TOJSAT-The Online Journal of Science and Technology

TOJNED - Volume 9 - Issue 2 - April 2019

ADDRESSING PRESERVICE TEACHER’S DISJUNCTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND CORRESPONDING BELIEFS REGARDING GUIDED-DISCOVERY BASED PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES

Megan Schramm-Possinger, Tammy Joy Burnham, Joyce Camp

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This study assesses pre-service teachers’ understanding of Piagetian theory, how these teachers-in-training would
implement and execute discovery-based and guided-discovery based lessons, as well as their preferred
pedagogical practices, before and after having participated in both didactic and an immersive guided-discovery
based lesson. Within both, linkages between theory and practice were explicitly made in reference to
disequilibration, assimilation, accommodation, schema development, re-equilibration, and related topics. Results
indicate that by the end of the course, pre-service teachers’ were reliably able to discern whether a task was more
assimilative versus accommodative; they also demonstrated accuracy in their conceptions of what constituted
disequilibrating events. Students’ descriptions of how they would “facilitate” their students’ active construction
of knowledge however, revealed several misconceptions and a superficial understanding of how these theories
intersect with practice. Additional data that were culled pertaining to students’ theories about science teaching
revealed a marked stability in beliefs regarding preferred pedagogical practices. Discussion, implications, and
suggested future research are provided so this immersive experience can be replicated, and augmented by concept
teaching, to foster positive outcomes for pre-service instructors and the students they will serve.

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EDUCATING FOR CREATIVITY: A CHALLENGE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Gennady Shkliarevsky

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Over the last several decades educational reform has been a subject of intense discussions and debates in the
United States and in other countries. Despite numerous proposals and initiatives, no major new direction has
emerged, and the state of American education today is little different from where it was three decades ago. At the
same time, there is a growing pressure due to enormous changes in many spheres of our life—most importantly
in technology, information, and economy--to make our education more relevant to the demands of our time. The
demand for creativity and knowledge is arguably the one that particularly stands out in modern society. As a
result, the idea to make the process of creation and creativity more central to our educational practice is
widespread. This article examines some problems that stand in the way of this change and offers the way to solve
these problems. The article also outlines the contours on a new educational practice that centers on the process
of creation.

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EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS TO GROW SELF REGULATED LEARNING STUDENTS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Khoiriah, Tri Jalmo, Abdurrahman

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Self-regulated learning (SRL) is indispensable for students to help transform mental skills into academic skills
and strategies. Students who study with SRL can more easily build on successful academic achievement. This
study aims to determine the effectiveness of the application of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) assessment
instruments in growing SRL of students Junior High School, especially on the basic competence of the human
circulatory system. The design of the study was quasi-experimental. Research subjects include two groups
students of grade eight at Junior High School in Bandar Lampung at Lampung Province, Indonesia with random
sampling technique. The subjects of the study were experimental class 1 and experiment class 2. The research
data was collected using an SRL scale instrument. Data analysis technique through statistical test parametric
independent sample t-test. The result of data analysis shows the application of HOTS assessment instrument to
effectively grow SRL of students Junior High School especially on the basic competence of human circulation
system.

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EFFICACY OF GRAPHIC ORGANIZER ON JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN COGNITIVE WRITING SKILLS

Michael Olubunmi ODEWUMI, Amosa Isiaka GAMBARI

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This study investigated the efficacy of graphic organizer on junior secondary school students’ cognitive writing
development skills. The study also determined the influence of school type and gender on the performance of
students taught with graphic organizer (GO). The study was necessitated because of the problem of non readable
hand-writings of the pupils in junior secondary schools. The quasi-experimental design which involved the pretest,
post-test, control group design was employed for the study. The research sample was drawn from two
randomly selected junior secondary schools from Ile-Ife, Oyo State, Nigeria. Students from the sampled class
were further stratified along gender. The instruments used for collecting data were Graphic Organizer
Achievement Test (GOAT) and the graphic organizer (GO). Graphic Organizer Achievement Test (GOAT) was
pilot tested for reliability using the test-retest method of three weeks interval and Pearson Moment Product
Correlation coefficient analysis revealed a reliability coefficient value of 0.78. The two hypotheses were tested
using t-test. Findings indicated that, students taught with the graphic organizer performed better than those
taught with conventional method. It was shown that the gender of pupils was not a factor in the performance of
students when they were taught with Graphic Organizer. Based on the findings, it was recommended that
teachers should used Graphic Organizer in teaching Cultural and Creative Arts to enhance students’
performance.

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ENGAGING GLOBALLY DISTRIBUTED VIRTUAL TEAMS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS 122

Dawn M. Armfield, Shadow W.J. Armfield, Laura Sujo-Montes

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In order to understand how globally distributed teams can best work in online collaborative environments, the
authors conducted a survey of those who have worked collaboratively in cross-cultural environments. The authors
wanted to determine how collaboration was defined and what elements affected positive outcomes in those
collaborations in order to produce best practices for online collaborative work in a cross-cultural environment.
What was found is that training, time, and patience were essential for positive outcomes in a cross-cultural online
collaboration. This paper introduces different ideas for training for this type of work, ways to think about
technology, and ways to integrate collaborators and technology. Future implications require that technology be
less Western-centric and more globally responsive as well as having multimodal approaches to problem-solving.

