A Simulated peer-assessment approach to improve students’ performance in numerical problem-solving questions in high school biology

Basic mathematical fluency is a prerequisite for success in a wide array of areas in biology and it has been noted that many students are deficient in this skill. In this paper, the use of a simulated peer-assessment activity is investigated as a method to improve performance in numerical problem-solving questions in high school biology. Additionally, the benefits of using simulated, rather than real, student’s answers in peer-assessment is discussed. The study involved a small cohort of students who carried out a simulated peer-assessment as a classroom activity and their improvement in performance and attitude towards the activity was measured. The results demonstrate that a simulated peer-assessment activity is suitable as a replacement for standard peer-assessment and that students’ attitudes favour the simulated approach.     

“Sharks in Your Hands”—A Case Study on Effects of Teaching Strategies to Change Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Sharks

This study was designed to exemplify how hands-on based teaching strategies enhanced students’ knowledge and positive attitudes towards sharks. Hands-on activities for sharks’ biological and morphological features were carried out. Eleven elementary school students from a remote area in Taiwan were recruited and assigned to the hands-on condition. They were encouraged to draw pictures of sharks before and after the instruction as the main data for pre- and post-test comparison. Two years later, the retention test and attitude inventory towards sharks were implemented. The results revealed that large effect size emerged for both the post-test and retention test. In regards to attitude inventory, students involved in hands-on activities also significantly outperformed the baseline group. Many of them have taken notice of television programs and books about sharks or marine ecology since the hands-on activities, indicating the instruction had a beneficial impact on their extracurricular lives. Empirical findings of this study suggest hands-on instruction is a powerful strategy for learning, both for immediate and prolonged effects on improving students’ knowledge and attitudes toward sharks.     

Virtual Bystanders in a Language Lesson: Examining the Effect of Social Evaluation,Vicarious Experience,Cognitive Consistency and Praising on Students' Beliefs,Self-Efficacy and Anxiety in a Virtual Reality Environment

Bystanders in a real world''s social setting have the ability to influence people’s beliefs and behavior. This study examines whether this effect can be recreated in a virtual environment, by exposing people to virtual bystanders in a classroom setting. Participants (n = 26) first witnessed virtual students answering questions from an English teacher, after which they were also asked to answer questions from the teacher as part of a simulated training for spoken English. During the experiment the attitudes of the other virtual students in the classroom was manipulated; they could whisper either positive or negative remarks to each other when a virtual student was talking or when a participant was talking. The results show that the expressed attitude of virtual bystanders towards the participants affected their self-efficacy, and their avoidance behavior. Furthermore, the experience of witnessing bystanders commenting negatively on the performance of other students raised the participants’ heart rate when it was their turn to speak. Two-way interaction effects were also found on self-reported anxiety and self-efficacy. After witnessing bystanders’ positive attitude towards peer students, participants’ self-efficacy when answering questions received a boost when bystanders were also positive towards them, and a blow when bystanders reversed their attitude by being negative towards them. Still, inconsistency, instead of consistency, between the bystanders’ attitudes towards virtual peers and the participants was not found to result in a larger change in the participants’ beliefs. Finally the results also reveal that virtual flattering or destructive criticizing affected the participants’ beliefs not only about the virtual bystanders, but also about the neutral teacher. Together these findings show that virtual bystanders in a classroom can affect people’s beliefs, anxiety and behavior.     

Conservation priorities for elementary school students: Neotropical and European perspectives

Nature conservation can only be an efficient process if involving different society actors, especially those that have long-term and multiplying effects on how society relates with nature, such as children/students. To delineate nature conservation strategies, we need to understand the drivers that shape peoples’ behaviors and attitudes towards nature; for students this is mostly determined by their past experience and influence of their socio-economic and familiar context. To test these assumptions, we develop a study focused on elementary school students from Portugal and Brazil. In each country we selected two student’s groups representing two distinct socio-environmental contexts: rural and urban populations. Based on a written questionnaire, we aimed at understanding the effect of parental and socio-environmental contexts, gender, prior contact with nature and online news-associated environmental information, on how students prioritize taxa to be conserved. Furthermore, we analyzed how health, economic and touristic values constrain pro-conservation attitudes. Students from urban areas and from Portugal showed a lower probability of having a pro-conservation attitude. Brazilian and rural students may have a more frequent contact with nature and live in regions of higher biodiversity, two factors that may act synergistically to produce those patterns. Positive attitudes towards conservation seem to be over-ruled by health (i.e. self-preservation) and economical (i.e. financial subsistence) interests and values. Moreover, students prioritize for conservation species that are commonly mentioned in the online news, particularly mammals, and plants. Acknowledging that students rank higher health and economical values over conservation ones, as well as the perceptible importance of contacting with nature and the apparent relevance of online news as information vehicles, may increase the chances of improving the efficacy of nature conservation strategies. Furthermore, this information can lead to an improvement of environmental awareness and literacy.     

