High School Science Research Articles

HYDRA: A Board Game for Disaster Risk Knowledge, Awareness and Preparedness on Hydrometeorological Hazards

The inclusion of DRR education in the curriculum has been part of the response of the government to the increasing threats of disasters in the Philippines. Yet it was found out that students are still mostly uncertain when a disaster occurs, more specifically on evacuation plans, hazards and disaster-prone areas . This study aimed to develop an instructional material to increase the knowledge, preparedness, and awareness towards hydrometeorological hazards of Grade 11 students in Caloocan City Science High School. The Hydrometeorological Disaster Risk Awareness board game (HYDRA), was first evaluated by seven DRRR experts and Science teachers using the DepEd LRMDS evaluation tool, before it was implemented to the Grade 11 students. Data were collected from 20 participants using a 20-item test questionnaire and a 16-item survey form. The results of the pretests and posttests have shown significant differences with large effect sizes, which implies that the game has significantly increased the students’ disaster risk knowledge (p 0.001; d = 1.5), preparedness (p 0.001; d = 1.92), and awareness (p 0.001; d = 1.96). The game also received an overall evaluation rating of 3.99 out of 4, which means that it met the criteria for an appropriate instructional material. These findings suggest that HYDRA can be used as an alternative educational tool in teaching DRRR.

Rain Gardens and Rain Gauges: Students Get Hands on With Data While Evaluating Green Infrastructure at Their School.

Two modules were designed for high school science students to investigate the performance of a rain garden installed on school property. The rain garden, a green infrastructure system which allows soil infiltration, was installed to reduce impacts to urban streams and can increase the community's resilience to flooding. By involving students in the analysis of this mitigation strategy, students learned new technical skills, gained varied experiences in collecting and analyzing data, were exposed to new STEM careers, and learned about local issues that impact their community while collaborating with local professionals. In each module, students used their authentic data to address research questions. In the first module, students conducted a land survey and calculated the volumetric capacity of the rain garden. In the second module, students collected rainfall data using rain gauges and analyzed various aspects of rainfall collection. Although these modules were focused on a rain garden already installed on school property, they can be implemented at schools without this mitigation strategy present. The surveying module can easily be applied to measure any land surface feature, and the rain gauge module can be implemented anywhere as it is focused on rainfall collection.

A Study on English Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Çankırı Karatekin University Students

Purpose: The study aims to determine which and which of the English vocabulary methods are used, as well as whether the student has his/her own learning discipline, whether he/she has knowledge about vocabulary learning strategies, and whether he/she is familiar with traditional and modern methods. Method: In this study, quantitative research method was used, the "Vocabulary Learning Strategies Use Scale", which was used to determine the vocabulary learning strategies used by students in their English language acquisition, was administered to 623 participants studying at Çankırı Karatekin University 1st grade in the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Findings and Implications: In line with the findings, female participants used note-taking and repetition strategies more than male participants. Students whose mothers received graduate education used executive cognition and organizing strategies more than students whose mothers did not. Students who graduated from science high schools use repetition strategies more than students who graduated from other types of high schools. The average score of students who graduated from high schools in the Southeastern Anatolia region is higher than students who graduated from high schools in other regio Result: It shows that female students, students whose mothers have postgraduate education, and students who graduated from science high school use vocabulary learning strategies more. Originality: The study has a unique value in terms of shedding light on issues such as whether the student has own learning discipline, whether he/she is familiar with traditional and modern methods, whether he/she uses technology to improve his/her vocabulary, as well as which of the English vocabulary learning methods are used.

PENGEMBANGAN SKILL DAN KOMPETENSI TIK GURU MATEMATIKA DAN IPA KOTA JAMBI MELALUI e-TUTORIAL BERBASIS KEBUTUHAN GURU(TEACHER’S NEED)

To improve the quality of learning, the government has attempted to facilitate school with equipment Information and Communication Technology (ICT), such as the procurement of computer labs, school computer connection to the Internet, and increase the skills of teachers in computer operationalize. In fact, only a few teachers who use computers for a whole series of teaching, starting from the use of computers to plan instruction, learning activities and evaluation of learning. The research reveals the teacher's perception of the skills and knowledge, and determine the factors that influence the control of teachers in ICT. Furthermore, this study also develops a tutorial www.etiktutor.org website dedicated to teachers who want to improve their knowledge and ICT skills through online tutorials. The survey results in this study show turns the ability of ICT teachers are categorized Jambi, and the factors that most influence on teachers' ICT capability is the availability of ICT tools and teacher access to participate in ICT education. Furthermore, the website tutorial tutorial materials based on the needs of teachers has received a very positive perception of teachers, where they say that www.etiktutor.org website is very useful to improve the knowledge and ability of mathematics teacher ICT and science high school in the city of Jambi. Keyword: communication technology competence, e-tutorial