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FOSTERING STUDENTS’ SELF-REGULATED LEARNING THROUGH SELF AND PEER ASSESSMENTS

Christine Shobana Arthur

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“Strong isn't about having a million strengths, rather it's about facing and dealing with our weaknesses”. ~
Unknown. Is our education system allowing our undergraduates to face and deal with their weaknesses? Or are
we taking the students for a leisure walk in the park in higher education while neglecting essential lifelong learning
skills for their future? This paper focuses on students’ progress and development in terms of their skills through
self and peer assessments. In this study, students were encouraged to identify their weaknesses and areas of
concern based on one of the assessments given to them in the course. Then the teacher and peers used these
concerns as an assessment tool to provide feedback to the students. Through this activity, it was found that the
students were very goal-oriented and were able to notice their ‘progress’ – the key to learning. These assessment
tools help students to realise that learning does not just stop at one point but happens continuously throughout
their lives by reflecting on their lifelong learning skills. The outcome of this study could be useful to assist teachers
to set self and peer assessment tasks as part of their course for every level in higher education.

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INFORMATION NEEDS AND SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF DISTANCE LEARNING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Khalid Usman

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This study was undertaken to find out the information needs and information seeking behavior of distance learning
university students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The study used the questionnaire-based survey method. Snow ball
sampling technique was used for data collection. It was found that their main information needs and seeking
behaviour were related to “Lectures”, “Information relating to their programs of study”, and “Completing
assignments”. The internet and library were the main channels for meeting the information needs of students;
however the usage of the library was infrequent. Among various information sources available to the students, the
heaviest reliance was on books and lecturers/tutors, but the usage of electronic resources such as e-journals and
databases was very low. Search engines which were the most used individual tool for searching their needed
information and mostly students preferred the English language when they sought information. Print format was
their preferred format for the required information. Computer and information technology skills were insufficient at
best they needed formal training from the institutions. A majority of the students faced barriers when attempting to
acquire their needed information. The main barriers were lack of institution library for off-campus students. The
outcome of this study will be beneficial to academic institutions in facilitation of information needs for students.

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PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES FOR ADVISINGS STYLES AMONG ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Melendez O. Byrd, Keesha M. Kerns, Ph.D.

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Abstract: This study was designed to investigate the perceptions and preferences of academic advising styles (prescriptive or developmental) reported by undergraduate engineering students. The significance for this research is that there are no studies that have examined the current incidence and preference of advising styles for engineering undergraduate students. The high attrition rate in the engineering colleges nationally makes it critical to investigate what can be done to increase retention. We do not have evidence of female students’ preferences for and perceptions of academic advising, nor do we know the preferences and perceptions of males, a more traditional group of students in engineering. The lack of awareness of academic advising preferences could be a major component in the high attrition of students in the engineering major. Moreover, increased awareness and understanding for advisors, faculty administrators and even students will befall, and in turn strengthen retention.This study will investigate the expectations and perceptions of engineering students on the Prescriptive-Developmental Advising Model. The Academic Advising Inventory instrument was completed via the Internet by 373 students. This study specifically examined the comparison between gender, classification and grade point average (GPA). Results indicated no significant gender difference of reported advising style. Both genders prefer developmental advising, but female engineering student’s preference is significantly stronger. Engineering students with lower GPA's report receiving prescriptive advising, while students with a higher GPAreported receiving a developmental style of advising. The results indicated the importance to facilitate an increase in Developmental Advisingfor engineering students. Both students and faculty could benefit by providing workshops to enhance the communication between the groups. A Developmental Advising workshop for engineering faculty advisors should encourage the advisors to: 1) devise an effective plan when advising incoming freshman and students with low GPAs; and 2) understand the difficulties that women face in entering the engineering field as these difficulties may result in different needs than their male counterparts. Workshops for engineering students should include: 1) a seminar for all incoming freshman students to learn key skills to successfully navigate in the engineering college; 2) a workshop to help students (particularly women) initiate contact when communicating with faculty members who might intimidate them; and 3) skills to clarify their intellectual and personal needs. This research goal is to add a new perspective to the understanding of the advising process and may have implications for academic achievement and retention of students in engineering programs.

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THE EVALUATION OF CULTURAL EFFECTS ON THE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR OF SCHOOL MANAGERS IN THE TRNC STATE LYCEES

Canan SEZENLER, Alpay SEZENLER

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The effects of cultural values on the leadership characteristics of school administrators constitute the main
purpose of this research. The universe of the research is the administrators of the state high schools located in the
Nicosia, Famagusta, Girne, Iskele, Guzelyurt and Lefke districts of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. As
a sample, all managers were targeted. For this purpose, before the United States and applied in Turkey, 85-point
scale is used. In the study, it has been found that the highest leadership value possesses Transformational
Leadership. "Self-management" has a significant impact on cultural value, transformational leadership style and
proves the relationship between culture and leadership.

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WHY USE TECHNOLOGY IN THE SCIENCE CLASSROOMS?

Roshani Rajbanshi

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With access to technology in the classroom, use of technology has become essential in the public schools of the
United States. Even with the availability of technology in the classroom, many times, its use is in the teachercentered
approach. With the view to understand the lived experience of the science teachers and their technology
use in the classrooms, this study took its initiative to analyze and document the lived experience of middle-school
science teachers’ technology use in the classroom. Observations and interviews with the teachers provided
evidence for this study. The data obtained were analyzed based on the constructivist theoretical framework to
construct knowledge and draw conclusion. The findings indicate various uses of technology in science classroom
to engage students in learning. In conclusion, teachers, students and technology are three sides of a triangle where
technology is a medium that bridges teacher’s responsibility of providing content knowledge to the students who
are familiar with the technology.

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