Differential effects of verbal aptitude and study questions on comprehension of science concepts

Selective attention models predict that verbatim study questions can divert students from meaningfully encoding attributes of science concepts. The aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) hypothesis predicts that such questions can be particularly dysfunctional to low-ability students. These predictions assume the measurement of true comprehension of concepts as a criterion. Eighth-grade students (n = 217) were randomly assigned to a text-only, text-question or a placebo treatment. The text verbally described five fossil types. The questions consisted of 28 fill-in-the-blank queries about the text. The posttest required students to visually identify and discriminate 40 fossil specimens as to fossil type. Comprehension of the concepts clearly took place-a fact substantiated by the very low scores obtained by the placebo group. As predicted (p < 0.05), low-verbal students performed better when provided with a text-only rather than a text-question treatment. In contrast, high-verbal students were less effected by the verbatim study questions. Main effects among these groups were also detected. Apparently such questions can overprompt students, resulting in their copying of words from a text to an answer-blank without semantically encoding (i.e., comprehending) the copied words.     

Development of an instructional model for higher order thinking in science among secondary school students: a fuzzy Delphi approach

It is important for science students to develop higher order thinking (HOT) so that they can reason like scientists in the field. In this study, a HOT instructional model for secondary school science was developed with experts. The model would focus on reflective thinking (RT) and science process skills (SPS) among Grade 7 students. The Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) was employed to determine consensus among a panel of 20 experts. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted among the experts to generate the elements required for the model. Then, a questionnaire was developed using a seven-point linguistic scale based on these elements. The defuzzification value was calculated for each item, and a threshold value (d) of 0.75 was used to determine consensus for the items in the questionnaire. The alpha-cut value of >0.5 was used to select the phases and sub-phases in the model. The elements in the model were ranked to identify the sub-phases which had to be emphasised for implementation in instruction. Consensus was achieved on the phases of the HOT instructional model: engagement, investigation, explanation, conclusion and reflection. An additional 24 learning activities to encourage RT skills and SPS among students were also identified to develop HOT skills in science.     

The effects of computer-assisted instruction and locus of control upon preservice elementary teachers' acquisition of the integrated science process skills

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) versus a text mode of programmed instruction (PI), and the cognitive style of locus of control, on preservice elementary teachers' achievement of the integrated science process skills. Eighty-one preservice elementary teachers in six sections of a science methods class were classified as internally or externally controlled. The sections were randomly assigned to receive instruction in the integrated science process skills via a microcomputer or printed text. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design. Before assessing main and interaction effects, analysis of covariance was used to adjust posttest scores using the pretest scores. Statistical analysis revealed that main effects were not significant. Additionally, no interaction effects between treatments and loci of control were demonstrated. The results suggest that printed PI and tutorial CAI are equally effective modes of instruction for teaching internally and externally oriented preservice elementary teachers the integrated science process skills.     

Using a modified argument-driven inquiry to promote elementary school students’ engagement in learning science and argumentation

This study explored the effects of a modified argument-driven inquiry approach on Grade 4 students’ engagement in learning science and argumentation in Taiwan. The students were recruited as an experimental group (EG, n?=?36) to join a 12-week study, while another 36 Grade 4 students from the same schools were randomly selected to be the comparison group (CG). All participants completed a questionnaire at the beginning and end of this study. In addition, four target students with the highest and the other four students with the lowest pretest engagement in learning science or argumentation to be observed weekly and interviewed following the posttest. Initial results revealed that the EG students’ total engagement in learning science and argumentation and the claim and warrant components were significantly higher than the CG students. In addition, the EG students’ anxiety in learning science significantly decreased during the study; and their posttest total engagement in learning science scores were positively associated with their argumentation scores. Interview and observation results were consistent with the quantitative findings. Instructional implications and research recommendations are discussed.     

Learning contexts,black Cultural Ethos,and the science achievement of African American students in an urban middle school

As other countries vigorously promote rapid advancement in science, optimizing the participation of all students in the United States in science is imperative. This study focused on African American students and examined their science achievement in relation to Black Cultural Ethos (BCE), a construct rooted in psychology. Via qualitative and quantitative data obtained from a non‐random control group design, the study addressed three questions: (1) With respect to BCE, what characterizes the natural instructional contexts of two middle school science teachers? (2) What characterizes the achievement of African American students in contexts that incorporate BCE and contexts that do not? (3) What achievement patterns, if any, exist in BCE and non‐BCE instructional contexts? With regard to the natural contexts, the teachers did not incorporate BCE even when the opportunities were available to do so. Within these non‐BCE contexts, the group's mean scores on the study‐specific test that aligned with instruction decreased from pretest to posttest with approximately one‐third of the students' scores improving. When a context was altered with a moderate effect size of 0.47 to include BCE, the group's mean scores on the aforementioned test increased from pretest to posttest with two‐thirds of the students' scores improving. An illustration of the interplay between BCE and context and a consideration of the interplay as a mediating factor in research involving African American students encapsulate the significance and implications of the study's findings. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 665–683, 2008     