EVALUATION OF SCIENCE LEARNING IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS: LITERATURE REVIEW

Learning evaluation is an activity to collect data and information about students' learning abilities, to assess the extent to which the learning program has been running, and also as a tool to determine whether educational goals and learning processes in developing knowledge have progressed as they are. Science assessments can be carried out in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. This assessment provides space for students who tend to have non-academic weaknesses in science subject skills. This research was used to obtain information regarding the scope of evaluation of junior high school students' science learning. The review method was chosen to obtain research journals with the keywords scope of evaluation of junior high school science learning on reference sources Google Scholar, Elsevier, Science Direct, research gate, and publish or parish. 25 journals were reviewed based on author (year), research design, scope of evaluation, and findings. The results of the review show that the scope of learning evaluation can be carried out based on the context that wants to be assessed, such as the scope of the cognitive domain, affective domain and psychomotor domain. The scope of learning evaluation in the cognitive domain can be in the form of observation and understanding, the affective domain can be in the form of responses given by students as long as the teacher provides knowledge and the psychomotor domain in the form of skills assessment rubrics such as doing practical work after being given theory by the teacher.

High School Teachers' Opinions on Homework

The research aims to examine the opinions of high school teachers about homework. The researchers designed the study as a phenomenology design, a qualitative research method. The researchers developed a semi-structured interview form as a data collection tool in the study. Six branch teachers working in three different types of high schools, namely Vocational High School, Anatolian High School, and Project-Based Science High School in Erzurum city centre during the 2021-2022 academic year, voluntarily participated. They were included in the research using the maximum diversity sampling method. The researchers examined the data obtained using the thematic analysis method. As a result of the analysis, while there were general differences in our teachers' opinions about homework, similarities were seen in using homework as a measurement-evaluation tool. Notably, homework, which serves as an essential method in the educational process, exhibits profound differences among teachers and students. These differences encompass a broad spectrum, spanning from the type of school to the type of course, encompassing how homework is implemented and the approaches students take towards it. Furthermore, the researchers have identified that the primary motivation for completing homework in high school either stems from anxiety about receiving grades or arises from the preference of senior students for a single type of homework (question-solving) as they strive to prepare for university exams.

The Essential Elements of Japan Super Science High School Projects: A Case Study of Shizuoka Prefecture

To support the enhancement of science and technology, the Japanese government established the Super Science High School in 2002. However, there is a lack of information about this school for international scholars. We addressed this problem by observing and working with SSH in Shizuoka Prefecture and understanding their intended school models. The context of Shizuoka prefecture is interesting because it is well-known for its high-technology manufacturing company. Our “bottom-up” approach was mainly based on observation, in contrasts with other studies using a literaturebased method to define SSH schools. We identified four elements that represent the common goals and strategies employed by SSH: Independence scientific research, Scientific English, courses related to STEM, and international collaboration. This framework offers a clear picture of what exactly SSH schools are. Findings suggest that SSH identity is rooted in pedagogy, school culture, and rigorous instruction, especially in science and technology, including support from scientists and researchers from the surrounding universities as invited speakers, teacher assistance, and opportunities to conduct research in university-level laboratories. Keywords: essential elements, Japan Super Science High School, Projects, Case Study

Collaborative Professional Development on Authentic Science May Reduce Barriers to Implementation in High School Classrooms

Teachers face challenges implementing authentic high school science lessons, particularly around inquiry practices and contemporary context. We created a collaborative curriculum design workshop to integrate authentic science activities on local invasive species into their classrooms while supplementing content knowledge via field trips to research sites and invasive species infestations. 36 teachers attended then implemented lessons they revised at the workshop in their classrooms. After implementation, we interviewed participants about barriers to lesson implementation. Teachers reported barriers of standardized testing, district mandates, time, and collaboration with other educators, all identified in previous literature. We also identified physical proximity as a barrier. Following professional development, several of the barriers were reduced or expected to be reduced for implementation of authentic science lessons, including collaboration, time, and physical proximity. We demonstrate the power of authentic science practice-based teacher professional development workshops that emphasize collaborative planning time for teachers while incorporating content presentations, in line with recommendations for teacher professional development writ large. We recommend collaborative professional development designs bringing together personnel from the same job site or district as well as from different districts while partnering with universities to retain university campus features such as access to active, authentic research sites.

