Classroom Experiment Research Articles

Selection into experiments: New evidence on the role of preferences, cognition, and recruitment protocols

We study selection into lab experiments based on data from two cohorts of first-year university students. We combine two experiments: a classroom experiment in which we elicit measures of time and risk preferences, overconfidence, trust, reciprocity, altruism, and cognitive reflection and a recruitment experiment with four treatment conditions that randomly vary the information provided in the e-mail sent to recruit lab participants. We find that students with higher cognitive skills are more likely to participate in experiments. By contrast, we find little evidence of selection along time and risk preferences, overconfidence, trust, and reciprocity, and our evidence of selection along altruism is inconclusive. In terms of recruitment conditions, mentioning financial incentives boosts the participation rate in lab experiments by 50 percent. Although recruitment conditions affect participation rates, they do not alter the composition of the participant sample in terms of the elicited characteristics. Finally, students who repeatedly participate in lab experiments are more patient than those who participate only once.

Yellow Scope Science Kits for Girls

Studies have shown that up to third grade, boys and girls are equally interested in science. However, by middle school, girls tend to lose that enthusiasm while boys continue to develop it. As this trend continues throughout their academic careers, women end up making up more than half the workforce but fill only a quarter of the science and technology jobs.Many publishers and materials providers have tried to appeal to girls by producing “science kits” for them. However, an analysis of these kits finds that most come in sparkly boxes, are loaded with colorful stickers, and have the participants make crafts, makeup, or perfume. Now, while there is nothing wrong with this, these kits do not expose their intended audience (young girls) to real science. To fill this much-needed gap, a pair of “science moms” have developed an exciting collection of authentic science kits that expose participants to real science experiences: making predictions, collecting data, and drawing conclusions.Yellow Scope Science Kits for Girls is a collection of boxed science kits that include topics such as DNA & Traits; Acids, Bases, & pH; and Paper Chromatography (there is also a chemistry-focused kit called Beakers & Bubbles). Each of these self-contained kits comes with almost everything a student will need to perform an actual experiment.For example, the DNA & Traits kit, which involves extracting DNA from strawberries, includes a work mat, plastic beakers, a dropper, solution bottles, chalk, stickers, data sheets for several trails, a sieve, and a flashlight. Due to safety and shipping regulations, the only things missing are the consumables (the alcohol, soap, and fruit).Before starting the activity, students need to read through the lab manual, which not only details the steps of the DNA extraction but also provides a plethora of age-appropriate background about what DNA is and why it is important. The students are then guided, step-by-step, through removing the DNA from the fruit cells and then observing it in the beaker.The second part of the DNA & Traits activity has students investigating actual genetic traits. The background in the lab manual connects the concepts of DNA and traits and then shows how they apply in the real world. Students are given a data sheet with several genetic traits listed. They are instructed to survey their family and friends to see how many of them express each trait. They then calculate percentages of individuals with each trait.In the third part of the DNA & Traits activity, students use DNA codes to determine the traits of a monster. They use a “monster traits key” to randomly select the genetic code of the monster’s body from a provided list of codes. They repeat the process for eyes, mouth, and spots. They then use the enclosed stickers and craft materials to construct a model of what their monster looks like.The other kits from Yellow Scope are designed the same way and have the same level of scientific thinking involved. While the subject matter offerings are somewhat limited at the moment, there are activities in environmental science and food science in development. Each kit comes in its own box, but the company has also put together classroom packs of 10 or 25 for larger groups. Yellow Scope Science Kits are designed to do at home, under adult supervision. However, with the addition of the classroom packs, the activities and experiments can easily be performed in a classroom.While specifically created to entice girls ages 8–12 into science, the activities are not gender specific and boys will enjoy them just as much. Elementary and middle school parents and teachers can use the activities and experiments within the kits to teach new concepts, or to enhance other learning. The DNA & Traits kit is specifically for biology, but the Paper Chromatography and Acids, Bases, & pH kits could easily be adapted to show how these ideas are related to life science.Getting, and keeping, girls interested in science is essential in today’s climate. Yellow Scope Science Kits do a great job of catering to girls (and boys too) to help keep them interested as they move through their schooling.

