Numerical literacy refers to the knowledge and ability to use various numbers and basic mathematical symbols to solve problems, while math self-concept means the assessment of students’ skills, abilities, enjoyment, and interest in the subject. However, children with special needs and normal students in inclusive Elementary Schools are yet to sufficiently acquire learning that accommodates literacy and maths self-concept. This causes a need for the implementation of a children-friendly learning process. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors influencing the numeracy level and math self-concept, and also explore the obstacles in implementing children-friendly learning in order to facilitate students’ abilities. A qualitative method was applied because of in-depth data exploration regarding children with special needs, while the utilized instruments include tests, questionnaires, and interviews. Both the data collected and the analysis are qualitative, which are obtained through excavation, identification, and description. Consequently, this paper was able to (a) describe the factors influencing the numeracy level and math self-concept in inclusive elementary schools; (b) explore the barriers to implementing children-friendly learning; and (c) identify the relationship between students’ numeracy and math self-concept.
{"title":"Numerical Literacy and Math Self-Concept: Children-Friendly Learning in Inclusive Elementary Schools","authors":"D. S., S. B., S. Sugiman, Y. L. Sukestiyarno","doi":"10.12973/ejmse.4.1.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmse.4.1.19","url":null,"abstract":"Numerical literacy refers to the knowledge and ability to use various numbers and basic mathematical symbols to solve problems, while math self-concept means the assessment of students’ skills, abilities, enjoyment, and interest in the subject. However, children with special needs and normal students in inclusive Elementary Schools are yet to sufficiently acquire learning that accommodates literacy and maths self-concept. This causes a need for the implementation of a children-friendly learning process. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors influencing the numeracy level and math self-concept, and also explore the obstacles in implementing children-friendly learning in order to facilitate students’ abilities. A qualitative method was applied because of in-depth data exploration regarding children with special needs, while the utilized instruments include tests, questionnaires, and interviews. Both the data collected and the analysis are qualitative, which are obtained through excavation, identification, and description. Consequently, this paper was able to (a) describe the factors influencing the numeracy level and math self-concept in inclusive elementary schools; (b) explore the barriers to implementing children-friendly learning; and (c) identify the relationship between students’ numeracy and math self-concept.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"430 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79850569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The purpose of this study was to evaluate synchronous and asynchronous mathematics teaching modalities at Isabela State University. The qualitative research method was used to collect information, opinions, and experiences of Isabela State University mathematics faculty in employing synchronous and asynchronous modes in teaching mathematical courses in terms of strengths, weaknesses, possibilities, and problems. The study's subjects were 15 Mathematics Instructors chosen at random from Isabela State University's nine campuses. A structured interview was created and distributed to participants using Google Form. The limitations on face-to-face encounters prompted the use of such data-gathering technique. The researcher followed up with another video call interview to validate the participants' responses. The data was transcribed and processed using thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated that the synchronous and asynchronous learning modalities both have strengths and disadvantages that influence the quality of the teaching-learning process throughout the epidemic. Given this, distant learning is thought to be more effective when both modalities are used rather to just one of the aforementioned. This is because the strengths of one of the two modalities can solve the flaws highlighted in the other. As a result, mathematics instructors may receive more in-depth training in both asynchronous and synchronous teaching approaches, as well as strategies for becoming more successful teachers during the present school closures.
{"title":"Synchronous and Asynchronous Modalities for Mathematics Instruction during the Covid-19 Pandemic","authors":"Freddie R.","doi":"10.12973/ejmse.4.1.79","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmse.4.1.79","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this study was to evaluate synchronous and asynchronous mathematics teaching modalities at Isabela State University. The qualitative research method was used to collect information, opinions, and experiences of Isabela State University mathematics faculty in employing synchronous and asynchronous modes in teaching mathematical courses in terms of strengths, weaknesses, possibilities, and problems. The study's subjects were 15 Mathematics Instructors chosen at random from Isabela State University's nine campuses. A structured interview was created and distributed to participants using Google Form. The limitations on face-to-face encounters prompted the use of such data-gathering technique. The researcher followed up with another video call interview to validate the participants' responses. The data was transcribed and processed using thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated that the synchronous and asynchronous learning modalities both have strengths and disadvantages that influence the quality of the teaching-learning process throughout the epidemic. Given this, distant learning is thought to be more effective when both modalities are used rather to just one of the aforementioned. This is because the strengths of one of the two modalities can solve the flaws highlighted in the other. As a result, mathematics instructors may receive more in-depth training in both asynchronous and synchronous teaching approaches, as well as strategies for becoming more successful teachers during the present school closures.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"230 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76930252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The current study investigated whether: (1) using an interactive presentation (IP) platform could affect the amount of usage of the practices of making orchestrating mathematical discourse- sequencing and connecting students' responses. (2) using an interactive presentation (IP) platform could affect the amount of narratives constructed by students. Fifty seventh-grade students participated in the study; those students were divided into control and experimental groups. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed based on voice recordings and field notes. The results revealed that the teacher using (IP) asked nearly three times more questions that connected students’ responses (i.e., questions that involved valuing students' ideas, exploring students' answers, incorporating students’ background knowledge, and encouraging student-to-student communication). We also saw that the students participated in the learning processes. The students in the experimental group presented three times as many narratives as those in the control group. We present several excerpts from the transcripts of the classroom discussions to illustrate our findings. Discussion of the implications and limitations of these results and make recommendations based on those results.