Effects of the Integrated Online Advance Organizer Teaching Materials on Students’ Science Achievement and Attitude

This two-group quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of the Online Advance Organizer Concept Teaching Material (ONACOM) integrated with inquiry teaching and expository teaching methods. Grade 7 students’ posttest performances on the light unit achievement and light unit attitude tests controlled for gender, previous semester science grade, and pretest scores were analyzed. No significant treatment effects were found between the inquiry and expository approaches. However, both groups demonstrated significant pretest–posttest gains in achievement and attitude. Independent from the method used, ONACOM was judged effective in both groups as students demonstrated increased achievement and attitude scores. ONACOM has a social and semantic network-aided infrastructure that can be adapted to both methods to increase students’ achievement and improve their attitude.     

The Effectiveness of the Geospatial Curriculum Approach on Urban Middle-Level Students’ Climate Change Understandings

Climate change science is a challenging topic for student learning. This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of a geospatial curriculum approach to promote climate change science understandings in an urban school district with eighth-grade students and investigated whether teacher- and student-level factors accounted for students’ climate change knowledge achievement. The participants included 12 science teachers and 956 eighth-grade students. Data included a pre- and posttest climate change assessment measures for both teachers and students and a teacher measure of Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Paired-sample t tests revealed statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest on their climate change knowledge (p < .001; effect sizes being large on multiple-choice items and medium on the open-ended response assessment). Both ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression and 2-level hierarchical linear modeling found that students’ initial climate change knowledge and gender were significant predictors for students’ posttest scores, p < .05. Students’ pretest scores were the strongest significant predictor of the posttest scores, p < .001. Neither the teachers’ climate change knowledge nor their Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge had significant association with the students’ posttest scores. Teaching years was a significant predictor for students’ posttest scores in OLS regression (p < .001). The findings provide support that a geospatial curriculum approach is an effective science curriculum approach for learners in urban middle-level education.     

Comparing the Impacts of a Problem-Based Computer-Assisted Instruction and the Direct-Interactive Teaching Method on Student Science Achievement

This study explored the effects of a Problem-Based Computer-Assisted Instruction (PBCAI) on students' earth science achievement in Taiwan. One hundred and fifty-nine 10th grade students enrolled in four sections of a mandatory earth science course participated in this pretest–posttest control-group experiment. During a 2-week period, the experimental group students (n = 84) received the PBCAI while the comparison group students (n = 75) received a Direct-Interactive Teaching Method (DITM) accompanying with regular computer-internet usage. An analysis of covariance on the Earth Science Achievement Test posttest scores with students' IQ and pretest scores as the covariates suggested that (a) the PBCAI was more effective in promoting students' achievement than was the DITM (F = 4.91, p < .028), and that (b) students in the experimental group had significantly higher achievement scores than did students in the comparison group, especially on the knowledge (F = 7.74, p < .017) and comprehension (F = 5.73, p < .017) test items, but not on the application (F = .07, p > .017) test items.     

A quantitative analysis of high school chemistry textbooks for scientific literacy themes and expository learning aids

The purpose of this study was to examine the content of seven high school chemistry textbooks for curriculum balance and emphasis on the following aspects of scientific literacy: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) the interaction among science, technology, and society. In addition, the number of textbook pages, vocabulary terms, pictures, questions, and problems at the end of the chapter were determined. The textbook is an important teaching aid in high school chemistry courses, which conveys some of the information that students receive and influences how students perceive this subject. The majority of chemistry textbooks we analyzed stress science as a body of knowledge, place some emphasis on science as a way of investigating, have practically eliminated science as a way of thinking, and devote very little text to the interaction among science, technology, and society. Furthermore, these are voluminous books that range in length from 466 to 729 pages, with as many as 60 questions per chapter.     

THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON ELEMENTARY STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN KUWAIT

This study compares the effects of two methods of teaching—teacher-centered and cooperative learning—on students’ science achievement and use of social skills. The sample consists of 163 female elementary science students in 8 intact grade 5 classes who were assigned to 2 instructional methods and were taught an identical science unit by 4 classroom teachers. The students’ science achievement was measured by a researcher-designed achievement test given to students as a pretest and a posttest. Students’ social skills were determined by a researcher-designed survey administered as a pretest and posttest. Analysis of the achievement test scores and the social skills survey responses revealed that cooperative learning strategies have significantly (p > 0.05) more positive effects on both students’ achievement and social skills than teacher-centered strategies. These results provide an evidential base to inform policy decisions and encourage and persuade teachers to implement cooperative learning methods in Kuwaiti classrooms.     

Meaningful Understanding and Systems Thinking in Organic Chemistry: Validating Measurement and Exploring Relationships

The purpose of this study was dual: First, to develop and validate assessment schemes for assessing 11th grade students’ meaningful understanding of organic chemistry concepts, as well as their systems thinking skills in the domain. Second, to explore the relationship between the two constructs of interest based on students’ performance on the applied assessment framework. For this purpose, (a) various types of objective assessment questions were developed and evaluated for assessing meaningful understanding, (b) a specific type of systemic assessment questions (SAQs) was developed and evaluated for assessing systems thinking skills, and (c) the association between students’ responses on the applied assessment schemes was explored. The results indicated that properly designed objective questions can effectively capture aspects of students’ meaningful understanding. It was also found that the SAQs can elicit systems thinking skills in the context of a formalistic systems thinking theoretical approach. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between students’ responses on the two assessment strategies. This research provides evidence that students’ systems thinking level within a science domain is significantly related to their meaningful understanding of relative science concepts.     

Effects of a Game‐Based e‐Learning Module on Undergraduate Food Science Students’ Planned Behaviors Concerning Good Manufacturing Practices

Understanding the role of food science education in developing undergraduate students’ intentions to implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) may be a key strategy in developing the workforce's implementation of GMPs and other food safety programs. Previous research has demonstrated the effects of educational interventions on planned food safety behaviors in various settings; however, none have studied GMPs interventions and college students. This study applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to evaluate the effects of a game‐based e‐learning module on undergraduate students’ planned behaviors concerning GMPs. Forty‐four participants were recruited from 42 food science clubs across the United States to complete a game‐based e‐learning module and pre‐ and posttest survey instruments. We compared changes in pre‐ and posttest scores using paired Wilcoxon signed rank tests and explored the role of GMP‐related knowledge and TPB constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls) in predicting students’ intentions to implement GMPs using multiple linear regression. We modeled pretest scores, posttest scores, and changes in scores while controlling for student demographic factors (for example, year in college, gender, and so on). Only participants’ knowledge and perceived behavioral controls significantly increased (P < 0.05) after completing the game‐based e‐learning module. Posttest regression models explained twice as much variance than pretest models (up to 54% total). Changes in intentions to implement GMPs were predicted by changes in subjective norms, perceived behavioral controls, and knowledge, as well as previous enrollment in food safety courses and interest in working in the food industry. The only predictive variables for both pre‐ and posttest scores were subjective norms, previous enrollment in food safety courses and interest in working in the food industry (P < 0.05). A discussion of how these results provide insights for food safety educators to optimize their teaching impacts was presented.     

Argumentation in a Socioscientific Context and its Influence on Fundamental and Derived Science Literacies

This study explored the effects of arguing to learn in a socioscientific context on the fundamental and derived components of reading, writing, and science understanding as integral parts of science literacy. We adopted mixed-methods in which the 1-group pretest–posttest design with supplemental interviews and questionnaires. The pretest evaluated the dependent variables (reading and writing scores), the treatment was arguing to learn about the global climate change issue, the posttest evaluated the dependent variables, and follow-up questionnaires and interviews informed the quantitative results. An intact grade six class (N = 28) at an urban elementary school located in central Taiwan was the participants. Analyses of the pretest–posttest gain scores and correlations between these outcomes revealed significant (p < 0.05) improvements in writing and associations among reading, writing, and arguing to learn. Interpretation of the qualitative data (interview and questionnaire responses) supported that argumentation as an instructional treatment focused on fundamental literacy could play a positive role in facilitating students’ enhanced science understanding (derived literacy).     

