Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2015

Vol.14, No.
4, 2015
ISSN 1648-3898
The International Journal of the Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2015
Editorial Board
ISSN 1648–3898
Editor-in-Chief
Prof., Dr. Vincentas Lamanauskas Siauliai University, Lithuania
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Prof., Dr. Andris Broks University of Latvia, Latvia
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Prof., Dr. Miia Rannikmäe University of Tartu, Estonia
Executive Secretary
Dr. Laima Railienė Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”, Lithuania
Editors:
Prof., Dr. Boris Aberšek University of Maribor, Slovenia
Prof., Dr. Agnaldo Arroio University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Prof., Dr. Martin Bilek University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Commission for the Publication of the National Edition of Federigo
Dr. Paolo Bussotti
Enriques’s Works, Italy
Dr. Bulent Cavas Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey
Prof., Dr. Hana Čtrnáctová Charles University, Czech Republic
Dr. Peter Demkanin Comenius University, Slovakia
Dr. André du Plessis Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management
Prof., Dr. Jānis Gedrovics
Academy, Latvia
Prof., Dr. Peter Heering University of Flensburg, Germany
Prof., Dr. Jack Holbrook University of Tartu, Estonia
Prof., Dr. Ryszard M. Janiuk Maria Curie Sklodowska University, Poland
Dr. Milan Kubiatko Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Dr. Todar Lakhvich Belarusian State Medical University, Republic of Belarus
Prof., Dr. Jari Lavonen University of Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, Lithuania
Prof., Dr. Aadu Ott Göteborg University, Sweden
Dr. Paul Pace Malta University, Malta
Prof., Dr. Valfrids Paškevičs Daugavpils University, Latvia
Prof., Dr. Jongwon Park Chonnam National University, Korea
Dr. Raffaele Pisano Lille 1 Science and Technology University, France
Dr. Pavol Prokop Institute of Zoology, Bratislava, Slovakia
Dr. Alona Rauckienė-Michaelsson Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, Lithuania
Prof., Dr. Heimo Saarikko Helsinki University, Finland
Dr. Uladzimir K. Slabin University of Oregon, USA
Prof., Dr. Valery P. Solomin Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Russia
Prof., Dr. Borislav V. Toshev Sofia University, Bulgaria
Dr. Georgios Tsaparlis University of Ioannina, Greece
Dr. Muhammet Usak Gazi University, Turkey
A scientific journal JBSE issued by the SMC Scientia Educologica in cooperation with Scientia Socialis, Lithuania, empha-
sizes theoretical, experimental and methodical studies in the field of science education. JBSE is an international academ-
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for anonymous review by two experts, additionally to review by the Editor. The decision of the Editor on the acceptance
of articles is final and no correspondence can be entered into on reasons for rejection of a submitted contribution.
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ISSN 1648–3898 Contents
Contents
Editorial

ELEGANCE IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
Boris Aberšek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Articles
COGNITIVE INTEREST: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN THE ACQUISITION OF SCIENCE AND

MATHEMATICS IN SCHOOLS OF LATVIA
Dagnija Cēdere, Inese Jurgena, Ineta Helmane, Inta Tiltiņa-Kapele, Gunita Praulīte . . . . . . . . . . . 424
CONTEXT-BASED LESSONS WITH 5E MODEL TO PROMOTE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING

OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS AND ENERGY CONCEPTS
Ceyhan Cigdemoglu, Omer Geban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
CHANGES IN THE NUMBER OF IDEAS DEPENDING ON TIME WHEN CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC

CREATIVITY ACTIVITIES
Daehyeok Kang, Jongwon Park, Hanghwa Hong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
NEW NATURAL SCIENCE LITERACIES OF ONLINE RESEARCH AND COMPREHENSION: TO

TEACH OR NOT TO TEACH
Metka Kordigel Aber ek, Kosta Dolenc, Andrej Flogie, Ana Koritnik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
COGNITIVE BASIS AND SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL REASONING ON

SCIENCE AMONG LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: A CASE OF INDONESIA
Johanes Pelamonia, Aloysius Duran Corebima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEARNING MOTIVATION AND METACOGNITIVE SKILL ON COGNITIVE

LEARNING OUTCOME OF STUDENTS WITHIN DIFFERENT LEARNING STRATEGIES
Arsad Bahri, Aloysius Duran Corebima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION OF

ANIMAL AND PLANT CELLS: DRAW-WRITE
Huriye Deniş Çeliker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
ANALYSIS AND INTERVENTION OF STUDENT KNOWLEDGE OF NUTRITION AND SEXUALITY

AT A PENAL INSTITUTION
Agustín Pozo Tamayo, Lina Viviana Melo Niño, Javier Cubero Juánez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COGNITIVE STRUCTURE OUTCOMES AND

TEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS ON CHEMICAL BONDING
VIA FLOW MAPPING
Elif Atabek-Yigit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
TERTIARY ECONOMY AND MANAGERIAL STUDY FIELDS AND ISSUES OF SCIENCE

EDUCATION AIMED AT DATABASE SYSTEMS
Ján Záhorec, Alena Hašková, Michal Munk, Martin Bílek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Information
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
PROBLEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
QUALITY ISSUES AND INSIGHTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION: ENGAGING THE NEW GENERATION . . . . . . . . . 559

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ELEGANCE IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
Boris Aberšek
University of Maribor, Slovenia
Science is often thought of as a methodical but dull activity. However, the finest science, the breakthroughs
most admired and respected by scientists themselves, are characterized by elegance. Thinking of elegance as grace,
taste or refined luxury would be useless here. So what does elegance mean in the context of science? Economy is a
considerable part of it, as is creativity. An elegant mathematical proof, an elegant theory, or an elegant experiment
are all, that is, economical and imaginative, and sometimes breathtakingly simple, once explained.
When it comes to elegance, however, what do we mean? What does the word elegance truly designate? It
comes from the Latin elegantia, “taste, propriety, or refinement.” Elegance is usually a synonym for beauty and has
acquired the additional connotations of unusual effectiveness and simplicity. The word is frequently used as a
standard of tastefulness, particularly in the areas of visual design, decoration, the sciences and the aesthetics of
mathematics.
Essential components of the concept of elegance include simplicity and consistency of design, focusing on
the essential features of an object. In mathematics it can be used to describe the proof of a mathematical theorem,
which exhibits mathematical elegance if it is surprisingly simple yet effective and constructive; similarly, a computer
program or algorithm is elegant if it uses a small amount of code to great effect. On the other hand, in technology
and engineering, a solution may be considered elegant if it uses a non-obvious method to produce a solution that
is highly effective and simple. Elegance has been promoted as a new watchword to guide the next step within
the current cycle of engineering and technological innovation. Elegance in engineering terms means achieving
a reduction in technological complexity, thereby preserving an underlying organizational complexity. In short:
Engineering elegance articulates complexity. An elegant solution may solve multiple problems at once, especially
problems not thought to be interrelated. There’s an old expression, “Don’t work harder; work smarter.” Old as it may
be, this is one of the adages of New Purchasing: The answer to complexity does not have to be more complexity.
Complexity does not have to mean confusion or latency. Problem solving will become quicker and more elegant.
There will be simplified and elegant solutions that can do much of the heavy lifting for us (Glyn, 2010).
Elegance in Science
So let me try to explain what I mean by “elegance in science” by considering two different ways of solving a
mathematical problem, a problem of no other use, of no profundity, and no importance. It is this (Glyn, 2010).
In considering the Pythagorean Theorem, we must acknowledge that how, when and where the theorem was
first proved is not known; however, three centuries after Pythagoras, Euclid provided a proof that has remained
the standard scientific proof. It involves a slightly complicated construction (see Figure 1) and the application of
theorems about congruent triangles, and about the relation between the areas of the triangles and rectangles that
are on the same base and between the same parallels--to use the traditional jargon. This proof is entirely convinc-
ing, but it mostly lacks the “wow” factor. However, there is a much simpler proof, the origin of which is obscure,
although it was certainly known in the nineteenth century. It goes as follows:
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Figure 1: Construction necessary for Euclid’s Figure 2: Elegant proof of Pythagoras’ theorem
proof of Pythagoras’ theorem
Take four identical right-angled triangles; arrange them as shown in the left half of Figure 2, and draw a frame
round them. The area enclosed by the frame is equal to the area occupied by the four triangles plus the area of
the central square, which is the square on the hypotenuse. Now rearrange the triangles within the same frame, as
shown in the right half of Figure 2. Since the area enclosed by the frame and the area occupied by the four triangles
remain the same, it follows that the squares on the hypotenuse must be equal to the sum of the squares on the
other side. Now this is worth a “wow” (Glyn, 2010)!
Mathematicians are, in our opinion, more concerned than other scientists about the elegance of their work,
and this may be why it seemed natural to start with a pure mathematical example. Nevertheless, although less at-
tention may be given to it, elegance can be found throughout science and engineering, and we want to continue
with an example from science and engineering.
An important scientific problem was solved in the 17th century by the British physicist Robert Hooke (Roesler,
Harders, Baeker, 2007). He published the solution of his anagram in 1678 as: ut tensio, sic vis (“as the extension, so
the force” or “the extension is proportional to the force”). Hooke’s law is a principle of physics which states that the
force F needed to extend or compress a spring by some distance X is proportional to that distance. That is: F = - k
X, where k is a constant factor characteristic of the spring, its stiffness. Hooke’s law is only a first order linear ap-
proximation to the real response of springs and other elastic bodies to applied forces. It must eventually fail once
the forces exceed some limit, since no material can be compressed beyond a certain minimum size, or stretched
beyond a maximum size, without some permanent deformation or change of state. In fact, many materials will
noticeably deviate from Hooke’s law well before those elastic limits are reached.
On the other hand, Hooke’s law is an accurate approximation for most solid bodies, as long as the forces and
deformations are sufficiently small. For this reason, Hooke’s law is extensively used in all branches of science and
engineering. In its general form, Hooke’s law makes it possible to deduce the relation between strain and stress for
complex objects in terms of the intrinsic properties of the materials of which it is composed. For example, one can
deduce that a homogeneous rod with uniform cross section will behave like a simple spring when stretched, with
a stiffness k directly proportional to its cross-section area and inversely proportional to its length. Linear deforma-
tions of elastic materials can be approximated as adiabatic. Under these conditions and for quasistatic processes,
the first law of thermodynamics for a deformed body can be expressed as
where t is the surface traction vector, b is the body force vector, Ω represents the body and δΩ represents
its surface.
In contrast, we can suppose that materials are isotropic, characterized by properties independent of direction
in space. Physical equations involving isotropic materials must therefore be independent of the coordinate system
chosen to represent them. The strain tensor is a symmetric tensor. Since the trace of any tensor is independent of
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any coordinate system, the most complete coordinate-free decomposition of a symmetric tensor is to represent it
as the sum of a constant tensor and a traceless symmetric tensor. The most general form of Hooke’s law for isotropic
materials may now be written as a linear combination of two tensors:
where K is the bulk modulus and G is the shear modulus. Are all these expressions elegant? Definitely not. If
we want to solve all these equations, we need a great deal of knowledge and time, and it would also be useful to
have good technological, computer support.
Using the relationships between the elastic moduli K, these equations may also be expressed in various other
ways, for example in the simplest way as
σ=Kε
which is definitely the most elegant (and at the same time an adequately accurate expression) for engineer-
ing practice and every day (general school) life, because it is unusually effective and simple but at the same time
sufficiently accurate. “Wow”! And for the purposes of STEM general education, it is the most appropriate and most
economical, thus making it the most elegant solution.
Elegance in Science Education
What about elegance in Science teaching and learning? Could elegance be defined in the same way? An elegant
mathematical proof, an elegant theory, an elegant experiment (or an elegant teaching/learning process) would each be
economical, imaginative and sometimes breathtakingly simple, once explained. And that is precisely the point? If we
make simplified cost-benefit analyses, we can create a simple equation for use in the educational process:
௠௨௦௧௕௘
Used time + used effort + costs quality of knowledge (competence) of the students
؆
The equation assumes that there are no

Used time + used effort + costs cause-effect (causal) relationships among the accounted quantities,
௠௨௦௧௕௘
quality of knowledge (competence) of the students
and that there is only a general relationship. From
௠௨௦௧௕௘؆ practice, we know that time, effort and costs affect one another
Used
and that time
there arexmultiplicative
used effort xeffects
costsbetween them.
quality
Fromofthis,
knowledge (competence)
we can use the deductiveofmethod
the students
to conclude
؆
that the correct equation should be:
௠௨௦௧௕௘
Used time x used effort x costs quality of knowledge (competence) of the students
؆
The general trends in education concerning time involve shortening contact hours in school and increasing
the amount of independent work students do outside of school (NMC, 2014, Microsoft Partners in Learning, 2010).
Concerning effort, teachers need to show increasingly greater effort (students need to be motivated; teachers are
required to use methods that are more student friendly – where learning becomes more like play) and the students
are becoming “spectators” of the whole process, required to invest less and less effort and responsibility for their
own success (Aberšek, Borstner, Bregant, 2014). And concerning costs: with the introduction of modern learning
technologies, these costs have drastically increased. Let us take a look at some hypothetical deductible examples
(we use normalized (unit) vectors):
•• The basic value of students’ quality of knowledge is 1.0. If we decrease time by 20%, the responsibility
for success is divided equally between teachers and students, and we increase funding for learning
environments by 20%, and take into account the multiplicative effect of individual categories, we get
the following value of quality:

0.8 (0.5 + 0.5) 1.2 = 0.96

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•• If at the same time we take into account the multiplicative effect of the effort of both participants
and the mutual effect, which is equally distributed between the teacher and the student, we get the
following:
0.8 0.5 0.5 1.2 = 0.24
•• Teachers need to show more effort (0.7) and students less (0.3) with the same effect of effort (1.0), we
get:
0.8 0.7 0.3 1.2 = 0.202
•• If we wish to “increase” the quality by increasing investment: for example, each student gets his own
tablet, learning material that is suitably modified, schools are appropriately equipped with wireless
connections and other technological solutions, thus hypothetically increasing costs by 30%. If we
take into account that we have now additionally burdened the teacher by approximately 10% (0.8)
and unburdened the student of effort and responsibility (to 0.2), we get the results for the quality of
student knowledge:

0.8 0.8 0.2 1.5 = 0.192
The numbers are sufficiently self-explanatory. In the end one can only ask the question: Are the trends devel-
oping in education “elegant” (economical and imaginative, and sometimes breathtakingly simple once explained), and
most importantly are they effective? The answer is within reach with this simple (elegant) mathematical proof.
References
Aberšek, B., Borstner, B., & Bregant, J. (2014). The virtual science teacher as a hybrid system: Cognitive science hand in hand with
cybernetic pedagogy. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 13 (1), 75-90.
Glynn, I. (2010). Elegance in science, the beauty of simplicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
NMC (2014). The Horizon Report Europe: 2014 Schools Edition examines trends, challenges, and technologies for potential impact on
and use in teaching, learning, and creative inquiry. Paris: European Commission/The New Media Consortium.
Microsoft Partners in Learning (2010). Bringing a 1-to-1 Program to Life, a Handbook for Senior Secondary School Teachers. New
York: Microsoft Corporation.
Roesler, J., Harders, H., Baeker, M. (2007). Mechanical behaviour of engineering materials: Metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites.
Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.
Received: August 15, 2015 Accepted: August 22, 2015
Boris Aberšek PhD., Professor, University of Maribor, Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics,
Koroška 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
E-mail: boris.abersek@um.si
423
COGNITIVE INTEREST:
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
IN THE ACQUISITION OF
SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS IN
SCHOOLS OF LATVIA
Abstract. Cognitive interest is a vital Dagnija Cēdere,

learning motive for the successful learning Inese Jurgena,
process. Nowadays students’ interest about Ineta Helmane,
science and mathematics are decreasing. Inta Tiltiņa-Kapele,
The aim of the study is to explore the cogni- Gunita Praulīte
tive interest of Grade 9 students in science
and mathematics. Students were surveyed
and it helped to explore the respondents’
cognitive activity and the cognitive interest
regarding the understanding of causal
relations, research activity and the solution
Introduction
of practical problems. The level of cognitive
interests on the three level scales is average Science and technology education (STE) along with art and pragmatic
for the whole sample of respondents. The education is the area of education that today experiences fast and con-
tinuous change in order to satisfy the topical needs of today’s life. In other
survey shows that students do not possess
words, changes in our life are closely connected with respective changes
explicit cognitive activity; learning happens in education, because educational activities of any person as well as the
rather passively, without initiative; howev- society as a whole mean specially organized gaining of life experience
er, they have rather pronounced interest to (knowledge, values, skills) for life (cognition, consideration, behaviour)
(Broks, 2014).
explore and solve problems connected with
One of the essential factors hindering the growth of the society’s
the real life. Some implications for teachers well-being is students’ insufficient science literacy. The lack of knowledge
on how to increase learners’ cognitive inter- and skills in science and mathematics today can be considered a threat to
est are provided in the conclusion. the modern science and technologies - driven economy (European Com-
mission, 2012). Students’ low level of knowledge and skills in science and
Key words: cognitive interest, learning
mathematics is a resinous problem also in the economic development of
process, science and mathematics. Latvia.
During the last decade all European countries have reformed the
education contents (Science Education in Europe, 2011), because science
Dagnija Cēdere, Inese Jurgena, taught traditionally at school does not provoke interest in students about
Ineta Helmane, Inta Tiltiņa-Kapele, nature mainly because they do not see the link between the science with
Gunita Praulīte
Riga Teacher Training and Educational their own life and interests (Aikenhead, 2005). The experience of other
Management Academy, Latvia countries shows that students’ little or decreasing interest in science is
partly defined by the fact that science is taught as if remotely, including
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(P. 424-434)
content-wise invaluable facts that are unrelated to students’ own experience (Aikenhead, 2005; Osborne, Simon,
& Collins, 2003; Sjøberg, 2002).
Mathematics and science education are in a state of change (Zhou, 2010). Education reform carried out in
Latvia has changed in essence the approach to teaching science and mathematics (science subjects) (Noteikumi,
2013). This creates all the possibilities for a full-fledged teaching/learning process that is based on student’s
and teacher’s cooperation in active inquiry-based activity. Studies performed in Latvia some years ago testify
that students’ interest in learning science is insufficient 1st year students experience difficulties starting their
studies at the university due to low level of previous knowledge (Mozeika & Cedere, 2008; Gedrovics & Cēdere,
2014). The student’s desire to learn or the cognitive interest is important in the learning process; it develops in
the interaction of the significance of the object (value), volition and experience. Without evocation of interest
a successful teaching/learning process is impossible.
The interest is a complex phenomenon with several components: cognitive component as cognition, emo-
tional component as emotions and feelings in the cognitive process, voluntary component as volition demands
concentration on a particular object of cognition and action (Berlyne, 1960; Izard, 2002; Čehlova, 2002). High
level of cognitive interest is expressed as the willingness to delve in the essence of phenomena, understanding
of causal relations, independence and disposition in learning, trying to overcome the difficulties on one’s own
(Čehlova, 2002). The fact that situational cognitive interest develops into stable cognitive interest as a result of
using purposeful pedagogical stimuli can be considered the key criterion of developing the cognitive interest.
This approach is often used in science education (Lavonen, Juuti, Byman, & Meisalo, 2006).
Two trends dominate in the studies performed so far: stimuli inciting cognitive interest in the teaching/
learning process have been explored and the pedagogical action/cooperation that promotes the formation
of stable cognitive interest has been studied. Science and mathematics domain has been studied quite well
and criticism on insufficient knowledge there interchanges with recommendations how to improve it. Many
studies prove that students’ have insufficient interest in the sciences (Potvin & Hasni, 2014; Cedere, Gedrovics,
Bilek, & Mozeika, 2014); however, there are few studies that offer a possibility to differentiate stable interest
from situational interest which is formed under the influence of external factors and can be short-term (Hol-
stermann & Bögeholz, 2007).
Science subjects have their own specifics. In order to master these subjects well one needs the understand-
ing of nature or the sense, going deeper in the essence of phenomena and things, the willingness and patience
to observe, explore and analyse the results, the skill to solve qualitative tasks. Problem solving skill and the
skill to think in the causal categories are important in the exploration of natural processes. The aim of science
subjects is to develop students’ skill to apply their knowledge in the solution of different problems and tasks in
nature and practical life promoting sustainable development (Lopes, 2011; Gräber, 2013; Noteikumi, 2013).
Despite these common features of these subjects, students’ attitude to them is rather different. Students
usually have greatest interest in biology, the interest in chemistry and physics is weaker (Lamanauskas, Ge-
drovics, & Raipulis, 2004; Holstermann & Bögeholz, 2007). Mathematics, in its turn, rather often is really liked by
a certain part of students but the greatest majority really dislikes it (Merzyn, 2008). Merzyn in Germany explains
differences in the interest among subjects with the fact that physics and chemistry at school are oriented to
science and less to the sphere of their application, practical solutions. The teaching/learning approach that
is more appropriate to the minority of gifted, particularly interested students than the majority dominates in
both the subjects. The interest in biology, in its turn, is promoted by the fact that many children from their
early years are connected with that.
In order to solve the low science literacy level of young people in Latvia, this study explores one of the
main learning motives - cognitive interest. The study has been performed based not so much on the content
components than on the skills that students need to acquire in science subjects. Thus the authors could find
out students’ cognitive interest in accordance with the today’s understanding of science literacy.
In order to understand how to solve this long-drawn problem about the lack of young people cognitive
interest in science and mathematics, the following research questions were put forward:
•• Do Grade 9 students learn science subjects (biology, chemistry, and physics) and mathematics with
interest?
•• To what extent is students’ cognitive interest expressed in science subjects?
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(P. 424-434)
Methodology of Research
General Characteristic of Research
This research was carried out in spring 2015. The study was based on students’ survey that describes
opinion of respondents; cognitive interest in science and mathematics and allows judging about the types of
students’ cognitive activities and their depth. Data were collected from 12 different basic schools and second-
ary schools in different regions of Latvia. All educational institutions implement the same teaching/learning
content that is defined by the same subject standards.
Participants
The participants of the survey were Grade 9 students from 12 schools of Latvia. Students were invited to
participate in survey from different schools in different regions of Latvia. Invitation referred students from 12
schools that territorially represent all Latvian regions. In all schools the students learn to a common Latvian
national education standard. The total number of respondents is 237; 57% of them are girls and 43% boys. The
average age of respondents is 15.3 years according to the class records. Thus, according to gender and the
teaching/learning environment this group can be described as evenly distributed.
Such an age group is chosen on the basis of the idea that during this particular stage of life when the
brain activity optimizes abstract thinking develops, therefore, the adolescent becomes able to perceive also
contradictory phenomena and look at oneself from the aside (Giedd, Blumenthal, Jeffries, Castellanos, Liu,
Zijdenbos, & Rapoport, 1999).
Instrument
The questionnaire of the survey is based on the studies performed earlier (Mozeika & Cedere, 2008; Ge-
drovics & Cēdere, 2014) and documents regulating education in Latvia (Noteikumi, 2013). The questionnaire
included questions on how students’ cognitive interest is expressed in science subjects (biology, chemistry,
and physics) and mathematics and how students themselves assess their interest in these subjects.
The questionnaire was made on the internet using Google disc, students answered questions online. The
questionnaire comprises questions where the answer variants correspond to four value Likert scale and are
coded: 1 – no, 2 – rather no, 3 – rather yes, 4 – yes. The questions are formed according to the levels of cogni-
tive interest and are included in the questionnaire in a mixed order. The reliability (inter-item consistency) of
the questionnaire according to Cronbach alpha coefficient was .822.
Data Analysis
The data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS 17.0 program. The mean values of
answers M (1 ≤ M ≤ 4) were used to describe the respondents’ opinions. In order to assess the credibility of
the differences of mean values in two reciprocally independent groups (boys and girls) the t test analysis of
the independent samples was used. To describe the differences of the distribution of respondents’ answers in
two different groups Pearson Chi Square test was applied. Cronbach alpha was used for stating the reliability
of the questionnaire.
Defining the Levels of Cognitive Interest
To define the level of students’ cognitive interest, the existing conceptions about the understanding of
the formation of cognitive interest (Žogla, 1994; Čehlova, 2002; Purēns, 2015) were used. On higher levels stu-
dents have a desire to delve in the essence of the phenomena and to use the understood causal mechanisms
in order to form one’s own understanding about some phenomenon. On the lowest level such absorption in
the essence of the phenomena does not happen.
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In order to put forward criteria according to which to define the levels of cognitive interest, the adjusted
method of V. Purens (Purēns, 2015) was used taking into consideration the specifics of the science subjects.
It is important in the acquisition of these subjects to immerse oneself in the essence of the phenomena and
processes, the research skills and the skill to apply knowledge in the solution of practical and complex, interdis-
ciplinary tasks, including the mathematical instruments (Science Education in Europe, 2011; apkova, 2011).
The mean values M (1 ≤ M ≤ 4) of the respondents’ answers were used as the level indicators (Table 1).
Table 1. Criteria, indicators and levels of cognitive interest.
High level Average level Low level