{"title":"Using Interactive Presentations to Promote Mathematical Discourse","authors":"Aehsan Haj-Yahya, Sondos Aegbaria","doi":"10.12973/ejmse.4.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmse.4.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The current study investigated whether: (1) using an interactive presentation (IP) platform could affect the amount of usage of the practices of making orchestrating mathematical discourse- sequencing and connecting students' responses. (2) using an interactive presentation (IP) platform could affect the amount of narratives constructed by students. Fifty seventh-grade students participated in the study; those students were divided into control and experimental groups. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed based on voice recordings and field notes. The results revealed that the teacher using (IP) asked nearly three times more questions that connected students’ responses (i.e., questions that involved valuing students' ideas, exploring students' answers, incorporating students’ background knowledge, and encouraging student-to-student communication). We also saw that the students participated in the learning processes. The students in the experimental group presented three times as many narratives as those in the control group. We present several excerpts from the transcripts of the classroom discussions to illustrate our findings. Discussion of the implications and limitations of these results and make recommendations based on those results.</p>","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"78 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135698552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Many research studies have been conducted on students’ or pre-service teachers’ geometric thinking, but there is a lack of studies investigating in-service teachers’ geometric thinking. This paper presents a case study of two high school teachers who attended the dynamic geometry (DG) professional development project for three years. The project focused on the effective use of dynamic geometry software to improve students’ geometry learning. The two teachers were interviewed using a task-based interview protocol about the relationship between two triangles. The interviews, including the teachers' work, were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed based on the three levels of geometric thinking: recognition, analysis, and deduction. We found that the participating teachers manifested their geometric skills and thinking in constructing, exploring, and conjecturing in the DG environment. The study suggests that the DG environment provides an effective platform for examining teachers' geometric skills, and levels of geometric thinking and encourages inductive explorations and deductive skill development.
{"title":"Mathematics Teachers’ Geometric Thinking: A Case Study of In-service Teachers’ Constructing, Conjecturing, and Exploring with Dynamic Geometry Software","authors":"Samuel Obara, Bikai Nie","doi":"10.12973/ejmse.4.1.65","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmse.4.1.65","url":null,"abstract":"Many research studies have been conducted on students’ or pre-service teachers’ geometric thinking, but there is a lack of studies investigating in-service teachers’ geometric thinking. This paper presents a case study of two high school teachers who attended the dynamic geometry (DG) professional development project for three years. The project focused on the effective use of dynamic geometry software to improve students’ geometry learning. The two teachers were interviewed using a task-based interview protocol about the relationship between two triangles. The interviews, including the teachers' work, were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed based on the three levels of geometric thinking: recognition, analysis, and deduction. We found that the participating teachers manifested their geometric skills and thinking in constructing, exploring, and conjecturing in the DG environment. The study suggests that the DG environment provides an effective platform for examining teachers' geometric skills, and levels of geometric thinking and encourages inductive explorations and deductive skill development.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80160035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Transitional engineering students are those who are academically ineligible to enter a bachelor’s engineering program but are enrolled in an associate engineering program with a university. Successful completion of such an associate engineering program allows the higher achievers to transfer to a full bachelor’s engineering program. The associate engineering program is taken commonly by self-employed tradesmen, technical workers, and young apprentices in regional, rural, and remote (RRR) areas. The foundation engineering mathematics course in the associate engineering program, particularly knowledge and skills in solving word problems involving triangles, plays a key role for the smooth transition of these students to the engineering disciplinary courses. However, there is little we have known about the performances of the transitional engineering students in solving problems involving triangles as the associate engineering programs are not among the mainstream of undergraduate programs. This study analyzed the 27 transitional engineering students’ performances in solving word problems involving triangles assigned to the students in the foundation mathematics course at a regional Australian university and found that the RRR transitional engineering students demonstrated a higher level of study ethics and achievement in solving word problems involving triangles, compared with the RRR student mathematics teachers. This seems mainly due to the professional experiences in delivering real-world projects prior to the start of their mathematics learning. Further research should be expanded to more areas of mathematics to gauge the overall performances of the transitional engineering students in mathematics learning and progression.
