Journal of Science Education and Technology最新文献

In this research, it was aimed to determine the effect of Simulation-Supported Prediction Observation Explanation (SSPOE) activities related to solid and liquid pressure on the conceptions of learning physics of 10th grade students. In the research, a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The sample of the research consisted of 50 students studying in the 10th grade in a technical and vocational high school in Afyonkarahisar province. The students in the Experimental 1 (E1) group carried out the SSPOE activities using a computer, and the students in the Experimental 2 (E2) group performed the SSPOE activities using a smart board in the classroom. The students in the Control group continued the current teaching process without using the SSPOE activities. Lessons were conducted by the same teacher and SSPOE activities lasted for 5 weeks. The data were collected through the Conceptions Of Learning Physics (COLP) scale before and after the application. In the analysis of the data, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA test) was performed. At the end of the analyses it can be said that the SSPOE activities are effective on the high level COLP. Learning environments where students can be active individually are more effective in improving students’ conceptions of learning physics in a positive way.

The blended synchronous classroom fosters equitable and balanced educational development; however, challenges persist, including low motivation and suboptimal effects on the deep learning of remote students. This study employs a student-centered learning approach and incorporates the process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) strategy into the blended synchronous science classroom. In this study, 182 fourth-grade students from four primary classes in south China were allocated using a quasi-experimental approach; among these four classes, one class from the urban area (proximal end) and one from the remote area (remote end) were paired, forming two matched classes, which constituted experimental group and control group. The experimental group took POGIL instruction, while the control group took traditional synchronous classroom instruction. The results indicated that students in classes using the POGIL intervention scored significantly higher than those in non-POGIL classes and that the POGIL instructional intervention not only facilitated the learning of science knowledge of the remote students but also promoted proximal students’ learning of science knowledge. In terms of deep learning, remote students in the POGIL class demonstrated significantly higher abilities in problem-solving, collaboration, communication, autonomous learning, self-efficacy, and perseverance in learning. Students expressed satisfaction with this instructional strategy. This paper discusses the effectiveness of applying the POGIL instructional strategy in teaching and technology support in the blended synchronous science classroom.

Online one-on-one tutoring serves as a personalized approach to supplement classroom instruction. However, with the growing tutoring market, a single tutor often handles inquiries from students across primary, middle, and high school levels. Consequently, the extent of tutors’ interactions with students of varying grades and their use of tutoring strategies to enhance student learning remains unclear. To address this gap, we collected and analyzed 1500 tutoring dialogues from amateur mathematics tutors concurrently instructing students from primary, middle, and high school levels. These dialogues were annotated using a coding scheme and a well-trained powerful artificial intelligence (AI) model. The interaction dynamics were subsequently examined using epistemic network analysis and lag sequential analysis, yielding findings on the occurrences, co-occurrences, and sequential patterns of dialogic strategies. First, the results reveal that tutors frequently engaged in off-topic behaviors and direct instruction, regardless of students’ educational level. Second, tutors’ constructive questions and knowledge sharing and instruction were more associated with greater constructive expressions from students at higher educational levels, while primary students primarily demonstrated simple acknowledgment. Third, tutors exhibited limited sequential patterns of dialogic strategies when tutoring primary and middle school students, mainly focusing on question-asking behaviors and evaluation and feedback. In contrast, tutors displayed diverse patterns across various categories of dialogic strategies when instructing high school students, emphasizing the facilitation of students’ reasoning and metacognition. These findings underscore the importance of training tutors to develop dialogic skills and adopt tailored pedagogical approaches for different educational levels, ensuring effective and efficient online one-on-one mathematics tutoring.

In order to characterize students’ risk assessment explanations based on the Geohazard Risk Framework, which describes four key elements of risk for high school science education, we investigate whether student explanations include the following risk elements: scientific factors, impacts, human influences, and likelihood. This study uses the Geohazard Risk Framework to analyze how students explain their risk assessments and risk mitigation strategies based on experimentation with an interactive computer simulation designed to model flooding risks and hazards. We analyzed students’ explanations using data from 375 students from three suburban, three urban, and three rural schools to learn (1) how secondary students experiment with the simulation and explain flooding risk based on evidence from the simulation and (2) how students carry out and explain model-based testing of a risk mitigation strategy with a simulation. We also analyzed snapshots created by students of the simulation that were used as evidence to support their explanations. Our findings reveal that while the majority of students could identify at least one risk element, those who engaged deeply with the simulation's features demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the interconnected nature of risk factors. This study underscores the Geohazard Risk Framework’s utility in enhancing secondary students' comprehension of flood risks and offers insights into effective simulation-based learning strategies for broader geohazard education.

Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity are regarded as core skills of the twenty-first century required to succeed in life and working frameworks. Meanwhile, new technologies have entered educational settings to facilitate children’s development of competencies. During the last decade, several studies have been conducted to investigate the potential impact of educational robotics on children’s skills. Yet, only a few have examined the promotion of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity from an early age with the means of real robots through quantitative analysis in educational settings. Thus, a gap in meta-analysis studies is identified in this research area. In this paper, 22 empirical articles out of 2141 records from four databases and two registers were employed. Additionally, 53 effect sizes involving 2192 participants emerging from the search were subjected to a meta-analysis investigating the effects of educational robotics on kindergarteners’ communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. The results showed that robots may enhance collaboration the most among young learners (effect size: 0.875) and may contribute to their communicative skills (effect size: 0.481). Additionally, their cognitive development might be improved by facilitating their critical thinking (effect size: 0.561), and creativity may be affected positively too (effect size: 0.511). Yet, moderator analysis indicated that further and long-lasting studies are required. Finally, extra training and support to educators about robotics learning are recommended.

The initial learning experience is a critical opportunity to support conceptual understanding of abstract STEM concepts. Although hands-on activities and physical three-dimensional models are beneficial, they are seldom utilized and are replaced increasingly by digital simulations and laboratory exercises presented on touchscreen tablet computers. The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of different pedagogical strategies (physical model building, digital model building, or traditional paper worksheets) on short-term and long-term conceptual understanding of an abstract STEM concept. A sample of 161 9th-grade students in six in-tact science classes participated in the study. Conceptual understanding was measured using an objective quiz, a drawing, and a hand-written constructed response explanation. Conceptual understanding was measured immediately after intervention and again two months later. To account for potential covariates, spatial ability and attitudes to scientific inquiry were measured and a conceptual understanding pre-test was administered. For both immediate and delayed post-tests, there were no differences among the groups for the objective quiz measure. However, the physical model group outperformed the digital model and control groups in both the drawing and constructed response measures at both timepoints (p < 0.01). Spatial ability was a significant covariate for objective quiz and drawing measures. Attitudes were not significant throughout. These results suggest that, at the initial learning experience, hands-on manipulation of three-dimensional physical models better aids conceptual understanding in the short term and the long term when compared to two-dimensional touchscreen devices and that assessments should move beyond objective-based exams to accurately measure conceptual understanding.

Learner-centered instructional practices, such as the metacognitive strategies scaffolding the problem-solving method for Biology instruction, have been shown to promote students’ autonomy and self-direction, significantly enhancing their understanding of scientific concepts. Thus, this study aimed to elucidate the importance and procedures of context analysis in the development of a context-driven problem-solving method with a metacognitive scaffolding instructional approach, which enhances students’ learning effectiveness in Biology. Therefore, the study was conducted in the Biology departments of secondary schools in Shambu Town, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The study employed mixed-methods research to collect and analyze data, involving 12 teachers and 80 students. The data collection tools used were interviews, observations, and a questionnaire. The study revealed that conducting a context analysis that involves teachers, students, and learning contexts is essential in designing a context-driven problem-solving method with metacognitive scaffolding for Biology instruction, which provides authentic examples, instructional content, and engaging scenarios for teachers and students. As a result, the findings of this study provide a practical instructional strategy that can be applied to studies aimed at designing a context-driven problem-solving method with metacognitive scaffolding with the potential to influence instructional practices.

Given the continued debates sparked by recent technology innovation around generative artificial intelligence and the varied findings on its use for productive learning, this paper addresses the efficacy of ChatGPT from a preservice teachers’ perspective and science education viewpoint. This study adopted a mixed-method research design with an experimental approach for methodology. For data collection, post-tests and interviews were used to elicit information from the participants on the efficacy of ChatGPT in improving their writing skills and their opinions on its efficacy for learning. The paper revealed that ChatGPT might not significantly improve preservice teachers' writing skills. While this may be contextual, our findings provide valuable insights into pedagogical strategies for resisting techno-deterministic framings of present-day learning. This study contributes to the corpus of studies in the scientific literature on the efficacy of ChatGPT in improving student achievement. Besides, it unpacks pedagogical strategies that may be applied to improving students' writing skills.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made remarkable strides in recent years, finding applications in various fields, including chemistry research and industry. Its integration into chemistry education has gained attention more recently, particularly with the advent of generative AI (GAI) tools. However, there is a need to understand how teachers’ knowledge can impact their ability to integrate these tools into their practice. This position paper emphasizes two central points. First, teachers technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is essential for more accurate and responsible use of GAI. Second, prompt engineering—the practice of delivering instructions to GAI tools—requires knowledge that falls partially under the technological dimension of TPACK but also includes AI-related competencies that do not fit into any aspect of the framework, for example, the awareness of GAI-related issues such as bias, discrimination, and hallucinations. These points are demonstrated using ChatGPT on three examples drawn from chemistry education. This position paper extends the discussion about the types of knowledge teachers need to apply GAI effectively, highlights the need to further develop theoretical frameworks for teachers’ knowledge in the age of GAI, and, to address that, suggests ways to extend existing frameworks such as TPACK with AI-related dimensions.

Programming and computational thinking have been introduced into the curricula of several countries, also in relation to science and technology education. Preparing pre-service teachers for using programming in science education is therefore an important and relevant task. The purpose of this article is to describe what knowledge may be relevant for teachers who are to use programming in science and technology education and to propose a questionnaire to aid in assessing this knowledge. The proposed questionnaire can be used for tracking development over time and for identifying areas where teachers need more knowledge.