Gender differences in preferences of adolescents: Evidence from a large-scale classroom experiment

In this study, we estimate unadjusted and adjusted gender gaps in time preference, risk attitudes, altruism, trust, trustworthiness, cooperation, and competitiveness using data on 1088 high school students from 53 classes. These data, collected by running incentivized experiments in Hungarian classrooms, are linked to an administrative data source on the students’ standardized test scores, grades and family background. After taking into account class fixed effects, we find that females are significantly more altruistic, but are less present biased, less risk tolerant, less trusting, less trustworthy, and less competitive than males. At the same time we do not observe significant gender differences in patience, time inconsistency and cooperation at the 5% significance level. We also show that most of these initial gender differences do not change even if we control for age, family background, cognitive skills and school grades in a regression framework. We risk over-control when we include the time spent on each task as well as the other preference domains in our regressions, but the gender gap remains significant in social preferences (altruism, trust and trustworthiness), present bias and competition.

Can Moral Reminders Curb Corruption? Evidence from an Online Classroom Experiment

Can Moral Reminders Curb Corruption? Evidence from an Online Classroom Experiment

ONLINE LABORATORIES IN PANDEMIC TIMES: CASE OF STRUCTURES/STATICS USING THE ZEEMAN’S MACHINE

The Engineering Education is a strategic branch of the educational system of any organized State that aimsto maintain an adequate interaction between the development and application of new technologies, and thetransmission of concepts used to build the physical environments of their societies. These educationalactivities involve the controlled observation of facts and their correct interpretation, usually conductedduring in-person experimental classroom lectures. The blooming of viruses in the highly concentratedmodern societies, which the recent experience showed that may conduce to pandemics, exposes the need ofexperimental lectures or activities in the context of online, or hybrid online/in-person Engineering classes.This study presents a successful application of an experimental learning activity, which required students tolaunch a theoretical investigation, collect experimental data, compare theoretical and experimental results,interacting effectively to present a report with their understanding of the experiment. The study wasconducted joining two hybrid Statics classes (with online and in-person students), a fundamental disciplineof Civil Engineering, using as challenging motivator an adaptation of the Zeeman’s machine. A competitionwas organized for the students to present solutions of questions related to the machine. The equations anddata obtained by the students are described in this study for further applications. Aspects of didactics,students’ reception, feasibility of the activity are discussed, showing the adequacy of this initiative inexperimental learning for remote and hybrid teaching models.

ЖАЛПЫ БИОЛОГИЯ САБАҚТАРЫНДА КОМПЬЮТЕРЛІК ЖӘНЕ ЦИФРЛЫҚ ТЕХНОЛОГИЯЛАРДЫ ҚОЛДАНУДЫҢ АРТЫҚШЫЛЫҚТАРЫН ЗЕРТТЕУ

The article discusses the features of the use of modern computer technologies as one of the ways to increase the interest of schoolchildren in general biology lessons.The effectiveness of the use of computer technologies in the educational process of schools was revealed based on the analysis of the results of practical experimental work that was carried out on the basis of Secondary school No. 59.Shymkent. To determine the effectiveness of the use of computer technology in teaching biology, students of two 10th grades acted as experimental objects: one class - as an experimental, and the other - as a control.There were 20 students in each class. In the experimental class, ICT was used to solve biology problems, while in the control class, traditional teaching methods were used.Accurate, software, information and other information technology resources for the biology course are obtained on the basis of: knowledge control tools; conducting experiments and achieving results; virtual laboratory classes; multimedia technologies; providing personal tablets and computers for self-study.The results of the study showed that the quality of teaching in the experimental classroom increased by up to 90% compared to the results of the last test and self-assessment, while the level of knowledge in the traditional classroom remained unchanged. Therefore, the use of virtual excursions, virtual laboratory work, the use of multimedia presentations gives a great opportunity to increase the quantitative indicator of the effectiveness of training, which will increase the student's interest in the future profession.

The Effect of Cognitive Acceleration Programme on Critical Thinking of Science Students at Secondary Level

Abstract
 This study was conducted to determine the effect of Cognitive Acceleration Programme on the critical thinking skills of 9th graders. The posttest only non-equivalent control group design was used. Two sections of class 9th were selected conveniently for experimentation. There were 80 participants (girls) in the experiment. There were 30 intervention lessons in the experimental classrooms. The posttest was designed based on Cornell Critical thinking test. Test was validated by experts from the Faculty of Education, Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad. The data were analyzed by the SPSS. The independent sample t-statistics were applied for control and experimental groups separately. The t-value for the comparison of performance of experimental and control group in sub-skills of critical thinking i.e., inference, deduction, assumption, interpretation, and argumentation showed significant difference. The results showed that critical thinking skills can be developed significantly through cognitive acceleration programme. So, the thinking science activities were recommended to science educators to incorporate into the classroom to accelerate critical thinking of students.
 Keywords: Cognitive Acceleration, Critical Thinking, Inference, Deduction, Assumption, Interpretation, Argumentation

Composing an “Agon” and “Lettering a Public”: Democracy Between Binaries?

