A Case Study of Students’ Motivation in College Algebra Courses

This paper examines data from a larger study that focused upon students’ experiences and motivations in a college algebra course. The study revealed that students failed this course because of various factors and continued to view this course as a “gatekeeper” class. Through a stepwise multiple regression, the analysis of the ARCS instrument showed that Attention, Relevance, and Confidence were strong predictors of Satisfaction in the course.     

An Exploratory Case Study of Olympiad Students’ Attitudes towards and Passion for Science

Much is known about high school students’ attitudes towards science but there is almost no research on what passion for science might look like and how it might be manifested. This exploratory case study took advantage of a unique group of highly gifted science students participating in the Australian Science Olympiad (N = 69) to explore their attitudes towards school science and science as presented in the Olympiad summer camp. In particular the role the summer camp might play in igniting the students’ passion for science was a focus of the research. Data were collected through a two-tiered survey of students’ attitudes towards school science, an evaluative survey of the Olympiad summer camp and in-depth interviews with six participants. Findings indicated that Olympiad students generally had positive attitudes towards school science with most selecting science as one of their favourite subjects. However, an underlying ambivalence about school science was noted in the data. In contrast, the Olympiad summer camp transformed students’ positive attitudes into passion for science. Seven themes emerged from the data providing a foundation for a model of what academic passion for science looks like.     

Identification of Students’ Content Mastery and Cognitive and Affective Percepts of a Bioinformatics Miniunit: A Case Study With Recommendations for Teacher Education

Bioinformatics, merging biological data with computer science, is increasingly incorporated into school curricula at all levels. This case study of 10 secondary school students highlights student individual differences (especially the way they processed information and integrated procedural and analytical thought) and summarizes a variety of critical situations that teachers may encounter when teaching bioinformatics. Students who integrated factual information with procedural and analytical skills were closest to content mastery; while students who had fundamental deficiencies in factual recall or were less adept in integrating higher order knowledge with specific facts and procedural skills had difficulty mobilizing critical analytical skills needed to master the bioinformatics tasks. Broader implications are presented for teacher education, curriculum design, and research.     

Gender Gap in Mathematics and Physics in Chinese Middle Schools: A Case Study of a Beijing’s District

This study examines the gender gaps in mathematics and physics in Chinese middle schools. The data is from the Education Bureau management database which includes all middle school students who took high school entrance exam in a district of Beijing from 2006–2013. The ordinary least square model and quantile regression model are applied. This study consistently shows that the gender gap is unfavorable toward female students in mathematics and physics while favorable toward female students in Chinese and English. Gender gaps favoring males in math and physics become more noticeable among the students who receive the top tier scores in math and physics testing. However, females’ students’ advantage in Chinese and English decreases along the distribution from the bottom to the top percentiles. There are significant intersections between rural residency and gender. Rural students (regardless of gender) perform less well than urban students in all subjects and rural female student show the worst testing scores compared with the other subgroups in mathematics and physics.     

Pre-service Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge of History of Mathematics and Their Attitudes and Beliefs Towards Using History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education

This study examined pre-service mathematics teachers’ knowledge of history of mathematics and their attitudes and beliefs towards using history of mathematics in mathematics education based on year level in teacher education program and gender. The sample included 1,593 freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior pre-service middle school (grades 4–8) mathematics teachers from nine universities in Turkey. Data were collected through Knowledge of History of Mathematics Test and Attitudes and Beliefs towards the Use of History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education Questionnaire. Results indicate that pre-service teachers have moderate knowledge of history of mathematics and positive attitudes and beliefs towards using history of mathematics. Their knowledge scores increase as the year level in teacher education program advanced. Males’ knowledge scores are significantly higher than females’ scores in the first 2 years. This situation reverses in the last 2 years, but it is not statistically significant. Pre-service teachers have more positive attitudes and availing beliefs towards using history of mathematics as they progress in their teacher education program. Females have greater attitudes and beliefs mean scores than males in each of the years. The results indicate that the teacher education program may have enhanced the pre-service teachers’ knowledge of history of mathematics by related courses. However, the moderate knowledge scores indicate that there is a need for revision of these courses. The pre-service teachers’ positive attitudes and beliefs towards using history of mathematics stress the importance of teacher education program in order to prepare them for implementing this alternative strategy in the future.     

A Causal Model of Secondary Students’ Achievement in Chemistry

Abstract

A causal model is proposed in order to explain secondary students’ achievement in chemistry; the seven predictor variables used in the explanation are: students’ attitude towards chemistry, understanding of science, scientific attitude, traditional cosmological world‐view, cognitive style, teachers’ attitude towards the teaching of chemistry and understanding of science. Some 460 students chosen by means of stratified cluster sampling and their 25 teachers make up the student and teacher samples, respectively. The numerical values of all the variables are obtained and their intercorrelations computed. Path analysis procedure is applied to the data to estimate the coefficients of the structural equations of the proposed model. The results of the analysis indicate that the hypothesised model is tenable. The seven predictors directly account for 21?6% of the variance in the criterion; their indirect effect is 8?4%. The implications of the findings for chemistry instruction, teacher education and curriculum development are discussed.     

