An ethnographic investigation of multimodal learning of young children’s scientific experiences in field trips and classroom activities

PurposeResearch on the nature of blended learning and its features has led to a variety of approaches to the practice of blended learning. The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative practice model, the TSOI hybrid learning model (HLM) to enhance the blended learning experiences in science education.Design/methodology/approachThe Piagetian science learning cycle model and Kolb's experiential learning cycle model are used to structure the theoretical framework of this model. This HLM which is research evidence‐based represents learning as a cognitive process in a cycle of four phases: Translating, Sculpting, Operationalizing and Integrating. A major feature is to promote active cognitive processing in the learner for meaningful and engaged learning proceeding from inductive to deductive and also addressing the learner's individual learning style. Thus, it is inclined towards constructivism.FindingsThe paper provides students' responses in terms of blog and wiki.Practical implicationsAn application of this HLM to enhance blended learning experiences in science education is illustrated with an authentic example on understanding multimedia learning design in an e‐learning environment for pre‐service teachers. Outcomes, feedback and implications will be discussed in the context of blended learning in science education.Originality/valueThe HLM contributes as an alternative practice model to a new paradigm shift in designing and enhancing blended learning experiences.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the science-technology and primary school teachers’ organization skills for learning experiences in science and technology lesson according to the opinions of 5th and 6th grade students. This research is designed based on causal comparative model and 787 5th and 6th grade students of three schools in each of the four central districts of Diyarbakir province participated in this study. In this study, as a data collection tool, “The Assessment Scale of Teachers’ Organization Skills for Learning Experiences” developed by researchers was used. As a result of this study, when there is no significant difference between the opinions about primary school teachers’ organization skills for learning experiences in science and technology lesson in terms of the variables of gender, changing status in report card mark of science and technology lesson and central district, but there is a significant difference in terms of class level in favor of th grade students. Moreover, 5th grade students prefer primary school teachers to science and technology teachers, in terms of organizing learning experiences in science and technology lesson

This research examines the impact of related classroom activities on fourth grade students' science learning from a school field trip. The current study draws upon research in psychology and education to create an intervention that is designed to enhance what students learn from school science field trips. The intervention comprises a set of activities that include 1) orientation to context, 2) discussion, 3) use of field notebooks, and 4) post-visit discussion of what was learned. The effects of the intervention are examined by comparing two groups of students: an intervention group which receives classroom activities related to their field trip and an equivalent control group which visits the same field trip site for the same duration but does not receive researcher- designed activities. Learning of target concepts in both groups is compared using objective pre- and post-tests, with results that indicate intervention group students learn more than comparison group students.

How students’ conceptions of learning science are related to their motivational beliefs and self-regulation

The main goal of this research is to understand how young children use mobile technology such as smartphones to traverse different learning contexts and harness a constellation of resources to make sense of their science learning in daily lives. We adopted Rogoff’s sociocultural lens of transformation of participation that helps us understand how students’ science learning experiences can interact with their wide array of cognitive, social and cultural resources and be mediated through personal, interpersonal and cultural–institutional forces in formal and informal learning spaces. We present an analysis of three contrasting case illustrations of Primary 3 (aged 9–10) students in a Singapore ICT-enriched primary school, and discuss findings in relation to the virtuous and vicious cycles of learning trajectories. In conclusion, we contend that mobile technology, which is considered as a cultural tool and learning hub, has the potential to elevate learning, but this potential can only be realized under two conditions: (a) when learners have created the habit of mind for utilizing and harnessing cultural, epistemic and social resources to foster connections between formal and informal knowledge; and (b) when the use of mobile technology is situated within the broader knowledge bases that our current formal curriculum recognizes.

The voices of African American students reveal sociocultural factors that influence their achievement in science and mathematics classes. Using a sociocultural theoretical framework (Mercer & Covey, 1980), this ethnographic study interpreted the perspectives of five African American students as they discussed their learning experiences in science and mathematics classrooms. This framework acknowledges the vulnerability of the educational system to societal influences that inevitably assert cultural values and norms. The students' discussions provided insight into their beliefs about the varied ways in which sociocultural factors impact their learning in science and mathematics classrooms.

The importance of laboratory activities in science education cannot be overstated. Scientific laboratory activities and experiments have helped students absorb science lessons more easily in recent years. Science cannot be more valuable to students if they do not get laboratory experience in school. As a result, the goal of this research is to learn about science major students’ lived experiences in learning science with the lack of laboratory activities while also identifying the obstacles they face. In an in-depth semi-structured online interview, ten science major students were asked to describe their learning experiences in science with and without laboratory activities. The students’ shared experiences described learning situations that did not involve laboratory activities as “finding light in the dark”. To put it another way, the students find the learning materials difficult to understand because of the unfamiliar terms they have encountered. Moreover, the lack of learning resources and home-based experimentation equipment and materials to perform the required laboratory activities made it even more difficult for them to gain new knowledge and formulate specific scientific explanations.