No Criterion Indicators
(3.1 ≤ M ≤ 4.0) (2.1 ≤ M ≤ 3.0) (1.0 ≤ M ≤ 2.0)
Intensity of the cog- • Students attention in lessons Active, independent Cognitive action is not Cognitive action is
1 nitive action in the • Students cooperation with cognitive action explicitly active inert
teaching/ learning teacher
process
2 Interest to discover • Observation Explicit interest Learns willingly but No interest in essence
the essence of • Analysis of results does not seek the
phenomena and essence
processes
3 Disposition in • Students independence in Independent and zeal- Learns but without No interest to explore
research activity practical activities ous activity enthusiasm and find out
• Cognition of Nature phe-
nomena
4 Willingness to solve • Level of task difficulty Independently seeks No explicit willingness Does not want to solve
complex tasks, • Real problem solving answers to difficult to seek answers to tasks that require effort
practice related questions difficult questions
problems
5 Devoting free time • Devoting free time Devotes also one’s free Devotes free time No interest to devote
to science and • Cognition in extra curriculum time to science and episodically the free time to sci-
mathematics activities mathematics ence and mathematics
The reliability of defining the levels of cognitive interests is described by Cronbach alpha coefficient .806.
Results of Research
The results of Grade 9 students’ survey testify that students’ interest in science subjects is not high. The
questions Do you think with pleasure about the lessons of biology/chemistry/physics/mathematics? (Questions
A1 – A4) were answered positively (yes) about biology by 27.4%, about chemistry by 22.4%, about physics by
21.1% and about mathematics only by 14.8% of the respondents.
The mean values of answers are summarized. Statistically significant differences between boys and girls
can be seen in biology, t(232) = 2.02, p = .04, in which girls expressed more pleasure and in physics where boys
had greater interest, t(228) = 3.79, p < .001. In order to find out more about the respondents’ cognitive interest,
the set of questions was chosen Do you want to explore science and mathematics? The questions included in this
section of the questionnaire allow judging about separate subjects as well as about the extent to which students
understand the essence of science subjects and their importance in life (Table 2).
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Table 2. Sample of students’ desire to explore science and mathematics (1 ≤ M ≤ 4).
Respondents’
Items M χ2 df p
group
Boys 2.69
12.027 3 .007*
B2 Students desire to find out reasons why air after the thunder-
Girls 3.20
storm smells differently
Total 2.98
Boys 2.85
17.394 3 .001*
B4 Students’ interest in the constitution and functions of the
Girls 3.30
human organism
Total 3.11
Boys 2.79
11.084 3 .011*
B5 Students like tasks in which they need to construct Girls 2.34
Total 2.54
Boys 2.53
9.527 3 .023*
B6 Students’ interest in using modified organisms in food
Girls 2.86
production and medicine
Total 2.72
Boys 2.68
4.023 3 .259
B9 Students desire to understand why glass container breaks if
Girls 2.95
water freezes in it
Total 2.84
Boys 2.88
6.075 3 .108
B10 Students desire to find out how drinking water is purified Girls 2.85
Total 2.87
Boys 2.31
B11 Students’ interest to explore the mathematical connections 5.977 3 .113
and to interpret the obtained results in the solution of the real Girls 2.11
problem
Total 2.20
Boys 2.36
B13 Students desire to make mathematical equations in order
to solve practical tasks that are related to everyday, science, Girls 1.96 12.605 3 .006*
environment and health issues
Total 2.13
Boys 2.32
B14 Students’ interest to master the mathematical instruments 2.381 3 .497
using equation systems with two variables, inequality with one Girls 2.11
variable
Total 2.20
Boys 3.08
8.734 3 .033*
B16 Students point of view that the development of the state
Girls 3.43
needs good knowledge in science and mathematics
Total 3.27
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In Table 2 *p < .05 – statistically significant differences; α = .95. Since the p-value =1.000>0.05 then cannot
reject the null hypothesis that the empirical distribution corresponds to the Poisson distribution. There are six
statistically significant items in Table 2: students’ desire to find out why air after the thunderstorm smells differ-
ently; students’ interest in the constitution and functions of the human organism; students like (enjoyment) tasks
in which you need to construct; students’ interest in using modified organisms in food production and medicine;
students’ like (enjoyment) to make mathematical equations in order to solve practical tasks that are related to
everyday, science, environment and health issues; students’ agreement that the development of the state needs
good knowledge in science and mathematics.
In Figures 1-4 shown data from girls and boys survey. There are distribution of answers to four questions
based on a scale not - rather not - rather yes - yes. All these issues are statistically significant differences between
boys and girls. In Figure 1 and Figure 3 highlighting items B4 and B5, where girls’ interest is significantly higher. In
Fig. 2 and 4 (items B6 and B13) – boys’ interest is significantly higher.
60 55,7 40
34,0
30,5
27,8
Respondents (%)
Respondents (%)
30
40 37,5 25,0 24,724,2
33,3
Boys 20,3 Boys
24,4 20
Girls Girls
18,8 13,4
20
13,7
10,4 10
6,1
0 0
No Rather Rather Yes No Rather Rather Yes
no yes no yes
Figure 1: Students’ interest in the constitution and Figure 2: Students like tasks in which they need
functions of the human organism (B4); to construct (B5);
χ2 (3, N = 237) = 17.39, p = .001 χ2 (3, N = 237) = 11.08, p = .01
40 36,7 60
32,0 48,0
29,3
Respondents (%)
30
Respondents (%)
26,1
22,8 40
21,7 31,9
Boys Boys
20 16,4 26,0
14,8 Girls 22,3 23,4 22,3 Girls
17,9
20
10
8,1
0 0
No Rather Rather Yes No Rather Rather Yes
no yes no yes
Figure 3: Students’ interest in using modified or- Figure 4: Students’ like to make mathematical
ganisms in food production and medicine equations in order to solve practical
(B6); tasks that are related to everyday,
χ2 (3, N = 237) = 9.53, p = .02 science, environment and health
issues (B13);
χ2 (3, N = 237) = 12.60, p = .01
In order to increase knowledge of students’ interests in nature, the data were evaluated in accordance with
the interests of the cognitive levels of detection indicators (Table 1). Cognitive levels for the indicators used in the
corresponding answers the average value Maver (Table 3).
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table 3. Average level of cognition per criteria.
No Criterion Maver Level of cognition
1 Intensity of the cognitive action in the teaching/ learning process 2.23 average
2 Interest to discover the essence of phenomena and processes 2.68 average
3 Disposition in research activity 2.39 average
4 Willingness to solve complex tasks, practice related problems 2.80 average
5 Devoting free time to science and mathematics 1.90 low

Average level 2.40 average
Average level of students’ intensity of the cognitive action in the teaching/ learning process characterized
by the following features: student not always follow the lessons and do all the tasks and seldom tells the teacher
what to do in the lessons. Average level of students’ interest to discover the essence of phenomena and processes
expressed as no explicit students’ interest and students’ does not feel assured when explaining the causal relation-
ship of simple natural phenomena. Average level of students’ disposition in research activity characterized by
the students’ interest to explore is not pronounced and does not possess perseverance to finish what has been
started. Average level of students’ willingness to solve complex tasks, practice related problems: students desire
to solve interesting but challenging tasks is little pronounced and application of mathematics is of no particular
interest. Low level of students devoting free time to science and mathematics - students spend very little free
time to science and mathematics. Average level interest to acquire the science subjects is not explicit.
The distribution of respondents per levels shows that the level is average for the majority (67%), 18.4% of
respondents have high level and for 14.6% of respondents the level of cognitive interest is low.
Discussion
Students involved in the study will graduate from the basic school after some months. Their opinions ex-
pressed in the survey show how far the state education policy is implemented in the practice- how topical are
sciences and mathematics at school and whether these subjects are learnt with interest. The obtained results
provide an insight in today’s schools of Latvia.
Students’ Interest to Learn the Sciences
The science subjects in the view of Grade 9 students have not become more important in comparison with
the previous studies performed in Latvia (Mozeika & Cedere, 2008; Gedrovics & Cēdere, 2014). The respondents
like biology classes the most (M=2.89), the lowest assessment is given to lessons in physics (M=2.37). Biology
usually is the sciences subject that students like the most (Uitto, Jutti, Lavonen, & Meisalo, 2006). Merzyn (2008)
considers that interest in biology is promoted by students’ direct contact with nature. Interest gender differences
are also similar to the ones described in literature earlier (Gedrovics, Lavonen, & Raipulis, 2010): girls like biology
more while boys are more interested in physics; in both cases the differences are statistically insignificant. Thus,
vivid changes in students’ attitude to the sciences in such an aspect are not identified.
The next set of questions allows understanding the respondents’ cognitive interest in more detail (Table 3).
The mean values of answers (M) are higher if the question concerns students’ desire to explore the phenomenon
or process that is interesting, important or related to practical life (B2, B4, B6).
Students have relatively high interest about the constitution and functions of human organism (M=3.11) but
they are much less interested in the growth and reproduction of plants (M=2.27). Although students acknowl-
edge that biology lessons are the most interesting among the sciences still in the expression of the cognitive
interest it is essential whether the question is simple or the answers to questions require effort. For instance, the
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question in biology Are you interested in the life cycles of microorganisms? does not raise much interest (M=2.25).
Students’ interest in questions related to mathematics is alarmingly low (B11, B13 and B14; M=2.20, 2.13 and
2.20 respectively).
This once more proves that students do not like, they are not interested and they do not like to learn any-
thing that requires effort. They lack motivation and obviously students do not see the importance of knowing
mathematics in their further development.
One of the reasons why students lack interest in learning sciences is the fact that abstract thinking is not
yet sufficiently developed at the age of 15. Many abstract concepts are to be acquired in mathematics and
chemistry, for example, atoms and molecules in chemistry that exist in reality but cannot be seen. Many people
remember chemistry with dislike/aversion after graduating from the school (Atkins, 2015).
The interest to learn chemistry identified in study is higher in comparison with the study performed in
Germany. The difference can be explained with a closer link of the content with practical life, the lack of which
has been mentioned as the main reason of students’ low interest (Merzyn, 2008). A comparatively higher level
of interest was found about items B2, B9, B10 that are connected with nature and everyday life (Table 2).
One more important issue is the formulation of the question. Gripping, simply formulated question incites
cognitive interest also about a more difficult topic. For example, students seem to be interested to find out why
air smells differently after the thunderstorm (M=2.98). Students probably do not anticipate that the answer is
not so simple because they need both the knowledge of physics and chemistry but most importantly - inter-
est has been aroused. Certainly, the question remains open – how many students would be ready to seek the
causes about this natural phenomenon in point of fact? The other two questions included in the questionnaire
can be compared in a similar way: the first about the use of modified organisms in food production and medi-
cine (M=2.72) and the second about solving a practical issue with an outlined form of mathematical solution
(M=2.13). The interest to explore is explicitly greater about the first question which focuses on an interesting and
significant research object. The second question emphasizes mathematics as a research method that does not
promote students’ positive attitude. Evocation of cognition and activation of learning with the help of gripping
questions becomes more and more topical (Mitra, 2015).
The analysis of the cognitive interest of boys and girls applying Pearson Chi Square test, shows the differ-
ences in the distribution of answers that are statistically significant in questions connected with biology and
mathematics (Table 2). Boys show significantly greater interest in all questions that need the knowledge of
mathematics, except the mathematical question of a theoretical character (B14), where both gender groups
have similarly low mean indicators (Mboys=2.32, Mgirls=2.11) and there are no statistically significant differences.
The diagrams presenting the distribution of answers (Figures 1-4) testify about rather pronounced polarity of
respondents’ opinions. 48% of girls and 32% of boys have given categorical “no” thus expressing their negative
attitude to mathematics when answering question B13 Do you like to make mathematical equations in order to
solve practical tasks that are related to everyday, science, environment and health issues? (Figure 4). However, a
relatively big part of students (22% boys and 18% girls) like such mathematical tasks.
Students have answered positively the question Do you agree that the development of the state needs good
knowledge in science and mathematics? (M=3.27). Thus, the greatest part of students is aware of the importance
of the science knowledge but they lack motivation to refer it to themselves. Students write: Is it really necessary
to teach sciences and mathematics in all schools in the same way? How many people connect their profession with
sciences and mathematics? (from students’ remarks in the questionnaire).
Students’ science interest in the previous studies performed in Latvia (Mozeika & Cedere, 2008; Gedrovics
& Cēdere, 2014) has been assessed as insufficient. Our study partly confirms it; however, due to different meth-
odological approaches the study outcomes cannot be compared unequivocally. This study unlike the previous
ones is oriented to skills as the outcome of the cognitive process.
Levels of Students’ Cognitive Interest
The assessment of students’ cognitive interest according to the specific criteria of the sciences subjects
gives a possibility to judge about students’ cognitive interest in accordance with the learning outcomes to be
reached in these subjects as well as about the cognitive activity that describes the cognitive process itself.
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According to the criteria that are put forward (Table 1) the calculated average level of respondents’
cognitive interest can be assessed as mean, M=2.40 (Table 3); however, treating interest separately per each
criterion the low cognitive intensity in learning (M=2.23) causes worry. It points to students’ passivity during
the lessons, lack of communication with the teacher. Cognitive interest can be assessed as high if the student
does independently all the tasks, always follows the lesson, suggests the teacher what could be done in the
lessons (Purēns, 2015).
The indicator about spending the free time is extremely low (M=1.9); it testifies that students devote very
little of their free time to the exploration of nature and the acquisition of the sciences; the cognitive interest
is not deep enough and stable. The interest level corresponding to the specific skills to be mastered in the
sciences (criteria 2-4) is considerably higher (M=2.39-2.80); thus, judging by the mean values students learn
without effort and special interest in attaining the aims of learning.
Students who correspond to high and average level (18.4% and 67% respectively) have a positive attitude
to school subjects and they are willing to master them. The interest in the essence of the phenomena and
processes, interconnections, the desire to delve into complex issues is characteristic to the higher level. The
average level is described by the accumulation of factual information but the absorption usually takes place
only with the teacher’s help. Episodic interest about some vivid expressions of the phenomena and the lack of
desire to delve into its essence characterizes the lowest level (Purēns, 2015).
The results of the study confirm the idea that cognitive interest is a significant learning motive (Schiefele
& Wild, 2000), and students’ low level of knowledge and skills in the sciences is closely connected with the lack
of interest (Zhou, 2010; Hadenfeldt, Repenning, & Neumann, 2014).
Conclusions
Although the sciences subjects have much in common, the students’ attitude to them, however, is different.
Students, especially girls, like biology lessons the most. The liking towards the lessons in the respective subject
on the mean assessment corresponds well to the respondents’ cognitive interest and understanding about the
importance of this branch of science. On the whole, respondents’ cognitive interest in science subjects and
mathematics can be assessed as medium; still it is very different and is paced in a wide range as regards par-
ticular students. The attention is drawn by the fact, that relatively many students have explicitly low interest in
the science subjects included in the study. Boys display higher interest in chemistry, physics and mathematics,
while girls have a higher interest in biology. The polarity of interests was also noted.
The level of cognitive interest according to the specific skills to be mastered in the science subjects and
the cognitive activity has been defined. Students with mean level of cognitive interest form the majority of re-
spondents; however, 18% of students have a high level. Students have no explicit interest to find out the causal
relationships of the phenomena and events and to substantiate them. The willingness to overcome difficulties
in learning is less pronounced. Students have a relatively low cognitive intensity in the science subjects.
Opinions expressed by respondents allow concluding that in order to promote higher cognitive interest
teachers have to use diverse teaching approaches, inquiry-based science teaching, thus, actualizing students’
needs for self-actualization and the aim.
Note
This paper was presented at the 1st International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Edu-
cation (BalticSTE2015) ‘State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives’, 15-18 June 2015, Siauliai, Lithuania.
It was approved by the Symposium scientific committee and recommended for publication in Journal
of Baltic Science Education. A short version of this paper is published in the symposium proceedings
(https://www.academia.edu/13101334/STATE-OF-THE-ART_AND_FUTURE_PERSPECTIVES).
432
(P. 424-434)
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Received: April 16, 2015 Accepted: July 05, 2015
Dagnija Cēdere Dr.chem., Leading Researcher, Riga Teacher Training and Educational

Management Academy, Imantas linija 7/1 , LV-1083, Riga, Latvia.
E-mail: dagnija.cedere@lu.lv
Inese Jurgena Dr.paed., Professor, Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management
Academy, Imantas linija 7/1 , LV-1083, Riga, Latvia.
E-mail: inese.jurgena@rpiva.lv
Ineta Helmane Dr.paed., Associate Professor, Riga Teacher Training and Educational
E-mail: ineta.helmane@rpiva.lv
Inta Tiltiņa-Kapele Dr.psych., Leading Researcher, Riga Teacher Training and Educational
Gunita Praulīte Dr.biol., Professor, Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management
Academy, Imantas linija 7/1 , LV-1083, Riga, Latvia.
E-mail: gunita.praulite@rpiva.lv
434
Context-Based Lessons
with 5E Model to Promote
Conceptual Understanding
of Chemical Reactions and
Energy Concepts
Abstract. This study explores whether the

Ceyhan Cigdemoglu, context-based approach with 5E model
Omer Geban (CBA-5E) can lead to better understanding
of chemical reactions and energy concepts
when compared to conventional instruc-
tion (CI). Additionally, the study delves
into the effect of treatment with regards
to gender. Eleventh grade science-major
Introduction classes with 175 students from two public
high schools were enrolled. The experi-
Context-based approach has attracted national and international atten- mental groups were treated with CBA-5E,
tion in science education field for the last decades. A considerable number of the control groups as CI, the treatments
studies have investigated its impact on different concepts (Bennett & Holman, were randomly assigned to the groups. The
2002; Campbell & Lubben, 2000; Fensham, 2009; Schwartz, 2006). Although chemical reactions and energy concepts
CBA has become more prevalent, the existing literature is usually, and much test, including the common alternative
more, focused on students’ interests rather than conceptual understanding in conceptions, was administered as pre- and
chemistry. Belt, Leisvik, Hyde and Overton (2005) studied thermodynamics, post-test. The chemical reactions and ener-
kinetics, and electrochemistry for undergraduate physical chemistry. They gy achievement test, including conceptual
concluded that students enjoyed studying chemistry within a context and, and algorithmic problems, was adminis-
consequently, their knowledge of school subject developed. Barker and Millar tered as a post-test to the groups. Multivari-
(1999) investigated students’ reasoning of chemical reactions in a context- ate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was
based post-16 chemistry course, and revealed that their understanding had used for the analysis of the data, and the
improved permanently as the course progressed. Kortland (2007) developed results revealed that CBA-5E was superior to
a contextual lesson on traffic situations and stated that studies on developing CI on the students’ conceptual understand-
didactical structures for enhancement of teaching learning of concepts uses ing regarding these concepts regardless of
sequences in designing lessons. gender difference.
In addition, the existing research on CBA has deficiencies related to a Key words: chemical reactions and energy,
clear description of the instructional models and the methodology (such as, conceptual understanding, context-based
experimental-control group designs) used in the design of CBA. Taasoobshi- lessons, gender, 5E model.
razi and Carr, (2008) have made critical remarks related to this issue in phys-
ics education. They state that it is not easy to draw conclusions about the
effectiveness of context-based instruction, since significant methodological
problems exist in the majority of the studies they reviewed. Some of these
problems include; no comparison group designs, no assessment of achieve- Ceyhan Cigdemoglu
Atilim University, Turkey
ment, and no pre-test or post-test designs, thus making it impossible to know
whether any change occurred in learning. In a majority of CBA studies, the Omer Geban
instructional method, strategy or the model used during the implementation Middle East Technical University, Turkey
is not described in detail either.
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Exploring whether the treatment has an effect across gender in science related fields has been concern of
research studies for a long time. Nieswandt (2005) revealed that males and females were differently affected
from implementations; females usually work better when they are engaged in social activities, and small group
works, contrarily, males usually prefer to work individually. Specifically related to contextual learning, Taasoob-
shirazi (2007) stated that gender differences in achievement as well as the motivation to learn physics may be
minimized by context-based instruction by making the lesson more relevant to students. De Jong (2006) states
that a context is required to be well-known and relevant for both boys and girls in order to avoid situations
or contexts which will favour males or females. That is, the selection of context in context-based approach
becomes also critical in order to avoid causing superiority for males or females. According to Gilbert (2006) a
context should be designed in a way to engage all students, the collection of contexts should have better to
make chemistry more relevant to all students. Therefore, this study found it necessary to explore the effect of
treatments on gender too.
When it comes to fundamental topics in chemistry, CBA integrated with any specific instructional model has
not been incorporated into concepts of chemical reactions and energy (CRE). In this respect, only a few studies
have reported students’ understanding of CRE concepts such as, Barker and Millar, (1999; 2000), De Vos and Ver-
donk, (1985a) and Goedhart and Kaper, (2002). Because of its abstractness, difficulty, and popularity in society,
the concepts of chemical reactions and energy (CRE) deserve far more scrutiny. The rationale for conceptual
understanding of these concepts is described by Goedhart and Kaper (2002) as follows. First, these concepts are
experienced in the classroom or outside the school frequently. Second, the comprehension of reaction energy
and relevant concepts enables students to predict some parameters regarding chemical processes that students
will learn later. The third reason is related with scientific literacy; because energy is a societal issue, students as
educated citizens are expected to have a certain understanding of these concepts. The concepts of heat and
temperature, endothermic-exothermic changes constitute the base for understanding of the concepts. The unit
is entitled as Chemical Reactions and Energy in the national eleventh grade chemistry curricula in Turkey. Con-
siderable number of studies reported students’ problems related to these concepts. Table 1 has some common
problems reported in the literature.
Table 1. Common problems related to CRE concepts.
Concepts Problems with concepts Studies
Heat and temperature Distinguishing between heat and temperature Goedhart & Kaper (2002), Yeo & Zadnik (2001)
Endothermic and exother- Identifying reaction as endothermic or exothermic. De Vos & Verdonk (1986a); De Vos & Verdonk
mic changes Difficulties in understanding exothermic /endothermic reac- (1986b); Boo &Watson (2001)
tions and spontaneity.
Bond formation-dissocia- Bond breaking is an energy release process Barker & Millar (2000); Boo & Watson (2001); Goed-
tion energies Energy is required for bond making. hart & Kaper (2002)
Bond making is endothermic process
Chemical reactions and System and surrounding are the same Greenbowe &Meltzer (2003)
calorimeter
Entropy & disorder Entropy and disorder are the same, Sözbilir & Bennett (2007)
Entropy is cause of disorder in the system
These issues justify the need for promoting students’ conceptual understanding. The designed lessons based
on CBA integrated with the 5E model can be implemented in the teaching and learning of CRE concepts in a
way to overcome the above-mentioned problems. The implementation of CBA through this strategy requires a
specific design, in which the critical effort is put for meaningful learning. The present study will reveal whether
the integration of CBA with 5E model will lead to better understanding by remedying existing misconceptions
of students in CRE concepts. The authors’ hypothesis is “design can resolve the learning difficulties experienced
with CRE concepts by allowing students to construct their own knowledge”. Recognizable contexts attract stu-
dents and provide a “need-to-know” basis (Westbroek, 2005) for chemistry concepts to be learned. The present
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study describes the design of contextualized instruction using the context of a 4-stroke car engine through the
5E model addressing the concepts of CRE. Thus, the paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of CBA through
5E over the conventional instruction (CI) on conceptual understanding of eleventh grade high school students,
whilst avoiding differences in the effect of treatment with regards to gender.
Theoretical Background
Context-Based Approach; the Use of “Context” in Chemistry Education: Gilbert (2006) describes “context” as a
tool to provide a rational structural comprehension of a topic newly introduced in a broader perspective. Some
clues are provided regarding the term, referring to it as a “focal event”, which is embedded in the cultural set-
tings of a society with four attributes: (a) a context requires a platform, on which a social-spatial framework is
established for mental encounters to be settled with focal events. For this specific study, within the framework
of Gilbert’s (2006) description, historical development of cars, from steam to 4 stroke engines was established.
(b) It is a behavioural environment for encounters, and the way in which the concepts are associated with the
addressed focal event. In this study, production of more efficient cars, more efficient fuels, bio-fuels, high octane
ratings, reduction of environmental hazards was talked. (c) It is the use of language, since conversation takes
place with regard to the focal event. About this, the efficiency of car engines, 1.4, – 1.6 or 2.0 capacity; different
energy types; energy related discussion in the society were discussed. (d) It is the relationship to the extra-
situational knowledge attained. Chemical reactions and energy terms in car engines; system, surrounding, heat,
work, internal energy were explored as background for those who act. According to Gilbert, how attributes a-d
are connected to context-based education are explained by ideas of situated learning. First, idea is participa-
tion in a group of activities which means students and teachers must accept themselves as engaging together
in “community of learners”. Next, idea is the effective involvement of students and teachers to develop their
identities by means of constructive interactions. Participation of students in productive interactions could be
assisted by teachers and students to improve students’ identities as learners.
In addition to Gilbert (2006) context description, Westbroek (2005) proposed three key features for meaning-
ful chemistry learning. These are: use of (a) context (b) need-to-know and (c) attention for students’ input. Briefly,
the collection of contexts utilized should bring about the likelihood of transferring concepts to other contexts to
develop students’ ability in relating knowledge they have learnt to other situations. Context for concepts provides
the use of concepts with a distinct function, and thereby makes students’ use of the concepts meaningful and
motivating. Then, addressing students’ questions on a need to know basis “which also implies properly build-
ing on their existing knowledge, provides for an increasing involvement of students in the teaching-learning
process, as they will see the point of what they learn every step of the way” (Westbroek, 2005, p.18). The third
characteristic is closely related to the second characteristic: if one aims at really incorporating a need-to-know
approach in the design of a teaching-learning process, then ‘real attention for student input’ is inevitable. In a
successful need-to-know approach students have more insight into and experience the functionality of ‘what
comes next’. Thus, the teacher has more opportunity to pay real attention to their input, which now could
become a driving force of the content-related progression. Within this respect, this study utilizes both Gilbert
(2006)’ educational context framework and Westbroek (2005)’s framework to address the concepts of chemical
reactions and energy.
CBA has potential to be integrated with a variety of instructional models to reach specific purposes for
implementations in which contexts are critical components in the teaching-learning environment. Since the
specific purpose of learning under the study concerns the conceptual understanding of CRE, the authors choose
the 5E model because it supports the remediation of the alternative conceptions held by students. The reason
to integrate CBA with 5E model is they have some common characteristics for improvement of teaching and
learning to deepen the discussion related to the concepts of chemical reactions and energy on real-world is-
sues and to make flow of the lessons more explicit. As designed in the sample lesson plans provided by current
Turkish National Physics curriculum, CBA was integrated into 5E model through each phase. Figure 1 shows the
intersections and differences of them and it indicates the main theoretical framework utilized in this study.
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Figure 1: Theoretical framework.
Learning Cycle (LC) Strategy; The 5E Instructional Model, LC is accepted as an instructional strategy that improves
students’ understanding of science concepts and supports their affective factors while remediation the alternative
conceptions students pose (Bybee et al., 2006; Ceylan & Geban, 2009; Marek et al., 2003). According to Bybee et
al. (2006), the 5E instructional model takes its roots from the constructivist philosophy of education and supports
inquiry-based science learning. The strategy has five phases, which are engagement, exploration, explanation,
elaboration, and evaluation. Based on the Bybee et al. (2006) description, the each ‘E’ is a phase which functions
differently to support teachers’ instructions and students’ understanding, attitudes, and skills.
Abraham (1997) describes LC as an appropriate strategy for developing well-designed curriculum materials
and instructional strategies in the field of science education. Additionally, Bybee et al. (2006) pursued research
further on LC strategy which implies positive impacts on attaining subject matter and scientific reasoning in science
concepts. Similarly, Marek refers to LC as “move students through a scientific investigation by encouraging them
first to explore materials, then construct a concept, and finally apply or extend the concept to other situations”
(p. 63, 2008). Substantial literature on LC strategy proved it to be an effective way for conceptual understanding
(Bybee et al., 2006; Ceylan & Geban, 2009). The literature on CBA lacks satisfactory evidences to conclude that it
is powerful on conceptual understanding. On this basis, designing materials incorporating LC strategy and CBA
have the potential to play a significant role in relating theoretical knowledge to real life applications in developing
conceptual understanding.
In this study, CBA is defined as “a way of instruction adopted in science teaching, in which contexts and ap-
plications of science are used as the starting point for the development of scientific ideas which contrasts with more
traditional approaches covering scientific ideas first and conclude with a brief mention of applications” (Bennett et
al., 2006, p.348). CBA with 5E model is defined as an instruction in which each “E” of 5E is provided over the context
chosen and inquiry-based activities are provided. On the other hand, we describe conventional instruction as a
teacher-centred instruction in which the teacher introduces the concepts, makes algorithmic problems solving
and calculations on the board and rarely demonstrates experiments during those students listen, take notes and
occasionally ask questions or make comments. The research questions are; (1) Does CBA integrated with 5E model
lead to better learning results compared to CI in the conceptual understanding of chemical reactions and energy
concepts? (2) What, if any, is the effect of interaction between gender and treatment with respect to the students’
mean scores obtained from chemical reactions and energy tests?
The quasi-experimental design was utilized as a type of experimental research for the study. In order to
compare the effect of CBA-5E with CI on students’ understanding in CRE concepts, the treatments were randomly
assigned to the intact classes which were already formed. The CBA-5E classes were experimental groups (EGs), the
CI were control groups (CGs). The study was carried out with eleventh grade students aged 15-17 at two schools
with three teachers in 2011.
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Table 2. Research design of the study.
Groups Pre-tests Treatments Post-tests
EG CRECT, SPST CBA-5E CRECT, CREAT

