Algorithmic thinking development through physical computing activities with Arduino in STEM education

Education and Information Technologies - The need to benefit from information technologies in the twenty-first century digital age is increasing in all economies to overcome problems and...     

Approach–Method Interaction: The role of teaching method on the effect of context-based approach in physics instruction

The purpose of this study is to explore not only the effect of context-based physics instruction on students’ achievement and motivation in physics, but also how the use of different teaching methods influences it (interaction effect). Therefore, two two-level-independent variables were defined, teaching approach (contextual and non-contextual approaches) and teaching method (traditional and learning cycle methods). Thus, a 2?×?2 factorial design was performed with four treatment groups, including 131 11th-grade students: (1) a traditional method with the non-contextual approach group, (2) a traditional method with the contextual approach group, (3) a learning cycle with the non-contextual approach group, and (4) a learning cycle with the contextual approach group. Prior to and just after the treatments, which took 5 weeks, pre-tests and post-tests on student achievement and motivation were administered. For the analysis of data, multivariate analysis of covariance, simple regressions and follow-up analysis of covariances were performed. Consequently, it was found that the effect of context-based approach on physics achievement is dependent upon the teaching method implemented. That is, the traditional method was observed to increase the effect of the contextual approach while the learning cycle decreased it. Related to the effects on motivation in physics, no evidence was found to claim a significant difference. Based on the findings of this study, further research is suggested for determining which teaching methods are more effective with the context-based approach on students' achievement and motivation in physics.     

A Model for Augmented Reality Immersion Experiences of University Students Studying in Science Education

Journal of Science Education and Technology - The aim of this study is to investigate the augmented reality (AR) immersion experiences of university students studying in science education. The...     

The Nature and Role of Thought Experiments in Solving Conceptual Physics Problems

This study describes the possible variations of thought experiments in terms of their nature, purpose, and reasoning resources adopted during the solution of conceptual physics problems. A phenomenographic research approach was adopted for this study. Three groups of participants with varying levels of physics knowledge—low, medium, and high level—were selected in order to capture potential variations. Five participants were selected within each level group and the study was conducted with fifteen participants in total. Think aloud and retrospective questioning strategies were used throughout the individually conducted problem solving sessions to capture variations in the participants’ thinking processes. The analysis of the data showed that thought experiments were actively used cognitive tools by participants from all there levels while working on the problems. Four different thought experiment structures were observed and categorized as limiting case, extreme case, simple case, and familiar case. It was also observed that participants conducted thought experiments for different purposes such as prediction, proof, and explanation. The reasoning resources behind the thought experiment processes were classified in terms of observed facts, intuitive principles, and scientific concepts. The results of the analysis suggested that thought experiments used as a creative reasoning tool for scientists can also be a productive tool for students. It was argued that instructional practices enriched with thought experiments and related practices not only reveal hidden elements of students’ reasoning but also provide students opportunities to advance their inquiry skills through thought experimentation processes.     

ICT enabled Almajiri education in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects

Education and Information Technologies - The Almajiri children in Nigeria are deserving of special interventions to reduce the life-long divide in educational achievement, social status, and...     

The implementation of an intercultural competence syllabus to prepare study-abroad students for global communication

This study presents the outcome of the implementation of a process-oriented model of an intercultural competence (IC) and English as a lingua franca (ELF)-awareness development syllabus to prepare government-sponsored Turkish international sojourners for global communication in English L1 countries. Based on social constructivist research methodology, both, qualitative and quantitative data were used in the study that came from three major sources. The qualitative data included field notes obtained from a class of 10 study-abroad English preparatory students and interviews conducted with the preparatory school administrators, and the quantitative data came from pre-tests and post-tests which demonstrated a considerable shift in the attitudes of the participants of the experimental group with a boost in their ELF awareness and intercultural sensitivity compared to their control group counterparts. The outcome of the study underlines the significance of IC and ELF awareness development during language preparatory programmes prior to sojourn.     

Pre-service teachers’ acceptance of mobile-technology-supported learning activities

The purpose of this study was to develop a mobile learning acceptance model for pre-service teachers and to examine the relationships among technology acceptance factors. The literature on mobile learning acceptance lacks studies on pre-service teachers and studies that include concrete mobile learning scenarios. To overcome these problems, we have developed and implemented a mobile-technology-enabled information technology course. The data collection and analysis were conducted in two separate studies. First, we developed a mobile learning acceptance scale and applied confirmatory factor analysis with 408 participants. The final instrument included 28 items measuring eight technology acceptance factors, namely behavioral intention, attitude towards use, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, facilitating conditions, self-efficacy, and anxiety. After this, we collected a new set of data from 316 participants to examine the relationships among the factors using structural equation modeling. In both studies, we investigated the respective models’ invariance across gender and discipline groups, and both models fulfilled invariance requirements. The results indicated that perceived ease of use and social influence have direct effects on behavioral intention, whereas self-efficacy has an indirect effect. Depending on the group, the explained variance of behavioral intention ranged between 18.1% and 60.6%.

     

The effect of different usage of the educational programming language in programming education on the programming anxiety and achievement

Education and Information Technologies - The abstract structure, logic, negative perceptions, and anxiety of programming are seen as obstacles to novice programmers. The importance of educational...