Asset and deficit discourses of student ideas in science formative assessment co‐design

AbstractThe Framework for K‐12 Science Education set an ambitious goal of broadening participation in science learning for all students. Meeting this vision will involve supporting teachers in making meaningful connections with the cultural and linguistic resources their students bring to school; in essence, developing pedagogies that frame these resources as assets important to learning. In this manuscript, we present a qualitative case study of one community of high school science teachers who participated in a year‐long professional learning focused on formative assessment co‐design related to natural selection. Findings show that the process of formative assessment co‐design surfaced both deficit‐ and asset‐based statements about students' contributions. Teachers were more likely to share deficit‐based statements as compared to facilitators, whose statements were more asset‐based. This was particularly true with reference to students' prior knowledge and linguistic resources. At the same time, our analysis suggests that teachers were more likely to share more asset‐based framings of learners when practicing for and reflecting on enactment of formative assessment tasks. These findings suggest that supportive co‐design environments can encourage teachers to take more asset‐oriented views of learners. We discuss the implications of these findings for professional learning and science classroom practice.

Discourses about grades and competency-based evaluation: Exploring communicative and situated meanings at an Italian high school

Grades are the universal tool for measuring students’ performance at school. However, other competency-based evaluation methods have shown to have a stronger impact on the learning quality. We investigated how different methods are collectively represented and discursively constructed among students at an Italian high school class. Thematic analysis was applied to 4 focus groups of about one hour conducted with 18 students (F = 12, M = 6) attending the second year of a scientific high school, at the end of the second year of “At School Beyond the Grade” project. The main themes emerged were linked to the cultural and communicational meanings constructed around each method, showing how they are used for different purposes and yet stay strictly related. Comments were used in a self-reflective manner to improve learning competencies individually. Grades were used to communicate with others their position as a socially shared code. The emerged narratives show the students’ expectations about the way teachers manage evaluation tools and their struggles on translating one into the other. Considerations on the shared ideal of both methods as complementary were discussed in terms of intercultural, identity and learning process.

Arguing with objects and bodies: embodied reasoning and material entanglements in science learner interaction

ABSTRACT How do people use objects and gestures to shape scientific argumentation? This paper engages the concept of “entanglement” as a heuristic for considering the potentials and constraints that gestures and materials create for interactants. Drawing on video recorded data from an academic-year-long linguistic ethnography of a high school science classroom in southern Arizona, USA, I examine the entanglement of discourse, bodies, and objects in one act sequence to reveal differences in the situated practices of high school students as opposed to professional scientists. The analysis reveals that objects and gestures allow scientific novices to engage in collaborative sense-making as they transform discourse and are transformed in discourse. At the same time, the flexibility and contingency of objects and gestures can be problematic for novices dealing with ambiguous understandings of natural phenomena, leading to interpretations that may or may not correspond to expert understandings. Reckoning with materiality in science argumentation must account for the limitations of objects and bodies as forms of evidence as well as their potential to afford forms of agency.

PERSIST: a pre–post study to assess an educational methodology to enhance youth climate literacy and systems thinking ability

BackgroundEducation has a pivotal role in preparing society to address the forthcoming health impacts of the climate crisis. Education provides the tools necessary to instil both individual and collective attitudes for mitigating climate change, fosters the development of adaptive skills and mindsets, and promotes a critical understanding of climate change. The aim of the PERSIST project was to assess the effectiveness of a school educational intervention to strengthen literacy on the climate crisis, pro-environmental behaviours, and systems thinking in high school students (aged 14–18 years). MethodsThree meetings were carried out in a scientific high school in the suburbs of Rome (Italy) between March 21, and April 12, 2023, using complex systems models, group activities, and collective discussions. Pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires were administered to students to record knowledge, climate-related emotions, and pro-environmental behaviours. Questionnaires that were complete were considered valid. The anonymously collected data were processed using descriptive statistics and t test. FindingsA total of 273 students in ten different classes attending between grades 1 and 4 took part in the project. 78 (36%) participants were female, 133 (62%) were male, and four (2%) did not disclose their gender. The mean age was 15 years. We received 211 pairs of valid pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires. The preliminary analysis showed an average increase of 19% in correct responses to knowledge questions, a 21·2% increase in pro-environmental behaviours, and no discernible differences in climate-related emotions between pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires. InterpretationAn interactive approach and the use of complex systems might improve students' literacy and attitudes towards the climate crisis, without increasing negative ecological emotions. This pilot project can guide similar, repeatable programmes in other schools and countries and it represents the first measure of climate-related emotions after school intervention. FundingNone.

