Who Makes an Effort? A Person-Centered Examination of Motivation and Beliefs as Predictors of Students’ Effort and Performance on the PISA 2015 Science Assessment

Each time new PISA results are presented, they gain a lot of attention. However, there are many factors that lie behind the results, and they get less attention. In this study, we take a person-centered approach and focus on students’ motivation and beliefs, and how these predict students’ effort and performance on the PISA 2015 assessment of scientific literacy. Moreover, we use both subjective (self-report) and objective (time-based) measures of effort, which allows us to compare these different types of measures. Latent profile analysis was used to group students in profiles based on their instrumental motivation, enjoyment, interest, self-efficacy, and epistemic beliefs (all with regard to science). A solution with four profiles proved to be best. When comparing the effort and performance of these four profiles, we saw several significant differences, but many of these differences disappeared when we added gender and the PISA index of economic, social, and cultural status (ESCS) as control variables. The main difference between the profiles, after adding control variables, was that the students in the profile with most positive motivation and sophisticated epistemic beliefs performed best and put in the most effort. Students in the profile with unsophisticated epistemic beliefs and low intrinsic values (enjoyment and interest) were most likely to be classified as low-effort responders. We conclude that strong motivation and sophisticated epistemic beliefs are important for both the effort students put into the PISA assessment and their performance, but also that ESCS had an unexpectedly large impact on the results.

Undergraduates lived experience of project-/problem-based learning in Introductory Biology

Recommendations for enhancing scientific literacy, inclusivity, and the ecosystem for innovation call for transitioning from teacher-centered to learner-centered science classrooms, particularly at the introductory undergraduate level. Yet, little is documented about the challenges that undergraduates perceive in such classrooms and on students' ways of navigating them. Via mixed methods, we studied undergraduates' lived experience in one form of learner-centered teaching, hybrid project-/problem-based learning (PBL), in introductory organismal biology at a baccalaureate institution. Prominent in qualitative analyses of student interviews and written reflections were undergraduates' initial expectation of and longing for an emphasis on facts and transmission of them. The prominence diminished from semester's middle to end, as students came to value developing ideas, solving problems collaboratively, and engaging in deep ways of learning. Collaboration and personal resources such as belief in self emerged as supports for these shifts. Quantitative analyses corroborated that PBL students transformed as learners, moving toward informed views on nature of science, advancing in multi-variable causal reasoning, and more frequently adopting deep approaches for learning than did students in lecture-based sections. The qualitative and quantitative findings portray the PBL classroom as an intercultural experience in which culture shock yields over time to acceptance in a way supported by students' internal resources and peer collaboration. The findings have value to those seeking to implement PBL and other complex-learning approaches in a manner responsive to the lived experience of the learner.

Science, Poetics, and Immersive Field Ecology

Complex global challenges and declining scientific literacy demand novel approaches to engaging students with science and the natural world. While evidence supports integrating creative and scientific modes of inquiry, these approaches are often separated in undergraduate education. We designed Ecology Through the Writer’s Lens (ETWL) to allow students to explore an ecosystem of critical importance, the tall grass prairie, through an interdisciplinary field experience. Co-taught by Biology and English professors and open to students of all majors, ETWL leverages classroom activities to prepare for and process the immersive field experience over the course of one semester. Field-based exercises include natural history observations, hypothesis building, experimental design, analysis of the literature, and creative/reflective writing. Learning was assessed through multiple assignments, including a final creative project that spanned diverse writing genres. Students met and exceeded expectations with respect to course objectives. Non-science majors learned how scientific knowledge is generated; science majors learned how creative approaches can open new pathways for exploration. Many students overcame fear of natural spaces. Several students independently engaged with tall grass prairie in post-course activities. We conclude that interdisciplinary approaches to field-based inquiry can generate transformative experiences, even when the immersive component is short-term and close to home. ETWL provides one model by which different modes of inquiry can be blended to enhance student appreciation of science, literature, and the environment.