In response to ongoing expansion of neoliberal ideology in democratic education, this essay details a classroom experiment that attempts to “redo,” or “recraft” democracy. Recrafting democracy, in this context, takes shape in active efforts to compose an agonistic public sphere through a specific kind of “lettering a public.” As described, intentionally inefficient student efforts to “care-fully” compose, revise, and mail democratic letters allowed a more reciprocal and felt form of democratic deliberation to unfold. The essay describes the “Dear Demos” course assignment and articulates how the experiment in doing democracy might work to contest neoliberal notions of efficient, technocratic models of self-governance.

Do students sort themselves based on economic ideology?

This paper describes a classroom experiment that facilitates a discussion of different economic ideologies and of the beliefs held by conservative and liberal economists. The experiment tests whether students tend to associate with like-minded friends more than with students who have different economic ideologies. The results of the experiment suggest that students are closer in ideology to their friends than to other students. The difference in the ideological gap between friends and the gap between random students is statistically significant but is not large in magnitude. The experiment allows the professor to introduce the topic of ideological sorting and its important consequences for individuals in their trust for others and in how extreme their political beliefs become. Sorting can also contribute to confirmation bias, which makes it difficult for students to update their views in response to new information. By discussing ideological sorting in the context of the experiment, professors can help students to improve their ability to seek out and process new information even when it contradicts their previously-held beliefs.

The Influence of the Benefit Redistribution Method on the Willingness to Voluntary Contribute to Public Goods Provision Classroom Experiment

Currently we are facing Covid 19 pandemics and it opens many questions about willingness of individuals to give up some private pleasure to contribute to public wellbeing. Theoretical economic research suggest that methodology of group account distribution does affect the contribution size. Lawyers, politicians and economists try to answer these questions using various scientific approaches and methods. One of them is to examine the willingness of individuals to contribute to public goods. Using a laboratory classroom experiment, we test various situations through public goods game. We examine whether economic entities are willing to contribute in situations when it is not advantageous for them from an individual point of view, but it is advantageous for society.

E-STEM project-based learning in teaching science to increase ICT literacy and problem solving

<span>The aim of the research was to determine the effectivity of implementation of </span><span lang="IN">e-learning</span><span> science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (E-STEM) project-based learning model in teaching science to improve information, communication, and technology (ICT) literacy and problem solving. The study adopted quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. E-STEM project-based learning model was applied in experimental classroom, while the control classroom applied conventional teaching. The sample was 46 students who was selected using cluster sampling method. They were in grade VIII academic year 2020/2021 which representing the population students of Junior High School 8, in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. The data were collected using test instrument and questionnaires. Validity verification of instrument measured based on Aiken index, while instrument reliability was determined based on Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The data were analyzed using Manova and descriptive quantitative. The result of the study showed that there is meaningful difference of ICT literacy and problem solving mean score based on the difference of both teaching approach. It is concluded that the implementation of E-STEM project-based learning model and problem solving in teaching science has significant impact in increasing ICT literacy and problem solving.</span>

Efektivitas E-modul Getaran dalam Kehidupan Sehari-Hari pada Pembelajaran Daring Untuk Meningkatkan Keterampilan Proses Sains Siswa

Physics learning has a central role in developing the 21st century skills that learners must achieve. Physics aksis one of science learning can cultivate and develop 21st century skills through science literacy and science process skills. Science process skills can be trained in the learning of physics through processes in conducting scientific activities and scientific attitudes. But from the initial studies conducted, it was found that the ability of the student's science process in online learning has artistic variety of problems. One alternative to problem solving is to use electronic modules (e-modules) designed to improve students' science process skills in online learning. The methodology used in this study was a quasi-experiment with the design of the posttest only control research design group. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the use of e-modules of vibration in everyday life on online learning to improve the science process skills of grade X high school students. The effectiveness of e-module use is determined by analyzing the science process skills of experimental classroom and control classes. The significance of the effectiveness of the use of e-modules on aspects of knowledge and skills of the science process is analyzed by tests of normality, homogeneity and t tests. From the analysis of data obtained by the results of the study, the use of vibrational e-modules in everyday life in online learning is effective to improve students' knowledge and skills of the science process.

