This study aimed to examine whether withholding answers coupled with physical manipulation of material strengthened by the self-explanation effect (SEE) contribute to the development of a deeper ...conceptual understanding and retention of learning about motion content in a hands-on (HO) learning environment. The correlation between students’ self-explanations and their results on both the post-test and re-test was analyzed.
N
= 100 third-graders (9–10 years) were divided into the following groups: IIHO (indirect instruction + independent performance of HO – withholding answers + physical manipulation), DIHO (direct instruction + observation of HO performance – no withholding answers + no physical manipulation), IIHO + SEE and DIHO + SEE. The ANCOVA analysis shows that the students in the IIHO + SEE and DIHO + SEE groups showed significantly higher achievements within the examined variables over the IIHO and DIHO groups. A strong positive correlation was observed between student self-explanations and the results of both tests.
The question of the efficiency of withholding answers and the physical manipulation of material in science education has become the target of a large number of researchers (proponents of the ...Cognitive Load Theory) in recent years. However, no research has been found examining the contribution of these elements of teaching to the development of a deeper conceptual understanding and the retention of what has been learned in the scientific education of lower primary school students.
This research aims to examine whether withholding answers coupled with physical manipulation of material contribute to developing a deeper conceptual understanding and retention of learning about magnetism-related content in a hands-on (HO) learning environment on higher-level cognitive skills.
The research involved N = 80 third graders (aged 9-10 years) from four classes of two primary schools from a smaller urban environment.
The research uses a quasi-experimental design. The convenience sampling method was used in the research. Students were assigned into the following groups: DIHO (direct instruction + experimenter demonstration of HO - no withholding answers + no physical manipulation) and IIHO (implicit instruction + independent student performance of HO - withholding answers + physical manipulation).
The results of ANCOVA analysis show that the students in the IIHO group achieved a much deeper conceptual understanding and retention of what they learned about magnetism-related content at higher-level cognitive skill: I create when compared to the students in the DIHO group.
It is assumed that withholding answers coupled with physical manipulation of material, contribute to the higher motivation and additional engagement of students on a mental level, which triggers a germane cognitive load, which is essential for productive learning.
General education of visually impaired individuals is a significant challenge for educators, policymakers, and researchers. This study investigates the specificity with which people with blindness or ...ultra-low vision (acronym PU is used for the purpose of this paper) perceive the characteristics of reproductive plant parts (spore-bearing parts of mosses and ferns and seed-bearing parts of conifers and flowering plants) during their multisensory exploration. One hundred participants with visual acuity worse than 3/60 from Austria and Montenegro participated in the research. This research uses descriptive and mixed methods of content analysis. The results of this study have shown that PU can perceive the characteristics of reproductive plant parts, which is necessary for both their primary and secondary biological education. There is a discrepancy in the sequencing of the learning content in the biological textbooks from which PU are taught about plants and the sequencing of the descriptions based on the multisensory exploration of the participants. The descriptions of reproductive plant parts in learning material for students with visual impairment should be aligned to their multisensory perceptions through both macro and micro adaptation.
There is a large amount of research that indicates that the use of 3DMP in STEM education improves students’ knowledge, motivation, and participation in the learning process. Nevertheless, despite ...the existing attempts to market 3DMP in education, its adoption in schools remains low. A number of studies with teachers in secondary schools and colleges indicate that teachers’ perceptions of 3DMP are one of the key factors for its successful use. However, to our best knowledge, there is no research that examined STEM upper primary school teachers’ perception on 3DMP. Through phenomenographic approach, this study is seeking to address the existing gaps. Four conceptions of 3DMP teaching emerged: (1) 3DMP as tools for classroom modernization; (2) 3DMP technical and software characteristics’ impact on implementation; (3) 3DMP as a tool for learning and improvement in teaching; (4) 3DMP and students’ professional orientation, teachers’ professional development. These four categories are connected by five key aspects of variation: impact on students, impact on teachers, classroom activity management, authenticity, subject-curriculum matters. The results of our study indicate that the mathematics and science teachers have a more sophisticated opinion on 3DMP than teachers of technical education, engineering, and informatics who mostly require additional training when it comes to using 3DMP in STEM education. Comparatively, science and mathematics teachers need support with implementation of software and 3D printers as a technical tool. Considering that this study’s teachers were early adopters of 3DMP, any future research should explore conceptions of experienced users.