Examining changes in adolescents' high school math and science motivational beliefs and their relations to parental STEM support and STEM major choice at the intersectionality of gender and college generation status.

Drawing on the situated expectancy-value, dimensional comparison theories, and the intersectionality approach, this article examined the changes in adolescents' math and science motivational beliefs, the parental and college correlates of those beliefs, and the differences at the intersection of gender and college generation status (i.e., female and male first- and continuing-generation college students). Findings based on the nationally representative high-school longitudinal study data (N = 12,070; Mage = 14 years; 54% female students; 28% first-generation college students; and 14% Latinx, 9% Black, 10% Asian, and 57% White) suggest that although adolescents' math and science ability self-concepts declined during high school, their science interest remained stable, and their math and science utility values increased. Adolescents' motivational beliefs in ninth grade and the changes from ninth to 11th grade positively predicted whether they declared a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college major. Parents' ninth-grade STEM support was more consistently associated with adolescents' concurrent beliefs compared to the changes in their beliefs. Finally, we found that female first-generation college students, who were more likely to be Latinx and Black students, tended to have lower math and science motivational beliefs, received less parental STEM support, and were less likely to choose a STEM major than their peers. The findings of this study indicate adolescents' math and science motivational development in high school matters for their college majors and that certain understudied groups, including female first-generation college students, may experience acute marginalization in STEM and warrant further attention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

SCIENCE TEACHER ABILITY TO DESIGN STUDENT SPIRITUAL ATTITUDE INSTRUMENTS

Each teacher must be able to harmonize the assessment of cognitive and psychomotor aspects with the assessment of students' affective aspects in learning. Most of the research conducted in Aceh is still limited to the development of spiritual attitude assessment instruments, while studies describing the ability of science teachers to design spiritual attitude assessment instruments are still very limited. This study aims to determine the ability of junior high school science teachers in the Pidie District to prepare questions to measure students' spiritual attitudes. The research uses the Mix method, with documentation and interview analysis techniques using the Miles and Huberman models, and the feasibility validity of the spiritual attitude assessment instrument uses a Likert scale and is then presented using percentage calculations. A purposive sampling technique is applied in determining the sample. The results showed that most of the teachers had less ability to design spiritual attitude assessment instruments. Few teachers could compile a comprehensive spiritual attitude assessment instrument per the attitude assessment technique in the 2013 curriculum. The first obstacle science teachers faced was formulating assessment indicators, where some teachers did not understand spiritual attitudes with social attitudes in learning. Secondly, assessment techniques with Rubik's or scoring guidelines were not in line with the demands of the 2013 curriculum.

D Development of Junior High School Science E-Module Integrated with Socio-Cultural of Balinese Society to Improvw Students Science Literacy

The research aimed at analyzing and explaining the validity, practicality, and effectivity of e-module science for junior high school integrated with the Balinese Socio-Cultural to improve students' scientific literacy. This research and development were modified from Borg and Gall and Thiagarajan’s models. The research design used the effectiveness of e-module was One Group Pretest Posttest Design. Instruments used were expert validation questionnairess, practicality questionnairess, and scientific literacy tests. Development stages of the e-module development consisted of 1) data collection, 2) product design, 3) product development, 4) limitary out, 5) product test theoretically, 6) empirical product test, and 7) product finalization. The results shows that 1) the e-module is valid from a material point of view with very good qualifications, language validity with very valid qualifications, the validity of media with very good qualifications, and suitability of Balinese cultural with very valid qualifications, 2) e-module is very practical to be used on the field, and 3) e-module is effective to improve scientific literacy of students.

Digital Assessment Tools: As a Media for Assesing High School Science Learning

This research is to produce a suitable digital assessment tool for high school students' in chemical literacy with validity, reliability, levels of difficulty and discrimination power. The research metodology is Research and Development (R&D) using the Oriondo and Dallo-Antonio model. The research stages include planning the test instrument, testing, determining empirical validity, determining reliability, and interpreting test scores. In the planning (instrument creation), where the validation score estimates by experts in content, language, construction, and media are above 0.8, indicating that the test instrument is considered suitable for further testing to estimate validity, reliability, difficulty levels, and discrimination power. Out of the 25 developed questions, 24 fit the Rasch model. The reliability of Instrument Part I is 0.67, and Part II is 0.65, falling into the "sufficient" category. The questions exhibit varied difficulty levels, ranging from very easy to very difficult, with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.21 for Part I and 0.14 for Part II. The separation achieved by Instrument Part I is into 4 ability groups, while Instrument Part II separates into 2 ability groups. The distractors for multiple-choice questions fall into the "good" and "very good" categories, fulfilling their intended function effectively.