How instructional context can impact learning with educational technology: Lessons from a study with a digital learning game

There is a tendency to think of the impact of educational technology in a vacuum. However, it is likely that the instructional context in which educational technology is used affects student learning. For instance, outcomes may differ when using educational technology in a classroom versus at home, in a quiet versus noisy environment, or in a context where support is readily available versus not available. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an unexpected opportunity to explore this issue. Intending to explore how providing hints and feedback within a digital learning game (Decimal Point) impacts mathematics learning, we instead found ourselves exploring a new question: How did learning with the game differ between classrooms and at home? After two of five middle schools had participated in our classroom experiment, we switched to at-home use of the Internet-based game for the final three schools due to the pandemic. The different instructional settings led to significantly different completion rates, likely due to students in the classroom (N = 151) being monitored by experimenters and teachers (completion rate of 88.8%), while students at home (N = 126) were not monitored nor strictly required to finish (completion rate of 56.5%). In addition, the two versions of the game, one that provided students with on-request hints and error feedback (Hint condition) and one that did not (No-Hint condition), led to different classroom versus at-home results. On the delayed posttest, students in the No-Hint condition did significantly better in the classroom, while there was no significant difference between conditions at home. In addition, students in the Hint condition used significantly more hints in the classroom than they did at home. There was also a significant effect of gender in the classroom, with female students out-performing male students on the immediate posttest, but with no effect of gender remotely. We performed post-hoc analyses to better understand students’ learning processes and gameplay behaviors. In summary, our study clearly illustrates how educational technology can be sensitive to instructional context, yet just cracks open the door to much more research on this topic.

THIẾT KẾ HOẠT ĐỘNG DẠY HỌC CÓ SỬ DỤNG THÍ NGHIỆM LƯỢNG NHỎ TRONG MÔN HOÁ HỌC Ở TRƯỜNG PHỔ THÔNG

Using microscale experiments in teaching Chemistry has been interested and studied worldwide. Microscale experiments bring many benefits such as using compact size equipment, flexible movement, saving chemicals, significantly reducing waste of chemicals into the environment, etc. Besides, using microscale chemistry experiments brings many benefits, such as developing students' chemistry competence, integrating green chemistry education, and enhancing students' learning interests while saving costs and time. This paper presents the theoretical and practice basis, fundamental principles, procedure, and ideas to develop competency-based teaching activities using microscale chemistry experiments in the chemistry classroom followed the General Education Program 2018.

Gender differences in private and public goal setting

We conduct a field and an online classroom experiment to study gender differences in self-set performance goals and their effects on performance in a real-effort task. We distinguish between public and private goals, performance being public and identifiable in both cases. Participants set significantly more ambitious goals when these are public. Women choose lower goals than men in both treatments. Men perform better than women under private and public goals as well as in the absence of goal setting, consistent with the identifiability of performance causing gender differences, as found in other studies. Compared to private goal setting, public goal setting does not affect men's performance at all but it leads to women's performance being significantly lower. Comparing self-set goals with actual performance we find that under private goal setting women's performance is on average 67% of goals, whereas for men it is 57%. Under public goal setting the corresponding percentages are 43% and 39%, respectively.

Sensory Chunking and the Like: Testing a Pedagogical Treatment Applied to the Strengthening of the Third-Person Singular-s

Research into foreign language acquisition reports that learners of English as a foreign language are inconsistent with the suppliance of verbal morphology and tend to omit morphemes such as the third-person singular -s even at advanced instructional stages. Researchers rely on Generative linguistics and models such as the Minimalist Programme (Chomsky, 2000, 2015/1995) and the Feature Assembly Hypothesis (Lardiere, 2005, 2007, 2009) to account for such variability. The present study attempted to increase the accuracy rates of the -s. The author designed a treatment (©2018, 2019, Verónica Mendoza Fernández) that centered around sensory chunking (teaching with chunked sentences). Sixty-four learners of English as a foreign language from three different rural schools of primary education in Northern Spain participated in a classroom experiment that followed a pretest-postest procedure. Participants from school 1 constituted the control group and participants from schools 2 and 3, the experimental groups. The results of a grammaticality judgement task indicated a statistically significant increase in the accuracy rates of the -s for one of the experimental groups and a trend towards significance for the other experimental group. The treatment could promote the learning of linguistic items contained within blocks of language, as well as the learning of such blocks, and thus foster language automatisation.