Assessment of Greek University Students’ Counselling Needs and Attitudes: An Exploratory Study

The present study is concerned with an exploration of counselling needs of students at two Greek universities as well as their attitudes to utilizing a university counselling centre. The sample consisted of 312 students who completed a Greek version of the Rutgers Needs Assessment Questionnaire as well as a subscale on Attitudes towards the Counselling Centre. The analysis of the data indicated that issues about relationships, goal setting and problem-solving were the main concerns of the participants. It was also found that students, especially those who faced some kind of psychological difficulties, held a negative attitude towards visiting a university counselling centre.     

Teaching Objectives in Chemistry: a Comparison of Teachers’ and Students’ Priorities

Summaries

English

An inventory which consisted of 12 objectives of chemistry teaching was constructed from lists compiled from the responses of 12th‐grade students and given to 10th, 11th and 12th graders and to their teachers. All four groups were asked to rank the objectives according to their order of significance.

The analysis of the order of rankings gives an insight into what are considered as the most important and interesting aspects of chemistry by students and by teachers.

The use of an objectives questionnaire in this manner is recommended to curriculum developers as part of the process of development and implementation of any curriculum. This may help to make the subject matter more suitable for the needs of both students and teachers.     

Integrating Facebook in Upper Secondary Biology Instruction: A Case Study of Students’ Situational Interest and Participation in Learning Communication

The sciences are often perceived by students as irrelevant as they do not see the content of science as related to their daily lives. Web 2.0-mediated activities are characterized by user-driven content production, collaboration, and multi-way communication. It has been proposed that employing Web 2.0 in educational activities will promote richer opportunities for making learning personally meaningful, collaborative, and socially relevant. Since Facebook is already in use among youths, it potentially provides a communicative link between educational content and students’ lives. The present study was conducted as a case study to provide an inductive, explorative investigation of whether and how the integration of Facebook into upper secondary biology can affect interest in biology and participation in learning communication. The results indicate that the coupling of formal and informal communication practices on Facebook serves to maintain interest and open up new learning possibilities while at the same time creating barriers to communication. These barriers are due to distractions, ethical issues, and a certain depreciation of the activities ensuing from the everydayness of Facebook as a communication platform. In conclusion, use of Facebook as an educational platform is not clearly good or bad.     

Learning Approaches in the Architectural Education and the Role of Students’ Habitus: Case Study Pakistan

This study seeks to explore the impact of social upbringing on architectural learning. The theory of “habitus” helps to understand how students’ personality dispositions might affect the way they approach learning in the “field” of architectural education. The notions of learning approaches and knowledge codes in literature are used to develop a framework for the study that helps to explore the field of architectural education. It is a qualitative study, conducted through semi-structured interviews with 44 students in 10 architecture schools in Pakistan. Interviews explored students’ habitus as well as their learning approaches, later explored through the framework developed in the study. Interviews are transcribed and coded using Nvivo 12. A detailed analysis explores the connection between habitus and learning approaches and finds out that habitus plays a major role in determining the way students approach learning in Architecture, with most cultivated habitus students showing a deep learning approach.     

Students’ Attitudes Toward Chemistry Lessons: The Interaction Effect between Grade Level and Gender

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the interaction effect between grade level and gender with respect to students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons taught in secondary schools. The sample consisted of 954 chemistry students in grades Secondary 4–7 (approximately 16–19 years of age) in Hong Kong. Students' attitudes were surveyed using an attitude toward chemistry lessons scale (ATCLS), and subscale scores were produced on four dimensions: liking for chemistry theory lessons; liking for chemistry laboratory work; evaluative beliefs about school chemistry; and behavioral tendencies to learn chemistry. When the ATCLS data were subjected to two-way MANOVA, the interaction effect between grade level and gender on students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons was statistically significant. The interaction effect was attributable to scores on the theory lessons subscale and laboratory work subscale. Male students in Secondary 4 and 5 liked chemistry theory lessons more than their female counterparts. However, male students' liking for chemistry laboratory work declined when they progressed from Secondary 4 to Secondary 7; no such a significant decline in attitude toward chemistry laboratory work was found in females. Overall, both males and females were just marginally positive about chemistry lessons during the years of secondary schooling. Implications of these findings for curriculum design are discussed.     

Professional Communities in the Context of Teachers’ Professional lives: A Case of Mathematics Specialists

We describe an urban school initiative aimed at teachers’ professional development with the goal of increasing their mathematics content knowledge and helping them improve their practice. In the lowest performing schools, mathematics specialists were employed to teach only mathematics in upper-elementary grades (ages 9–12). One aspect of this initiative was a provision of time and space for the formation of site-based professional communities that were intended to support teachers in trying to implement changes in their practice. Teachers’ professional communities developed at some sites and not at others. In this analysis, we explore the conditions that afforded or constrained the development of teachers’ professional communities. Using two contrasting school sites as examples, we describe five aspects of the teachers’ individual and collective professional lives that influenced the emergence of teachers’ professional communities.     