Student Perceptions of,and Attitudes toward,Bats in Barak Valley,Assam, India

Bats are commonly found all over the world and provide significant ecosystem services. These animals are facing serious threats due to various anthropogenic activities, including hunting. Additionally, bats are often not particularly well liked due to their non-aesthetic characteristics. A positive attitude to these animals is essential to protect them through appropriate conservation measures involving public intervention. Current high school students are the conservationists of the future, and the extent of support for bat conservation received from this and future generations is dependent upon their attitude toward these animals. It is therefore important to assess their perceptions of bats so that appropriate awareness programs can be devised, and negative attitudes (if any) rectified. The present study aimed to understand this aspect in order to provide inputs for shaping positive attitudes toward bat conservation. The study was undertaken in Barak Valley, Assam, India, where 65 bat colonies had already been recorded. A total of 3,059 high school students from 36 schools situated in their vicinity were questioned using a close-ended questionnaire to determine their perceptions. The responses received were divided among three categories: familiarity with bats, opinion on bats, and attitudes toward conservation, and were ranked on a scale of 10, based on selected aspects. Most students were awarded a score of four, indicating an average knowledge and opinion of bats. These findings suggest that awareness programs are urgently needed in schools to improve the general knowledge of and attitudes toward bats, and to inspire the next generation of bat conservationists.     

Political efficacy and interest as mediators of expected political participation among Belgian adolescents

Abstract

Citizenship education intends to prepare students to become politically active citizens. However, studies investigating the relationship between citizenship education and political participation have largely neglected the mediating role of political attitudes. This study examines whether political efficacy and political interest are mediators of expected political participation, using the data of the Belgian (Flemish) sample of the ICCS 2016 study. The results indicate that three educational strategies (i.e., classroom discussions, civic learning opportunities, and student participation at school) are positively associated with expected political participation (i.e., institutionalized and noninstitutionalized participation) in a distinct way. A substantial part of this relationship is mediated by political interest and political efficacy. Future research should take this underlying mechanism into account when studying the development of civic engagement amongst adolescents in a school context. The findings of this study call for a broad approach to citizenship education for the development of political attitudes, as well as behavior.     

Learning biology and geology through a participative teaching approach: the effect on student attitudes towards science and academic performance

ABSTRACT

The investigation has demonstrated that the science teaching strategy employed moderates the interest of students in learning the subject, along with academic achievement. In this article we used a mixed method design in a sample of secondary education students (n = 57) to examine the effect of the participative teaching approach in attitudes towards science and student academic performance in the Biology and Geology subject. We also analysed the influence of student learning styles in their academic performance. The statistical results show that the participative methodology has a positive effect on attitude towards student attitudes towards science and academic performance; this finding has been triangulated with class observations and the vision of the teacher participating in the experience. Furthermore, we identified different significances between boys and girls in pre-test academic performance, which disappeared post-test. Despite this, in both measurements the boys showed greater interest in and enjoyment of science learning than the girls. Finally, we are able to conclude that academic performance is positively related to attitude towards science and with reflexive and theoretical learning styles.     

In the Belly of the Beast

This article relates one high school teacher's experiences in the classroom following September 11, 2001, focusing on classroom participation in George W. Bush's national pledge of allegiance. A personal, autobiographical account, this episode reflects some of the ramifications of September 11 on a teacher, his students, and the ways we imagine our enemies.     

"Quit Talking and Learn English!": Conflicting Language Ideologies in an ESL Classroom

This article addresses the relationship between educational theory—as manifested in particular ideologies of teaching and learning—and classroom practice. Based on an ethnographic study of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learning at a Canadian senior public school, I outline a conflict between two language ideologies that give shape to, and are shaped by, the classroom practices of the ESL teacher, his assistants, and the students. I discuss the implications of this ideological conflict in terms of the opportunities ESL students are given, and that they create for themselves, to practice speaking English. I end by outlining how these findings can be used to shape educational policy as it relates to ESL classroom curricula in order to create a more equitable learning environment for ESL students.     

