has been made to identify six faculty members’ views of integrating research into teaching of undergraduate curriculum in the APEX (Universiti Sains Malaysia) status awarded research university using qualitative interviews. The findings obtained i...

Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development are among the most important agendas of the 21st century. In fact sustaining the development of a country in a sustainable manner has been put forward as one of the top priority agendas of the nation. In managing progress of a country, current students who will be required to make in...

Climate change generally and global warming specifically have become a common feature of the daily news. Due to widespread recognition of the adverse consequences of climate change on human lives, concerted societal effort has been taken to address it (e.g. by means of the science curriculum). This study was designed to test the effect that child-c...

ABSTRACT. This research investigates the effects of socioscientific instruction on preservice teachers’ sense of efficacy in the teaching and learning of controversial family health issues. For this purpose, a total of 251 students from two teacher training colleges participated in the study and were randomly assigned as experimental and control gr...

Existing studies report on secondary school students’ misconceptions related to climate change; they also report on the methods of teaching as reinforcing misconceptions. This quasi-experimental study was designed to test the null hypothesis that a curriculum based on constructivist principles does not lead to greater understanding and fewer miscon...

Climate change is an important global issue. Improving the knowledge of young students about climate change issues is imperative because it allows individuals to make informed decisions about things that impact the environment. Therefore, a list of climate change activities was developed and the effectiveness of these activities in changing primary...

This paper discusses the findings from a study conducted to investigate Malaysian upper secondary school students’ awareness towards nanotechnology. In total 446 students (16 to 18 years) involved in this study. The Questionnaire on Nanotechnology Awareness (QNA) was used to determine the students’ awareness towards nanotechnology. QNA consisted of...

Public awareness on environmental issues is the prerequisite of the behavioural changes towards environmental-friendly activities. People who are concern about preserving the environment for present and future generations are more prone to engage in pro-environment lifestyles. In this study, the modified New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale was used...

Grades 10 and 11 students’ (N=172) understanding of particle theory concepts was assessed using the Particle Theory Diagnostic Instrument (PTDI), consisting of 11 two-tier multiple-choice items in a pretest–posttest design after implementing an intervention instructional programme. The intervention programme involving eight lessons of about 45-min...

As an initial effort to reorient the current Malaysian chemistry curriculum, green chemistry was developed. In this study for the purpose of investigating the effectiveness of the green chemistry curriculum on secondary school students’ understanding of chemistry concepts a quasi-experimental design was used. One-group pretest posttest design was u...

The review explained the relationship of two instructional approaches namely: socioscientific issues-based instruction and peer-assisted learning strategy. It shows the similarities of the two as in active learner engagement, cooperative or group work and writing skills. In either case, the two approaches were shown to be significant in school scie...

The global environmental crisis intensifies particularly in developing nations. Environmental educators have begun to understand that changing the environmental impact requires not only changes in pro-environmental knowledge and attitudes but also in associated, self-determined motivation. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that a green...

Every day, climate change due to greenhouse emissions, pollution and other environmental degradation appears to make the news. Rather than doing something about the environment, namely in the developing countries where populations frequently are less educated about the long-term impact of human actions, they tend to disregard these problems. There...

Environmental degradation is a general problem but it is often more serious in developing nations where levels of awareness are lower than in industrialized countries. There is, therefore, a need particularly in developing countries to increase pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. In this paper, we report the results of a quasi-experimental s...

The purpose of this article is to describe a best practice: an approach to teaching chemistry that our quantitative research has shown to produce large differences between experimental and control groups in terms of achievement, pro-environmental attitudes, values, and motivation. Our interest in teaching chemistry by focusing on sustainable develo...

This study aims to explore the pre-service teachers' perceptions of science classes they have experienced throughout primary and secondary schooling and their motivation and self-confidence in learning science. A section of Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) questionnaire on 'My Science Class' consisting of 16 items was used for this purpose. Re...

Green chemistry is the design, development and implementation of chemical products and processes to reduce or eliminate the use of sub-stances hazardous to human health and the environment. This article reports on the integration of green chemistry and sustainable development concepts (SDCs) into an existing teaching methods course for chemistry pr...

The efficacy of an intervention instructional program was evaluated to facilitate understanding of particle theory concepts among students (N = 190) using a diagnostic instrument consisting of eleven two-tier multiple-choice items in a pre-test – post-test design. The students involved were high school students, undergraduates and postgraduates fro...