CG CRECT, SPST CI CRECT, CREAT
Note. EG: Experimental group, CG: Control group, CRECT: Chemical reactions energy concept test, SPST: Science process skill test, CBA-
5E: Context-based approach with 5E model, CI: Conventional instruction, CREAT: Chemical reactions energy achievement test.
Sample
Eleventh-grade science major students in two public high schools from the same distinct were conveniently
selected as the sample of the study. The scores of students obtained from high school entrance examination for
these two schools were close to each other. From school A teacher X (female) and teacher Y (male), and from school
B, teacher Z (male) were volunteers for participating in the study. Teachers had experience of at least 10 years. Each
teacher had an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG); that is, there were three EGs and three CGs for
implementations. The subjects consisted of 175 eleventh grade science major students. Of these, 94 were females
and 81 were males. 91 of the participants (39 male, 52 females) were in EGs and 84 of them (42 males 42 females)
were in CGs. The details are given in Table 3.
Table 3. The distribution of the sample.
School-A School-B
Teacher X Teacher Y Teacher Z Total
CG-1 EG-1 CG-2 EG-2 CG-3 EG-3
Male 8 10 18 13 16 16 81
Female 20 20 12 17 10 15 94
Total 28 30 30 30 26 31 175
Instruments
The instruments used in this study are Chemical Reactions and Energy Concept Test (CRECT), Chemical Reac-
tions and Energy Achievement Test (CREAT), and Science Process Skill Test (SPST). Both CRECT and CREAT were set
as traditional questions, as Bennett and Holman (2002) claimed that if the scope of a context-based lesson design
is to develop conceptual understanding, then students could be assessed in de-contextualized ways about their
understanding of chemical ideas.
Chemical Reactions and Energy Conceptions Test (CRECT): It included common misconceptions to reveal both
students’ pre-conceptions about chemical reactions and energy and their conceptions after the implementations.
The instrument was originally developed by Yeo and Zadnik (2001) and translated to Turkish by Ceylan (2004). In its
original form, CRECT had 20 multiple-choice items, five of which were assigned to students’ pre-conceptions, and
the rest to learning outcomes of the current 11th grade chemistry curriculum. Seven items were taken from Ceylan
(2004) and 13 were developed by authors. The test was piloted with 12th grade science major students, resulting
in some item revisions. Based on the pilot study scores, the item difficulties and item discrimination indexes were
checked with ITEMAN, item analysis program, and they were found within the acceptable ranges. The questions
were classified into categories of, heat-temperature and energy, energy of bond dissociation and bond formation,
endothermic and exothermic changes, heat of reactions, enthalpy, spontaneous changes, systems and energy,
entropy changes, and Gibbs free energy. The validity of the test was established by three experts in chemistry
education field and a chemistry teacher. Also, feedback by one Turkish language expert and another chemistry
teacher was used for both understandability and face validity of the instrument. Once again, the final version of
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CRECT had 20 items, the maximum score is 20, the minimum is 0.The Cronbach alpha reliability of the test scores
was found to be .72. Final version of the test was administered to experimental and control groups both as a pre-
test and as post-test.
Chemical Reactions and Energy Achievement Test (CREAT): The authors developed CREAT to assess students’ un-
derstanding of conceptual and algorithmic problems about chemical reactions and energy. Based on the learning
outcomes, researchers constructed them by utilizing textbooks and National university entrance exam tests. There
were 25 multiple-choice questions in CREAT, the maximum score is 25, and the minimum is 0. The appropriate-
ness and content validity of the test was established by chemistry teachers, chemistry education experts. The first
version of the test was piloted with 85 12th grade students before the treatment. According to item analysis, item
difficulty and discrimination indexes were checked, some of the questions were revised, some were dropped, and
instead new ones were constructed. The Cronbach alpha reliability of the final version of the test scores was found
to be .74. The test was administered to both EGs and CGs after the treatment in regular class hours as a post-test
to determine the effect of treatments on students’ understanding.
Science Process Skill Test (SPST): It was originally developed in 1982 by Okey, Wise and Burns. Later, Geban, Askar,
and Ozkan translated and adopted this test into Turkish in 1992. The instrument was constructed to measure the
intellectual abilities of students in identifying variables, stating and identifying hypotheses, defining and design-
ing investigations operationally, graphing and interpreting data. Since the treatment included experiments and
hypothesis testing, the researchers utilized the test to reveal equality of groups before implementation. There are
36 items in this test and each question is in multiple-choice form with four alternatives, the maximum score is 36,
the minimum is 0. The Cronbach alpha reliability of the test scores was found to be .88. Both EGs and CGs took this
test before the instruction.
Treatments
Context-Based Approach with5E Learning Cycle Model: Based on the descriptions of Gilbert (2006), Westbroek
(2005), and Bybee et al. (2006) lesson plans integrating 5E model were designed. Initially, in the engagement
phase students’ curiosity was stimulated by asking questions related to the context of “Cars”. At the beginning
of the lesson, the context was presented to students as a form of discussion; teachers took students’ responses
and asked further questions to deepen the discussion as much as possible. For example, in the first lesson plan
(see table 4 for all lesson plans), the teacher asked about handout distributed; and further inquired about the
applications of chemistry in cars. The simulation video of “how car engines work” was displayed and additional
questions were asked. Related to systems and energy types, students guessed a 4-stroke engine cylinder to be an
open system and further discussion was carried on other system types. For, energy transformations in a cylinder,
the teacher asked more questions and students made some guesses. The discussion was taken to matter-energy
transformations, heat-mechanical and energy-internal energy changes as well as the first law of thermodynamics
using context-related questions. Here, the teacher assured to elicit students’ prior knowledge as starting point to
engage students in construction of new knowledge and get them to come into disequilibrium. This process was
progressed over the context.
Then, from the contextual questions, discussions, and experimental activities the teacher continued with cre-
ating a need-to-know base for new knowledge construction. The next step, exploration phase, an experiment was
conducted by the teacher in class asking questions related with the experiment so as to stimulate students’ curios-
ity. Related to that experiment, the teacher asked students how the reaction of zinc with hydrochloric acid would
move the piston, why the motion was upward and whether the work was done by the system or the surroundings.
Later, the students are asked to write their hypothesis regarding the questions, and then the students performed
the experiment and tested their hypothesis by working in groups. At this step the disequilibrium was created.
The next step was explanation phase, where the students were required to answer the questions given in the
previous phases. The teacher constantly guided, posed additional questions to students to make them explain
their ideas and observations in their own words in order to help them to resolve the disequilibrium. For example,
it is asked which parameters were important in terms of work, heat and internal energy. While anticipating the
responses, the teacher provided additional explanations whenever needed, as well as briefly explaining and
clarifying students’ ideas and observation related to work-heat-energy transitions. The formula related to internal
energy and parameters that contribute internal energy were also explained in this step. In the next phase, elabora-
tion, students watched another video (a closed system) and the teacher asked even more questions for purpose
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of elaborateness. For example, it was asked how the heat of the system changed (enthalpy change), and how this
change is related to the internal energy of the system. The teacher elicited from students more examples from
daily life so as to further explain those type of systems such as open, closed, isolated, isothermal along with energy
transformations and heat-work- energy relation in systems. Production of more efficient cars, more efficient fuels,
bio-fuels, high octane ratings, reduction of environmental hazards was discussed here. Thus, at the end of this
step, the need-to-know base which provided more insight into and experience the functionality of ‘what comes
next’ was satisfied.
The final step of the CBA with 5E model is evaluation where the context-related questions were directed to
students and the main concepts were clarified in detail. The knowledge constructed was transferred to other con-
texts or problem situations. In this step, students’ evaluated their own understanding. Together with satisfaction
of need-to-know base and attention for the students’ input were established all lesson plans. Thus, the teacher has
more opportunity to pay real attention to their input, which could become a driving force of the content-related
progression.
Table 4. Lesson plans implemented in experimental groups.
The context for chemical reactions and energy unit: cars
Lesson plan I: Lesson plan II: Lesson plan III: Lesson plan IV:
4-stroke engines: how car Reaction of fossil fuels in engines Air-conditioners in cars Reading assignment:
engines work Exp: Heat of Reaction -How-refrigerators work? What is free about Gibbs free
Exp: Liquid nitrogen energy
RLO: Systems and energy types RLO: Enthalpy change of a system RLO: Spontaneity of changes RLO: Entropy and Gibbs free
energy
Note: RLO: Related learning outcomes of CRE unit, Exp: Experiment
Conventional Instruction; The basic framework for conventional classrooms was set as a teacher-centred
instruction in which the teacher introduces the concepts, makes algorithmic problems solving and calculations
on the board and rarely demonstrates experiments during which students listen, take notes and occasionally ask
questions or make comments. Naturally, teacher started to briefly introduce basic concepts and later, solved some
simple exemplary problems, gradually increasing the difficulty level of questions and expecting students to propose
solutions. For example, just at the beginning of the lesson, the teacher wrote a title on the board and the types of
systems, and clarified them in detail. Then s/he read from the textbook and students followed on to take notes to
themselves. The definitions and the formulas related to heat, work, and internal energy were directly presented by
the teacher and definitions were provided. In essence, the teachers were doing whatever they were doing in their
routine class hours and the methods were mainly included in lecturing and questioning, with occasional discussions
around the topic. Here, the difference was that real-life contexts were not introduced at the beginning, instead,
after introducing main concepts the teacher generally focused on the problem solving. In control groups, the John
Henry effect was reduced by movies and simulations displays same as those used in the experimental groups.
To verify the treatments, the researchers also carried out systematic classroom observations both in the ex-
perimental and control groups. After each class hour, the teacher and researcher evaluated the implementations,
and the same procedure was fallowed with other teachers. Researcher necessary support was provided to teach-
ers at any given time together with additional feedback and suggestions in order to make the intervention more
in line with the purpose of the study. Additionally, the teachers were informed to teach in their control groups in
the way that they were accustomed to. In all, the implementations took six weeks, in each of which, students had
three chemistry lecture hours to study chemical reactions and energy concepts both for experimental and control
groups. The post tests were distributed to the students at the end of the treatments.
Data Analysis
The obtained data was entered into Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) Statistics 18. The independent vari-
ables were groups (EGs & CGs) and gender (males vs. females), dependent variables were students’ understanding
scores measured by CREAT and post-CRECT.
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Results of Research
Prior to main analysis, whether pre-CRECT and SPST scores differ across schools and teachers was investigated,
no significant difference was found.
Statistics of Pre-CRECT and SPST Score; One-way between groups multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)
was performed to investigate if a statistically significant mean difference exists between the experimental and the
control groups with respect to the pre-CRECT and SPST scores. The descriptive statistics appears in Table 5.
Table 5. Descriptive statistics for Pre-CRECT and SPST scores.
Test N Mean Standard Deviations
CG EG CG EG CG EG
Pre-CRECT 84 91 11.30 11.45 2.63 2.50
SPST 84 91 18.33 22.41 6.56 7.33
Before this computation, the assumptions of MANOVA; sample size, normality, outliers, linearity, homogeneity
of regression, multi-co-linearity and singularity, and homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices were checked,
they were not violated. When the results of the Pre-CRECT and SPST were examined, there was a statistically sig-
nificant difference F (2, 172)=7.835, p=.001; Wilks’ Lambda= .917 among EGs and the CGs. Then, follow up ANOVAs
were examined.
Table 6. Follow-up ANOVAs for pairwise comparisons.
Degree of Eta
Dependent Variable F Sig. (p) Power
freedom Squared
Group (EG, CG) Pre-CRECT 1 .147 .702 .001 .067

SPST 1 14.987 .000 .080 .971
As seen from Table 5, for Pre-CRECT scores, the means are (M= 11.45, SD= 2.50) for EG and (M= 11.30, SD=
2.63) for CG. For the SPST scores, EG had (M= 22.41, SD= 7.33) and CG (M= 18.33, SD= 6.56). When the results of the
Pre-CRECT and SPST were considered separately (Table 6), there was a statistically significant difference in the SPST
scores, F (1, 173) =14.987, p=.000, partial eta squared=.080. A pre-existing difference in the SPST scores requires it
to be controlled for statistical analysis of the post-CRECT, thus SPST scores were assigned as a covariate.
Statistical Analysis of Post-CRECT and CREAT Scores: At the end of the implementation, post-CRECT and CREAT
were administered. The research questions were tested using MANCOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Covariance). In
this analysis, the post-CRECT and the CREAT scores were dependent variables, the SPST score was covariate, and
treatment and gender were independent variables with two categories. The descriptive are given in Table 7.
Table 7. Descriptive statistics for Post-CRECT and CREAT across the groups and gender.
Mean
CG EG Male Female
Post-CRECT 11.92 13.22 12.19 12.95
CREAT 14.88 18.34 16.20 17.10
EGs’ mean scores on the post-CRECT and CREAT were higher than the CGs (Table 7). Whether these differ-
ences were significant were analyzed in the main analysis. 175 participants took the post-tests, of which 81 were
male and 94 female. The mean scores of females on post-CRECT and CREAT were slightly higher than males (Table
7). Whether a statistical significant mean difference across males/females exists was analyzed in the main analysis.
Before computing the MANCOVA, the assumptions - sample size, normality and outliers, linearity, multicollinearity
and singularity, homogeneity of variances and covariance matrices, homogeneity of variance, and homogeneity
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of regression slopes - were controlled and no violation was observed. The results of MANCOVA were reported in
Table 8.
Table 8. MANCOVA results regarding the collective dependent variables.
Wilks’ Observed
Source Multivariate F Hypothesis df Error df Sig. (p) Eta-Squared
Lambda Power
Treatment .782 23.621 2 169 .000 .218 1.000

Gender .971 2.558 2 169 .080 .029 .506
SPST .943 5.081 2 169 .007 .057 .815
Treatment* .997 .254 2 169 .776 .003 .090
Gender
Based on the results given in Table 8, it is seen that the EGs and CGs had significant mean difference (p = .000)
with respect to understanding of chemical reactions and energy concepts when their SPST scores were controlled
(F (2, 169) = 23.621, Wilks’ Lambda = .782, p < 0.05). This difference was obtained from the effect of treatment, and it
is possible to state that the effect size was large since the value of eta-squared is found to be .218. An eta-squared
value larger than .14 is said to be large, which means 21.8 % of the variance of dependent variables was aroused
from the independent variables.
In addition to the effect size, the observed power (1.00) of the study indicated that the source of difference
across the EGs and CGs was related to the effect of treatment. Furthermore, such a value indicated that this effect
had a practical significance as well. The results revealed that there was no significant mean difference between males
and females with respect to collective dependent variables of the study when their SPST scores were controlled (F
(2, 169) = 2.558, Wilk’s Lambda = .971, p > 0.05). The difference among the males and females was obtained as .029
from the eta-squared value. The value means 2.9 % of multivariate variance on the collective dependent variables
was associated with gender. Table 8 also reveals the interaction values related to gender and treatment. Based on
these values, it is clear to state that no interaction existed between treatment and gender (F (2, 169) = .254 Wilk’s
Lambda = .997, p > 0.05). To differentiate the effect of treatment and gender separately on each dependent variable,
the univariate ANCOVAs were performed. The univariate or follow-up ANCOVA results are given in Table 9.
Table 9. Univariate ANCOVA results based on each dependent variable.
Eta
Dependent Variable df1 F Sig. (p) Power
Squared
Treatment Post-CRECT 1 13.269 .000 .072 .952
CREAT 1 31.584 .000 .157 1.000

Gender Post-CRECT 1 3.811 .053 .022 .493
CREAT 1 1.069 .303 .006 .177
Treatment* Gender Post-CRECT 1 .065 .799 .000 .057
CREAT 1 .466 .496 .003 .104
According to Table 9, the research questions were answered. The results indicated a significant mean difference
(p= .000) between the groups exposed to CBA and conventionally designed chemistry instruction. When students’
SPST scores were controlled, EGs’ understanding (Post-CRECT; F (1, 169) = .13.269, p= .000) and achievement (CREAT;
F (1, 169) = .31.584, p= .000) of CRE concepts were more improved compared to CGs. The proportion of variance in
the students’ conceptual understanding of CRE concepts explained by the treatment is 7.2 % which means medium
effect size. Additionally, the effect of the treatments was investigated across the gender, there was no significant
mean difference between males and females with respect to Post-CRECT (F (1, 169) = .3.811, p= .053) and CREAT
(F (1, 169) = .1.069, p= .303). The interaction cell of Table 9 showed that gender and treatment did not interact for
post-CRECT and CREAT scores: that is, the treatment did not significantly changed among females or males.
Although there were items that CGs have higher correct response percentages than EGs, in the majority of the
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items of the post-CRECT EGs students had higher scores. Specifically, CGs had higher scores on the first and third
items, which were assigned to students’ pre-conceptions about heat flow and heat-temperature. EGs had higher
percentages of correct responses especially on the items about endothermic-exothermic reactions (item7), sponta-
neity (item12), oxidation reactions (item 16), bond energies (item 17), and temperature (item 18) (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Mean percentages of correct responses for post-CRECT across the groups.
Similarly, students’ percentages of correct responses on item regarding the ‘entropy’ of the substance (item
20) were significantly different for EGs and CGs. Additionally, there was a striking difference between the percent-
ages of two groups on the item regarding the endothermic and exothermic properties of bond formation and
bond dissociation (item 7).
Figure 3: Mean percentages of correct responses for CREAT across the groups.
Students’ percentages of correct responses for Chemical reactions and energy achievement test (CREAT) are
shown in Figure 3. The EGs overwhelmingly had higher mean percentages than CGs when compared to post-
CRECT percentages.
Discussion
From the findings it can be implied that context-based approach (CBA) with 5E model led to better learning re-
sults when compared to conventional instruction (CI) in the case of conceptual understanding of chemical reactions
and energy (CRE) concepts regardless of gender difference. The groups had almost equal prior knowledge before
the treatment however, at the end of the implementations the results indicated that EGs had higher percentages
of correct responses than the CGs implying that the former group’s alternative conceptions are more remedied. The
design appears to be an effective way of instruction in overcoming students’ misconceptions, along with increasing
students’ achievement. In CBA-5E lessons, through context students became familiar with applications of concepts,
then; over the context engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation steps were fallowed.
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Through these steps the need-to-know base was satisfied, which later supports the attention for students’ input.
Similarly, Kortland (2007) designed lessons for enhancement of teaching learning of concepts that uses sequences
in designing lessons. Their didactical structure has four subsequent phases; each with specific function requires
satisfying the conditions to relate activities of students.
Although the CBA-5E implementation evoked students’ prior-conceptualization, it was not successful on
removing a few alternative conceptions related to heat-temperature (first five items of CRECT, which are assigned
to pre-conceptions). According to Goedhart and Kaper (2002) the terms heat and temperature are used synonymy
and, students have profound incorrect conceptualization about them. For that reason, students may still have
misconceptions. However, the design was successful on the majority of the rest of the items as seen from Figure 2.
Similarly, students’ percentages of correct responses on item regarding the ‘entropy’ of the substance (item 20 of
post-CRECT) were significantly different for EGs and CGs. As Sözbilir and Bennett (2007) revealed, students had dif-
ficulties in explaining the term ‘entropy’ as the probability and arrangement in microstates. Additionally, there was a
striking difference between the percentages of two groups on the item regarding the endothermic and exothermic
properties of bond formation and bond dissociation (item7 of post-CRECT). The design possibly contributed to
students’ correct conceptualization on these issues by creating a learning environment in which students mental
activities are most devoted to learning progress. Students’ incorrect conceptualization in classifying reactions as
endothermic or exothermic which is also reported by De Vos and Verdonk (1985b) was reduced too.
Although EG have higher percentages in the majority of the items of post-CRECT and CREAT, CG students’
mean percentages for items 2,7, and 14 of CREAT (see figure 3) was slightly different in favour of them. Similarly,
Barker and Millar (1999) studied chemical reactions through CBA; they also revealed that many students begin
post-16 studies with substantial misconceptions regarding the CRE concepts. When the inferential statistics results
are examined, we can claim that the specific design of CBA-5E lead to better conceptualization of CRE concepts and
better remedied students’ misconception through inquiry-based activities. Comparing the percentages reported
in Figure 2 and Figure 3, it is obvious to state that the design did affect the conceptual understanding (measured
by post-CRECT) but not as much as an effect on students’ understanding in both conceptual and algorithmic
problems (measured by CREAT).
This design generally supported conceptual understanding regardless of gender difference. From the findings,
it can be stated that the context used for the study is well-known and relevant for boys and girls. Additionally we
can claim that context and 5E integration is appropriate to avoid gender difference in conceptual understanding.
Our findings are consistent with the recommendation stated by Taasoobshirazi (2007) as gender difference can
be minimized by contextual instruction. We can state that both boys and girls engaged in inquiry-based activities
when they are presented over real-life applications.
Watching the videos and teacher-driven questions created disequilibrium to feed the need-to-know phase
for knowledge inventory; students engaged in well-established activities, such as carrying out experiments as
necessary means to comprehend the topic. Through these processes students could test their hypothesis, collect
and analyze data, and interpret the results. They constructed their understanding of CRE concepts through the
activities performed; they shared their ideas by asking questions and discussing with teachers and friends. In con-
trol groups, the conventional instruction was utilized. The expository teaching with questioning and discussion
was carried with the same flow of instruction i.e., the same experiments but without hypothesis testing though
contextual activities. In EGs, learning environment was more inquiry-based compared to CG, as Parchmann et al.
(2006) stated, the use of context created learning environments to stimulate students’ personal mental activities
to enable progression of learning successfully.
Conclusions
Supporting conceptual understanding is a difficult endeavour, CBA-5E integration is more effective instruction
to remedy misconceptions on CRE concepts compared to conventional methods. This study provided evidence
that CBA-5E overcome learning difficulties of students through inquiry-based activities that created opportunities
to students for active engagement in investigations. Incorporating a variety of non-traditional teaching activities
into CBA may be considered as an intensive effort to improve students’ understanding, however; as the aim was
to improve conceptual understanding, the authors incorporated inquiry into the lessons. Moreover, there is usu-
ally a lack of definition of CBA on improving conceptual understanding, thus, 5E which supports opportunities to
construct concepts, patterns, and to create meaning about concepts was integrated. Different from the studies
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reporting their findings as the sole effect of CBA, this study explicitly dictates that designing contextual lessons
based on the definite phases has the ability to improve students’ conceptual understanding.
We also conclude that when 5E was integrated to CBA, it is more a directive for teachers and researchers, since
the flow of the lesson becomes quite explicit. Additionally, students more easily engage in inquiry-based activities
when they are presented over real-life applications. Although, conclusions drawn from CBA studies have been shown
as the effect of CBA itself, which could also be an effect of the specific instructional model, this study reported its
results as the mutual effect of CBA and 5E. Further studies can investigate the effect of such a design on understand-
ing of other chemistry topics relevant to their purposes, since the design suggests a clear way on how the course
is carried out. Moreover, studies can investigate how the nature of teaching method influences the effect of CBA in
detail through qualitative approaches. Such a design is recommended, since students are engaged in the learning
environment that incorporates minds-on activities for supporting conceptual understanding. Thus, there will be a
latent capacity available around the real-world problems in which students can construct knowledge with a more
meaningful understanding and answer the very common question why one needs to learn a certain topic.
Acknowledgement
This study is produced from first author’s PhD dissertation.
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Received: May 28, 2015 Accepted: July 25, 2015
Ceyhan Cigdemoglu PhD, Assistant Professor, Atılım University, Department of Educational