Model eliciting activities: another tool for the elementary teaching toolbox

Abstract

Maximizing classroom time to include meaningful content-based learning with fun engaging activities that simultaneously challenge and encourage students is a hallmark of a successful school day. This article shares one instructional approach that does a model eliciting activity (MEA). A MEA is a real-world, problem-based scenario framed around a fictitious client who writes a letter in which the client poses a problem for students to address. Students use the engineering design process to brainstorm, create, and test models, then compose written and oral responses to the client citing evidence to justify their solution. The content of the client letter is created by the classroom teacher and based on the Next Generation Science Standards, the teacher wishes to address. The depth of the content addressed is at the teacher’s discretion and may vary depending on sequence of lessons within the unit of study, developmental readiness of students, and standard(s) selected.     

The perception of ethnic diversity and anti-immigrant sentiments: a multilevel analysis of local communities in Belgium

Most of the literature suggests a positive relationship between immigrant concentration and anti-immigrant sentiments. The main goal of this study is to investigate the impact of both perceived and actual size of migrant populations on anti-immigrant sentiments. A representative survey of inhabitants of local communities in the Flemish region of Belgium shows a strong tendency to overestimate the presence of non-nationals. The survey allows us to conclude that respondents living in ethnically diverse communities do not have more negative attitudes towards immigrants. Individuals who perceive more immigrants to be present in their communities are more hostile even after controlling for reported contact with members of immigrant groups. We can therefore conclude that the perceived size of the immigrant group has a stronger impact on anti-immigrant sentiments than the actual presence of ethnic minority groups.     

Factors Associated with Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes Towards the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

Objective

Teachers'' attitudes toward inclusion are often based on the practical implementation of inclusive education rather than a specific ideology and understanding of inclusiveness. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with primary school teachers'' attitudes towards inclusion of students with all disabilities in regular schools.

Method

Seventy four primary school teachers participated in a cross-sectional survey conducted in Western Australia. Teachers'' attitudes and efficacy toward integration of students with disabilities were measured using the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities scale and Bandura''s Teacher Efficacy scale respectively.

Results

Four teacher attributes—age, gender, teaching self-efficacy and training collectively explained 42% of the variability in teachers'' attitude toward including students with disabilities.

Conclusion

The current study further contributes to the accumulation of knowledge that can unpack the complex pattern of factors that should be considered to promote positive attitudes towards inclusive schools.     

A Three-Lesson Teaching Unit Significantly Increases High School Students’ Knowledge about Epilepsy and Positively Influences Their Attitude towards This Disease

Epilepsy is not a regular topic in many countries’ schools. Thus many people harbor misconceptions about people suffering from this disease. It was our aim to a) examine what grade ten students know and believe about epilepsy, and b) to develop and test a teaching unit to improve their knowledge and attitude. The test group comprised eight grade ten classes from six different Austrian high schools (54 girls and 51 boys aged 14–17), the control group (no intervention) five grade ten classes from the same schools (26 girls and 37 boys aged 14–17). The teaching unit consisted of three 45-min lessons using different methods and material. Changes in knowledge about and attitude towards epilepsy as a result of the intervention were psychometrically assessed in a pre-test intervention post-test design (along with a follow-up assessment two months after the intervention) by means of a questionnaire capturing different facets of epilepsy-related knowledge and attitude. Across all knowledge/attitude domains, students of the test group had a significantly improved knowledge about and a more positive attitude towards epilepsy and people suffering from it after the teaching unit. However, starting levels were different between the five knowledge/attitude domains tested. Medical background knowledge was lowest and consequently associated with the highest increase after the intervention. This study shows that epilepsy-related knowledge of many grade ten high school students is fragmentary and that some harbor beliefs and attitudes which require improvement. Our comprehensive but concise teaching unit significantly increased knowledge about epilepsy and positively influenced attitude towards individuals with epilepsy. Thus we recommend implementing this unit into regular school curricula.     

The value of a dog in a classroom of children with severe emotional disorders

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine how a dog's presence in a self-contained classroom of six children diagnosed with severe emotional disorders affected students' emotional stability and their learning. Across an eight-week period of time, the children were observed, the children and their parents were interviewed, and behavioral data were recorded when students went into emotional crisis. Qualitative analysis of all coded data indicated that the dog's placement in this self-contained classroom: a) contributed to students' overall emotional stability evidenced by prevention and de-escalation of episodes of emotional crisis; b) improved students' attitudes toward school; and c) facilitated students' learning lessons in responsibility, respect and empathy.     

Using Team-Based Learning to Teach Grade 7 Biology: Student satisfaction and improved performance

Team-based learning (TBL) is an innovative form of collaborative learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate TBL’s effect on the performance and satisfaction of grade 7 students in biology in a private school in Lebanon, as well as teachers’ willingness to implement this new methodology. An exploratory study was performed whereby two biology units were taught to two groups of students using either TBL (60 students) or traditional lecture-based instruction (30 students). Later, a summative test was administered to evaluate students’ performance. Students’ attitudes were evaluated using a questionnaire and teachers’ classroom observations. Finally, science teachers’ willingness to try TBL in their classes was assessed using a questionnaire (14 teachers). Results showed that underachievers taught according to TBL did better than underachievers taught with the lecture-based approach. The majority of students enjoyed TBL and found it useful and fun. Finally, science teachers agreed that TBL is a good alternative to the traditional lecture-based method.     

