Effect of simulation and guided-inquiry strategies in elimination of students’ misconception in biology teaching

This study investigates the effects of simulation and Guided-inquiry strategies in elimination of students’ misconception in Biology Teaching in Senior Secondary Schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State. Four research questions and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the research. The design adopted for this study is quasi experimental pre-test, post-test control group design. The population of the study was made up of all SSIII biology students, using cluster sampling to select 150 students’ to form the sample size. The research instrument used was Ecology performance Test (EPT). Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. T-test was used to test the hypotheses. The findings among others indicated that students taught with simulation and guided inquiry teaching strategy performed better than the traditional method thereby eliminating student’s misconception on ecological concept in biology. It was recommended among others that biology teachers should be encouraged to explore the application of simulation and guided inquiring strategies in their classroom instruction.

Teachers’ and Educational Administrators’ Conceptions of Inquiry: Do They Promote or Constrain Inquiry-Based Science Teaching in Junior High Schools?

This study sought to examine whether teachers’ and educational administrators’ conceptions of inquiry promote or constrain inquiry-based science teaching in junior high schools. The study also explored any connections between participants’ conceptions of scientific inquiry, inquiry teaching, and inquiry learning. Multiple-case study involving semi-structured interviews was used to collect data from 18 integrated science teachers and 23 educational administrators from rural and urban areas in the Central Region of Ghana. Analysis of the qualitative data involved open coding and categorisation of participants’ responses. We found that all the teachers and educational administrators held either uninformed or partially informed conceptions of scientific inquiry and inquiry teaching and learning which, constrain inquiry-based science instruction in junior high schools. We also found that participants’ conceptions of scientific inquiry reflected in their conceptions of science teaching and learning. Again, we found that the uninformed conceptions of inquiry developed from participants’ lack of exposure and experiences with inquiry-based science instruction when they were students. We recommend regular explicit-reflective in-service trainings to promote teachers’ and educational administrators’ conceptions and teachers’ practice of inquiry-based science teaching. We also recommend reforms in preservice science education that emphasise the engagement of prospective teachers in collaborative explicit-reflective inquiry investigations and instructional practices.

Exploration of Student-Centered Teaching Methods: Physics Curriculum Implementation Perspectives

Teaching methods are primary elements of curriculum. National curriculum provides for student-centered teaching methods including for the subject of physics. Focusing on the importance of teaching methods, the current quantitative study was planned to explore student-centered teaching methods used for physics curriculum implementation. The sample of the study comprised 2,880 science students selected through multistage sampling technique. Self-constructed questionnaire having 4-factors; small group discussion, project work, inquiry teaching and debate were used to collect the data from the respondents. The questionnaire was validated from the experts and pilot tested to ensure Cronbach’s Alpha reliability statistics; .823. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test. Results declared that teachers were making 56% use of student-centered teaching methods. Furthermore, urban secondary schools’ teachers were making more use of student-centered teaching as compared to rural secondary schools’ teachers for curriculum implementation. Based on the results, it is recommended that physics teachers should be provided training in student-centered teaching methods for effective curriculum implementation.

Analysis of Students' Critical Thinking Improvement in Teaching Inquiry with Cognitive Conflict Strategies

This study aimed to analyze the improvement of students' critical thinking skills in teaching inquiry with cognitive conflict strategies. Quasi experiments were conducted in this study. The research sample was twenty students as physics teacher candidates at a private university in West Nusa Tenggara - Indonesia. The critical thinking skills test instrument in the form of essay questions is used to measure students' critical thinking skills. The analysis of increasing of critical thinking skills was analyzed descriptively with the n-gain equation, and the difference in critical thinking skills between the pretest and posttest using a pair t-test which was preceded by homogeneity and normality tests. The results of the n-gain analysis showed that the increase in students' critical thinking scores was in the moderate category. Qualitatively, the increase in scores from pretest to posttest in a row is from not critically to enough critically. The results of this study imply that inquiry teaching with cognitive conflict strategies has the potential to be implemented in classroom teaching for the purpose of improving students' critical thinking skills.