Sciences, Ankara, Turkey.
E-mail: ceyhan.cigdemoglu@atilim.edu.tr, ceyhan.tas@gmail.com
Omer Geban PhD, Professor, Middle East Technical University, Department of Secondary
Science & Mathematics Education, Ankara, Turkey.
E-mail: geban@metu.edu.tr
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CHANGES IN THE NUMBER OF
IDEAS DEPENDING ON TIME
WHEN CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC
Abstract. Teaching creativity is one of the Daehyeok Kang,

major goals of science class. This study Jongwon Park,
examined how much time is necessary to Hanghwa Hong
conduct a scientific creativity task requiring
fluency in middle schools. To accomplish
this, 76 and 45 scientifically gifted and
ordinary students respectively generated
as many ideas as possible for the creativ-
ity task. The results revealed that ordinary Introduction
students spent, on average, approximately
20 minutes to generate 3.49 ideas per The call to develop creative thinking skills can be found in many
student. However, gifted students concen- countries. For instance, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science [AAAS] maintains that “science classroom [s] ought to be a place
trated on the task for a longer time (roughly
where creativity and invention… are recognized and encouraged” (AAAS,
60 minutes), and consequently generated 1990, p. 204). Korea’s national science curriculum also includes a standard
greater (11.53) and more elaborate ideas. that entails individuals displaying creativity based on novel ideas, challenges,
In comparing the ordinary students’ flu- and fundamental abilities (MEST, 2011).
ency with their school science scores, no Scientific creativity consists of scientific knowledge and inquiry skills, as
relationship was found between them. This well as creative thinking skills (Park, 2004). Moreover, scientific thinking skills
consist of various components, such as divergent, original, and associational
indicates that only teaching science cannot
thinking. Fluency, which has been regarded as an important factor in defining
guarantee the development of creativity. divergent thinking (Runco & Acar, 2012), can be defined as the number of
Therefore, it is concluded that teaching flu- distinct ideas (Runco, 1986) or ability to name as many objects as possible
ency in middle schools is necessary and can in a given time (Guilford, 1950).
possibly encourage creativity, provided that Fluency is also a main factor in assessing scientific creativity (Hu & Adey,
teachers can secure a minimal amount of 2002; Mohamed, 2006; Sak & Ayas, 2013). This is because a person who can
create greater numbers of ideas concurrently when compared to others
time required to do so. Finally, the limita-
may have additional opportunities to address important and original ideas
tions of this study and further studies are (Guilford, 1950). For example, it is known that scientists who author many
discussed. papers often publish more significant works (Over, 1989; Simonton, 1997;
Key words: fluency, gifted education, 2004). Therefore, developing fluency is a prerequisite condition for generating
scientific creativity, teaching creativity. creative products.
Therefore, in order to teach creativity in a more effective way, greater
understanding is needed concerning the features of fluency. First, it should
be understood how much time is required to encourage fluency during
Daehyeok Kang
Yeongju Girl’s Middle School, Yeongju, Korea activities. Although some argue that a creative work can occur in a relatively
Jongwon Park short time frame, others assert that creative ideas emerge after a significant
Chonnam National University, Gwangju, period of time is dedicated to a task (Madjar & Shalley, 2008). For instance,
Korea
Hanghwa Hong Orlet (2008) emphasizes that scientists generally make new discoveries fol-
Gwangju Science Academy for the Gifted, lowing an incubation period. In this case, the incubation for creative works
Gwangju, Korea requires extra time before activation can occur.
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(P. 448-459)
However, allotting additional time for creative activities during ordinary science lessons can be difficult, since
classes are often scheduled to master a given scientific concept as defined by the science curriculum. Indeed, nearly
75% of both Korean and American in-service teachers agree that there is a lack of sufficient time for creative activi-
ties because of pre-determined required content and test preparation (Hong & Kang, 2010).
To resolve this problem, Park (2012) suggests mini creativity activities requiring just 10-15 minutes which are
feasible during regular science lessons. However, no conclusive data exists concerning the number of ideas that
students can produce during this time period. Therefore, this study investigated the time required for conducting
a creativity task demanding fluency.
Second, gifted students have been used to represent students showing high intellectual or academic ability
(Manning, 2006). Therefore, a high level of knowledge has been generally used to distinguish gifted students from
others. However, it also has been emphasized that creativity is a feature of gifted students (Kaufman, Plucker, &
Russell, 2012; Renzulli, 2011; Torrance, 1984). Therefore, it could be assumed that the fluency of gifted students
exceeds their ordinary peers since fluency is one of the primary features of creativity. To check out this assumption,
this study investigated the difference in fluency between gifted students and ordinary students.
Third, many have concerns on the interrelationships between fluency and intellectual ability, especially re-
garding school achievement (Jauk, Bebedek, Dunst, & Neubauer, 2013). Some studies (e.g., Asha, 1980; Bolandifa
& Noordin, 2013; Kaboodi & Jiar, 2012; Powers & Kaufman, 2004) argued that interrelationships exist between flu-
ency and school achievement, while others assert that there is either no relationship (e.g., Olatoye, Akintunde, &
Yakasi, 2010; Palaniappan, 2007) or very little relationship (e.g., Sen & Hagtvet, 1993). If an interrelationship does
indeed exist between fluency and school achievement, then it can be deduced that improvement of fluency can
be expected from the development of academic ability or vice versa. In contrast, if there is no relationship between
these factors, teaching science contents alone cannot guarantee the improvement of fluency. Then, we would
need to give extra efforts to teach fluency in schools. Therefore, this study investigated the correlation between
students’ school achievement and fluency.
Research Questions
Based on the background above, this study investigates the following three questions:
1. 1. How does the number of ideas (as an indicator of the fluency) change in relation with time when
conducting a creative activity?
2. 2. Do changes in fluency differ between gifted and ordinary students, according to time?
3. 3. Is there a correlation between students’ academic achievement and fluency?
Theoretical Background
Fluency
Feldhusen and Goh (1995) maintain that fluency should be included in assessing creativity along with other
factors, such as creative products. Many studies have demonstrated a close relationship between fluency and
creativity. For example, Batey, Furnham, and Safiullina (2010) reported a high correlation (r =.78) between fluency
and comprehensive creativity scores. Runco and Acar (2012) noted that fluency could be a sufficient measure of
divergent thinking, and thus indicate one’s potential for creative thinking. Mouchiroud and Lubart (2001) focused
on the relationship between fluency and originality, and found that correlations between them were occasionally
more than .60. Moreover, Diakidoy and Constantinou (2001) found a strong correlation between originality and the
number of ill-defined responses to physics problems among college students (r =.71), while Runco (1986) discovered
low discriminant validity between fluency, flexibility, and originality among ninety-seven gifted students.
Therefore, a claim can be made that creativity can be estimated based on fluency. In fact, Over (1989) analysed
psychologists’ research based on a citation index and found that, although the frequency of their publications
decreased with age, the ratio between their overall work and publications that were cited did not change as a
value of 0.5. This means that the number of papers published by psychologists could be indicative of the quality
of their work.
One explanation for strong correlations between fluency and creativity could be that fluency is a prereq-
uisite for creativity. For instance, Thomas Edison made 1800 attempts before successfully developing the light
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bulb (cited in Shaw, O’Loughlin, & McFadzean, 2005, p. 396), thus indicating that many attempts are required to
invent new things. Furthermore, it is known that after Albert Einstein declared the completion of his unified field
theory he subsequently recanted it three times upon finding errors (Root-Bernstein, 1999). This means that many
trials should be performed before deeming an idea or project completed. In relation to the two aforementioned
stories it is worth mentioning that Einstein, Darwin, and Poincare published 248, 119, and 500 papers respectively.
Moreover, Edison filed 1093 patents while most Novel winners wrote 3.9 papers on average each year (Simonton,
1997; Runco, 2007).
Creativity and Academic Achievement
Asha (1980) found a strong correlation between creativity and the academic achievement of 800 middle
school students with an average age of 14; Bolandifa and Noordin (2013) reported the same result among 100
college students (r =.81). In contrast, other studies reported meaningful, albeit low correlations between creativity
and academic performance. For example, Powers and Kaufman (2004) found a low relationship between creativity
and graduate students’ GRE scores and fluency (r =.24). Similarly, Sen and Hagtvet (1993) reported a minor correla-
tion (r =.17) between creativity and academic achievement among 300 eleventh grade students. Kaboodi and Jiar
(2012) reviewed ten published papers and found that the average correlation between creativity and academic
achievement was r = .32.
In parallel, there are studies suggesting that no relationship exists between academic performance and creativ-
ity. For instance, Palaniappan (2007) found no correlations between academic achievement and creativity among
467 middle school students with an average age of 13. Furthermore, Olatoye et al. (2010) reported no relationship
between academic achievement and creativity among 235 college students. Likewise, Lee (2006) did not find any
relationship between academic performance and creativity among Korean sixth grade students.
Other studies failed to find a consistent relationship between school performance and creativity. For example,
Balgiu and Adir (2014) noted that while no overall relationship could be observed between school achievement
and creativity among 86 college freshmen, partial relationships did exist between them from r =.25 to r = .29. Ad-
ditionally, Chamorro-Premuzic (2006) conducted a study composed of 307 college students and found a positive
relationship with creativity in the oral test, project task, and comprehensive examination (r = .13 to r = .45), and a
negative relationship with creativity in the multiple-choice and open-ended test (r = -.30 to r = -.58).
As the above literature review demonstrates, a consistent relationship between school performance and
creativity cannot be established, possibly due to differences in student and teacher features and/or learning envi-
ronments. Differences in the creativity and achievement tests among schools could also explain these inconsistent
findings. In other words, it is difficult to observe any relationship between academic achievement and creativity
if a school assessment requires students to choose a correct answer using only convergent thinking skills (Runco,
2004, p. 670). In such situations, because we cannot expect students’ creativity based on school achievement, extra
effort should be exerted to develop student creativity in schools.
For the first research question of this study, two creativity activity tasks requiring fluency were developed at
first (Figure 1 & 2). These tasks were applied to gifted students and ordinary students, and the number of students’
ideas was counted per minute. Then, the differences in the number of ideas and the time required to conduct the
task between two student groups were analysed for the second research question. Finally, for the third research
question, we analysed the correlation between their fluency, that is the number of ideas generated in the activities,
and science test score in their school.
Scientific Creativity Tasks
Two creativity science activity tasks from a series developed by Park and Kim (2013) were used in this study
(see Figure 1 & 2).
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Taking measurements using other methods
Task: When a scientist measures weight, a piezoelectric material capable of generating electricity can be used
instead of a spring scale.
When measuring length, a meter stick is generally used. Suggest other tools or methods to measure length or
distance. … Suggest as many different ideas as possible…
Figure 1: Task 1 focused on developing fluency.
Scientific solutions to issues in everyday life: Waste
Task: There are many scientific solutions to issues related to everyday life.
There are many appliances in our homes that are no longer used and merely occupy space. How might these
appliances be recycled? … Present as many different ideas as possible. …
Figure 2: Task 2 focused on developing fluency.
Participants
In Korea, there are various types of gifted centres in science and mathematics. The Center at Chonnam National
University in Korea also selects gifted students from elementary and middle schools and teaches them for about
100 hours a year. After finishing the first year course, some of them, through the selection process, can continue
the learning in the third year course. Forty five gifted students participated in this study were randomly selected
from this centre.
Seventy-six ordinary students were randomly selected from two classes in the general middle school located
in a metropolitan city in Korea. Their cognitive ability was spread from low ability to high ability likely as is ordinary
schools. Table 1 presents demographic information related to the students who participated in Tasks 1 and 2.
Table 1. Participants’ demographic information.
Task 1 Task 2
Participants
Ordinary Gifted Ordinary Gifted
Grade Nine Eight Nine Eight
No. of Students 39 22 37 23
Subtotal 61 60
Total 121
Data Collection
The worksheet, including the task, was given to students and then they were asked to write their ideas on
the worksheet. There was no time limit to complete the task. While completing the task, the researcher informed
students as each minute passed, and reminded them to mark every minute on their worksheet. Figure 3 partially
shows how participants marked their worksheets while completing Task 2.
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Figure 3: A student’s worksheet containing time markers for seven minutes. The first paragraph reads, “After
detaching the refrigerator door [first minute], remove the shelves and drawers from the refrigera-
tor’s main body. Next, a large space can be made for an adult [second minute] to use as a bed, bath
tub, … .”
Data Analysis
The ideas presented by the participants were tallied. Some ideas were not included in the analysis for sev-
eral reasons. In one case, the reasoning was not sufficiently scientific (e.g., for Task 2 one respondent suggested
lighting up a room by putting fluorescent lamps into an oven). In another case, the response was unintelligible
(e.g., for Task 1 a respondent suggested a method for measuring length by spraying water with a hose). Another
participant restated similar ideas for Task 1, which involved measuring with pencils, with photos, and with printer
papers. Finally, one participant failed to provide a complete response: they began by suggesting a method for
measurement wherein people lay down and are then counted, but did not develop the idea further.
Graphs indicating changes in the number of ideas according to time were drawn, and an equation for a trend
line was written. Comparisons between the ordinary students and gifted students were performed and analysed
statistically using t-tests. For ordinary students, the relationships between the number of ideas generated in the
task and their science scores in their school were statistically analyzed and presented in a scattered plot graph.
Science scores were based on a middle school achievement test. SPSS 21 was used for statistical analysis.
Results of Research
The number of Ideas Generated by General Ability Students Based on Time
The time interval used to count the number of ideas suggested on the worksheet was fixed at two minutes
since the number of ideas for a one minute interval was too small. Table 2 shows the number of ideas generated
by ordinary students every two minutes, while the accumulated number of ideas is displayed in Figure 4.
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Table 2. A number of ideas generated by the ordinary students.
Task 1 (n=39) Task 2 (n=37)

Accumulated average no.
Time
of ideas
(Minutes) Accumulated Average Accumulated Average (Per person)
no. of ideas (Per person) no. of ideas (Per person)
2 50 1.28 41 1.11 1.20

4 72 1.85 59 1.59 1.72
6 87 2.23 79 2.14 2.18
8 93 2.38 92 2.49 2.44
10 102 2.62 104 2.81 2.71
12 110 2.82 117 3.16 2.99
14 117 3.00 128 3.46 3.23
16 124 3.18 137 3.70 3.44
18 126 3.23 139 3.76 3.49
20 126 3.23 139 3.76 3.49
Figure 4: Accumulated average number of ideas generated by the ordinary students based on time.
An examination of Table 2 reveals that on average the ordinary students generated 3.49 ideas per person during a
20 minute period. The equation for the trend line is
and where and indicate the accumulated number of ideas and time respec-
tively (see Figure 4). Based on this, it can be inferred that students cease to generate ideas after approximately 19
minutes (in the equation, , x value when the
tangent line’s slope is zero). Moreover, to generate 3.14 ( ideas (which accounts
for 90% of all ideas), students require roughly 13 minutes (x value when ).
Based on these results, about 15 minutes is required to complete a task designed to encourage fluency. Thus,
teaching fluency is possible in an ordinary school context provided that teachers secure a minimal amount of extra
time in their teaching plans.
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Differences in the Number of Ideas Generated by Gifted Students Based on Time
Gifted students generated more ideas when compared to their ordinary counterparts. Consequently, their
ideas were counted in five rather than two minute intervals. Table 3 displays the number of ideas generated by
gifted students every five minutes, while the accumulated number of ideas is shown in Figure 5.
Table 3. A number of ideas generated by the gifted students.
Task 1 (n=22) Task 2 (n=23)

Accumulated average
Time
no. of ideas
(Minutes) Accumulated Average Accumulated Average (Per person)
no. of ideas (Per person) no. of ideas (Per person)
5 52 2.36 51 2.22 2.29

10 97 4.41 89 3.87 4.14
15 129 5.86 123 5.35 5.61
20 162 7.36 151 6.57 6.96
25 189 8.59 173 7.52 8.06
30 212 9.64 187 8.13 8.88
35 229 10.41 204 8.87 9.64
40 242 11.00 215 9.35 10.17
45 253 11.50 222 9.65 10.58
50 262 11.91 234 10.17 11.04
55 270 12.27 239 10.39 11.33
60 274 12.45 244 10.61 11.53
Figure 5: Accumulated average number of ideas generated by the gifted students based on time.
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An examination of Table 3 reveals that on average the gifted students generated 11.53 ideas per person during
a 60 minute period. The equation for the trend line is
and , where and x indicate the accumulated number of ideas and time, respectively
(see Figure 5). Based on this, it can be inferred that students cease to generate ideas after approximately 62 minutes
(in the equation, x value when the tangent
line’s slope is zero). Furthermore, to generate 10.08 ( ideas (which account
for 90% of all ideas), students require about 42 minutes (x value when ).
Based on the above results, gifted students generated ideas for a longer period of time (62 minutes) when
compared to their ordinary counterparts (19 minutes); also, the gifted students exhibited higher levels of task com-
mitment. Furthermore, because the gifted students generated more ideas on average than their counterparts (11.53
versus 3.49, respectively), their fluency was superior. As mentioned earlier, fluency is an indicator of creativity, and
we can conclude that the gifted students exhibited greater creativity than the general ability group; consequently,
fluency can be used to distinguish between the gifted and ordinary groups.
Comparison between the Ordinary and Gifted Students
To compare the number of ideas generated by both groups, the time interval for the general ability group
was changed to five minutes, which is the same interval used with the gifted students. Table 4 shows that, when
compared to their ordinary counterparts, the gifted students generated more ideas within the same time frame.
Table 4. An average number of ideas generated by both groups every five-minutes.
An average number of ideas generated per student every five minutes

Time
(Minutes)
A: Gifted students (n=45) B: Ordinary students (n=76) Difference (A-B)
5 2.29 2.00 0.29

10 1.85 0.72 1.13
15 1.47 0.65 0.82
20 1.36 0.13 1.23
25 1.09 0 1.09
For the first five minutes the difference between both groups is statistically insignificant (t = 1.587, p>. 05).
Therefore, the number of words for every generated idea was checked, since the number of words comprising each
one could correspond with the concreteness or elaboration of an idea. Table 5 shows that, on average, the gifted
students used significantly more words for each idea than their counterparts (t = -3.982, p<0.01). By comparing
the actual substance of the ideas generated by each group (see Figure 6), it was clear that the gifted students’
responses were more elaborate and concrete.
Table 5. The number of words comprising each idea generated by both groups for the first five minutes.
Group N Average number of words t p
Ordinary 76 22.3 -3.982 0.000
Gifted 45 34.4
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Figure 6: Sample ideas generated by an ordinary and gifted student on the left and right respectively. The first
idea on the left reads, “For a short distance, count the number of steps”; on the right, in the second
idea, the student wrote, “At first, count the number of steps by contacting each foot. If the length of
the [subject’s] foot is 250 cm, and he walks 10 steps, we know that the distance is 25 m.”
The Relationship between Fluency and Science Scores among Ordinary Students
In Table 6, fluency is determined by the number of ideas generated by the ordinary students. Both Table 6 and
Figure 7 show that no relationship exists between fluency and science scores among ordinary students.
Table 6. Correlation between fluency and science scores among ordinary students (n=76).
Fluency
Science scores -0.070

p=0.546
Figure 7: Distribution of the number of ideas according to general students’ science scores.
As mentioned earlier, no correlation between them could be caused by examinations and/or teaching methods
that fail to effectively evoke or encourage creative thinking, or because academic cognitive abilities are unrelated
to creativity. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that teaching fluency should be encouraged since teaching
science alone does not guarantee improved fluency or creativity.
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Discussion
Regarding the first research question, it was found that 19 minutes were required for an ordinary student
to generate 3.5 ideas and 13 minutes to generate 90% of all ideas. From this result, we confirmed that teaching
creativity can be achieved in an ordinary science curriculum if a minimal commitment of time can be made. Of
course, this kind of short activities cannot guarantee the development of scientific creativity. To do this, iterative
learning experiences are recommended for many years from elementary school to high school (Park, 2012). This
assertion is based on the assumption that scientific creativity is a form of a thinking style or a habit rather than a
cognitive ability (Park, 2011). That is, even if the scale of an activity is small, if students experience such creativity
activities repeatedly for many years, we can expect improvement in creativity. However, as this suggestion has not
yet been tested in schools yet, actual application of it is necessary in the next study.
Secondly, compared to ordinary students, gifted students generated a number of ideas for a longer period of
time: on average, a gifted student used 62 minutes for generating 11.5 ideas, and 42 minutes for generating the
90% of all ideas. This means that gifted students were more fluent and showed a higher level of commitment to
the task on hand. It was also found that their ideas were more elaborate and concrete, indicated by a number of
words used in each idea. As a result, we concluded that gifted students were more creative because of their fluency,
task commitment, and elaboration, which are typical components in the definition of creativity. Furthermore, it
can be inferred that fluency, task commitment, and elaboration can be used as standards for identifying the gifted
from the ordinary students.
However, the gifted students participated in this study were middle school students selected from ordi-
nary schools, who have participated in special programs developed by our university in the area of science and
mathematics. Therefore, it is also possible that their creative attributes, such as fluency, task commitment, and
elaboration, may have been nourished and developed through the participation in the special programs. In fact,
many studies have reported that creativity can be developed with appropriate programs for improving creativity
(e.g., Scott, Leritz, & Mumford, 2004; Park & Jee, 2010). Therefore, another study will be necessary to test whether
their creative attributes were developed through the special programs provided by our university or not.
Finally, in the literature review on the relationship between creativity and academic achievement in school,
we discussed that the studies investigating the relationship between them have not resulted in consistency; some
studies reported a strong relationship while others showed weak relationships. Moreover, some studies failed in
finding a statistically significant correlation between them. In this study, we did not find any correlation. As a result,
it can be concluded that extra efforts for teaching creativity in ordinary schools are necessary, because teaching
science contents focusing on academic aspects does not guarantee the development of creativity. In fact, an
ordinary science curriculum also has stressed the development of creativity in many countries (e.g., AAAS, 1990;
MEST, 2011). However, teaching creativity in ordinary science classes is not common. For example, Yager (1989)
pointed that convergent thinking, rather than divergent thinking or more creative processes, was emphasized
in school science curriculums, and Cropley (1992, p. 20) also criticized that nearly 95% of teachers considered
memorization, accuracy, or recognition of learning materials as important aspects of learning science. Even though
these comments are old, there may be a little difference in the situation of current science classes. Therefore, we
need to emphasize a special teaching effort for improving creativity in the science classroom, if the development
of scientific creativity is one of the major goals of science learning.
Conclusions
Fluency is an important component of creativity, and it should be taught in schools in order to foster creativity.
This study demonstrated that there is no relationship between fluency and school science scores. Hence, teaching
science alone cannot guarantee the development of scientific creativity, and attempts should be made to teach
fluency in ordinary schools.
However, allocating extra time to teach fluency is not easy, since teachers must also adhere to a stringent and
predefined science curriculum. If the amount of time necessary to conduct fluency exercises can be decreased,
teachers may find it possible to integrate these activities into their lessons. In fact, this study shows that only
about 15 minutes is required to conduct a fluency activity under ordinary school conditions. Of course, a single
15 minute activity cannot ensure the development of creativity. However, teachers can coordinate such tasks on
a weekly basis, affording them an opportunity to conduct creativity activities roughly 30 times a year. If students
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consistently experience these types of activities from elementary school through senior high school, it should
contribute to enhanced creativity.
This study was limited by the inclusion of only two small tasks, which were used to measure fluency. Also, the
number of ideas generated by participants was examined, but not their quality. While the introductory section
noted that a large number of ideas are often a prerequisite condition for “good” ideas, it is nevertheless necessary
to examine the quality of ideas for more authentic creativity. Likewise, more data should be obtained regarding
other components that embody creativity, such as originality, flexibility, unconventional thinking, and associational
thinking.
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Received: January 12, 2015 Accepted: July 30, 2015
Daehyeok Kang M.S., Science Teacher, Yeongju Girl’s Middle School, 750-902 Yeongju,
Korea.
E-mail: saylovei@daum.net
Jongwon Park Ph.D., Professor, Chonnam National Unviersity, 500-757 Gwangju,
(Corresponding author) Korea.
E-mail: jwpark94@jnu.ac.kr
Hanghwa Hong Ph.D., Science Teacher, Gwangju Science Academy for the Gifted, 500-
480 Gwangju, Korea.
E-mail: hthree@hanmail.net
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NEW NATURAL SCIENCE
LITERACIES OF ONLINE
RESEARCH AND
COMPREHENSION: TO TEACH
OR NOT TO TEACH
Abstract. This study describes a research
focused on science teachers’ evaluation of
natural science literacy of research and com-
prehension competence in their students.
Natural science literacy of research and
comprehension competence is defined as an Metka Kordigel Aberšek,
essential part of science literacy – as a com-
Kosta Dolenc,
petence to find, evaluate and use science
knowledge stored on the Internet (as a part Andrej Flogie,
of extended memory) to solve a problem in Ana Koritnik
a science class and to construct students’
own science knowledge. Online science
literacy was defined in terms of the following
aspects: basic skills (which include computer
basics, web searching basics, and general
navigation basics), locating information,
finding a suitable website, locating the infor-
mation on the website, critically evaluating
the information according to its reliability
and according to its relevance for the science
class assessment. The data were collected Introduction
through a 53-item Likert – scale question-
naire. The items were adopted from the TICA
The process of shifting reading from page to screen was accompanied
questionnaire for assessing students’ general
with the fact, “old” literacies were not suitable for reading and learning in
online reading competence. Science teach-
new digital environments any more – users of online information sources
ers from 5 different levels of pre-university
and learning materials began to develop a new kind of literacy – so called
education assessed their students’ online
new literacy, or, to be more precise: new literacies.
science literacy in order to evaluate their
students’ competence to use the Internet
The term “new literacies” was introduced by Gallego and Hollingsworth
as a storage and as a source of knowledge (1992). In more than two decades the interpretation of the meaning of the
for teaching/learning process in the science term changed several times. The current perspective suggests that new lit-
class, to re-evaluate their online teaching eracy is rapidly changing and transforming – a parallel process to emerging
practice and the need for implementation new communication and information technologies and to changing social
of natural science literacy of research and practices (Aberšek, Borstner, & Bregant, 2014, Aberšek, 2013). With each such
comprehension competence in their science change new skills are required to make use of new technologies. (Baker, 2010;
curriculum. Gee, 2007). “Moreover, with the Internet, literacy is not just new today; it is new
Key words: ICT, Internet in natural science every day, as additional technologies for literacy regularly and rapidly appear
education, natural science literacy of re- online” (Leu, 2014, p. 2). This changing nature of new literacies confronts the
search and comprehension competence. theory with the serious problem: how to describe the object (new literacy
competence), if the object is permanently changing?
Metka Kordigel Aberšek, Kosta Dolenc
Recently, a dual level theory of New Literacies has been proposed to
University Maribor, Slovenia respond to this problem (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek, & Henry, 2013). It observes
Andrej Flogie new literacies on two levels: the uppercase and the lowercase new literacies.
Institute Anton Martin Slomšek, Slovenia
Ana Koritnik
Uppercase new literacies research is focused on new social practices Internet
Compulsory School Miklavž, Slovenia makes possible with technologies such as instant messaging, social networks,
blogs, wikis, and e-mail (Greenhow, Robelia & Hughes 2009). Lowercase new
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literacy theories explore a specific area of new literacies and/or a new technology needed for social communicative
transactions. One of the lowercase theories is exploring the field of new literacies of online research and compre-
hension (the term replaced the term “online reading comprehension”). The new literacies of online research and
comprehension seek to describe what happens when we read online to learn.
Theoretical Framework
First theories tried to explain the nature of reading in Internet contexts and required the ability to flexibly reas-
semble existing knowledge with new knowledge applications customized to each new reading situation (Spiro,
2004). A cognitive flexibility theory claimed that older notions of knowledge domains used to interpret and predict the
meaning of printed text (Anderson, 1994) no longer sufficiently explain the knowledge domains required of readers in
Web-based contexts and argued (Spiro, 2004) that learning strategies working in simple domains are exactly opposite
of those best for dealing with complex domains such as the Internet.
Later research rejected this theory. Reading was confirmed as an active, constructive, meaning-making process,
in which readers actively construct meaning, as they interact with. Expert readers use a range of strategic cognitive
processes to select, organize, connect, and evaluate what they read. These strategies include asking questions, develop-
ing connections (Jesenšek, 2011), and making inferences (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). In addition, readers use their
existing knowledge to more clearly understand ideas and information in texts, make predictions about what might
come next, and reason strategically when they have difficulties in the process of comprehension. Use of informational
texts requires readers to attend to structural text features, and evaluate the relevancy of the text in relation to the task
(Dreher, 2002; Goldman & Rakestraw, 2000).
According to the new literacies of online research and comprehension, these strategies play an important role in
online reading comprehension too. But they are almost not sufficient for successful searching for information and for
using the Internet as a source of knowledge in the ICT supported science class, since Internet text differs from linear
text in many ways (Dolenc, & Aberšek, 2015). Internet is an open network system “a kind of informational environ-
ment in which textual materials and ideas are linked to one another in multiple ways” (Burbules & Callister, 2000, p.
43). Links embedded within hypertext systems are constructed so that readers must select a target location in order to
move through the text. Moreover, hypertext makes explicit and external a range of possible interconnections between
texts and guides the conception of readers who can not only follow embedded connections created by the author but
also construct their own personal pathways through multiple texts. The Internet ”text”/site usually contains outside
advertisements, links that change from one day to the next, or pathways to information that are completely outside the
realm of its intended purpose. Internet texts are part of a complex open-ended information system that changes daily in
structure, form, and content. They offer distracting advertisements, inconsistent text structures, broken links, and access
to an infinite amount of information completely unrelated to their intended reading purpose. And last, but not unimport-
ant: Internet texts are combined in complex ways (Coiro & Dobler, 2007) and are often intermingled with hidden social,
economic, and political messages (Leu & Kinzer, 2000).
New school agendas all over the world recommend Internet “text” as a knowledge source and as a source of
information – and natural science didactics seem to be more open to the concept than social science didactics, which
remains far more attached to traditional linear sources of knowledge. And all that without considering the open ques-
tion of prerequisite for such shift from page to screen and from linear to networked text structure – the new literacy
of online research and comprehension.
Current (qualitative) research (Coiro, 2007; 2011; Leu et al., 2008) brought light to metacognitive processes
and inferential reasoning processes expert e-readers are using by their successful reading of e-texts, explained
the role of pre-knowledge in this process and why they contribute to better comprehension online. According to
these findings, the new literacy of online research and comprehension is structured and contains in the frame of each
structural element skills, very similar to those particularly useful in the process of linear reading, and additional
complexities needed for Internet comprehension.
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Table 1. Similarities and differences between linear and Internet text readings (Adopted after Coiro & Dobler,
2007).
Reading
Additional complexities, needed in open
comprehension Similarities between linear and open hypertext reading
hypertext comprehension processes
strategies
Pre knowledge – pre knowledge of the topic – prior knowledge of hypertext structure /
•• knowledge website structure;
•• misconceptions – prior knowledge of Web-based search
engines - basic skills
•• vocabulary (general, specific)
•• computer basics,
– pre knowledge of printed informational text structures •• navigational basics
•• Web searching basics
Inferential reasoning – creating coherence: – forward inferential reasoning;