Understanding Scientific Literacy and Pedagogy Competence: A Critical Insight into Religious Integration Thinking Skills

This study aims to examine the scientific literacy and pedagogical competence on the ability to comprehend the religious integration amongst Islamic education pre-service teachers. This research used a quantitative approach involving 156 participants from several universities. Data were obtained through conducting survey. Data analysis was performed with bivariate correlation. Based on the data analysis carried out, the finding showed that the significant correlation between scientific literacy skills and pedagogy competence to the ability of religious integration thinking skills within Islamic religious content and values. This is based on the value of sig. (2-tailed) between X1 (Science Literacy) to the integration ability obtained that the value of 0,000, which means <0.05. This data proves that there is a significant correlation between the ability of scientific literacy skills and pedagogy skills to the ability of science integration comprehension amongst the Islamic education pre-service teachers. Received: 2 September 2021 / Accepted: 30 October 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Development of INoSIT (Integration Nature of Science in Inquiry with Technology) Learning Models to Improve Science Literacy: A Preliminary studies

Has successfully created the INoSIT learning paradigm to increase students' science literacy competency. This design aims to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) with inquiry and nature of science (NoS) models to teach scientific literacy to junior high school students using a multi-representation method. The BSCS 5E model (Involvement of Biological Science Curriculum Study, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) and the IBL model (Investigation-based learning) have many phases whose implementation requires many processes. So, the INoSIT model is designed to simplify multiple phases or sub-phases. As a result, IBL (inquiry-based learning) is ineffective and inefficient in terms of learning time. It is also challenging to teach scientific literacy of abstract concepts using this method. The study employs a descriptive analysis method in conjunction with a literature review pattern. The INoSIT model with the syntax Eliciting, Hypothesis, Testing Hypothesis, Elucidation, and Reflection was created from the results of the investigation of the weaknesses of the BSCS 5E (Biological Science Curriculum Study Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) and the IBL (Inquiry-based learning) models. To construct students' knowledge of literacy and the study is anticipated to contribute to creativity, originality, and the development of a proclivity for inquiry and research

Inuit youth and environmental research: exploring engagement barriers, strategies, and impacts

Community leadership in Arctic environmental research is increasingly recognized as one of many pathways to Indigenous self-determination in Nunavut, Canada. While experienced Inuit hunters, trappers, and other recognized environmental knowledge experts are commonly included in research, similar opportunities for Inuit youth to meaningfully engage in environmental research remain limited. Finding ways to increase scientific literacy, particularly among Inuit youth, has been identified as an important step in the continuation of high-quality Arctic environmental research. This paper examines community perspectives on the roles and contributions of Inuit youth in environmental research in Nunavut, barriers that Inuit youth face in becoming meaningfully engaged in field-based environmental research, and strategies for enhancing Inuit youth engagement. Our study was conducted in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, and used interviews, workshops, and observation to gather stories and knowledge from community members about field- and land-based experiential learning pathways. This study found that a complex set of barriers, including a lack of credentials and support systems, among others, may inhibit meaningful Inuit youth engagement in environmental research. Key findings from the study support the view that collaborative land-based research activities can be an effective and meaningful method of enhancing scientific literacy among Inuit youth.

Exploring Scientific Literacy of Chemistry Education Pre-Service Teachers Through Socio-Scientific Issues Approach

Scientific literacy is an ability that must be had by pre-service teachers. This research aimed to find out the scientific literacy's ability of pre-service teachers in chemistry education. This research was descriptive with quantitative approach. Participants were taken by simple random sampling techniques, the participants are chemistry education students. The data source comes from scientific literacy tests with socio-scientific issues and open-ended question description tests. The validity of the data was tested using a data triangulation technique, in which researchers compare data obtained through test instruments and interview results. The results of the data analysis showed the scientific literacy of chemistry education students was dominant in the nominal and functional categories with a percentage of 33.2% and 24.2%, conceptual and multidimensional categories 13.7%; 4.4%; and 24.5% of students did not give answers the tests.

Implementation of STEM-Based Learning for Strengthening Science Literacy of Students

This study aims to analyze the STEM approach in learning to strengthen the scientific literacy of students. The method used in this research is qualitative research with data collection techniques, namely literature studies. The data collection method is by reading, identifying, and analyzing, then categorizing, classifying, and describing. In this research, the study of relevant journals, articles, are used to find out how to increase students’ science literacy by using STEM in elementary schools. Based on the results of research, the literature study states that the use of STEM-based learning effectively improves the student's science literacy. The results of the research analysis showed that the results of the pretest scores of students had low concept understanding in the experimental class and the control class. After being given treatment, the results of the posttest scores showed a significant increase in the experimental class