Slovakian Students’ Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Biotechnology

This study examined university students’ knowledge of and attitudes (n = 378) toward biotechnology in Slovakia, a conservative country where the distribution of genetically engineered products are banned by law. We found a significant positive correlation between attitudes and the level of knowledge; however, although students enrolled in biology courses have better knowledge of biotechnology, their attitudes toward genetic engineering were similar than those of students who do not study biology. Females showed poorer knowledge and lower acceptance of genetically engineered products than did males. Overall, Slovakian students have poor knowledge and numerous misunderstandings about what genetic engineering means, which suggests that science curriculum with respect to this topic should be greatly re‐evaluated and teaching strategies should be improved accordingly.     

The Effects of a Flipped Classroom Model of Instruction on Students’ Performance and Attitudes Towards Chemistry

This study establishes the effects of a flipped classroom model of instruction on academic performance and attitudes of 66 first-year secondary school students towards chemistry. A pre-test and post-test experimental design was employed to assign students randomly into either the experimental or control group. In order to assess the suitability of using flipped model of instruction, students were divided in two groups. For the first group called the experimental group, a “flipped classroom” was used in which the students were given video lessons and reading materials, before the class to be revised at home. On the other hand, the second group followed traditional methodology, and it was used as control. The rate of reaction knowledge test and the chemistry attitude scale were administered. In addition, the researcher documented classroom observations, experiences, thoughts and insights regarding the intervention in a journal on a daily basis in order to enrich the data. Students were interviewed at the end of the research in order to enrich the qualitative data also. Findings from this study reveal that the flipped instruction model facilitates a shift in students’ conceptual understanding of the rate of chemical reaction significantly more than the control condition. Positive significant differences were found on all assessments with the flipped class students performing higher on average. Students in the flipped classroom model condition benefited by preparing for the lesson before the classes and had the opportunity to interact with peers and the teacher during the learning processes in the classroom. The findings support the notion that teachers should be trained or retrained on how to incorporate the flipped classroom model into their teaching and learning processes because it encourages students to be directly involved and active in the learning.     

A Study of Code-Switching in Students’Talk in College English Class

Code-switching between English and Chinese usually occurs in students’talk when they are involved in taking com?municative language activities in college English class. This paper studies the situation...     

Design Decisions in Developing Learning Trajectories–Based Assessments in Mathematics: A Case Study

This article analyzes the design decisions of a team developing diagnostic assessments for a learning trajectory focused on rational number reasoning. The analysis focuses on the design rationale for key decisions about how to develop the cognitive assessments and related validity arguments within a fluid state and national policy context. The study draws on ethnographic methods adapted from science, technology, and society studies to document key rationales for decisions. For this team, concerns about the validity of both the assessments and the hypothetical trajectory, anticipated uses of the assessments, and the available distribution of resources and expertise to different project activities were all considerations for significant design decisions throughout the project. The study findings suggest that success in the design of trajectories-based assessments depends on teams’ attention to balancing core design activities with engagement in the external policy environment, balancing precision with utility for diagnosis in defining the levels of a trajectory, and balancing the goals of supporting and assessing student learning.     

A Study of Code-Switching in Students’ Talk in College English Class

Code-switching between English and Chinese usually occurs in students’ talk when they are involved in taking communicative language activities in college English class. This paper studies the situations in which students are likely to use codeswitching and analyzes it from the perspective of the mental world in Verscheren’s Adaptation Theory. It shows that inadequate mastery of English language, cultural differences and the improper adjustment to context may lead to students’ using of codeswitching. It also shows that the use of code-switching in students’ talk adapts to students’ cognitive elements and emotive elements as well.     

Constructivism in Mathematics Classrooms: Listening to Ghanaian Teachers’ and Students’ Views

One of the challenges of implementing a new curriculum is how to bridge the gap between the underlining principles of the curriculum and the cultural and social orientations of the society which includes teachers and students. This article reports on a study that explored how the cultural and social orientations of teachers and students can influence the implementation of a constructivist curriculum in mathematics classrooms. The data for the study came from 250 students and 41 mathematics teachers, using questionnaires, observations, and interviews. The results showed that inasmuch as mathematics teachers and their students acknowledge the importance of student’s active participation and teamwork, these practices have not been fully conceptualised into the Ghanaian mathematics classroom due to some cultural factors. Two main cultural factors were discovered from the analyses of the results. Firstly, the culture of acknowledging only correct answers in class has a negative impact on individual students’ confidence and participation during mathematics lessons. Also, the culture of teamwork is not fully accepted within Ghanaian classrooms as most students find it difficult working in groups and accepting and appreciating each other’s view. It was evident in all lessons that students were ridiculed by their peers when they provide a wrong answer to a question and this affected individual students’ participation in the classroom. Therefore, we suggested that teachers should be pro-active in promoting a classroom environment which is free from fear and intimidation to motivate students to be actively involved in the classroom discourse.