•• text based coherence – multilayered reading process across
•• general representation (situation model) hypertext structure and three dimensional
– inferential reasoning strategies: Internet spaces
•• literal matching skills
•• structural cues
•• context clues
Metacognitive/ – conventional metacognitive strategies for comprehension – self-regulated recursive circle intertwined
self-regulated processes monitoring and repair; with physical reading actions (typing, click-
– connected components of a larger strategic reading ing, scrolling, dragging);
process; – rapid information-seeking cycles within
– self regulated recursive circle extremely short text passages
Inferential reasoning is a central component of skilled reading (Garnham & Oakhill, 1996). It is the ability to read
between the lines while making connections not explicitly stated in the text. Readers with sufficient prior knowledge,
make more inferences than less knowledgeable readers in order to facilitate their comprehension of informational
text.
Let us examine the process of inferential reasoning more closely. The most recognized theory that explains
this topic is a C-I model of text comprehension (Kintsch, 1988; van Dijk & Kintsch, 1978). Although Kintsch model
has been developed in the 1980s, it is still used for predicting the comprehension of text based knowledge – also
on the Internet. In the Kintsch model, the reader’s memory of the text is represented at 3 levels: representation of
the words and sentences, the meaning of the text (textbase), and a general representation of what is described
by the text incorporating outside background knowledge (situation model). In the frame of explanation text, the
typical textform in science education, which is based on facts and used to explain the sequence, cause and effect
of an event, the information, called propositions, are connected. Such connections are called semantic coherence
relations.
Propositions that have overlapping arguments are semantically related and create coherence. In cases, when
the proposition, processed in the particular moment, does not share arguments with propositions in short-term
memory, the reader must create a bridging inference – with the aim to maintain coherence (Kintsch & van Dijk,
1978). For such creation of bridging inference, the reader must use his pre knowledge in order to fill in the missing
information.
This is the reason why for learning from the Internet a skilled learner needs additional inferential reasoning skills.
Coiro and Dobler (2007) speak of specific complexities of inferential reasoning required in Internet contexts. In their experiment
they observed two types of specific inferential reasoning in the process of learning from Internet: forward inferential reasoning and
a multilayered inferential reasoning process. They report “the nature of Internet text appeared to prompt a high incidence
of forward inferential reasoning (e.g., predictions) beyond the level typically involved in the comprehension of printed
informational text” (Coiro & Dobler, p. 233). They found evidence to suggest that skilled readers in our study appeared
to make forward inferences (e.g., predictions) within Internet text each time they were confronted with one or more
hyperlinks on a given page. Also, they observed skilled readers, combining their use of traditionally conceived inferential
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reasoning strategies with a new understanding that the relevant information may be “hidden” beneath several layers
of links on a website as opposed to within one visible layer of information in a printed book. Comprehending Internet
texts encourage readers to anticipate their understanding through multiple layers that are almost always hidden from
view, demands many more attempts to infer, predict, and evaluate reading choices (e.g., hyperlinks followed) while
anticipating the relevance of information in an open information space multiple levels beyond a visible link.
Successful learning from Internet text is essentially linked with metacognitive strategies for comprehen-
sion monitoring and repair. As predicted, conventional metacognitive reasoning and additional metacognitive
complexities contribute to find and process the information and to construct coherent knowledge. Among these
additional metacognitive complexities is a self-regulated recursive circle connected with physical reading actions
such as typing, clicking, scrolling and dragging. Every time a reader is moving the mouse, a circle is initiated: plan-
ning, predicting, monitoring, evaluating. And, parallel to the next move, a regulated recursive circle is generated
again and again. Searching and learning process on the Internet is conditioned with the competence of using
these rapid information-seeking circles within extremely short text passages.
As in conventional linear literacy pre knowledge is a prerequisite for inferential reasoning and metacognitive
processes in reading and learning from Internet texts. In linear text the author creates a line of coherent arguments
through the text, then makes words and sentences flow together through common referents. This helps the reader
in structuring the information in the text to fit into the knowledge structures of what has been read previously.
Differently, Internet text does not help the reader with the carefully selected order of information. This, as Foltz
(1996) points out, is the main problem connected with hypertext comprehension on the Internet. It is essential
for the hypertext structure that in any text section in a hypertext, there are usually a variety of other sections to
which a reader can jump. This freedom of choice can cause difficulties in comprehension process concerning
finding the coherence. In the reading process of hypertext it is impossible to predict what the reader will read
first and what he is going to read next. Consequently, it is impossible to equip the reader with the information
he would have needed in the short term memory to find the coherence with the information he is reading at the
contemporary moment. It is not possible for the author of the Internet text to anticipate all the possible places to
which a reader may jump and therefore, it is also not possible to maintain good macro coherence for all possible
links. Incoherent jumps result in additional processing load for the reader. In such cases the reader generates the
necessary inferences to incorporate the textual information from the new node into what has been previously read.
The consequence of variety of the possible links in a hypertext is the smaller amount of propositional overlap. This
corresponds to a smaller amount of coherence of the text reception on the reader’s side and may cause difficulty
in the reader’s comprehension – simply because the reader must create more bridging inferences. If readers don’t
have the proper pre knowledge, these inferences cause an additional mental workload for the reader. The consequence
of this is lower comprehension.
But only pre knowledge of the topic and vocabulary (Koletnik, 2013) is not sufficient for successful compre-
hending of the Internet text. According to Coiro & Dobler (2007), there are two additional sets of pre knowledge:
pre knowledge of informational website structures and pre knowledge of Web based search engines.
Pre knowledge of informational website structures to guide their reading on the Internet is essential in the process
of navigating a web site, for recognizing and negotiating hierarchical and non-linear hyperlinks, navigational icons,
interactive multimedia, and browser toolbars (Bilal, 2000; Eagleton, 2003). Every time a user opens a new website,
he needs time to find out the internal logic of its structure, learns to recognize visual signals for its linear and nonlin-
ear links, to find out what a particular navigation icon means, to see which multimedia connections are offered for
additional information on the topic and – not unimportant ‒ how the interruptions (advertisements, non-relevant
links) are marked. The navigation will be easier the next time the user opens this website. He will remember, what
he has learned about its structure, and this knowledge will help him to find the needed information more quickly.
After longer experience with different websites, the user will be able to adapt very quickly to the structure of any new
websites, since they are usually structured according to some general rules. Coiro and Dobler research (2007) reviled,
skilled Internet readers possess important sources of knowledge about the structure and organization of informational
websites that forms the decisions they make during online comprehension.
Pre knowledge of Web based search engines involves understanding the processes of browsing, selecting appropri-
ate search engines, formulating keyword searches, negotiating subject hierarchies, and evaluating annotated search
results (Bilal, 2000). A closer look at this knowledge shows three areas where this knowledge is stored. The first includes
the so-called computer basics, such as turning the engine on/off, following the cursor with the eyes, using the mouse,
logging in/out, using a word processor, creating a new file. The second includes basic knowledge for finding informa-
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tion on the Internet: how to formulate the key words, where to write them on the web site, how to narrow or widen
the search process. And the third includes knowledge on how to navigate in open hypertext on the World Wide Web
and how to evaluate what has been found – which criteria to use to decide whether the information is reliable (and
can be used for school work) or not.
Based on Coiro and Dobler findings (2007), in later research Leu et al. (2013) suggested that at least five pro-
cessing practices occur during online research and comprehension: a) reading to define important questions; b)
reading to locate online information; c) reading to critically evaluate online information; d) reading to synthesize
online information, and e) reading and writing to communicate online information.
Online reading comprehension always begins with a question or a problem. This is an important source in the
differences between online and offline reading comprehension. It is known that the new literacies of online read-
ing comprehension occur within a process that includes the skills and strategies required to identify an important
question directing the reader to locate, critically evaluate, synthesize, and communicate information with the
Internet (Leu et al., 2008). Users read on the Internet to solve problems and answer questions. How a problem is
framed or how a question is understood is a central aspect of online reading comprehension.
Locating information online is another aspect of online reading comprehension. It also requires new online
reading comprehension skills such as using a search engine, reading search engine results, or quickly reading a
web page to locate the best link to the information that is required. Many students lack these skills. Of those who
do use a search engine, for example, many do not appear to know how to read search engine results, instead they
click down the list of links in a “click and look” strategy (Leu et al., 2008). Locating information during the online
reading comprehension process may create a bottleneck for the subsequent skills of online reading comprehension
(Henry, 2007). That is, those who possess the online reading comprehension skills necessary to locate information
can continue to read and solve their problem; those who do not possess these skills cannot. In fact, this bottleneck
may contribute to the lack of isomorphic performance between online and offline readers.
Another area in which online reading comprehension requires a unique set of skills is during critical evalu-
ation. Whereas critical evaluation is important when reading offline information, it is perhaps more important
online, where anyone can publish anything; knowing the stance and bias of an author becomes paramount to
comprehension and learning. Determining this in online contexts requires new comprehension skills and strate-
gies (Bregant, Stožer, & Cerkvenik, 2010).
Successful online research and comprehension also requires the ability to read and to synthesize online
information from multiple online sources. Synthesis or integration of separate and unique ideas is recognized as
the most demanding part of the offline comprehension process. In reading on the Internet it becomes even more
demanding. The Internet introduces additional challenges for coordinating and synthesizing enormous amounts
of information presented in multiple media and in multiple media formats from nearly unlimited sources (Leu et
al., 2014).
A final component of successful online research and comprehension is the ability of reading and writing to
communicate online information via Internet, while interacting with others to seek for more information or to share
what you have learned (Leu et al., 2014).
In summing up all this theoretical background, we can repeat, what we have already mentioned: expert readers
use, for reading on the Internet, a range of strategic cognitive processes to select, organize, connect, and evaluate what
they read. These strategies include asking questions, developing connections, and making inferences, evaluating and
synthesizing, what they have found, into a coherent knowledge about the topic and/or the research question.
The Aim of the Research
Theoretical background brings us to the central question of the study, which was implemented in spring 2015
in Slovenia: to what extent are students in compulsory and secondary education prepared for the shift from “page to
screen”, or, to be more precise, are they competent for online research and comprehension and what is the level of
their new natural science online research and comprehension literacy. Therefore, the study examined compulsory
and secondary school natural science teachers’ assessment of their students’ new natural science literacies of online
research and comprehension competence.
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Research Methodology
General Background of Research
The central question of the research was to find out: are students, who all belong to a “Z generation”, the so
called “digital natives”, online research and comprehension competent. Are they all prepared for a total switch to
online learning and to exclusively ICT supported natural science teaching paradigm? This question is very important,
since new school agendas all over the world recommend Internet “text” as a knowledge source and as a source of
information – and natural science didactics seem to be more open to the concept than social science didactics. In this
context the opinions on the competence in new literacies of online research and comprehension are strongly divided:
some were convinced, the Z generation is totally competent for Internet communication, also for gaining and sharing
new knowledge, and others (more detailed research), who warn, the digital natives, at least some of them, have in
the process of learning online remarkable difficulties, which will greatly decrease their learning results, if the switch
from conventional to ICT teaching paradigm will happen too soon and without differentiation according to the level
of their online research and comprehension literacy competences.
Four research questions were examined to reveal the answer to the central question of the study: 1. How do
natural science teachers assess their students’ competence of basic online skills (computer basics, web searching
basic, navigation basics)? 2. How do natural science teachers assess their students’ competence for locating infor-
mation by using a search engine? 3. How do natural science teachers assess their students’ competence of web
site navigation? 4. How do natural science teachers assess their students’ competence of evaluation of research
results?
Sample Selection
A sample comprised 70 elementary and natural science teachers, 48 of them were compulsory school teachers
and 22 upper secondary teachers. In the Slovene school system compulsory school (9 years) is divided into 3 periods,
called trienniums. In the first triennium (age 6 – 8) and in the first two years of 2nd triennium (age 9 – 11) natural
science is taught by elementary teachers in the last year of 2nd triennium and in the 3rd triennium (12 – 14), natural
science is taught by biology, physics, chemistry, geography teachers and teachers for science and technology. At
the upper secondary level natural science is taught by subject specialists. The sample of (48) compulsory teachers
was divided into three groups according to triennium, where they teach. This part of the sample consisted of 22
natural science teachers from the gymnasium upper secondary program. Such sample was selected because: it
covered all groups of pre university education from the age of 6, where it was examined, the Z generation really
enters the school system online research and comprehension literacy and consequently does not need teachers
assistance in this matter, to the secondary education, where the intent was to find out if all members of Z genera-
tion develop online research and comprehension literacy in the present form of pre university education.
Instrument and Procedures
Data were collected through 53 – item Likert-scale questionnaire. The items were adopted from TICA Check-
list, developed in Teaching Internet Comprehension Skills for Adolescents project, which was focused on studying
skills, essential to online reading comprehension (Leu et al., 2008). The original TICA checklist of online reading
comprehension contained items from 5 areas, required during online reading comprehension: understanding
and developing questions, locating information, critically evaluating information, synthesizing the information
and communicating the information. The adaptation, used for our research, focused on computer basics (Appen-
dix A in the original survey) and on locating information by using a search engine (finding the useful web site),
navigating a web site and evaluating the results of research (Appendix B in the original survey). Also the number
of items was reduced – in the checklist for computer basics from 29 to 21, in the checklist for locating information
by using a search engine from 26 to 15, in the checklist for navigating a web site from 8 to 7 and in the checklist
evaluating the results of research (evaluation and reliability) from 16 to 10. The survey, used in the research did not
contain questions about the competence for generating questions, synthesizing information and communicating
information.
The questionnaire was handed out to groups of teachers, above defined. In the four compulsory schools,
where data were selected, an assistant researcher handed out the questionnaires personally. A short motivational
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conversation followed: the purpose of this conversation was to motivate teachers to pay attention to the ques-
tionnaires and to focus on the topic for the whole duration of answering the items in question. At the secondary
level, the school headmasters were asked to hand out the questionnaires at the pedagogical conference, where
all teachers were gathered, and to motivate them to focus on the questionnaire. On this occasion the headmaster
stated that the results of the research will be valuable for the next teaching practice.
The questionnaire for teachers had a following introduction: In a contemporary school it was declared, memo-
rizing knowledge is not needed anymore, the so called knowledge in the digital world is available on the Internet and
always “just a click away”. In this context, one should focus on the questions: “Are all our students competent to use
Internet as a learning source, and for storing knowledge?” Are they really competent to find the information/knowledge
at the moment, when it is needed? Or in short: IS IT TRUE THAT THE GENERATION X ENTERS THE SCHOOL AS DIGITALLY/
ONLINE LITERATE? In the following text teachers were asked to evaluate online literacy of their students. Elementary
teachers’ questionnaire included also the guideline that they should evaluate their students’ online literacy in the
teaching situation in the natural science class.
Data Analysis
Quantitative data of elementary teachers and natural science teachers were collected. After verifying that
data were free of errors, quantitative analyses were conducted and analyzed according to the following phases,
or by: encoding, defining and organizing the data and interpreting the results. For statistic processing of the data
an IBM SPSS program was used. For the basic statistic interpretation of the results mean and standard deviation
values of the data were used.
Results of Research
Table 2 shows mean values and standard deviation values of natural science teachers’ and elementary teachers’
evaluation of their students’ online basic skills, computer basic skills, web searching basic skills and their general
navigation basic skills.
In general, upper secondary teachers evaluated that their students were quite proficient in all 26 computer
basic skills, listed on the checklist for computer basics. Only two items scored lower than M=4.50: item “open pro-
grams and files using icons and/or the Start Menu (PC)” scored 4.36 (S.D.=0.83) and item “Open a new tab” scored
4.23 (SD=0.83). All other items scored between 4.50 (SD=0.95) and 4.95 (SD=0.97). On the other side, teachers of 1st
triennium evaluated the skills of their students’ computer basics as very low: if we frame out the result that almost
all students can turn on the computer and use the mouse/track (M=4.41 and M=4.31) and the fact that almost all
of them can follow the class/school rules for computer use (which is not strictly a computer basics), remains the
fact that teachers evaluated all other components of computer basics skills between M=1. 65 (SD=0.87) and M=2.
88 (SD=0.82).
Table 2. Check list 1– online basic skills.
1st 2nd 3rd Gymnasium
Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
1. Computer Basics
Turn a computer on/off 4.41 1.07 4.60 1.19 4.8 0.89 4.95 1.04
Use the mouse/track pad 4.35 0.91 4.8 1.04 4.8 0.79 4.86 1.04
Follow classroom and school rules for computer use 3.47 1.14 3.8 0.99 4.19 0.89 4.45 0.99
Open programs and files using icons and/or the

2.88 0.82 4.47 0.83 3.88 0.85 4.36 0.83
Start Menu (PC)
Create/open a new folder/file 1.94 0.95 3.2 0.91 4.12 0.95 4.68 0.80
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Launch a word processor 2.06 0.84 3.93 1.14 4.25 0.93 4.77 0.88
Open a word processing file 1.88 0.97 2.87 0.82 4.12 1.05 4.77 0.87
Type a short entry in a word processing file 2 0.83 3.27 0.95 4.19 0.88 4.41 1
Copy text 1.76 1.23 3.4 0.91 4.31 1.19 4.73 0.89
Cut text 2.24 1.04 3.8 0.84 4.44 1.19 4.77 0.93
Past text 1.82 1.01 3.33 0.97 4.88 1.04 4.77 1.06
Name a word processing file and save it 1.71 0.97 3.6 0.83 4.63 0.99 4.77 0.84
Open a new window 2.24 1.13 3.53 1.23 4.25 0.83 4.73 0.97
Open a new tab 1.65 0.87 2.8 1.04 3.56 0.80 4.23 0.83
2. Web Searching Basics
Locate and open a search engine 2 0.85 4.27 1.07 4.69 0.89 4.95 0.97
Type key words in the correct location of a search

2.71 0.91 4.67 0.91 4.69 0.85 4.82 1.13
engine
Use the refresh button 1.94 1.14 4 1.14 3.71 0.95 4.5 0.87
Use the “BACK” and “FORWARD” buttons 2.65 0.82 3.67 0.82 4.38 0.93 4.82 0.89
3. General Navigation Basics
Maximize/minimize windows 2.18 0.7 3.73 0.7 4.88 1.19 4.5 0.95
Open and quit applications 2.76 0.81 3.93 0.81 4.5 1.05 4.95 0.93
Toggle between windows 2 0.89 3.4 0.89 4.06 0.88 4.82 1.05
The results of the Checklist 1 could be understood as the answer to the question: do the digital natives enter
the school computer literate: The answer is: no, they do not, even more, almost all of them can turn on and off the
computer and use the mouse/track pad, what they probably had learned using digital devices for play/fun, but
a great majority of them doesn’t possess other 21 computer basics, they would have needed for searching and
learning with the help of digital engines.
Table 3 shows that elementary and natural science teachers evaluate their student’s competences for searching
for a proper website for information and learning as remarkably lower than their computer basics competences.
Table 3. Checklist 2 – Locating information by using a search engine /searching for a proper website.
1. Locate at least one search engine. 2.76 1.06 3.33 0.89 4.88 0.93 4.77 0.83
2. Use several of the following general search engine strategies during key word entry:
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topic and focus 1.94 0.97 3.33 0.95 3.5 0.91 4.09 0.88
single and multiple key word entries 2.29 0.83 3.6 0.93 4.38 1.14 4.23 0.87
phrases for key word entry 1.47 1.23 3.13 1.05 3.5 0.82 4.09 1
3. Use several of the following more specialized search engine strategies during key word entry:
quotation marks 1.24 1.01 2.33 1.19 2.63 0.91 3.41 0.87
paraphrases and synonyms 1.24 0.97 3 1.19 2.56 1.09 3.41 0.89
Boolean (and/or/nor) 1.18 0.93 2.07 1.01 2.44 0.7 3.13 0.79
4. Read search engine results effectively to determine the most useful resource for a task using strategies such as:
Knowing which portions of a search results page are

sponsored; containing commercially placed links, 1.41 0.84 2.06 0.79 3.06 1.19 3.86 0.85
and which are not.
Skimming the main results before reading more
1.24 0.97 2.53 0.89 3.06 1.19 3.82 1.04
narrowly.
Reading summaries carefully and inferring meaning
in the search engine results page to determine the 1.41 1.13 2.2 0.85 2.38 1.01 3.36 1.04
best possible site to visit.
Understanding the meaning of bold face terms in
1.35 0.87 2.87 0.95 2.94 0.91 3.55 0.99
the results.
Understanding the meaning of URLs in search
1.24 0.89 2 0.93 2.31 1.02 3.55 0.83
results (.com, .org, .edu, .net).
Knowing when the first item is not the best item for
1.65 0.79 2.6 1.07 2.63 0.93 2.91 0.80
a question.
Knowing how to use the history pull down menu. 1.24 0.89 2.4 0.91 2.63 0.79 3.64 0.88
5. Bookmark a site and access it later. 1.35 0.93 2.6 1.14 2.63 0.89 3.23 0.87
Upper secondary teachers expressed quite a great confidence in their students’ competence to locate at
least one search engine (M=4.77; SD=0.83) similar as 3rd triennium teachers (M=4.88; SD=0.93), but observing the
competence of using search engine strategies and specialized search engine strategies, the difference between
gymnasium (age 14 – 18) and 3rd triennium (age 11-13) is noticeably larger. And also, comparing the results in
general search strategies (topic and focus, single and multiple key word entries, phrases for key word entry) and
specialized search engine strategies (quotation marks, paraphrases and synonyms, Boolean ) shows, that many
of gymnasium students in their teachers’ evaluation could not use the specialized ones. The difference between
gymnasium students and 3rd triennium students is even larger when compared to the competence of reading
search engine results effectively. 3rd triennium students scored between M=2.31 (SD=1.02) and M=3.06 (SD=1.19)
and gymnasium students between M=2.91 (SD=0.80) and M=3.86 (SD=0.85). Observing the results of the teachers’
evaluation of 1st and 2nd triennium students’ competence for location the information by searching for the proper
website, it could be said that this competence is not developed enough for implementing Internet as a learning
source in the natural science education in the first half of compulsory school – at least not as a frontal didactical
tool for all students.
Table 4 shows, that elementary and natural science teachers evaluate their students’ competences for navi-
gating a website for information and learning lower than their computer basics competences and similar to their
competence for searching for a proper website.
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Table 4. Check list 3 – navigation on the web site.
NAVIGATION on a Web site
Quickly determine if a site is potentially useful and worth

1.06 0.87 2.53 0.95 3 1.13 3.41 1.05
a more careful reading
Read the site more carefully to determine if the required
1.47 1 2.6 0.91 2.94 0.87 2.91 0.88
information is located there.
Predict information behind a link accurately to make
1.29 0.89 2 1.09 2.31 0.89 2.86 1.19
efficient choices about where information is located.
Use structural knowledge of a web page to help locate
1.29 0.93 2.13 0.7 2.69 0.79 4.5 1.19
information, including the use of directories.
Know how to open a second browser window to locate
1.53 1.06 2.53 0.83 3.19 0.89 4.09 1.01
information, without losing the initial web page.
Know how to use an internal search engine to locate
1.59 0.81 2.2 1.23 2.88 0.83 3.77 0.97
information on a site.
Monitor the reading of a web page and know when it
1.47 0.89 2.33 1.04 3 1.23 3.36 1.13
contains useful information and when it does not.
Upper secondary teachers expressed high confidence that their gymnasium students’ knowledge of the
text structure and the competence for using it in the process of navigating the website (M=4.50; SD=1.19), on the
other side, 1st triennium teachers expressed that their students have no such knowledge – so they cannot use it for
navigation of the site. Table 3 shows the dynamics of the development of this competence. Observing this dynamic
shows that less than a half of the students between 12 and 14 can use knowledge of text structure for navigating
the website. The lowest scored competence in the group of navigational competences was the competence to
predict information behind a link, in order to make efficient choices where information is located (M=2.86; SD=1.19
for gymnasium students). This means that even at the doorstep of the university, according to the opinion of their
teachers, more than a half of students are not capable of multilayered inferential reasoning process, which is es-
sential for searching and locating information on the Internet.
Table 5 shows that elementary and natural science teachers evaluate their students’ competences for critically
evaluating information in the process of learning significantly lower than their computer basics competences and
slightly lower than their competence for navigating the chosen website.
The competence for critical evaluation of information/knowledge, found on the website, is in the teachers’
opinion quite low. Even at the age 15 – 18 just little over a half of students can identify, evaluate, and recognize that
all websites have an agenda, perspective, or bias and identify and evaluate bias, given a website with a clear bias
(M=3.59). And the same amount of students know that Wikipedia is not a perfect portal of information when they
search for information or knowledge for their natural science assignments. The lowest developed competence is
the competence to use the fact that the broken links are a sign of an unreliable website (M=2.86). This can be ex-
plained in connection with the absence of competence for using knowledge about the website structure, presented
in Table 3. By observing the results of compulsory school students, it can be concluded, that the competence for
evaluating what is reliable information and what not, is not sufficiently developed in order to use the Internet as
an information source in natural science class, without the teachers’ didactical guidance.
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Table 5. Check list 4 Evaluation of the information on the web site.
Critically Evaluate Information
Identify, evaluate, and recognize that all websites have

an agenda, perspective, or bias and identify and evaluate 1.59 0.91 2.53 0.83 3.19 1.13 3.59 0.83
bias, given a website with a clear bias.
Identify and evaluate the author of a website whenever
1.05 1.09 1.87 1.23 2.31 0.87 2.86 0.80
visiting an important new site.
Identify several markers that may affect reliability, such as:
•• Is this a commercial site? 1.29 0.81 1.87 1.01 2.44 0.79 3.14 0.87
•• Is the author an authoritative source (e.g., professor,