Simulated human diving and heart rate: making the most of the diving response as a laboratory exercise

Laboratory exercises in which students examine the human diving response are widely used in high school and college biology courses despite the experience of some instructors that the response is unreliably produced in the classroom. Our experience with this exercise demonstrates that the bradycardia associated with the diving response is a robust effect that can easily be measured by students without any sophisticated measurement technology. We discuss measures that maximize the success of the exercise by reducing individual variation, designing experiments that are minimally affected by change in the response over time, collecting data in appropriate time increments, and applying the most powerful statistical analysis. Emphasis is placed on pedagogical opportunities for using this exercise to teach general principles of physiology, experimental design, and data analysis. Data collected by students, background information for instructors, a discussion of the relevance of the diving reflex to humans, suggestions for additional experiments, and thought questions with sample answers are included.     

Drinking in adolescents--qualitative analysis

The aim of this paper was to explore alcohol consumption and the development of this habit in the adolescent population based on qualitative data from 59 anonymous essays written by high school students. We found that the most of adolescents had their first experiences with alcohol in the seventh or eighth grades. They reported that they usually drank alcohol to be happy, to relax, to be courageous in approaching the opposite sex, to fit into society, and to be popular. Factors affecting drinking are influence of peers, family and social attitude towards drinking, laws and enforcement of legislation. In further prevention programs, we must be able to demonstrate that "having a good time" does not mean drinking alcohol. Programs for the prevention of alcohol-related problems must begin by adolescence, including both sexes equally and can be achieved through a coordinated and intense public health effort.     

The Gatsby Plant Science Summer School: inspiring the next generation of plant science researchers

We provide evidence from a 5-year study to show that a single concerted effort at the start of undergraduate study can have a clear and lasting effect on the attitudes of students toward plant science. Attendance at a week-long residential plant science summer school in the first year of an undergraduate degree resulted in many students changing courses to include more plant science and increased numbers of graduates selecting plant-based PhDs. The evidence shows that the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School has increased the pool of high-quality plant science related PhD applicants in the UK and has had a positive impact on students' career aspirations. The results are discussed within the context of enhancing the pipeline of future plant scientists and reversing the decline of this vulnerable and strategically important subject relevant to addressing food security and other major global challenges. We have shown that a single well-designed and timely intervention can influence future student behavior and as such offers a framework of potential use to other vulnerable disciplines.     

Instructional Integration of Disciplines for Promoting Children’s Positive Attitudes Towards Plants

Plants are an integral part of nature. Many plant species in almost any part of the world are under serious threats due to various reasons such as deforestation, pollution–of air, water and soil–caused by industrialisation, overgrazing and rapid population growth. It is likely that people have strong positive attitudes towards conservation of plants. This study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional approach based on integration of botany with chemistry and art on students’ attitude towards plants. This study was carried out in a science summer school for 10–12-years-old students (N = 49) in Turkey. The Plant Attitude Questionnaire was used as pre-test and post-test to assess the effects of the instruction on the students’ attitudes towards plants. Moreover, the participating children were asked to keep journals throughout the instruction. The children’s journals served as a data collection tool. The findings of the study indicated that integration of botany with chemistry and art is a good way to support children’s positive attitudes towards plants, particularly for an instructional approach based on the integration of plants with various disciplines to support children’s interest and enjoyment of plants. Also, this approach could offer children opportunities to understand the importance of plants in the living environments of humans and other organisms, and material benefits from plants in industry.     

Role of school climate and personality in the development of Czech adolescents’ political self-efficacy

This study examined the effects of school climate (open classroom and positive student relationships) and personality dispositions (shyness and need for cognition) on adolescents’ political self-efficacy. Data were collected in 2014 from 1,954 Czech ninth- and tenth-graders (mean age?=?15.60). A multilevel analysis showed that school-level political self-efficacy predicted self-efficacy for local politics. However, schools and classrooms were rather homogeneous in terms of students’ mean political self-efficacy and students’ self-reported acquisition of civic skills at school. Hence, school characteristics had only limited associations with adolescents’ political self-efficacy. At the same time, students’ political efficacy had a considerable association with lower shyness and higher need for cognition. These results suggest that the development of political efficacy at school goes beyond simple general influences of school environment and individual differences between students must be considered.