{"title":"Solving word problems involving triangles by transitional engineering students: Learning outcomes and implications","authors":"William Guo","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12582","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12582","url":null,"abstract":"Transitional engineering students are those who are academically ineligible to enter a bachelor’s engineering program but are enrolled in an associate engineering program with a university. Successful completion of such an associate engineering program allows the higher achievers to transfer to a full bachelor’s engineering program. The associate engineering program is taken commonly by self-employed tradesmen, technical workers, and young apprentices in regional, rural, and remote (RRR) areas. The foundation engineering mathematics course in the associate engineering program, particularly knowledge and skills in solving word problems involving triangles, plays a key role for the smooth transition of these students to the engineering disciplinary courses. However, there is little we have known about the performances of the transitional engineering students in solving problems involving triangles as the associate engineering programs are not among the mainstream of undergraduate programs. This study analyzed the 27 transitional engineering students’ performances in solving word problems involving triangles assigned to the students in the foundation mathematics course at a regional Australian university and found that the RRR transitional engineering students demonstrated a higher level of study ethics and achievement in solving word problems involving triangles, compared with the RRR student mathematics teachers. This seems mainly due to the professional experiences in delivering real-world projects prior to the start of their mathematics learning. Further research should be expanded to more areas of mathematics to gauge the overall performances of the transitional engineering students in mathematics learning and progression.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69239883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article analyses teachers’ learning on the use of multiple representations (MRs) in the teaching of Ohm’s law, examining them in a lesson study, structured in 18 meetings of 2.5 hours each, that addressed this physics curricular topic for the 3rd grade of high school. The qualitative research involved four teachers who teach physics in Brazilian public schools. The empirical material of the study consists of the transcriptions of the audio recordings of the lesson study sessions, interviews with the teachers at the end of the process, and students’ written registers produced during the class. From the participating teachers’ perspective, the analysis showed that the emphasis on MRs improved the teaching of Ohm’s law because it helped them obtain complementary information - to correlate the different representations; acquire a fuller and deeper understanding of the physics concept; connect the abstract to the concrete - carry out constraint interpretations – interpreting the physical concept by familiarity and inherent properties, and interpreting and transposing representations; construct in-depth understandings – interpretations and relationships between tables, graphs and generalization of equations; and develop investigative activities encompassing abstraction, extension, and the relationship between physical quantities. Considering the complexities of MRs, teachers examined what information is actually accessible to students and how they can use it, encouraging them to seek an effective way to integrate several representations to assist in the learning process.
{"title":"Physics teachers’ learning on the use of multiple representations in lesson study about Ohm’s law","authors":"Mauri Luís Tomkelski, M. Baptista, Adriana Richit","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12906","url":null,"abstract":"The article analyses teachers’ learning on the use of multiple representations (MRs) in the teaching of Ohm’s law, examining them in a lesson study, structured in 18 meetings of 2.5 hours each, that addressed this physics curricular topic for the 3rd grade of high school. The qualitative research involved four teachers who teach physics in Brazilian public schools. The empirical material of the study consists of the transcriptions of the audio recordings of the lesson study sessions, interviews with the teachers at the end of the process, and students’ written registers produced during the class. From the participating teachers’ perspective, the analysis showed that the emphasis on MRs improved the teaching of Ohm’s law because it helped them obtain complementary information - to correlate the different representations; acquire a fuller and deeper understanding of the physics concept; connect the abstract to the concrete - carry out constraint interpretations – interpreting the physical concept by familiarity and inherent properties, and interpreting and transposing representations; construct in-depth understandings – interpretations and relationships between tables, graphs and generalization of equations; and develop investigative activities encompassing abstraction, extension, and the relationship between physical quantities. Considering the complexities of MRs, teachers examined what information is actually accessible to students and how they can use it, encouraging them to seek an effective way to integrate several representations to assist in the learning process.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This case study examined the characteristics of classroom discourse during physics lessons in two single-sex high school classes–a boys’ vs. a girls’ class. All lessons were taught by the same teacher and covered the same topics. For each class, six lessons were recorded, transcribed, and coded and the characteristics of the discussion were counted, including the number of words spoken by the teacher and students, the number of open-ended and closed-ended questions posed, and the number of open and closed discourse segments and their initiator. A total of 549 closed-ended questions, 1,151 open-ended questions, 139 closed and 168 open discourse segments were analyzed. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the teacher on his views of the discussion characteristic in his lessons and the differences he has observed between boys and girls in terms of these characteristics. The average number of all classroom discourse parameters examined was similar in both classes and no significant differences were observed. In both classes, the students participated very actively in the discourse throughout most of the lesson, both among themselves and with the teacher. From the teacher’s perspective, the differences in discussions between the classes, if any, are not related to the student’s gender, but rather to the character of the students and the classroom environment. The main conclusion that emerges from this study is that the girls’ discourse in a single-sex class does not differ significantly from the boys’ discourse, as discussed in the article.