1.78 0.89 1.73 0.97 2.44 0.89 3 1
scientist, librarian, etc.)?
•• Does the website have links that are broken? 1.00 0.97 1.6 0.95 2.94 0.85 2.86 0.89
•• Does the information make sense? 1.59 0.78 1.87 0.93 2.5 0.95 3.18 0.93
•• Does the author include links to other reliable web-

1.29 1.14 1.87 1.05 2.5 0.93 3.41 1.06
sites?
•• Does the website contain numerous typos? 1.35 0.82 1.47 0.88 4.19 1.05 3.05 0.84
•• Do the images or videos appear to be altered? 1.41 0.95 1.8 1.19 2.81 0.97 3.36 0.97
Understand that Wikipedia is a reasonable, but imperfect,

1.53 0.91 2.6 1.19 2.81 1.13 3.59 0.83
portal of information
The results, presented in tables 2 – 5, answer the central question of the presented research: Are students, who
all belong to a “Z generation”, the so called “digital natives”, online research and comprehension competent? Are
they all prepared for a total switch to online learning and to an exclusively ICT supported natural science teaching
paradigm? The results of the present research reveal that the X generation, generation of digital natives, does not
enter school as digitally literate, and above all, that it does not have the new natural science literacies of online
research and comprehension competence. This competence is a very structured competence, and the particular
elements have, as the present research shows, different dynamics. If we can say, that the basic computer skills are
sufficiently developed during the pre-university education, we cannot oversee, that competences searching for a
proper website, navigating the website and critically evaluating the results found on the web site develop much later. At
the beginning of the compulsory school they are practically nonexistent and they develop slowly during the next
13 years – in just slightly more than half of the population. After realizing this, a following conclusion should be
considered: natural science literacies of online research and comprehension competence should be methodically
developed and should become a part of general and special natural science curricula.
Discussion
The results of the study must be considered in the context of several studies, which have investigated and
compared the effectiveness of online learning/reading and offline learning – and their results, which have almost
as a rule shown the difficulties weak students will have, by switching from offline to online too soon – before they
are ready. Hill and Hannafin (1997) have explored the cognitive strategies used by adult learners on the Internet and
found that metacognitive strategies, prior knowledge of subject and Internet text systems, and perceived self-efficacy
influenced their ability to interact with and learn from Internet text. Others have explored the nature of Internet
search strategies among students in K-12 classrooms and found numerous obstacles in information seeking with
open Internet text environments. Readers on the Internet experienced challenges associated with ineffective and
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inefficient search processes (Bilal, 2000; Eagleton, 2003), cognitive overload and disorientation (DeStefano, & LeFe-
vre, 2007), a tendency to drift from one search question to another (Lyons, Hoffman, Krajcik, & Soloway, 1997), and
an inability to know how to use the information once it has been located (Wallace, Kupperman, Krajcik, & Soloway,
2000, Coiro & Dobler, 2007)). Also, A. Mangens’ research of learning results gained by reading linear and online text
showed significantly weaker results when students tried to gain knowledge from screen, even more, if studying time
was limited (Mangen, 2012). She explained such results in relation to issues with navigation within the document
and the necessary scrolling, which is inevitable when reading longer documents. Similarly DeStefano and LeFevre
(2007) point out that hypertext confronts students with an additional cognitive load – and underline, readers with
high prior knowledge are typically unaffected when the text structure was nonlinear and had many imbedded links.
On the other hand, students with weaker knowledge needed the guidance to comprehend the information delivered
by the information of the hierarchical structure of the text. DeStefano and LeFevre concluded their research with a
warning: students with lesser abilities need guidance in learning from hypertext, especially when hypertext is not
optimally structured, when the choices are totally free (if they are not limited by nodes) – and the Internet texts as
a rule do not contain restricted possibilities in the process of navigation between the links. The information gaps
between information are for low pre-knowledge learners too wide in order for them to build inferential bridges be-
tween them and to construct text coherence and – consequently comprehension. To sum up, previous research and
results of the present study agree, not all students would benefit from introducing ICT supported education Pulko,
Zemljak 2013), especially from implementing (not didactically remodeled) open hypertexts – which is a typical text
structure on the internet. Internet text structure confronts the reader with additional cognitive load and additional
stress, which hampers reading comprehension and the process of learning.
And what does this mean for natural science class?
Reading and reading comprehension is an important gateway for learning and succeeding at school. There
are remarkable differences in off line reading: among students. According to Leu et all. (2014) American results
show in both the 2011 and the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for reading, a difference
of two thirds of a standard deviation in scaled reading scores between eighth-grade students eligible for the Na-
tional School Lunch Program and those who were not (NCES, 2011b, 2013). The difference favored economically
advantaged students. This is roughly the difference between scores at the 25th percentile and the 50th percentile
(see NCES, 2011b , 2013) or two to three years of schooling in the middle school and high school years (Hill, Bloom,
Black, & Lipsey, 2008).
This difference in reading performance had – statistically confirmed ‒ serious consequences on learning sci-
ence (Leu et al., 2014). Differences in science achievement had been measured: In the 2009 NAEP for science, there
was a difference of nearly one standard deviation between eighth grade students eligible for the National School
Lunch Program and those who were not. This represents a difference between scoring at the 20th percentile and
the 50th percentile (NCES, 2011a) or two to three years of schooling in the middle school and high school years
(Hill et al., 2008).
The score difference in reading performance and its influence on learning science were ‒ as mentioned ‒
calculated for the process, when students used traditional offline – linear learning materials. But what would have
happened, if natural science teachers would implement e-didactical materials and knowledge on the Internet for
all students at the same time – without any differentiation? According to Leu et al. (2014) the learning achievements
are, when reading online, even more correlated with reading comprehension results.
Conclusions
The new school agendas all over the world recommend Internet “text” as a knowledge source and as a source
of information – and natural science didactics seem to be more open to the concept than social science didactics.
But, as recent research, including presented study, reveals that at least half of digital natives have in the process of
learning online remarkable difficulties, which will seriously, decrease their learning results, if the switch from con-
ventional to ICT teaching paradigm will happen too soon and without differentiation according to the level of their
online research and comprehension literacy competence. Digital natives, despite the fact that they are growing up
in an online world and spending thousands of hours in online gaming, texting and socializing, have limited skills in
computer basics and even more limited skills in searching for the information on the Internet, navigating websites
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and evaluating the information they have found. Previous research, as well as the results of this study, suggests that
instruction in online research and comprehension should be included in literacy curriculum (OECD, 2010) and that
natural science research and comprehension competence should be included into the curricula of every natural
science subject at all levels of the school system.
Note
This paper was presented at the 1 st International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology
Education (BalticSTE2015) ‘State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives’, 15-18 June 2015, Siauliai, Lithuania.
It was approved by the Symposium scientific committee and recommended for publication in
Journal of Baltic Science Education. A short version of this paper is published in the symposium proceedings
(https://www.academia.edu/13101334/STATE-OF-THE-ART_AND_FUTURE_PERSPECTIVES).
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Received: June 06, 2015 Accepted: August 03, 2015
Metka Kordigel PhD., Professor, University of Maribor, Faculty of Education, Koroška 160, 2000
Aberšek Maribor, Slovenia.
Fax: +386 2 2518 180.
E-mail: metka.kordigel@um.si
Kosta Dolenc PhD., University of Maribor, Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics,
Koroška 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
E-mail: kosta.dolenc@um.si
Andrej Flogie M.Sc., Institute Anton Martin Slomšek, Vrbanska 30, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
E-mail: andrej.flogie@slomskov-zavod.si
Ana Koritnik Professor, Compulsory school Miklavž, Šolska 1, Dobrovce, 2204 Miklavž na
Dravskem polju, Slovenia.
E-mail: ana.koritnik75@gmail.com
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OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL
REASONING ON SCIENCE
AMONG LOWER SECONDARY
SCHOOL STUDENTS: A CASE OF
INDONESIA
Abstract. A study had been conducted in Johanes Pelamonia ,

qualitative design employing phenomenol- Aloysius Duran Corebima
ogy approach to examine the cognitive
basis and the semantic structure of phe-
nomena based reasoning of lower second-
ary school students in Ambon. The data
of the study were collected by using a test.
Phenomena stimulus of science was given
to the informants in the form of cognitive Introduction
basis and semantic structure of phenom-
ena based reasoning. This study concluded An ability to practice reasoning is one of the essential skills that must
that (1) the cognitive basis of phenomena be possessed by every person to be able to adapt to the rapid development
based reasoning were orientation, inferen- and movement. Reasoning ability is a procedural thinking skill which aims
tial abstraction, and inferential affirmation; at predicting a particular phenomenon that will occur or new concept based
(2) students were able to analyze phenom- on the existing facts or evidences. Reasoning is a mental strategy, program,
ena by using systematic cognitive frame- or rule used to process information and to draw conclusions beyond the
work only if they had complete information empirical evidences (Lawson, 2004). Reasoning is a procedural or operative
of the phenomena; (3) inference validity knowledge which is contrary to a declarative or figurative knowledge. Ac-
related to the cognitive basis is heavily cording to Mercer & Sperber (2011), reasoning refers to a specific conclusion
determined by the phenomena analysis in a conceptual level which not only constitutes a new mental representation
ability; (4) the general semantic structures or conclusion but also refers to the preceding representations or premises.
in phenomena based reasoning were defi- Reasoning is a most important principle and essential thing in daily knowl-
nitional and assertional; (5) the semantic edge. It is beneficial to evaluate arguments, test hypotheses, collect evidence,
structure complexity was determined too draw conclusions, and to make decisions in everyday life (Metallidou, et al.,
by the phenomena knowledge availability 2012).
which was analyzed. Reasoning skill is extremely important for people to be able to adapt
to surrounding environment filled with many complex problems. Moreover,
Key words: cognitive basis, cognitive proc-
a scientific reasoning is an essential skill which encourages the existence
ess, knowledge structure, phenomenologi-
of scientific literacy society. It is explained by Galyam & Le Grange (2005);
cal reasoning, semantic structure.
Dunbar & Fugelsang (2004) that adaptation ability towards rapid changes
heavily depends on the ability to think and make decisions based on reason-
ing, analyzing, and information synthetizing. An awareness of the reasoning
importance as the key goal of natural science learning is increasing.
This improvement is indicated by the increasing of research number
Johanes Pelamonia
Pattimura University, Ambon, Indonesia in psychology and education related to scientific reasoning during these
recent decades. The emergence of researches related to scientific reason-
Aloysius Duran Corebima ing in cognitive psychology can be divided into two major aspects, which
State University of Malang, Malang,
Indonesia are: (1) related to an investigative process of a procedural knowledge, and
(2) related to an inferential process of a conceptual knowledge (Khun &
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Pearsal, 2000; Zimmerman, 2000; Bao, et al., 2009). Besides, various studies begin to reconstruct the human being
reasoning process. Several studies start to compare the reasoning process of scientists and that of non- scientists
or children. The studies were conducted to map the cognitive basis, that underlays the reasoning process. There
are some differences related to cognitive basis of scientific reasoning between a child and a scientist. It can be
seen from the findings of a study conducted by Hogan and Maglienti (2001). Hogan and Maglienti compared an
initial belief factor related to the prior knowledge of reasoning process of scientists and of non-scientists. They
concluded that scientists tended to use data to evaluate their knowledge, while children or non-scientists tended
to use their personal point of view.
Mapping the cognitive basis means diverging the mental model used by a reasoner in recognizing and formu-
lating the inference. The mental model used by children in reasoning daily phenomena is very different from the
mental model used by scientists in constructing a theory (Khun, 1989). The framework stated by Khun is applied
by Tytler & Peterson (2003). Based on the findings, Tytler & Peterson identify 3 children reasoning characteristics:
(1) an exploration origin or the way to connect theories and evidences, (2) response to some challenging ideas,
and (3) identify and find relevant variables. Besides, they also utilized reasoning framework proposed by Driver, et
al. (1996) to show reasoning process during an exploration and experimentation. The frameworks used were: (1)
phenomena based reasoning, (2) relationship based reasoning, and (3) conceptual based reasoning. Regarding the
natural science learning, the most reasoning used was phenomena based reasoning since it is considered more
relevant to the natural science characteristics.
Science is a term that describes two core points: the body of knowledge and the process of knowledge gain-
ing (Zimmerman, 2005). However, Carin & Sund (1989) elaborate the term as science, that was not only a group of
knowledge of a certain thing or living thing, but it also related to the way to do, to think, and to solve problems.
Science or natural science is a branch of knowledge, of which the main concept is the nature and its content. The
objects learnt in natural science are the cause-effect and the causal relationship of natural phenomena. Natural
science learning, stressing on memorizing facts or concepts, is considered as a traditional learning. Teachers em-
ploying content based learning might think that this way helps students to develop their reasoning ability. Yet, in
fact, many researches reveal that a teacher centered learning supported by student memorizing method are not
effective to enhance students’ reasoning (Bao, et al., 2009). Natural science learning should emphasize essential
skill improvement and give priority to the process instead of memorizing, because it might give an implication to
the improvement of other abilities (Galyam & Le Grange, 2005). Similarly, Staver (2007) suggests that a learning
emphasizing on scientific findings and problem solving might trigger students to comprehend the knowledge
deeper. Therefore, a learning should give priority to the activation of thinking and reasoning (Eskin & Bekiroglu,
2009).
Studies of the development of scientific reasoning ,especially in terms of natural science are rarely conducted
in Indonesia, especially in Moluccas. Information tracing related to scientific reasoning reports more activation effort
carried out by the implementation of particular learning strategies. Studies related to mapping and characterizing
of reasoning in the form of cognitive performance and semantic structure are limited qualitatively. Therefore, it is
necessary to conduct a comprehensive study, to analyze the cognitive basis and explain the semantic structure
underlaying the phenomena based reasoning process of lower secondary school students in Ambon.
The purpose of the study is to map and depict the cognitive basis and the semantic structure of students in
reasoning several phenomena related to scientific concepts. The research questions are formulated as follows: (1)
what cognitive basis which underlays the students’ phenomenological reasoning?, (2) what cognitive basis which
influences the students’ phenomenological reasoning?, (3) how is the look of the semantic structure in the students’
reasoning description related to several scientific phenomena?.
General Blackgroud of Research
This study employs qualitative design with phenomenological approach. Generally, the focus of the study
includes students’ cognitive basis and semantic structure in phenomenological reasoning. The focus is based
on Dawson’s (2013) argumentation that thinking is a process involving operational knowledge manipulation
within cognitive system. Therefore, the scope of the study is to map the students’ operational knowledge within
cognitive system used to practice reasoning of several given scientific phenomena. This study adopted Sibey’s
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(2009) framework, such as (1) orientation, (2) abstraction, (3) re-representation. Another focus of the study is the
semantic structure depicted in the students’ argumentation. According to Sowa (1992), semantic network is a
graphic structure representing knowledge with a particular connection pattern among semantic units. This study
was conducted to map the semantic structure types used by the students during reasoning several scientific
phenomena. Classification of the semantic structure types was based on Sowa (1992) consisting of definitional
system, assertion system, implication system, learning system, and hybrid system. The study was administered to
eight grade students of lower secondary schools in Ambon, Indonesia. The study was conducted in three months,
comprising: four weeks of designing items and validating the content together with some experts and science
teachers, three weeks of administering the test in five schools, and five weeks of analysing data as well as writing
the article for publication.
Sample of Research
Samples of the research were twenty students of the eighth grade of lower secondary school chosen from
five lower secondary schools in Ambon. The samples were chosen through two stages. First, the five schools were
chosen randomly out of lower secondary schools in Ambon, Indonesia. Second, the samples were chosen randomly
by drawing four students from each chosen school. The subjects of the study are considered as valid and reliable
due to the similar characteristics. The chosen schools implement the same curriculum on science. Furthermore, the
tested materials have been taught by the science teachers in each school; and there is no significant age difference
among the samples, indicating that the subjects are all in the same biological development phase. Therefore, the
samples of the study were considered as homogenous, so the difference in the students’ argumentation will reflect
the distinction of the cognitive process in reasoning several scientific phenomena.
The data of cognitive basis and semantic structure were obtained by utilizing a written test instrument.
The instrument in the form of the test was validated and tried out beforehand. The test items were in the form
of several scientific phenomena based on science materials taught to the students. The scientific phenomena in
the test instrument were constructed based on science materials in the textbooks used by the schools. The test
items were then validated in the sense of the content (content validation). The validation process involved some
experts and science teachers in each sample school. The validation by the experts was aimed at determining the
validity of the phenomena and the validation by the science teachers was aimed at reassuring that the materials
have been taught and could be tested to the students. The validated instrument was then tried out to the ninth
grade students of lower secondary schools. The try out samples were chosen due to an assumption that the ninth
grade students have already passed the materials. The try out was aimed at reassuring that the students are able to
provide proper argumentation responses. The try out results were proven proper so it could be used to record the
research data related to cognitive basis as well as semantic structure of the students. Three scientific phenomena
(see Table 1) were chosen out of the eighth grade of biology materials of lower secondary school.
Table 1. The test items of the phenomena-based reasoning.
Number Case 1
1 In a cylinder aquarium, there are several organisms such as fishes, slugs, and water vegetation.
Question:
What might happen if the aquarium is entirely closed so there is no way for air circulation?
Answers:
a. The organisms will still be alive
b. The organisms will be alive until there are no oxigen more
c. The organisms will die directly
Why?
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Case 2
2 Certain treatments are given to miyana plant (Coleus sp.). In the first treatment, the Coleus sp. is put in a topsoil polybag which
is watered regularly every day. In the second treatment, the Coleus sp. is put in a clayful polybag which is watered regularly.
Question
What might happen to the miyama plant (Coleus sp.) in the first and the second treatments?
Elaborate your answer.
Case 3
3 A cabbage farmer plants the cabbages in two greenhouses. He is surprised that the harvest of the plants are different. The
cabbage from greenhouse A are bigger than those from greenhouse B, whereas, he uses the same seeds and soil, and also he
used the same amount and type of water and fertilization. He then asks a researcher to find out the reason of the difference. The
researches takes data to test his hypothesis. Here are the data taken by the researcher.
Variable Greenhouse A Greenhouse B
The amount of CO2 in the air ++++ +++

Air temperature 320 - 320 C 320 - 320 C
Light intensity ++++ +++
Question
Why does the researcher observe the three variables?
Give your explanation.
Data Analysis
The data analysis was started by recording some argumentation written on the given answer sheets by the
students. The argumentation data were analysed to examine the appropriateness conceptually. The argumenta-
tion was correct if the students were able to analyse the variables within the given phenomena completely and
explained the relation between variables so it arised valid responses conceptually. The correct answers were
analysed qualitatively in order to map and explained the cognitive basis underlaying the students’ reasoning. The
characteristics of each proposition of the students’ argumentation was analysed based on an analysis framework
by Sibley (2009), namely (1) orientation, (2) abstraction, and (3) re-representation. Orientation is a process of
recognizing and analyzing the observed phenomena. A problem orientation is generally depicted on the onset
propositions in an argumentation. Abstraction is a generalization development phase of the observed phenom-
ena. Re-representation is an affirmation process of a created mental model. The characteristic of each proposition
reflects the cognitive process in the students’ mind during the reasoning process of several scientific phenomena
related to biology concept. The order of the proposition in an argumentation also reflects the cognitive stages of
reasoning, beginning from orientation, abstraction, and re-representation.
The subsequent analysis phase was mapping the semantic structure of the students’ argumentation. The
written argumentation of the students was noted and depicted in the form of reasoning map. Concept mapping
analysis had been implemented by White (2004) and Stolpe & Stromdahl (2007) to map students’ reasoning pattern.
In this study, the reasoning mapping is used to examine the semantic structure of the students’ argumentation. The
reasoning mapping is rechecked by utilizing the semantic structure types by Sowa (1992). The semantic structure
types are: Definitional system, Assertion system, Implication system, Learning system, and Hybrid system. Defi-
nitional system emphasizes the subtype or a relation between a concept and a recent concept. Assertion system
is a structure which emphasizes a particular proposition. Unlike the definitional system, the information in this
system is considered correct. Assertion system is managed as a model of a conceptual structure functioning as a
language semantic. Implication system uses implications as a primary relationship to connect systems. Implica-
tion system is used to represent belief, causality, or conclusion patterns. Learning system represents knowledge
acquisition structure in which a new knowledge might replace the natural system by adding or deleting a concept
or a structure. Hybrid system is a combination of two systems or more as explained previously.
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Results of Research
There are three phenomena presented to the informants to be analyzed. Generally, the three phenomena
are adopted and modified from several observable phenomena in daily life. The informants’ cognitive basis and
semantic structure of the three phenomena are presented below.
Case 1
Related to the phenomenon 1, the answers and the explanation given by the twenty informants can be
grouped into two, those who chose an option (a) the organisms will still be alive and an option (b) the organisms
will be alive until there is no more oxygen. The following is the analysis result of the cognitive basis and the semantic
structure of the informant related to phenomenon 1.
Cognitive Basis
The open ended answers were analyzed to see the cognitive basis underlying the reasoning process about
the aquarium ecosystem phenomenon. The students were asked to analyze the aquarium total blocking effect to
the organisms. The cognitive basis explanation which represents an option (a) is presented in Table 2.
Table 2. The cognitive basis of an informant named Dandi.
Proposition Type Validity Cognitive Process
A fish uses gills to breathe instead of lungs Categorical Valid A phenomenon orientation
It does not matter if the aquarium is totally blocked Conditional Invalid Inferential Abstraction
A fish does not need oxygen Categorical Invalid Affirmation
The analysis result of the cognitive basis in Table 2 shows that the informant used two types of proposition
in stating an argumentation of the aquarium blocking impact to the organisms. The two propositions are named
categorical and conditional proposition. Categorical proposition is used when the informants orient the analyzed
phenomenon. Meanwhile, conditional proposition is used to do abstraction or generalization to a phenomenon
which might happen to the organisms if the aquarium is totally blocked. The other categorical proposition is used
to affirm the result of the generalization. Table 2 also shows that the propositions do not meet the valid assumption.
The analysis result indicates that even though the scientific reasoning stages are in line with the stages theoretically
described, yet the fault lies on the materials validity of each stage. The informant stated invalid inference since they
were wrong in recognizing and defining the phenomenon conceptually. The invalid initial model in recognizing a
phenomenon might ignite invalid inferential abstraction too.
Semantic Structure
The students’ answers are also mapped in the form of the graph from which the semantic structure is then
analyzed. The following Figure 1 shows the semantic structure of analysis result of the informants related to the
aquarium organisms’ phenomenon.
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Figure 1: Dandi’s semantic system.
The semantic structure mapping result showed in Figure 1 indicates that there are two structures used by the
informant. Structure 1 is called definitional structure which explains the respiratory process of fish. The informant
defines that fish breathe by using gills instead of lungs. In structure 2, the informant uses the assertion model in
the form of cause-effect relationship to explain the impact of oxygen unavailability in the aquarium for the fish.
The informant’s argumentation who used the semantic structure of a hybrid model is presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Dandi’s semantic structure.

Structure I Structure II
Semantic unit
Respiratory system Oxygen need of organisms
Definitional Assertion
Semantic model
Hybrid model
Table 3 shows that there are two semantic units used by the informant in constructing conceptual system
about organisms’ phenomenon in the aquarium. The semantic units described in structure I and structure II are
the respiratory system and the oxygen need of aquatic organisms, respectively. He connected the respiratory
system to the aquatic organisms’ need of oxygen. The relationship means that fish breathe by using gills and thus
they do not need oxygen. The informant made mistakes in constructing the semantic systems of fish respiratory
system and the effect to their lives if the aquarium is blocked. Respiratory system is a mechanism of an individual
to inhale oxygen for the metabolic purpose. Breathing through either gills or lungs is aimed at obtaining oxygen,
so the meaning formed by the informant in the semantic structure was wrong.
Beside the reasoning given by Dandi, Juniar provides a different conclusion after analysing the phenomenon
related to the organisms blocked in the aquarium. The conclusion and it’s reasoning related given by Juniar are
different from those given by Dandi.
Cognitive Basis
The informants’ open ended answers were analyzed to determine the cognitive basis that underlays the
reasoning process of the aquarium ecosystem phenomenon. The students were asked to analyze the effect that
might happen to the organisms if the aquarium were totally blocked. The explanation of the cognitive basis by
Juniar represents some informants who chose option B as it is presented in Table 4.
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Table 4. The cognitive basis of an informant named Juniar.
Proposition Type Cognitive Process
Before blocking the aquarium, there is already oxygen

Categorical Phenomenon orientation
inside the aquarium
The organisms will die after there is no oxygen more Conditional Inferential abstraction
Every organism needs oxygen Categorical Affirmation
The analysis result of cognitive basis in Table 4 shows that the informant used two types of proposition in
stating an argumentation related to the effect of blocking aquarium on the organisms. Both propositions are
named categorical proposition and conditional proposition. Categorical proposition is used when the informants
oriented the analyzed phenomenon. While conditional proposition is used to do abstraction or generalization to a
phenomenon which might happen to the organisms if the aquarium were totally blocked. Categorical proposition
is used to affirm the result of the generalization.
Formally, the cognitive framework structure made by Juniar in reasoning the aquarium organisms’ phenomenon
is in line with the theoretical explanation. However, the informant failed stating the proper inferential abstraction
because he did not recognize and identify the phenomenon carefully. The informant only focused on the relation-
ship identification between the fish and the need of oxygen. The informant did not realize the existence of other
organisms in the aquarium like the vegetation, which can conduct photosynthesis and produced oxygen for the
sake of other organisms. Thus, it can be concluded that the inferential validity in the phenomenon based reasoning
depends heavily on the ability to recognize, define, and see the phenomenon.
Semantic Structure
The students’ answers were also mapped in the form of the graph then the semantic structures were analyzed.
The following Figure 2 shows the semantic structure analysis result of the informant named Juniar related to the
aquarium organisms’ phenomenon.
Figure 2: Juniar’s semantic system.
The mapping result of semantic structure in Figure 2 shows that there are two structures used by the informant.
Structure 1 called definitional structure explains the condition of oxygen in the aquarium before it is blocked. The
informant identified that there was oxygen remained in the aquarium before being blocked. In the structure 2, the
informant used assertion model in the sense of cause-effect relationship to explain the effect of oxygen unavail-
ability for fish in the aquarium. Thus, it can be seen that the informant’s argumentation employed the semantic
structure of hybrid model as presented in Table 5.
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Table 5. Juniar’s semantic structure.