Utilization of Mangrove Ecotourism as a Science Learning Resource for Junior High School Students

The research was carried out with the aim of finding out the use of mangrove ecotourism as a learning resource, because almost all regions in Indonesia manage mangrove ecosystem areas into ecotourism. The data collection technique uses proportional random sampling, with descriptive quantitative research methods. The research subjects used in this research process were the population of junior high school students and junior high school science teachers, with a sample of 118 students and 22 science teachers. The instrument used in this research is a questionnaire. The results obtained from the science teacher questionnaire stated that 80.8% of teachers had never integrated mangroves in the science learning process, reinforced by the results of the student questionnaire which stated that 83.2% of teachers had never presented mangrove material in the classroom. In this way, science teachers should change the way they deliver material using the Argument Driven Inquiry (ADI) learning model to make it easier for science teachers to utilize mangrove ecotourism as a learning resource through the stages of the learning model syntax.

Association between pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and their confidence in physics content

This exploratory study examined the relationship between the knowledge of selected physics concepts from the South African National Senior Certificate curriculum and the self-efficacy beliefs of preservice science teachers. Forty-one preservice physical science teachers between the ages of 16 and 30 enrolled in a higher education institution to earn a Bachelor of Education degree made up the participants. Of these, 56.1% were female and 43.9% were male. Every respondent was a recent high school graduate from South Africa enrolled in a second-year university course on basic physical science. The preservice teachers completed the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) and a teaching confidence ranking scale. A confidence ranking for teaching topics from a typical high school science curriculum was determined by analyzing the data. According to the data analysis, preservice teachers are confident and self-sufficient enough to teach science concepts.

Challenges in Teaching Biotechnology in the Philippine STE Program

To develop the full potential and enhance the science skills, mathematical abilities, and English proficiency among Filipino learners, the Department of Education implemented a special program in science, technology, and engineering at the basic education level. The students are taught based on an enhanced science-technology-oriented curriculum to prepare them for college and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related careers. Since the focus of this program was on science, technology, mathematics, and research, the inclusion of biotechnology subjects is integral in supporting the learners to develop an interest and aptitude in these fields. This study looked into the challenges that schools and educators face in teaching biotechnology using the qualitative research design, specifically a phenomenological approach. Interviews were conducted to obtain data. A multi-step method was employed when interviewing the 11 public high school science teachers about the challenges they encountered in teaching biotechnology. They were interviewed based on how they teach the subject, their teaching approaches, the depth of their understanding of the subject, and their specific teaching challenges. Results identified five essential themes: (a) Expertise Mismatch, (b) Abstract Nature of the Subject, (c) Deficiency in Foundation Knowledge, (d) Lacking Teaching Strategies, and (e) Lack of Learning Resources. A multi-faceted approach can be adopted to approach these identified challenges proactively. This should encompass (a) improvement in teacher training, (b) curriculum overhauling, (c) provision of essential resources, and (d) implementation of innovative teaching methodologies.

Subject-based lesson study supporting Merdeka Curriculum enactment: Findings from Malang City science teachers

Developing teacher capability in implementing the Merdeka curriculum can take advantage of the activity of sustainable lesson study. Lesson study conducted at the subject teacher community provides a place for teachers to learn collaboratively to improve their professionalism. This study aims at present the findings of the implementation of a subject-based lesson study carried out among junior high school science teachers in Malang City, Indonesia, and expose their responses regarding the impact of this activity on their professional development in supporting the Merdeka Curriculum enactment. Teachers are actively involved and enthusiastic in participating in lesson study activities. The teacher stated that the implementation of subject-based lesson study was a forum for mutual learning and improving teaching skills so that it supported the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum. Even so, continuous implementation accompanied by strengthening the principles of lesson study and learning principles that emphasize student involvement as well as developing students' thinking skills is needed. Finally, the constraints and expectations expressed by the teacher can be considered for designing a subject-based lesson study implementation model to form sustainable lesson study for learning communities in the future.