{"title":"Classroom discourse in single-sex physics classes: A case study","authors":"Ayala Raviv, Ester Aflalo","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12564","url":null,"abstract":"This case study examined the characteristics of classroom discourse during physics lessons in two single-sex high school classes–a boys’ vs. a girls’ class. All lessons were taught by the same teacher and covered the same topics. For each class, six lessons were recorded, transcribed, and coded and the characteristics of the discussion were counted, including the number of words spoken by the teacher and students, the number of open-ended and closed-ended questions posed, and the number of open and closed discourse segments and their initiator. A total of 549 closed-ended questions, 1,151 open-ended questions, 139 closed and 168 open discourse segments were analyzed. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the teacher on his views of the discussion characteristic in his lessons and the differences he has observed between boys and girls in terms of these characteristics. The average number of all classroom discourse parameters examined was similar in both classes and no significant differences were observed. In both classes, the students participated very actively in the discourse throughout most of the lesson, both among themselves and with the teacher. From the teacher’s perspective, the differences in discussions between the classes, if any, are not related to the student’s gender, but rather to the character of the students and the classroom environment. The main conclusion that emerges from this study is that the girls’ discourse in a single-sex class does not differ significantly from the boys’ discourse, as discussed in the article.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48716992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhamad Furkan Mat Salleh, R. A. A. Rauf, R. M. Saat, Mohamad Hisyam Ismail
This study examines learners’ issues in learning the preparation and qualitative analysis of salts topic from Malaysian chemistry teachers’ perspectives. The researchers adopted a qualitative design and conducted semi-structured interviews with sixteen informants who have experience of teaching chemistry for more than five years. They were selected via purposive sampling. Document analysis was conducted to verify and supplement findings obtained from the interviews. The study reports five issues that emerged from the data analysis: negative perceptions, dealing with the number of information, imagining abstract concepts, mastery of basic knowledge and solving problems, and fulfilling the grading criteria. The study results confirm the unanimity of past studies on students’ unfavorable views on these topics and their struggle in learning abstract concepts involved in the salts formation and analysis. Besides, students’ issues are also significantly rooted in having weak prior knowledge of salts, affecting their ability to solve related problems. The study suggested that teachers must practice various approaches and strategies deemed effective in aiding learners in learning and be more selective in choosing approaches tailored to the individual students’ issues in learning these topics in class.
{"title":"Learners’ issues in the preparation and qualitative analysis of salts topics in chemistry: Teachers’ perspectives","authors":"Muhamad Furkan Mat Salleh, R. A. A. Rauf, R. M. Saat, Mohamad Hisyam Ismail","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12789","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12789","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines learners’ issues in learning the preparation and qualitative analysis of salts topic from Malaysian chemistry teachers’ perspectives. The researchers adopted a qualitative design and conducted semi-structured interviews with sixteen informants who have experience of teaching chemistry for more than five years. They were selected via purposive sampling. Document analysis was conducted to verify and supplement findings obtained from the interviews. The study reports five issues that emerged from the data analysis: negative perceptions, dealing with the number of information, imagining abstract concepts, mastery of basic knowledge and solving problems, and fulfilling the grading criteria. The study results confirm the unanimity of past studies on students’ unfavorable views on these topics and their struggle in learning abstract concepts involved in the salts formation and analysis. Besides, students’ issues are also significantly rooted in having weak prior knowledge of salts, affecting their ability to solve related problems. The study suggested that teachers must practice various approaches and strategies deemed effective in aiding learners in learning and be more selective in choosing approaches tailored to the individual students’ issues in learning these topics in class.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Javier Marcos-Walias, Javier Bobo-Pinilla, Jaime Delgado Iglesias, Roberto Reinoso Tapia
Plant awareness disparity (PAD), formerly known as plant blindness, refers to the fact of overlooking or failing to perceive plants, perhaps due to poor ‘species literacy’. Despite numerous efforts made by scientists and educators over the years, PAD is still present in students at all educational levels. An assessment was carried out on 259 students from primary school to university in the Spanish education system to evaluate their species literacy, especially regarding local flora and fauna, its possible improvement across educational levels, and to assess whether PAD was a reality among students. A biased perception towards animals was confirmed with strong statistical support. Animals were recognized and identified more than plants at all educational levels. Even if a positive correlation for animal-plant literacy was found, the values were weak. Although the curricula set out content and learning outcomes related to local environment and flora, their teaching has been proven to be unsatisfactory. The recently implemented curricula have the mission to reverse this trend, which can be done by improving students’ interest in plants through specific educational programs and activities, as well as comprehensive training in the field of botany and the effective implementation of activities for current and future educators.