Semantic unit
Oxygen availability Oxygen need
Definitional Assertion
Semantic model
Hybrid model
Table 5 also shows that there are two semantic units used by the informant in constructing conceptual system
about organisms’ phenomenon in the aquarium. The semantic units described in structure I and structure II are
the oxygen availability and the oxygen need, respectively. The informant related the oxygen availability to the
aquatic organisms’ need of oxygen. The relationship means that fish need oxygen, so if there is no more oxygen,
they cannot live. Even though the informant employed hybrid semantic model, it did not make the meaning of
the structure valid. The informant failed to identify the role of other organisms in the aquarium that might produce
oxygen, thus, it causes the semantic system to be invalid.
Case 2
Cognitive Basis
The open ended answers were also mapped in the form of the graph, then the semantic structures of the
answers were analyzed. The students were asked to analyze the types of soil effect to the plantation growth. The
cognitive basis explanation is presented in Table 6.
Table 6. The cognitive basis of an informant named Resta.
Proposition Type Validity Cognitive process
Topsoil contains many mineral substances for the

Categorical Valid Phenomenon orientation
vegetation growth
If the polybag is filled with clay, the plant cannot grow Conditional Valid Effect abstraction
Clay does not contain mineral substance for plant

Categorical Valid Affirmation
to grow
The analysis result of the cognitive basis in Table 6 shows that the informant used two types of proposition
in stating argumentations of the different plant growth in two different types of soil. The two propositions are
named categorical and conditional proposition. Categorical proposition is used when the informant orients the
characteristics of the soils. Meanwhile, conditional proposition is used to do abstraction or generalization to a
phenomenon which might happen if the plant were put in the clay polybag. Other categorical propositions are
used to affirm the result of the generalization.
Semantic Structure
The students’ answers were also mapped in the form of the graph then the semantic structure were analyzed.
The following Figure 3 shows the semantic structure analysis results of the informant related to the plant’s growth
in two different types of soil.
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Figure 3: Resta’s semantic system.
The mapping result of semantic structure in Figure 3 shows that there are two structures used by the infor-
mant. Structure 1 is called assertion structure that explains the characteristics of topsoil and its effect to the plant
growth. In the structure 2, the informant also used assertion model to explain the characteristics of clay and its
effect to the plant growth. The informant’s argumentation using the semantic structure of assertion model is
presented in Table 7.
Table 7. Resta’s semantic structure.

Semantic unit
Soil characteristics Soil characteristics
Assertion Assertion
Semantic model
Assertion model
Table 7 also shows that there is one semantic unit used by the informant in constructing a conceptual system
about the different plant growth in two different types of soil. The semantic unit which is described is that the soil
characteristic is heavily supporting the plant growth. The informant can recognize and define both phenomena
so well that valid arguments can be built formally and materially. The informant can explain the characteristic
differences between topsoil and clay in the sense of the mineral substances contained, so they can construct a
valid mental model related to the effect of both types of soil to the plant growth. The informant makes a valid
generalization by using valid characteristics.
Case 3
Cognitive Basis
The open ended answers were mapped in the form of the graph, then were analyzed to see the cognitive basis
underlying the reasoning process of the different growth of cauliflower plants in different greenhouse conditions
phenomenon. The following Table 8 is the cognitive basis explanation.
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Table 8. The cognitive basis of an informant named Jihan.
Proposition Type Cognitive process
The amount of CO2 in the air, air temperature, and the light intensity Categorical Orientation
accepted by the plants affect the photosynthesis activity.
The analysis result of the cognitive basis in Table 8 shows that the informant used one type of proposition in
stating an argumentation of the different plant growth in two different greenhouses. The proposition is categori-
cal proposition. Categorical proposition is used when the informant orients the characteristics of the plant in two
different greenhouses’ condition. The analysis result shows that there is only one stage in the cognitive framework
used to explain the plant growth phenomenon in the greenhouses. The informant identified three variables that
might influence the photosynthesis process of the cabbage. The informant did not explain the correlation between
the photosynthesis and the biomass of the cabbage.
Semantic Structure
The students’ answers were also mapped in the form of the graph then the semantic structures were analyzed.
The following Figure 4 shows the analysis result of the semantic structure of the informant related to the different
plant growth in two different condition phenomenons of the greenhouses.
Figure 4: Jihan’s semantic system.
The mapping result of semantic structure in Figure 4 shows that there is one structure used by the informant.
The structure is definitional assertion structure which describes that CO2, temperature, and light influence on the
plant photosynthesis activity, as presented in Table 9.
Table 9. Jihan’s semantic structure.

Structure I
Semantic structure Greenhouse characteristics
Definitional
Semantic model
Table 9 also shows that there is one semantic unit used by the informant to construct the conceptual system
about the plant growth difference in two different greenhouses. The semantic unit described is the characteristics
of the greenhouses which influence the plant growth. The analysis result of semantic structure shows that the
informant used a simple structure to explain the effect of the greenhouse to the plant. It can be concluded that
the simple structure might represent the informant’s knowledge structure related to the given phenomenon.
Based on the cognitive basis and the semantic structure explanations of the three given phenomena, the finding
construction is summarized in Table 10.
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Table 10. The findings construction.
Focus of
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Conclusions
the study
Cognitive In general, there are three There are three stages There is only one stage The cognitive basis of phenomena
Basis stages used by the students used by students in used by the students in based reasoning are (1) orientation, (2)
in analyzing phenomenon analyzing phenom- analyzing phenomenon inferential abstraction, and (3) inferential
1. The stages are phenomenon 2. The stages are 3. The stage is phe- affirmation.
enon orientation, inferential phenomenon orientation, nomenon orientation. The students can analyze the phenomena
abstraction, and inferential inferential abstraction, by using a systematic cognitive framework
affirmation, respectively. and inferential affirmation, if they have complete knowledge of the
respectively. given phenomena.
The students demonstrate The students are able to The students are able The inference validity in the cognitive ba-
the orientation stage when analyze the differences to orient the given sis is determined by the ability to analyze
they analyze the given and infer well. phenomenon well, al- the phenomenon
phenomenon even though though it is not followed
the inference is not valid. by further cognitive
framework.
Semantic The students are able to The students are able The students are There are two general semantic structures
Structure provide structured argu- to provide structured able to provide an in phenomena based reasoning, named
mentation in two semantic argumentation in two argumentation in one definitional and assertional model.
models, named definitional semantic models, named semantic model, named The semantic structure complexity is de-
and assertional model. definitional and asser- definitional model termined by the availability of knowledge
tional model. related to the analyzed phenomenon.
Discussion
Reasoning is a thinking process which is based on the facts or a concept to create a certain conclusion related
to new facts or concepts never existed before. Reasoning is a linear thinking process having a beginning and an
ending point, yet it is subsequent. The final conclusion of a particular reasoning process of a concept might be the
beginning of another reasoning process of other concepts. Therefore, reasoning process consists of some stages
that need to be done by a reasoner in analyzing a particular phenomenon. The stages of reasoning are considered
as a cognitive process, which is determining the overall reasoning activity. Each stage of reasoning process also
has a certain characteristic.
In the present study, the researchers use a framework of cognitive process by Sibley (2009). Ideally, a reason-
ing process needs to follow 3 essential stages, namely orientation, abstraction, and re-representation. However,
those three cognitive processes cannot guarantee the validity of a particular reasoning conclusion. The informant
named Dandi drew a valid conclusion for the first phenomenon, yet the supporting propositions were not valid.
Fish are indeed able to live in a blocked aquarium not because they do not need oxygen, but because the vegeta-
tion inside the aquarium can provide the oxygen needed by producing it. The informant named Juniar drew an
invalid conclusion based on the incomplete problem orientation. The informant did not recognize and define the
role of the organisms in the aquarium.
This result shows that orientation of phenomena is a very important stage in the cognitive process of reason-
ing activity. A certain phenomenon might have a particular structure, consisting of several interrelated variables.
In orienting a certain phenomenon, a reasoner needs to consider and understand the variables related. Well un-
derstanding of each variable might facilitate the reasoner to analyze the problem correctly and reconstruct the
problem in order to make an appropriate conclusion. The phenomenon recognizing process needs a long term
memory activation to define the elements of the phenomenon. Thus, the ability to recognize a certain phenom-
enon heavily depends on the availability of memory of the elements. It is in line with Goldvarg & Johnson-Laird’s
(2001) opinion that the ability to describe a reality beyond someone’s mind is determined by the ability to con-
struct meaning of prior knowledge. One’s mind creates a semantic structure that is spatial-temporal in nature to
recognize outside objects.
Another important ability in conclusion-making is an ability to reconstruct the phenomenon. The phenom-
enon reconstruction process is a process of mind to build a mental model based on the previous recognition. This
reconstruction process needs an ability to interpret the semantic meaning of a certain element. If a reasoner can
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understand the semantic meaning of each element properly, the construction process might utilize rational logic,
otherwise it might utilize his intuition. A supporting fact of this statement can be found in the study, especially
in the phenomenon 1, in which the informant made a generalization that fish breathed by using gills so they did
not need oxygen. It indicates that the informant is bias in understanding the meaning since the informant utilizes
intuition. It is in line with Alter et al.’s (2007) opinion that if a child tends to use his intuition during thinking process,
it might be caused by the lack of capacity and motivation to analyze a certain phenomenon comprehensively.
Another assumption is that most children have a limited capacity of working memory to process information.
The result of the study also shows that children are able to deliver their argumentation in a complex structure.
Most of the participants of the study are able to deliver their argumentation in a hybrid semantic structure since
it is found that more than one structure is having different types. It shows that children are able to construct a
mental model related to the phenomenon analyzed. This result is not in line with the results of Vosniadou et.al,
(2001), Nicollini et.al, (2007), Jonassen et.al, (2005) that children’s knowledge structure is constructed based on
concrete experiences and is very limited, yet it has been structured as theory like. Although the result of this study
verifies Perkins et al.’s (2000) study that children in the age of 11-12 show difficulty in detecting concept invalid-
ity in their daily thinking process. It means that even though children are able to state their well-structured and
complex argumentation, yet the material truth of each proposition within the argumentation is not valid. In other
words, there is invalid proposition used to construct a semantic network that they do not realize. Conceptually, it
might be caused by the lack of control to the cognitive processes which take part in the reasoning process. Khun
& Pearsall (2000) explained that the development of scientific thinking during childhood and adolescent age was
indicated by the increasing of cognitive control to theoretical coordination and evidences.
Conclusions
Based on the result of the data analysis and discussion, it can be concluded that the cognitive basis of reason-
ing based on phenomena consists of (1) orientation, (2) inferential abstraction, and (3) inferential affirmation. The
students who deliver accurate argumentation are the ones that are able to recognize a particular phenomenon
well. Hence, one of the cognitive basis factors that influences the phenomenological reasoning process is phe-
nomenon orientation. Generally, most students are able to deliver well-structured argumentation using hybrid
pattern. However, the validity of the proportions that construct the semantic network is not valid. The result of
this study indicates that the students who are not taught specifically to use reasoning norms can deliver their
argumentation logically by using well-structured cognitive basis. The delivered argumentation also has complex
semantic network structure.
Nonetheless, this study has a limitation in the sense of the scope, which does not include higher level edu-
cation such as upper secondary school or university. Moreover, this study also does not describe the factors that
influence the reasoning process in detail such as learning, metacognition, and motivation. Therefore, it is necessary
to conduct further study in order to map the cognitive basis of upper secondary school and university students
so that the result can be compared to the result of this study or other further studies to see the effect of learning,
metacognition, and motivation factors to the reasoning process.
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Received: May 20, 2015 Accepted: August 06, 2015
Johanes Pelamonia M.Pd (Magister Education), Primary School Teacher Department, Pattimura
Universtity, Jl. Dr. Tamela, Ambon 97114, Indonesia.
E-mail: pelamonia_janes@yahoo.com
Website: http://unpatti.ac.id/
Aloysius Duran Dr., M.Pd., Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematic and
Corebima Natural Science, The State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Kota
Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
E-mail: durancorebima@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.um.ac.id/
486
THE CONTRIBUTION OF
LEARNING MOTIVATION
AND METACOGNITIVE SKILL
ON COGNITIVE LEARNING
OUTCOME OF STUDENTS
WITHIN DIFFERENT LEARNING
STRATEGIES
Abstract. The study of the correlation
between learning motivation and metacog-
nitive skill on students’ cognitive learning
outcome simultaneously in classes taught
Arsad Bahri, by different learning strategies is still lack-
Aloysius Duran Corebima ing. A correlational research was conducted
to investigate the contribution of learning
motivation and metacognitive skill simul-
taneously on cognitive learning outcome
of 142 students studying biology in classes
experiencing different learning strategies
Introduction at Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sci-
ence, State University of Makassar, Indone-
sia. The learning motivation was measured
Motivation explains the reason why people do a particular thing, makes by using motivation questionnaire adapted
them keep doing it, and helps them to finish the task. A motivation concept from Keller (1983), and metacognitive skill
is used to explain an individual’s desire to behave, behaviour direction, be- was measured integrated with cognitive
haviour intensity, and a real accomplishment or a real achievement (Pintrich, test. The findings showed that contribution
of learning motivation and metacognitive
2003). Koesoema (2009) stated that someone’s change depended on his/ skills simultaneously on cognitive learn-
her motivation to involve in the change process itself. Learning motivation ing outcomes in PBL-RQA, PBL, RQA, and
focuses on a cognitive response, such as a propensity of students to achieve conventional learning strategies was very
meaningful and useful academic activity and to obtain benefits from the activ- high. The contribution of metacognitive
ity (Santrock, 2007; Brophy, 2004). Students, who have learning motivation, skills on cognitive learning outcome was
much greater than the contribution of
will pay careful attention to the lesson, read material so they can understand learning motivation. This finding research
the content and use various supported learning strategies. Besides, students was contrary with the previous studies.
also will involve in learning activities, have a curiosity, find related sources to Based on the facts related to metacognitive
comprehend a particular topic, and accomplish the given assignments. skills, learning should consider seriously
Learning motivation is considered as another factor that influences the empowerment of metacognitive skills
by implementing appropriate learning
more to the learning final outcome other than learning arrangement (Paris, strategies. Further researches are needed
et al., 1983). Rehman (2013) stated that students’ learning outcome might to reveal the correlation between learning
be improved by motivating them. Motivation can be said as an intrinsic motivation on cognitive learning outcomes
function as well as an extrinsic factor. The intrinsic factor is individual’s in different populations and measuring
interest of field learnt and orientation to take classes, while the extrinsic instruments.
Key words: biology cognitive learning
factor is related to the lecturers, the heaviness of the courses, the learning outcome, learning motivation, metacogni-
methods, and other lecture conditions and facilities. When students have tive skill, problem-based learning, problem-
strong intrinsic motivation to do a certain activity, then the extrinsic factors based learning-reading questioning and
can be coped. It also means that the locus of control of an individual is more answering.
dominant than the self-internal factor (Winkel, 2004). Santrock (2007) stated
that extrinsic motivation was a way to reach goals. The extrinsic motivation Arsad Bahri
is frequently influenced by external incentives such as reward and punish- State University of Makassar,
ment. The intrinsic motivation consists of: 1) intrinsic motivation based on Makassar, Indonesia
self-determination and personal option, and 2) intrinsic motivation based on Aloysius Duran Corebima
optimal experiences. Students’ intrinsic interest might increase if they have State University of Malang,
options and the opportunity to take personal responsibility on their own Malang, Indonesia
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learning. On the other hand, optimal experiences mostly happen when someone fully focusses on a particular
activity and is involved in the challenge faced. Brophy (2004) suggested that there were five factors that might
affect students’ learning motivation, such as: teachers’ hope, direct instruction, appropriate feedback, reinforce-
ment, as well as reward and punishment.
Motivation design model of Keller’s (1983) viewed a motivation as something that was in sequence. This model
consists of four main areas: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS). Driscoll (1994) and Smith
(2008) explained that a lecturer could get and maintain students’ attention by providing learning environment
that could arouse and create students’ curiosity. Keller & Suzuki (2004) stated that students’ attention could be
emerged by using various learning strategies, media, and materials. It is also necessary for learners to perceive the
instructional requirements to be consistent with their goals, compatible with their learning styles and connected
to their past experiences. It could help students to get relevance for their learning (Driscoll, 1994, Keller & Suzuki,
2004, and Hodges, 2004). A lecturer could make students feel confident with their learning by dividing the complex
objectives into simpler ones, that is, easier to be achieved, convince students that they could finish their assigned
tasks if they were facilitated (Driscoll, 1994), and help students to establish positive expectancies for success (Keller
& Suzuki, 2004). Students could get satisfaction through the motivational strategy such as verbal reinforcement,
reward and personal attention given timely, and relevant feedback (Keller & Suzuki, 2004).
Beside motivation, metacognitive skill is considered playing an important role in many types of cognitive
activity, including comprehension. The activation of metacognitive skill might create a self-regulated learner and
might affect to the improvement of learning outcome. Metacognitive skill is one of the aspects of knowledge
dimension and an interesting skill to be studied further.
Metacognition is a term introduced by Flavell (1976) and is interpreted as a knowledge of cognitive process.
Metacognition is closely related to cognitive learning outcome. Wellman (1985) stated that metacognition is a form
of cognition or second level or more thinking process that includes cognitive activity control. Thus, metacogni-
tion can be said as one’s thought of self-thinking or one’s cognition of self-cognition. In addition, metacognition
involves an individual’s knowledge and awareness of her/his cognitive activities related to the cognitive activities
(Schoenfeld, 1992; and Sukarnan, 2005).
Metacognition is people’s thinking awareness of her/his thinking process, whether on what she/he knows or
what she/he does not. Metacognition has two components, namely: (1) metacognitive knowledge and (2) meta-
cognitive skill. A metacognitive knowledge is highly related to someone’s declarative, procedural, and conditional
knowledge on solving problems (Brown & DeLoache, 1978; Veenman, 2006), while metacognitive skill is highly
related to prediction skill, planning skill, monitoring skill, and evaluation skill (Moore, 2004).
O’Neil & Brown (1997) suggested that metacognition was a thinking about thinking in the sense of building
a certain strategy to solve a problem. Metacognition refers to students’ skill to monitor their learning process con-
sciously (Peters, 2000). Anderson & Kathwohl (2001) added that metacognitive knowledge was cognition about
cognition, which generally was similar to awareness and cognition about people’s self-cognition. Therefore, it can
be said that metacognition is an awareness of what is known and unknown. While metacognitive strategy refers
to how people improve their awareness of thinking and learning process so people can plan, monitor, and evalu-
ate what is learnt.
A study of Keiichi (2000) revealed several findings, such as: (1) metacognition played an important role in
problem-solving activity; (2) students tended to be more skilful in solving problems, if they have metacognitive
knowledge; (3) within a problem-solving framework, teachers often stressed a certain strategy to solve an issue
instead of noticing the other important aspects of problem-solving activities; (4) teachers tended to express some
moderate level achievements, which are important in reasoning and problem-posing strategy.
Hacker (2009) stated that metacognition allows people to take charge of their own learning. It involves aware-
ness of how they learn, an evaluation of their learning needs, generating strategies to meet these needs and then
implementing the strategies. Metacognition leads to the ability of high order thinking involving active control
of a particular cognitive process in learning. Some activities like planning how to complete a given assignment,
to monitor comprehension, and to evaluate cognitive development, belong to metacognitive activities in daily
life. Metacognitive skills helped students make a plan, follow a certain progress, and monitor their own learning
process (Imel, 2002).
Learning motivation and metacognitive skills of students can be improved by implementing some appropri-
ate learning strategies. Several research findings reveal that learning motivation and metacognitive skills can be
improved through the implementation of a certain learning strategy. Muhiddin (2012) showed that the integration
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of Problem-Based Learning and Jigsaw cooperative learning could motivate students taking Basic Biology course
so that they were able to enhance their concept understanding. Bahri’s (2010) study also showed that Reading,
Questioning, and Answering (RQA) learning strategy could definitely improve students’ learning motivation in the
Animal Physiology course. This finding also reveals that RQA strategy might improve students’ cognitive learning
outcome. Regarding the metacognitive skill empowerment, Sungur & Tekkaya (2006), Paidi (2008), Danial (2010),
and Muhiddin (2012) reported that PBL strategy was able to activate students’ metacognitive skill. On the other
hand, Bahri (2010), Sumampouw (2011), and Corebima & Bahri (2011) reported that RQA strategy could activate
students’ metacognitive skills.
The correlation between learning motivation and cognitive learning outcome, as well as between metacogni-
tive skill and cognitive learning outcome, has been studied. Ames & Archer (1988), for example, showed that there
was a significant correlation between learning motivation and cognitive learning outcome. Tella (2007) and Lim
(2009) also showed that learning motivation was closely correlated to students’ learning achievement. Considering
the correlation between metacognitive skill and cognitive learning outcome, studies by Coutinho (2007), Bahri
(2010), Atunasikha (2010), Ardila (2013), and Mustaqim et al. (2013) showed that there was a correlation between
metacognitive skill and cognitive learning outcome. Zimmerman (1990) also stated that self-regulated learning
was closely correlated to learners’ academic achievement. Kuntjojo (2012) and Mustaqim, et al. (2013) also proved
that there was a correlation between metacognitive skill and students’ learning motivation. Students having high
learning motivation tend to have metacognitive strategy and tend to maintain the strategy in accomplishing the
given assignment than those who have low learning motivation (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). Similarly, Salili, Chiu,
and Lai (2001) claimed that learners having high self-confidence and high learning motivation might make more
effort to achieve better compared to those who are not confident and unmotivated. Tas, et al. (2012) reported that
metacognition was significantly correlated with intrinsic motivation.
Referring to the results of the above studies, it is necessary to reveal the correlation between learning motiva-
tion and metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome of students taught by using different learning strategies.
Based on the potency of PBL and RQA strategies in improving students’ learning motivation and activating their
metacognitive skill, then, PBL learning stages might be combined with RQA learning stages to form a new learn-
ing strategy named PBL-RQA. This integration is conducted to maximize the improvement of students’ learning
motivation and metacognitive skill.
Based on the multiple correlation study, the contribution of each factor might be revealed, on cognitive
learning outcome, either learning motivation and metacognitive skill, as well as the simultaneous contribution
of learning motivation and metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome. This study result might provide
information to teachers and lecturers related to the appropriate learning strategy which is not only focussing on
the cognitive learning outcome improvement, but also be able to improve students’ learning motivation and to
activate students metacognitive skills.
This study was a correlational study conducted to uncover the contribution of learning motivation and
metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome of the students in different learning strategies in Faculty of
Mathematics and Science, State University of Makassar, Indonesia. In this study, learning motivation and meta-
cognitive skill were positioned as predictors and cognitive learning outcome was positioned as a criterium. The
scope of this study was the learning motivation consisting of ARCS indicators (attention, relevance, confidence, and
satisfaction) of Keller (1983) and metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome of the students studying Basic
Biology in classes experiencing different learning strategies. The learning strategies were conventional strategy,
Problem-Based Learning, Reading Questioning and Answering, and PBL-RQA. This research was carried out in one
semester on odd semester 2013.
Sample of Research
The sample of this study consisted of 142 students selected randomly, at first grade classrooms of Faculty of
Mathematics and Science, State University of Makassar, Indonesia. The present study employed four Basic Biol-
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ogy classes taught by using different learning strategies, namely conventional, RQA, PBL, and PBL-RQA learning
strategies. Sample of research consisted of four classes, of Department of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Science.
The classes sampled were firstly tested using a placement test with multiple-choice test on the senior high school
level related to biological materials as much as 70 numbers. These data were analysed with analysis of variance
(ANOVA) using SPSS 17.0 for Windows. The instrument of placement test was validated by expert and empirical
validation. Empirical validation was conducted to determine the level of validity of the instrument. Reliability of
the placement test was examined too.
The students’ learning motivation was measured by using a motivation questionnaire adapted from ARCS
(attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) model of Keller (1983) as much as 36 items. The questionnaire
used Likert scale consisting of 4 points scale, namely strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The
students’ metacognitive skill was measured integrated to the students’ cognitive learning outcome test by essay
test, consisting of 21 numbers. The measurement of the metacognitive skill score was based on the formula ,
where x= metacognitive skill score, y1= concept gaining score, and y2= combined score of concept gaining score
and metacognitive skill score. The questionnaire and essay test were given at the beginning (pretest) and end of
the study (post-test). The instruments used were validated beforehand by the expert and empirical validation.
Expert validation consisted of content and construct validity. Content validity is the accuracy of an instrument in
terms of the content of the instruments, estimated in accordance with the curriculum. Construct validity is related
to construction or science concept to be tested. Construct validity refers to the appropriateness of the results of
the measuring instrument with the ability to be measured. Empirical validity was conducted on 50 students of
the second grade of Faculty of Mathematics and Science, State University of Makassar, Indonesia. Reliability of the
essay test was also examined. Reliability refers to the degree of test scores which are free from measurement error
or an index that indicates the extent to which a measuring instrument trustworthy or reliable.
Data Analysis
The data of this study were data about students’ learning motivation collected at the pre-test and post-test
by the questionnaire and the score of metacognitive skill collected integrated with cognitive test by essay test. The
data of the study were analysed by using multiple regression analysis to examine the correlation of the predictor
and the criterium by using SPSS 17.0 for Windows program.
Results of Research
PBL-RQA Strategy
The summary of the regression analysis of the correlation between learning motivation and metacognitive skill
of students on their cognitive learning outcome related to the implementation of PBL-RQA strategy is presented
in Table 1 to Table 4.
Table 1 shows that the analysis of variance result is highly statistically significant (0.000), indicating that the
correlation between learning motivation, metacognitive skill, and cognitive learning outcome is very strong. The
B value of the two variable (motivation and metacognitive skill) is given in Table 2, and the constant is 9.021. It can
be seen that the multiple regression equation is y = -0,070X1 + 0,857X2.
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Table 1. The analysis of variance summary of the correlation between students’ learning motivation and
metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome within PBL-RQA strategy.
ANOVAb
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F p
Regression 2495.935 2 1247.967 52.017 .000a

1 Residual 791.719 33 23.991
Total 3287.654 35
Tabel 2. The regression coefficient of the correlation between students’ learning motivation and metacogni-
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within PBL-RQA strategy.
Coefficientsa
Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients
Coefficients
Model
B Std. Error Beta T Sig.
(Constant) 9.021 4.745 1.901 .066

1 PBL-RQA Motivation -.070 .170 -.036 -.414 .682
PBL-RQA Metacognitive Skill .857 .085 .867 10.096 .000
Table 3 shows that the R square is very high (0.759), indicating that related to PBL-RQA strategy, the effective
contribution of learning motivation and metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome of the students is 75.9%.
Therefore, beside the learning motivation and the metacognitive skill, the changes of the students’ cognitive learning
outcome were influenced too by other undetected factors as much as 24.1%. Table 4 shows that the metacognitive
skill parameter provides an effective contribution as much as 75.48%, while the learning motivation parameter
provides an effective contribution as much as 0.44% on cognitive learning outcome of the students.
Table 3. The regression summary of the correlation between students’ learning motivation and metacogni-
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within PBL-RQA strategy.
Model Summaryb
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .871a .759 .745 4.89811
Table 4. The contribution of students’ learning motivation and metacognitive skill on cognitive learning
outcome of the students within PBL-RQA strategy.
Variable RC (%) EC (%)
X1 (Learning Motivation)—Y (Cognitive Learning Outcome) 0.58 0.44

X2 (Metacognitive Skill)—Y (Cognitive Learning Outcome) 99.42 75.48
X1 (Learning Motivation) & X2 (Metacognitive Skill)—Y (Cognitive Learning Outcome) 100.00 75.92
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PBL Strategy
The regression analysis summary of the correlation between learning motivation and metacognitive skill of
students on their learning outcome related to the implementation of PBL strategy is presented in Table 5 to Table 8.
Related to PBL strategy, Table 5 shows that the analysis of variance result is highly statistically significant
(0.000), indicating that the correlation between learning motivation, metacognitive skill, and learning outcome is
very strong. The B value of the two variable (motivation and metacognitive skill) is given in Table 6, and the constant
is 4.176. It can be seen that the multiple regression equation is y = -0,031X1 + 0,903X2.
metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome within PBL strategy.
ANOVAb
Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F P
Regression 4930.288 2 2465.144 109.616 .000a

1 Residual 742.136 33 22.489
Total 5672.424 35
Table 6. The regression coefficient of the correlation between students’ learning motivation and metacogni-
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within PBL strategy.
Coefficientsa
Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

Model
(Constant) 4.176 2.349 1.778 .085

1 PBL Motivation -.031 .119 -.016 -.261 .796
PBL Metacognitive Skill .903 .061 .934 14.751 .000
Table 7 shows that the R square is very high (0.869), indicating that related to PBL strategy the effective con-
tribution of learning motivation and metacognitive skill on the cognitive learning outcome of the students is as
much as 86.9%. Therefore, beside the learning motivation and the metacognitive skill, the changes of the students’
cognitive learning outcome were influenced too by other undetected factors as much as 13.1%. Table 8 shows that
the metacognitive skill parameter provides an effective contribution as much as 86.78%, while the learning motiva-
tion parameter provides an effective contribution as much as 0.13% on students’ cognitive learning outcome.
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within PBL strategy.
Model Summaryb
1 .932a .869 .861 4.74225
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outcome within PBL strategy.