Researchers have been devoted to exploring the impacts of immersive virtual reality (IVR) on education in recent years. However, efforts to probe the role of students’ learning traits such as motivated strategies for learning in their IVR learning have been limited. Most studies commonly analyzed learners’ perceptions of immersion with a single construct rather than with multiple constructs. Therefore, this study implemented immersive virtual field trips for science learning in three elementary classes (a total of 76 students) for understanding how students’ inherent self‐efficacy, intrinsic value and self‐regulation for science learning related to their perceived immersion (ie, basic attention, temporal dissociation, transportation, emotional involvement, enjoyment) and attitudes (ie, perceived usefulness and behaviors of IVR learning) when engaging in IVR learning environments. The reliability and validity of the constructs in the PLS‐SEM path modeling were first confirmed. This study further identified that motivation of intrinsic value and self‐regulation may play a dominant role in the students’ learning attitudes in IVR environments for science education. It was also verified that the students’ immersive experiences of attention and enjoyment significantly mediated their IVR learning. Notably, the students with lower levels of self‐efficacy may have been more immersed in IVR environments and further held positive learning attitudes. The findings of this study have implications for practicing IVR‐related learning activities in elementary classrooms with considerations of learners’ psychological characteristics and perceived immersion when confronting IVR technology. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic Students’ motivational characteristics influences their learning in online environments. Students’ perceived immersion in VR learning context is related to their learning perceptions and predict positive affection. What this paper adds Understanding the structural relationships among young students’ motivational characteristics, perceived immersion, and learning attitudes towards their IVR learning. Identifying a dominant role of motivation of intrinsic value and self‐regulation in students’ learning attitudes in IVR environments for science education. Verifying the mediating effects of immersion on the relationships between motivational characteristics for science learning and learning attitudes. Implications for practice and/or policy IVR‐related learning activities in classrooms may benefit the students with low level of self‐efficacy for science learning. Scaffolding approaches (e.g., prompts for observing virtual elements) might be considered to support those students with limited self‐regulatory skills to learn science in the context of IVR. The immersion factors of basic attention and enjoyment were highlighted when designing or implementing IVR learning activities in classrooms.

An analysis of the 1976‐1977 NAEP survey of science attitudes showed that, by age nine, females, although expressing similar or greater desires to participate in science activities, had consistently fewer experiences in science than boys of the same age. Science activities surveyed included use of common experimental materials and instruments, observation of scientific phenomena, and field trips. At ages 13 and 17, girls again reported fewer classroom and extracurricular science activities than boys. Their responses indicated narrow perceptions of science and of the usefulness of scientific research. In addition, they displayed generally negative attitudes toward science classes and careers. Suggestions to eliminate the inequalities found are offered.

Referebces

Research in science education has shown that one’s identities as science learner and teacher can mediate their pedagogical practices.Grounded in the perspec-tive that language is a resource for identity (re)construction (Gee, 2000), the present study sought to understand how preservice science teachers’ identities were manifested in their philosophies of science learning and teaching. Drawing on identity theory, we analyzed 76 essays (38 preservice teachers’sci-ence learning autobiographies and teaching philosophies) in terms of four dimensions of identity: nature, institution, discourse, and affinity. Our findings suggest that affinity identity plays an important role in shaping participants’ science learning experiences and teaching philosophy. Ways to enhance preservice teachers’ identities as science teachers and the relevance of adopting a discursive analytical approach to identity as a means of improving science teacher education programs are discussed.

This essential publication is for all research and academic libraries, especially those institutions with online and distance education courses available in their science education programs. This book will also benefit audiences within the science education community of practice and others interested in STEM education, virtual schools, e-learning, m-learning, natural sciences, physical sciences, biological sciences, geosciences, online learning models, virtual laboratories, virtual field trips, cyberinfrastructure, neurological learning and the neuro-cognitive model. The continued growth in general studies and liberal arts and science programs online has led to a rise in the number of students whose science learning experiences are partially or exclusively online. character and quality of online science instruction.

Infant-toddler (10 months to 36 months) development of scientific concepts through everyday activities as part of family practices

This paper discusses conceptual studies related to environmental programs for children or APEL program as one of the programs assumed to provide experiences in learning mathematics and science through the preservation of the natural environment. Nature essentially contains various materials that can be used as learning resources for students and one of them can be used in the APEL program. The APEL program is one of the programs in the development of After School Care services for grade 1 and 2 elementary school students. There are three subtopics that will be elaborated in this paper, including the nature of children’s environmental programs (APEL), types of activities in the APEL program, a general overview of mathematics and science learning for grade 1 and 2 elementary school students, as well as mathematics and science learning experiences. in the APEL program. This article is expected to help readers to find a more comprehensive view of alternative mathematics and science learning for grade 1 and 2 elementary school students that can be done not only in the classroom but also can be done through other interesting activities outside the classroom. The conclusion of the authors in this article refers to the importance of positive experiences in mathematics and science learning for students to support their understanding of the concepts of mathematics and science itself, one of which is through the introduction and preservation of the natural environment.

Software (SW) is one of the key technologies in modern society, and its importance is receiving the attention of the educational community. In addition, Computational Thinking (CT) has been studied in fields of various education such as computer science, science, mathematics, and technology. The prominence of computer science education has increased in K-12 South Korean schools with the effect of the 2015 Revised National Curriculum and the National Plan for Activating Software Education. In addition, there are active efforts to include CT in science, technology, and mathematics classrooms. Therefore, this study aims to review prior studies on CT in science and mathematics education. The results of this study are as follows: 1) CT in science and mathematics education has a different conceptual approach than CT in computer education. Science education is mostly about problem-solving activities using computers, and mathematics education mostly utilizes the ‘abstraction’ related approach. 2) The key to improving CT in both subjects is to implement practical experience in science and mathematics education. Variables of interest in prior studies were scientific and mathematical problem-solving skills, the attitude of subjects, and creativity. 3) CT education in science and mathematics education has used a convergence education approach (STEAM education). Keywords: computational thinking, mathematics education, research trend analysis, science education