{"title":"Plant awareness disparity among students of different educational levels in Spain","authors":"Javier Marcos-Walias, Javier Bobo-Pinilla, Jaime Delgado Iglesias, Roberto Reinoso Tapia","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12570","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12570","url":null,"abstract":"Plant awareness disparity (PAD), formerly known as plant blindness, refers to the fact of overlooking or failing to perceive plants, perhaps due to poor ‘species literacy’. Despite numerous efforts made by scientists and educators over the years, PAD is still present in students at all educational levels. An assessment was carried out on 259 students from primary school to university in the Spanish education system to evaluate their species literacy, especially regarding local flora and fauna, its possible improvement across educational levels, and to assess whether PAD was a reality among students. A biased perception towards animals was confirmed with strong statistical support. Animals were recognized and identified more than plants at all educational levels. Even if a positive correlation for animal-plant literacy was found, the values were weak. Although the curricula set out content and learning outcomes related to local environment and flora, their teaching has been proven to be unsatisfactory. The recently implemented curricula have the mission to reverse this trend, which can be done by improving students’ interest in plants through specific educational programs and activities, as well as comprehensive training in the field of botany and the effective implementation of activities for current and future educators.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69239857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A questionnaire was recently developed for the use with the Spanish-speaking, and evidence have been provided about the construct internal validity by means of structural equation modelling. In this paper, two research questions were considered: (i) What new evidence does application of the Rasch model provide regarding the validity of this construct? (ii) What cutoffs should be applied to the constructed scales in order to differentiate between acceptable and insufficient levels of the construct being measured? Participants were 1,272 Spanish at both high-school and college level. The instrument is a pencil and paper questionnaire written in Spanish, comprising 20 items (5-point Likert-type scale) distributed evenly across four scales: beyond exact replicas, purpose of models, multiple models, and changing models. Students’ responses were coded on an ordinal scale from zero to four. We then conducted a Rasch analysis using both a multidimensional approach and a consecutive unidimensional approach for each dimension. Data provided new evidence regarding the internal validity of the four scales of the questionnaire. The Rasch analysis also allowed us to establish cutoffs for the constructed scales. The evidence provided by this, and the previous study suggest that the questionnaire may be useful as a diagnostic tool when applied to groups or populations of students. In addition, the identified cutoffs could, hypothetically, serve to differentiate between students with an adequate versus an insufficient understanding of the nature of models.
{"title":"Rasch analysis and validity of the construct understanding of the nature of models in Spanish-speaking students","authors":"J. M. Oliva, Ángel Blanco","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12651","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12651","url":null,"abstract":"A questionnaire was recently developed for the use with the Spanish-speaking, and evidence have been provided about the construct internal validity by means of structural equation modelling. In this paper, two research questions were considered: (i) What new evidence does application of the Rasch model provide regarding the validity of this construct? (ii) What cutoffs should be applied to the constructed scales in order to differentiate between acceptable and insufficient levels of the construct being measured? Participants were 1,272 Spanish at both high-school and college level. The instrument is a pencil and paper questionnaire written in Spanish, comprising 20 items (5-point Likert-type scale) distributed evenly across four scales: beyond exact replicas, purpose of models, multiple models, and changing models. Students’ responses were coded on an ordinal scale from zero to four. We then conducted a Rasch analysis using both a multidimensional approach and a consecutive unidimensional approach for each dimension. Data provided new evidence regarding the internal validity of the four scales of the questionnaire. The Rasch analysis also allowed us to establish cutoffs for the constructed scales. The evidence provided by this, and the previous study suggest that the questionnaire may be useful as a diagnostic tool when applied to groups or populations of students. In addition, the identified cutoffs could, hypothetically, serve to differentiate between students with an adequate versus an insufficient understanding of the nature of models.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：