Peer Collaboration on a Nonverbal Reasoning Task by Urban,Minority Students

An experimental study of collaborative reasoning in 86 7th-grade minority students from an urban, low-income school was conducted. The students completed items from the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-Third Edition (TONI-3) and were asked to provide written explanations for their judgments. All students worked individually during the pretest and posttest phases of the study. During the experimental phase, some students worked independently while others worked in small, same-gender or mixed-gender groups. Significant improvements in judgments were evident during the experimental phase for all groups except the single-gender female group. The mixed-gender group reached the ceiling level of performance and outperformed both the students who worked independently and the collaborative, single-gender female group during the experimental phase. Posttest judgment scores declined and were not significantly different from pretest scores for any group. Significant improvements in written explanations for judgments were evident during the experimental phase and were maintained on the posttest by all groups. The students who collaborated had higher percentages of fully correct explanations on the posttest than students who worked alone. Collaborative experiences were beneficial for students' reasoning about unfamiliar, moderately difficult, nonverbal problems.     

Research on the construction and application of teacher-student interaction evaluation system for smart classroom in the post COVID-19

Smart classroom (SC) is an important embodiment of the new teaching mode in online and offline integration in the COVID-19. At present, the research on the evaluation system of teacher-student interaction (TSI) in SC lacks evaluation system to guide the development of students’ higher order thinking (HOT). This evaluation system of TSI was established through grounded theory, Delphi method and analytic hierarchy process. The evaluation system for TSI considered the support of intelligent technology for various indicators and the development of students’ HOT. The evaluation system included 4 first level indicators, 16 s level indicators and 44 third level indicators. The evaluation system had been comprehensively evaluated the TSI activities, which was conducive to the development of students’ HOT.Data availabilityData used in this research are available upon request from the corresponding author.     

Multiple-choice exams: an obstacle for higher-level thinking in introductory science classes

Learning science requires higher-level (critical) thinking skills that need to be practiced in science classes. This study tested the effect of exam format on critical-thinking skills. Multiple-choice (MC) testing is common in introductory science courses, and students in these classes tend to associate memorization with MC questions and may not see the need to modify their study strategies for critical thinking, because the MC exam format has not changed. To test the effect of exam format, I used two sections of an introductory biology class. One section was assessed with exams in the traditional MC format, the other section was assessed with both MC and constructed-response (CR) questions. The mixed exam format was correlated with significantly more cognitively active study behaviors and a significantly better performance on the cumulative final exam (after accounting for grade point average and gender). There was also less gender-bias in the CR answers. This suggests that the MC-only exam format indeed hinders critical thinking in introductory science classes. Introducing CR questions encouraged students to learn more and to be better critical thinkers and reduced gender bias. However, student resistance increased as students adjusted their perceptions of their own critical-thinking abilities.     

Testing the Immediate and Long-Term Efficacy of a Tier 2 Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention

ABSTRACT

This study examined the efficacy of a kindergarten mathematics intervention program, ROOTS, focused on developing whole-number understanding in the areas of counting and cardinality and operations and algebraic thinking for students at risk in mathematics. The study utilized a randomized block design with students within classrooms randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Measures of mathematics achievement were collected in the fall (pretest) and spring (posttest) in kindergarten and in the winter of first grade (delayed posttest). Significant differences between conditions favoring treatment students were found on four of six measures at posttest. Treatment students reduced the achievement gap with their not-at-risk peers. No effect was found on follow-up first-grade achievement scores. Implications for Tier 2 mathematics instruction in a Response to Intervention model are discussed.     

Second Graders Learn Animal Adaptations through Form and Function Analogy Object Boxes

This study examined the use of form and function analogy object boxes to teach second graders (n = 21) animal adaptations. The study used a pretest–posttest design to examine animal adaptation content learned through focused analogy activities as compared with reading and Internet searches for information about adaptations of animals followed by making an informative puppet play. Students participated in six week‐long lesson sets, each addressing adaptations of two animals, which alternated between the two conditions. In the analogy condition, students matched cards explaining form and function analogies of animal body parts or homes to analogous manufactured items. They mapped analogies, thought of alternate manufactured items, and created new analogies. Students scored similarly on material to be taught through both conditions on the pretest, but made significantly higher posttest mean scores (76.1% analogy versus 57.2% traditional condition) with large effect size (partial η² = 0.58) on animal adaptation content learned through the analogy activities. This study shows the usefulness of form and function analogies in teaching product innovations to second‐grade students, indicating that early childhood students are able to successfully engage in sophisticated analogy activities. Efficacy of the analogy activities was related to objects that focused attention, motivated, and gave concrete representations of concepts; to cards and graphic organizers for organization, connections, and memory; and to complex thinking activities that challenged students and promoted peer interaction.