This paper analyzes the problems which primary school teachers face during these science lessons and their willingness for professional development to enable themselves to implement the inclusion ...model in teaching science in primary schools. The research included 332 primary school teachers. The data was collected using a survey and analyzed by comparative and descriptive methods. It showed that the initial professional development program enabled teachers to gain some general knowledge about the inclusion model, but it did not qualified them for applying this model in integrated science teaching in primary schools. Teachers believe that science should be taught by qualified science teachers who have some experience with the inclusion model. Teachers also want to improve their knowledge through further professional trainings. They are faced with a lack of cooperation with institutions which deal with inclusive education, the lack of adequate literature on the inclusion model and its implementation in science teaching, as well as a variety of financial and technical barriers. They want to gain knowledge about the inclusion model, so that they can apply it during their science lessons.
Contemporary education adopts various new visualisation techniques for content to be learned. Recently, research on the application of 3D modelling and printing (3DMP) has been expanding. However, as ...the latest literature reviews indicate, little research is available on the contribution of 3DMP to learning of students with blindness (SWB) and students without disabilities (SWOD). This research aims to fill the gap through an exploratory case study, conducted in an inclusive Biology classroom in a primary school. Eight SWOD and four SWB (12 years old) participated in the study. The focus of the research was on pre-interventional and post-interventional students' knowledge about cells, and students' views on using 3DMP in Biology education. The data was analysed using Grounded Theory. The results indicate that 3DMP contributes to students' learning by improving the ability to enumerate, describe, and visualise the cell and its parts, by remediating some of the students' misconceptions and by increasing communication within a classroom. In terms of encountered obstacles, SWB noted that the quality of 3D models could cause new misconceptions. Adjusting the ratio, positioning and scaling of printed objects, inaccuracy in printing, and long printing process, are some of the problems which students encounter in 3DMP.
Although very rare, the existing research on the biological education of blind people indicates that teaching content is not fully in line with the sensory perception of that content by the blind. ...The aim of this study is to analyse the morphological details which the blind can register in multisensory plant research and to harmonise the sequencing of these descriptions by the blind with the sequencing of the morphological descriptions used in the botanical education of partially sighted people in Montenegro and Austria. The research uses a descriptive-analytical and comparative method. The research technique is observation. The study included 100 blind people from Montenegro and Austria, with an average age of 25. It is necessary to harmonise the sequence of general description and the description of each vegetative plant organ in the previous botanical education of the blind, as well as to implement new descriptions of those morphological characteristic that are perceived by the blind, which are absent in the current botanical education of the blind. The proposed changes would contribute to the improvement of the botanical education of the blind.
This paper analyzes the problems which primary school teachers face during these science lessons and their willingness for professional development to enable themselves to implement the inclusion ...model in teaching science in primary schools. The research included 332 primary school teachers. The data was collected using a survey and analyzed by comparative and descriptive methods. It showed that the initial professional development program enabled teachers to gain some general knowledge about the inclusion model, but it did not qualified them for applying this model in integrated science teaching in primary schools. Teachers believe that science should be taught by qualified science teachers who have some experience with the inclusion model. Teachers also want to improve their knowledge through further professional trainings. They are faced with a lack of cooperation with institutions which deal with inclusive education, the lack of adequate literature on the inclusion model and its implementation in science teaching, as well as a variety of financial and technical barriers. They want to gain knowledge about the inclusion model, so that they can apply it during their science lessons.
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