Journal of Science Education and Technology最新文献

Science data literacy (SDL) is an important literacy for college students in STEM majors to possess. However, the current understanding of SDL is incomplete and lacks effective cultivation strategies. This study integrates the core ideas of science literacy (SL) and data literacy (DL), while considering the characteristics of science data, and constructs a conceptual framework of SDL that contains three dimensions. The Delphi method was used to further optimize this framework. The WorldWide Telescope (WWT), as a visual exploration platform centered on astronomical data, integrates a large amount of astronomical science data, which provides the possibility of cultivating students’ SDL. Based on the optimized SDL conceptual framework and WWT software, we designed a curriculum for college students majoring in STEM and practiced it for 4 weeks. The practical results show that the course is effective in developing students’ SDL. This study helps to deepen the connotation of SDL and also provides new ideas for cultivating SDL for college students majoring in STEM.

This study employed a non-equivalent quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control-group design to study the effect of the PhET simulation intervention on students’ engagement, satisfaction, and academic achievement in the learning of direct current electric circuit concepts among Bhutanese students. We analysed the pre- and post-test scores and perceptions of 57 ninth-grade students, divided into experimental group (EG, n = 29) and control group (CG, n = 28), from one high school in Paro District, Bhutan. The EG students were taught with the PhET simulation intervention, while the CG students were taught with the traditional chalk-talk method. The pre- and post-test scores were collected with the Electric Circuits Conceptual Evaluation (ECEE) inventory. Mean, standard deviation, a two-sample t-test, and multiple linear regression (MLR) were computed using R and RStudio. The t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in the mean post-test scores of CG and EG students. MLR analysis further confirmed that this difference was due to the PhET simulation intervention, ruling out the influence of other confounding variables. Additionally, an instrument called the PhET Engagement-Satisfaction Questionnaire was developed to assess EG students’ engagement level and satisfaction with the PhET simulation intervention. Confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha calculation confirmed its validity and reliability. Data from the PhET Engagement-Satisfaction Questionnaire unveiled significant impact of the PhET simulation intervention on students’ engagement level and their overall satisfaction, reinforcing prior research. However, further research with a larger sample size, incorporating lesson observations, interviews, and our measurement tool, is necessary to ascertain whether the findings it yields align with the present study’s findings.

The need for well-designed learning experiences about modern, anthropogenic climate change is great. In light of this need, many scholars have looked towards museums, arguing that as trusted institutions of informal learning, museums are uniquely positioned to support public engagement with contentious, impactful issues like climate change. However, while several museum exhibits have emerged over recent years, empirical research on museum-based learning experiences remains quite limited. We take a step towards advancing understanding of museum-based climate change learning through an empirical investigation at a natural history museum in the US. This study examines learners’ collaborative discourse within one exhibit about climate change, a multiplayer video game called Utah Climate Challenge (UCC). Investigating moments of failure and struggle, we analyze learners’ forms of collaboration through moment-to-moment discourse analysis. Findings demonstrate the importance of scaffolding multiple types of collaboration, as well as the potential for a collaborative, museum-based videogame to support learning of important science concepts relevant to climate change.

From the experiential learning perspective, this study investigates middle and high school students (n = 1009) who used an online module to learn about wildfire hazards, risks, and impacts through computational simulations of wildfire phenomena. These students were taught by 18 teachers in urban, rural, and suburban schools across the United States. We analyzed students’ simulation behaviors captured in log files, responses to an assessment administered before and after the module, and demographic surveys, as well as teachers’ responses to a post-module implementation survey. Using mixed effects generalized linear modeling, we investigated whether students’ simulation experiences, their prior real-world wildfire experience, and the strategies used by their teachers predicted their understanding of wildfire concepts. In estimating the effect sizes of these variables, we controlled for student variables such as gender, race, English language status, prior wildfire knowledge (pre-test), and module completion rate. Results indicate that students’ simulation experience and teacher variation were the two most significant effects, followed by students’ real-life wildfire experience. Teacher variations were further explained by differences in teachers’ pedagogical strategies while implementing the module. Implications of these findings are discussed for the design and further research of simulations used as proxies for experiential learning of natural hazards.

According to several studies, the three levels of representation in chemistry are the fundamental aspects of effective learning and understanding of chemistry. In this study, we aim to illustrate how students identify changes in the matter using eye-tracking and verbalizations. Five students observed chemical and physical phenomena depicted by using the three representational levels under eye-tracking monitoring. This allows making inferences about which representation received students’ attention for the longest time. In order to enrich this illustrative experiment, data were triangulated with think-aloud techniques and researchers’ observations during the procedure. Our results suggest that eye-tracking experiments may provide some relevant insights into students’ cognition regarding representational levels. The multiple case study presented hereby pointed out that the levels observed for the longest time were the macro and the submicro levels, although only the macro level was relevant to the student’s answers, according to their verbalizations. Finally, qualitative analyses of these illustrations are also presented and discussed.

As augmented reality (AR) gains prevalence, various AR exhibits are being installed in science museums. However, few research has thus far examined the extent to which these exhibits can improve visitors’ learning. This study qualitatively evaluates the effectiveness of an AR dinosaur exhibit at the Gwacheon National Science Museum in Korea and examines the implications for its improvement. Eight elementary school students experienced the AR dinosaur exhibit, and their reactions were captured by audio and video recordings. Science museum experts were also interviewed to understand the intended affordances of the exhibit. The students’ responses to the intended affordances were examined by analyzing their tour of the AR dinosaur exhibit. We found that the exhibit attracted the visitors by catching their attention. However, they did not pay attention to the exhibition’s primary purpose of improving scientific understanding or reasoning. Some unintended interactions, unrelated to the intended affordances, also emerged. The limitations of the examined AR dinosaur exhibit suggest implications for improving AR exhibits in the future.