Pengembangan Bahan Ajar dengan Model Inkuiri Terbimbing untuk Melatih Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Peserta Didik

Belum tersedianya bahan ajar yang dapat melatihkan kemampuan berpikir kritis menyebabkan kemampuan berpikir kritis peserta didik masih tergolong rendah. Penelitian ini bertujuan menghasilkan bahan ajar materi Elastisitas dan Hukum Hooke melalui pengajaran inkuiri terbimbing yang layak digunakan untuk melatih kemampuan berpikir kritis peserta didik. Penelitian ini menggunakan model pengembangan ADDIE dengan 29 orang peserta didik kelas XI MIPA 2 SMAN 12 Banjarmasin sebagai subjek uji coba penelitian. Data diperoleh melalui wawancara, lembar validitas bahan ajar, lembar pengamatan RPP, lembar aktivitas peserta didik, dan tes hasil belajar yang mengacu pada indikator kemampuan berpikir kritis. Analisis data dilakukan secara deskriptif kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) validitas bahan ajar berdasarkan komponen RPP, LKPD, materi ajar dan THB memperoleh skor 3,345 dengan berkategori valid; (2) kepraktisan bahan ajar berdasarkan keterlaksanaan RPP memperoleh skor 3,47 dengan berkategori sangat baik; dan (3) efektivitas bahan ajar berdasarkan nilai N-Gain memperoleh skor 0,30 dengan berkategori sedang, serta aktivitas peserta didik yang memperoleh skor 60,06 dengan berkategori baik. Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa bahan ajar materi Elastisitas dan Hukum Hooke melalui pengajaran inkuiri terbimbing layak digunakan untuk melatih kemampuan berpikir kritis dan dapat diimplementasikan dalam proses pembelajaran. The lack of teaching materials availability that can train critical thinking skills causes students' critical thinking skills in low category. This research aims to produce Elasticity and Hooke's Law teaching materials through guided inquiry teaching that is eligible for training students' critical thinking skills. This research used the ADDIE development model with 29 students from XI MIPA 2 class at SMAN 12 Banjarmasin as the research trial subjects. The data were obtained through interview, teaching materials validity sheet, lesson plan observation sheets, student activity sheets, and learning outcomes tests that refer to critical thinking skills indicators. Data analysis was carried out by descriptive qualitative and quantitative. The results showed that: (1) the teaching materials validity based on the components of lesson plam, worksheet, teaching materials and learning outcome test obtained 3,345 in valid category; (2) the teaching materials practicality based on lesson plan implementation obtained 3.47 in very good category; and (3) the teaching materials effectiveness based on the N-Gain value obtained 0.30 in medium category, and students’ activity that obtained 60.06 in good category. Thus, it can be concluded that Elasticity and Hooke's Law teaching materials through guided inquiry teaching are eligible to be used to train critical thinking skills and can be implemented in the learning process.

The Development of Augmented-Reality Based Guided Inquiry Teaching Material of Life Organization System

The purposes of this research and development is to produce feasible and valid teaching materials utilizing augmented reality-assisted guided inquiry learning model in the activity of identifying life organizational system for 7th grade students of Junior High School/Islamic Junior High School, as teaching material in Covid-19 Pandemic era. This research used Lee and Owens research and development model, limited to three stages, namely: analysis/assessment, design, and development. The feasibility of the teaching materials were determined from the results of the validation and user assessment. The teaching materials were developed in A6-sized printed books containing Basic Competence 3.6 materials of life organizational system from the cellular level to organismic level. The materials were presented in the forms of illustrations, videos, three-dimensional AR animations, and handouts on google drive. Based on the validity result which was conducted by material and media experts, it was discovered that the teaching materials were valid and feasible for learning with the score percentage of more than 81 percent.

Mobile learning on students' learning interest and achievement based on apt teaching model

With the rapid development of computer technology and the Internet, mobile learning in AT teaching mode has become the most popular concept and technology in the IT field. It can be said that mobile learning in AT teaching mode is closely related to people’s daily life, so the AT teaching mode Mobile learning has received a high degree of attention.This paper constructs the inquiry teaching mode and framework, and explores the effective ML method based on AT mode, so as to improve students’ apos; learning performance and learning interest, so as to improve the teaching effect and teaching quality. In this paper, the evaluation-based information teaching mode AT mode is constructed, which provides support for teaching, and studies the learning interest based on AT mode. This study takes the change of students’ apos; interest as the breakthrough point, and on the basis of traditional teaching mode, using the methods of literature, experiment and mathematical statistics, taking the students of our university as the research object, this paper adopts the preset model and measures and analyzes the data with the help of measurement tools. On the basis of ensuring its good reliability and validity, the students apos; interest is tested. The results show that ML based on AT mode can improve students’ apos; academic performance, and the improvement degree is related to the difficulty of learning content and students apos; learning level. It shows that mathematical modeling based on the AT model can help students understand knowledge, reduce learning difficulty, and increase learning interest. It also proves that student performance and learning interest interact and promote each other.