Classroom Experiments using Phytochemical Analysis of Weed (Eleusine Indica)

This study aimed to demonstrate simple classroom experiments by evaluating the phytochemical components of the extracts of weed (Eleusine indica). The purpose of this study is also to contribute effective use of natural resources in the locality by transforming traditional knowledge to the scientific way of using the medicinal plant to be used as raw materials in pharmaceutical industries. The weed was air-dried for ten days. It was then pulverized using an electric blender. The mixtures were allowed to stand for seventy-two hours to extract the bioactive components of the weed. The experiment used chloroform (polar) in extracting the secondary metabolites present in the weed. The mixtures were then filtered with a cheese cloth and concentrated in direct heat using a hot plate. The extract was placed in a beaker and was labelled as chloroform extract. The bottle was covered tightly to prevent evaporation of the solvent. The Phytochemical components present in the weed extracts were alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, diterpenes, and saponins. This study is expected to be one of the teaching model (since the experiments are simple). This study also is expected to identify the phytochemical components of weed, identify the phytochemical components of weed, and contribute to the effective use of natural resources.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GROWTH MINDSET, GRIT, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: DOES GOAL COMMITMENT MATTER?

This present study’s consisted of Ghanaian junior high school adolescents, precisely JHS1 and JHS 2. The study duration spanned from January 2019 to October 2020. During the study period, two assessments were done. In the first assessment, primary six students consisting of 425 adolescents, were assessed from 35 schools. During the year 2019, students in primary six who partook in the first assessment were engaged when they had been promoted to Junior high school. They included students who had become part of the classroom experiment. Eventually, this approach resulted in a sample size of 632 students for both JHS 1 and JHS 2. The data collection used structured questionnaires, and the snowballing approach was used for sampling and sample recruitment. The analytical method used for data analysis is structural equation modeling (SEM). This method is reliable for understanding the unique relationship between the dependent and independent variables to reveal their direct and indirect effects. This present study found that a growth mindset and grit are proportionally related to students’ academic achievement. However, grit should be measured by the perseverance of effort, not consistency of interest and conscientiousness, to positively affect academic achievement. Both goal commitment and growth mindset are related to understanding how grit contributes positively to academic success. In essence, the findings imply that students need to have the perseverance to trigger their growth mindset and goal commitment to affect their academic pursuits positively. KEYWORDS: Growth mindset; Grit; Academic achievement; Goal commitment

Simulation-based learning in tertiary-level disaster risk management education: a class-room experiment

PurposeConventional lecture-based educational approaches alone might not be able to portray the complexity of disaster risk management practice and its real-life dynamics. One work-integrated learning practice that can give students practical work-related experiences is simulation-based learning. However, there is a limited discourse on simulation-based learning in disaster risk management education at the tertiary level. As tertiary education plays a crucial role in developing capabilities within the workforce, simulation-based learning can evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion. This paper aims to present outcomes of simulation-based learning sessions the authors designed and delivered in a disaster risk management course.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a framework to illustrate simulation-based learning in a disaster risk management programme. It was then used as a guide to design and execute simulation-based learning sessions. An autoethnographic methodology was then applied to reflectively narrate the experiences and feelings during the design and execution of the simulations.FindingsThe evaluation of the simulation sessions showed that participants were able to apply their knowledge and demonstrate the skills required to make critical decisions in disaster risk reduction. The conclusion from the simulation-based learning sessions is that making simulation-based learning a part of the pedagogy of disaster risk management education enables students to gain practical experience, deliberate ethical tensions and practical dilemmas and develop the ability to work with multiple perspectives.Originality/valueThe simulated workplace experience allowed students to experience decision-making as disaster risk management professionals, allowing them to integrate theory with practice.

Proximity can induce diverse friendships: A large randomized classroom experiment.

Can outside interventions foster socio-culturally diverse friendships? We executed a large field experiment that randomized the seating charts of 182 3rd through 8th grade classrooms (N = 2,966 students) for the duration of one semester. We found that being seated next to each other increased the probability of a mutual friendship from 15% to 22% on average. Furthermore, induced proximity increased the latent propensity toward friendship equally for all students, regardless of students' dyadic similarity with respect to educational achievement, gender, and ethnicity. However, the probability of a manifest friendship increased more among similar than among dissimilar students-a pattern mainly driven by gender. Our findings demonstrate that a scalable light-touch intervention can affect face-to-face networks and foster diverse friendships in groups that already know each other, but they also highlight that transgressing boundaries, especially those defined by gender, remains an uphill battle.