RQA Strategy
The regression analysis summary of the correlation between learning motivation and metacognitive skill of
students on their cognitive learning outcome related to the implementation of RQA strategy is presented in Table
9 to Table 12.
Related to RQA strategy, Table 9 shows that the analysis of variance result is highly statistically significant
(0.000), indicating that the correlation between learning motivation, metacognitive skill, and learning outcome
is very strong. The B value of the two variable (motivation and metacognitive skill) is given in Table 10, and the
constant is 5.858. It can be seen that the multiple regression equation is y = -0,252X1 + 0,872X2.
Table 9. The analysis variance summary of the correlation between students’ learning motivation and meta-
cognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome within RQA strategy.
ANOVAb
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P
Regression 4794.119 2 2397.060 175.684 .000a

1 Residual 422.696 31 13.644
Total 5217.088 33
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within RQA strategy.
Coefficientsa
Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

Model
(Constant) 5.858 1.709 3.428 .002

1 RQA Motivation -.252 .117 -.111 -2.158 .039
RQA Metacognitive Skill .872 .047 .960 18.723 .000
Table 11 shows that the R square is very high (0.919), indicating that related to RQA strategy the effective
contribution of learning motivation and metacognitive skill on the cognitive learning outcome of the students is as
much as 91.9%. Therefore, beside the learning motivation and the metacognitive skill, the changes of the students’
cognitive learning outcome were influenced too by other undetected factors as much as 8.1%. Table 12 shows
that the metacognitive skill parameter provides an effective contribution as much as 91.38%, while the learning
motivation parameter provides an effective contribution as much as 0.51% on cognitive learning outcome of the
students.
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tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within RQA strategy.
Model Summaryb
1 .959a .919 .914 3.69380
outcome within RQA strategy.

Conventional Strategy
The summary of the regression analysis of the correlation between learning motivation and metacognitive
skill of students on their cognitive learning outcome related to the implementation of conventional strategy is
presented in Table 13 to Table 16.
Related to conventional strategy, Table 13 shows that the analysis of variance result is highly statistically
significant (0.000), indicating that the correlation between learning motivation, metacognitive skill, and learning
outcome is very strong. The B value of the two variable (motivation and metacognitive skill) is given in Table 14,
and the constant is -1.488. It can be seen that the multiple regression equation is y = 0,014X1 + 1.001X2.
metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome within conventional strategy.
ANOVAb
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P
Regression 6362.476 2 3181.238 352.903 .000a

1 Residual 297.478 33 9.014
Total 6659.954 35
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within conventional strategy.
Coefficientsa
Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients
Model
(Constant) -1.488 1.160 -1.282 .209

1 Conv. Motivation .014 .075 .007 .180 .858
Conv. Metacognitive Skill 1.001 .038 .978 26.484 .000
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Table 15 shows that the R square is very high (0.955), indicating that related to conventional strategy the effec-
tive contribution of learning motivation and metacognitive skill on the cognitive learning outcome of the students
is as much as 95.5%. Therefore, beside the learning motivation and the metacognitive skill, the result of statistical
analysis also shows that the changes of the students’ cognitive learning outcome were influenced too by other
undetected factors as much as 4.5%. Table 16 shows that the metacognitive skill parameter provides an effective
contribution as much as 95.48%, while the learning motivation parameter provides an effective contribution as
much as 0.05% on cognitive learning outcome of the students.
tive skill on cognitive learning outcome within conventional strategy.
Model Summaryb
1 .977a .955 .953 3.00241
outcome within conventional strategy.

Discussion
Based on the above findings, it can be seen that a very high contribution is given by learning motivation and
metacognitive skill on students’ cognitive learning outcome simultaneously related to PBL-RQA, PBL, RQA, and
conventional learning strategies as much as 75.92%, 86.92%, 91.89%, and 95.53% respectively. A correlational study
by Pintrich & De Groot (1990) examined the correlation among motivation, self-regulated learning, and academic
achievement of students. In this study, Pintrich examined students’ self-efficacy, intrinsic value, anxiety test, self-
regulation, learning strategy utilization, and performance. The self-efficacy and intrinsic values were positively
related to the involvement of cognitive learning and performance. The regression analysis showed that related
to the result size, self-regulation, self-efficacy, and anxiety test were the best predictors of the performance. The
intrinsic values were not directly related to the performance, yet it was closely correlated to the self-regulation
and cognitive strategy utilization, despite the previous achievement. The implications of individual differences in
orientation motivation for cognitive engagement and self-regulation require other further study.
Both learning motivation and metacognitive variables are interrelated. Pintrich (1999) proposed a general
framework to explain the relationship between motivation and self-regulated learning. Based on the framework,
self-regulated learning might be facilitated by the adaptation of comprehension and relative ability objectives but be
hindered by extrinsic objectives adoption. In addition, self-efficacy and an assignment score of positive belief which
are parts of motivation can improve students’ self-independency. Self-regulated learning is defined as a strategy
used by students to manage their own cognition (such as the utilization of various cognitive and metacognitive
strategies) as well as the implementation of resources management strategy used by students to manage their
own learning. This was verified by Rad (2012) that metacognition was positively correlated to learning motivation;
if a student had a high metacognitive skill, he/she would be able to improve his/her learning motivation.
Related to PBL-RQA, PBL, RQA, and conventional learning strategies, it appeared that the strong correlation
between predictors simultaneously to the criteria found in conventional learning strategies compared to other
learning strategies classified as innovative learning. Maybe, students are less familiar with learning strategies that
demand more independence of students in learning and student involvement in the learning process. In PBL-
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RQA, PBL, and RQA, students are required to be actively involved in the learning process, both individually, or in
groups, for example, doing discussion. Individual tasks are authentic tasks that give a chance to help the students
to prepare themselves to follow the course that they had prior knowledge required to construct knowledge, for
example, in relation to the task of reading material before attending the lectures and made questions and its
answers. Students seem to get used to being on their ‘comfort zone’ with just passively receiving an explanation
from the lecturer through conventional learning strategies in general, also do not demand a lot of authentic tasks
and their involvement in the learning process.
On the contrary, research of Ames and Archer (1988) reported that students, using learning strategies with
challenging tasks more effectively, have a more positive attitude toward the class and have a stronger belief to
success in learning. A positive attitude and stronger belief in success are the aspects of learning motivation. It is
a challenge for the lecturers to familiarize the implementation of innovative strategies to empower students to
study independently and to be actively involved in learning.
The research findings also revealed the contribution of each predictor learning motivation and metacogni-
tive skills on cognitive learning outcomes of students. In this study, in the four learning strategies it is shown that
contribution of learning motivation is smaller than the contribution of metacognitive skill. This is in line with the
study by Busari (2013) indicated that self-regulation were the more potent contributors to students’ achievement
than motivation, on the contrary, the study of Utaminingsih (2012) reported that the contribution of learning
motivation was higher than that of metacognitive skill on students’ learning outcome. Related to the lower contri-
bution of learning motivation on cognitive learning outcome, it is considered that maybe the learning motivation
variable of Indonesian population cannot be used as a learning achievement predictor. It means that students’
high learning motivation cannot guarantee their better cognitive learning outcome. Whereas, learning motivation
is seen as a factor that extremely influences students’ final learning outcome other than metacognition (Paris, et
al., 1983), because no matter how good an individual metacognition, an individual learning will not be a success
without the presence of an internal support. Learning motivation is a mental power in one’s life that triggers
learning activity, guarantees the sustainability of learning, and provides direction to the learning activity in order
to reach the objectives (Winkel, 2004). Learning motivation involves related learning objectives and strategies in
achieving the learning objectives (Brophy, 2004).
Previous study related to the correlation among students’ motivational beliefs, self-regulation strategies and
mathematics achievements was investigated by Mousoulides & Philippou (2005). This study focussed on three
general types of motivational beliefs: self-efficacy beliefs, task value beliefs, and goal orientation. Self-efficacy be-
liefs refer to the students’ confidence in their cognitive and learning skill in performing the task. Task value beliefs
refer to students’ evaluations about the importance and usefulness of the task. Goal orientation refers to concern
in learning and mastering the task using self-set standards and self improvement (mastery goal orientation), and
expected reward or avoiding punishment, as the main criterion for investing resources (extrinsic orientation)
(Pintrich, 1999). The study result found that self-efficacy was a strong predictor of mathematics achievement and
self-regulation strategies use having a moderate negative effect on achievement. It was contrary to the results of
the present study.
The findings also show that the contribution of metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome is very
high. It proved that the metacognitive skill training raises the students’ awareness to learn, plans their learning,
controls the learning process, evaluates the self-efficacy as learners, and reflects the learning, as well as evaluates
their own strengths and weaknesses. This fact is in line with Livingston (1997) stating that metacognitive activi-
ties such as planning of assignment solving, controlling comprehension, and evaluating progress might be able
to actively control students’ cognitive process. A study by Amnah (2011) reported that giving exercises by using
an effective metacognitive strategy might develop students’ metacognitive control, hence it might also improve
students’ understanding and learning outcome. Listiani’s (2014) study also showed, that metacognition learning
model influenced students’ learning outcome.
Furthermore, the low contribution of learning motivation on cognitive learning outcome showed in this
study might be caused by the inappropriate measurement instrument of learning motivation that was used. In this
study, the students’ learning motivation was measured by using motivation questionnaire filled in by the students.
Drew (2008) explained that related to an education study, data were generally obtained by using a set of instru-
ment addressed to the students, so when there was an intervention during the data collection process, the data
obtained might also be different from the real condition. This supports the findings of the previous studies such
as the studies conducted by Bahri (2010) and Muhiddin (2012) showing the use of the questionnaire to measure
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other variables, such as awareness and metacognitive skills was less precise. Therefore, a questionnaire should be
constructed well so that the information obtained was accurate.
A higher contribution of the metacognitive skill on cognitive learning outcome compared to the learning
motivation variable might also be caused by the administration of metacognitive skill measurement integrated to
the measurement of cognitive learning outcome carried out by essay test. This finding is in line with Antika’s (2015)
finding, reporting that metacognitive skill variable had a much higher contribution on cognitive learning outcome
compared to other variables measured by using questionnaires. It reveals that the administration of essay test tends
to be more accurate to measure metacognitive skill than other inventories vastly used to measure metacognitive
awareness and metacognitive skill variables, even though those inventories were validated before. Bahri’s (2010)
study showed that the utilization of such inventory to measure metacognitive awareness caused that the obtained
data of students’ metacognitive awareness tended to decrease after the lecture. It means that the utilization of an
inventory for Indonesian population cannot record the respondents’ ability accurately.
Based on the fact that a questionnaire was less accurate to measure the students’ motivation, it would require
a teacher creativity to design another alternative measurement tool capable of accurately recording the motiva-
tion variable. Referring to the success of the measurement of metacognitive skills of students by using essay test
integrated with the cognitive achievement test replacing inventories/questionnaires, it is necessary to use an
alternative measurement of students’ learning motivation. On the other hand, it is difficult to measure learning
motivation by using essay test as well as the measurement of metacognitive skill. Therefore, one form of measure-
ment possible to be used is by observation. So far, the observation is more accurate to record students’ attitudes
than a questionnaire. Azwar (2009) stated that it was reasonable to interpret the attitude based on the behavior
that appears. In other words, to determine one’s attitude towards something, it can be seen through his behavior,
because behavior is one indicator of the individual attitude. It should be noted that certain behaviors are some-
times deliberately revealed to conceal his true colors. Thus, the observed behavior may be able to be the attitude
indicator in particular situational context, but the interpretation of the attitude should be very careful when based
solely on the observation of a person’s behavior revealed. Similarly with the attitude, through direct observation, it
is expected that the students’ motivation can be measured by observing the performance and behavior of students
in the learning process, which shows their motivation in learning.
Another possible method of measurement can be done to measure students’ learning motivation is through
a covert measure method. This method is actually oriented back to the observation of behavior that has been said
above, but the object of observation is no longer visible behavior, consciously or intentionally done by someone but
reactions that occur over out the control of the person concerned (Azwar, 2009). To some extent, one’s motivation
can be interpreted through the observation of facial reactions, tone of voice, gestures, and several other aspects
of behavior. But the observations of external behaviors like this should be interpreted with caution because there
is still the possibility to obtain the wrong conclusions. Apart from anything that has been stated above, another
limitation in the measurement of learning motivation by direct observation or a covert measure method is too
large number of students in a class, making it difficult for lecturers in conducting surveillance for each student.
Regarding the above discussions, in addition to the use of appropriate measuring instruments, teachers also
need to consider an appropriate learning strategy to be implemented. The learning strategy needs not to be focused
on merely cognitive learning outcome, but also has to be able to enhance the students’ learning motivation and
activate the students’ metacognition, both of which are important predictors of learning (Tas, et al., 2012).
Conclusions
Based on the findings and the discussions, it can be concluded that the contributions of learning motivation
and metacognitive skill simultaneously are very high in PBL-RQA, PBL, RQA, and conventional learning strategies
on students’ cognitive learning outcome. Besides, it is identified that the contribution of metacognitive skill on
students’ cognitive learning outcome was higher than he contribution of learning motivation. Based on these facts,
further research needs to reveal more about the relationship between learning motivation and metacognitive
skills on cognitive learning outcomes in different populations and different measuring instruments. Our research
result related to the contribution of students’ learning motivation is not in line with other research results before.
In addition, the lecturers should consider the empowerment of metacognitive skills and learning motivation of
students through the application of appropriate learning strategies. This is caused because of the motivation and
metacognition are important predictors of successful learning.
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Arsad Bahri S.Pd., M.Pd., Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural
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Malang, East Java, Indonesia.
E-mail: durancorebima@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.um.ac.id/
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PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE
TEACHERS’ LEVELS OF
UNDERSTANDING AND
EXPLANATION OF ANIMAL AND
PLANT CELLS: DRAW-WRITE
Huriye Deniş Çeliker Abstract. Understanding science concepts

and being able to explain them is impor-
tant for science teachers. The perception of
students about the concepts of science is
related to teachers who use these concepts.
In this study, it was aimed to determine
prospective science teachers’ (n=152) levels
Introduction of conceptual understanding and ability to
explain animal and plant cells by drawing
Science is a dynamic and human activity that tries to define and explain
physical, chemical and biological processes. Through this activity, informa- and written explanations. In the study, de-
tion that can be tested objectively and consistently has been generated and scriptive survey design has been used. As for
continues to be generated (Victor & Kellough, 1997; Kaptan, 1999; İşman, the outcome of the research, the concep-
Baytekin, Balkan, Horzum & Kıyıcı, 2002; Doğru & Kıyıcı, 2005; Ministry of tual understanding of prospective science
National Education, 2005; Topsakal, 2005; Banasiak & Beimer, 2007). teachers regarding plant and animal cells
Another dimension of science is biology. Biology teaching is one of the
was not adequate. In addition, prospective
more effective ways that can be used for people to gain some knowledge by
transferring the information obtained regarding the occurrence and order science teachers’ level understanding and
of the events in nature to their lives thanks to biological research. In biology explanation the animal cells and plant cells
lessons, students are able to encounter a lot of information and concepts was found out to be associated with each
related to themselves or their environments (Berkant, 2002). Concepts are other. Prospective teachers’ writing and
abstract units involved in people’s thought systems. They facilitate com- drawing scores are remarkably in favor of
munication between people by classifying information (Saka & Akdeniz,
writing and significantly differ. The majority
2004; Saka, Akdeniz, Asilsoy & Bayrak, 2005). In science the importance of
the concept is great. The reasons why students are successful or unsuccess- of prospective teachers had difficulty over
ful in learning concepts are the prominent issues in educational research drawing concepts. Recommendations are
for effective learning (Kurt, 2013). To internalize the ideas that the concepts presented on the basis of these results.
symbolize and to consider the meaning of these concepts correctly, and to Key Words: cell, explanation, prospective
assimilate in the mind beyond simple memorizing are the necessities to reach science teachers, understanding
the upper steps of science teaching (Eyidoğan & Güneysu, 2004). Although
the most important objective of science is conceptual understanding, dif-
ficulties in understanding science concepts are observed in all student age
groups (Noh & Scharmann, 1997). Educators need a good starting point
and it is important for teachers to know the level of students’ conceptual
Huriye Deniş Çeliker
understanding (Pittman, 1999). Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Turkey
The field knowledge of those who are guiding the learning process in
assimilating the concepts correctly is important. Especially when considered
in terms of abstract science concepts, it is expected that the prospective sci-
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AND PLANT CELLS: DRAW-WRITE
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ence teachers who will lead future generations have correct knowledge about the subject field. On the other hand,
when considering that prospective teachers may come to university with scientifically incorrect perceptions on
some topics, it is inevitable that they transfer these misunderstandings to their students and this incorrect learning
process continues in the next generations. Thus, to identify the lack of subject knowledge and misconceptions of
prospective teachers and efforts to eliminate them are crucial in teacher training (Bak, Ayas & Devecioğlu, 2005).
Field Qualifications of Prospective Science Teachers
The field qualifications of prospective science teachers and science teachers are very important. As teachers
can be a major source of children’s informal ideas in science, their incompetence in subject matter knowledge will
affect students’ basic understanding of science concepts (Mak, Yip & Chung, 1999). A source of misconception
comes from teachers who are less competent in subject-matter knowledge (Yip, 1998). In the 2013 Public Staff
Selection Examination that science teaching graduates attended, the arithmetic average of the Science Test, which
consisted of 50 questions on the area of Science, was 15.00. In 2014, the average was 13.00 (Student Selection and
Placement Center, Turkey, 2013; 2014). These results indicate that the knowledge of the area of the prospective
teachers graduated from university is not adequate. In addition, the research carried out on prospective science
teachers in recent years has shown that the field knowledge of prospective teachers is not sufficient. There has
been missing and incorrect learning, they have misconceptions and they have low levels of conceptual under-
standing. It has been identified that the prospective science teachers have misconceptions on such topics in the
field of chemistry, physics and biology.
It has been identified that the prospective science teachers have misconceptions on such topics as states of
matter (Aydın & Gödek Altuk, 2013), the relationship between boiling point and vapor pressure (Akgün, Gönen &
Yılmaz, 2009), solution, dissolution, and the structure and the conductivity of mixtures (Akgün, Gönen & Yılmaz,
2005) in the field of chemistry. In the field of physics, it has been determined that prospective teachers have mis-
conceptions on such topics as force and motion (Demir, Uzoğlu & Kasap, 2004; Kurt & Akdeniz, 2004), work (Erduran
Avcı, Kara & Karaca, 2012), waves (Küçüközer, 2010), and astronomy (Emrahoğlu & Öztürk, 2013; Küçüközer, 2007).
And it has been identified that they have misconceptions in the field of biology subjects such as diffusion (Akgün,
2010; Yıldırım, Nakipoğlu & Sinan, 2004), photosynthesis and respiration in plants (Köse, Ayas & Uşak, 2006), pro-
teins, enzymes and protein synthesis (Sinan, Yıldırım, Kocakülah & Aydın, 2006), cell division (Emre & Bahşi, 2006)
and greenhouse effect (Bal, 2004).
In most of this research, it has been concluded that prospective teachers have difficulty in the explanation of
topics and concepts that are difficult to learn and embodying the abstract concepts learned (Çelik, Yılmaz, Şen &
Sarı, 2013). When an abstract concept is not embodied, an individual is forced to memorize these concepts without
internalizing them (Yapıcı, 2004).
Cell Concepts in Science Teaching
One of the important abstract concepts in science teaching is the topic of cells. The concept of the cell is
not related to daily life. Students do not have a reference where they can find out for themselves what cells are or
where they are (Zamora, Silvia & Guerra, 1993). It is very complex for students who have not integrated into the
whole picture to establish the relationship between structure and function of the cell (Flores Tovar & Gallegos,
2003). Understanding the structure of cell biology is among the topics that are the most difficult to learn (Storey,
1990). Cavas and Kesercioğlu (2010) indicate that understanding of cell functions is important in learning about
the functioning of multicellular organisms. The difficulty of embodying this topic causes a decrease in prospective
teachers’ interests in the topic. The structure, functions and organelles of cells are difficult to understand and abstract
topics (Saygın, Atılboz & Salman, 2006). Emre and Bahşi (2006) have shown in their research that prospective science
teachers have misconceptions about cell division. They have stated that interrelated concepts and the memorization
of these concepts cause misconceptions. Kaya and Gürbüz (2002) have taken the views of high school students on
the course of biology and have concluded that most of the students describe it as a course that is based on memo-
rization and is unpractical. Yörek, Aydın and Kete (2005) have insisted that it is required to have students better
comprehend it, as the topic of the cell is one of the basic structures of biology. Uşak (2009) found in his research
on the pedagogical knowledge of prospective science teachers about cells that the prospective teachers are not
successful in using specific teaching methods, are teacher-centered in terms of teaching approaches and have high
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self-confidence about knowledge of the field. Öztaş and Özay (2004) examined the problems faced by teachers in
biology teaching in their study on biology teachers and stated that most of the teachers had not received enough
biology education in their school life; therefore, they used schemes more than models while teaching. The fact that
teachers mostly use methods such as lecture, question-answer, and discussion instead of student-centered and
practical methods can be considered as one of the reasons that affects achievement negatively (Yaman & Soran,
2000; Ekici 2001). Therefore, studies conducted in order to increase the interest of students in biology courses and
to provide a conceptual understanding by providing configurations in their own minds instead of memorizing the
concepts are important (Saygın, Atılboz & Sayman, 2006).

The Present Research
Flores, Tovar and Gallegos (2003) stated that there have been very few studies on the students’ concept
statements. Prospective teachers studying in faculties of education are supposed to have field information. It seems
that there is little research on cells, which is one of the basic subjects in Biology. Uşak (2009) suggested that the
field information a teacher has is important but what is more important is how much of this information a teacher
or a prospective teacher can transfer to the students in accordance with their interests, necessities and levels.
The topic of cells is one of the basics in Biology and it is a prerequisite concept in learning Biology subjects
such as the living, the inanimate, tissue, organ and system. It is a subject that takes place from middle school to
secondary education and for prospective science teachers’ until the bachelor degree. Considering that the con-
ceptual understanding levels of future teachers regarding this subject will reflect on their professional life and the
seriousness of its consequences, it is necessary to determine the conceptual understanding on this subject.
Drawing is one of the methods that can be used to reveal the levels of conceptual understanding of students,
their observational skills and their discernment (Dove, Everett & Preece, 1999; McNair & Stein, 2001; Pridmore &
Bendelow, 1995). Drawings, which provide an opportunity for international comparison, are easily applied research
tools (Reiss et al, 2002). They reveal the hidden knowledge and beliefs of students without being limited by words
(Ayas, 2006). Drawing is used increasingly in research regarding the environment and science teaching (Angell,
Alexander & Hunt, 2015; Shepardson, Niyogi, Choi & Charusombat, 2009). This method can be used for many ages
and development groups, thus it provides an understanding of the individual’s knowledge, conceptual understand-
ing and the feelings of their inner world (Bahar, Uzel, Protop & Uşak, 2008; Bartoszeck, Machado, & Amann-Gainotti,
2008; Dove, Everett & Preece, 1999; McNair & Stein, 2001; Nyachwaya, Mohamed, Roehrig, Wood, Kern & Schneider,
2011; Prokop & Fančovičová, 2006; Prokop, Fančovičová & Krajčovičová, 2015; Prokop, Prokop & Tunnicliffe, 2008;
Prokop, Prokop, Tunnicliffe & Diran, 2007; Prosser, 1998; Sasmaz-Ören & Ormanci, 2014 ).
Thus, the aim of this study is to determine prospective science teachers’ level of conceptual understanding
and ability to explain the structure of animal and plant cells. It was intended to find answers to the following ques-
tions in accordance with these aims;
What level is the science teachers’ conceptual understanding of plant and animal cells?
What level is the science teachers’ conceptual description of plant and animal cells?
Is there a significant difference between the scores they receive from writing and drawing of prospective
science teachers in plant and animal cells?
How often do prospective science teachers express the structure of plant cells and organelles in their
drawings and explanations?
Research Design
In the study, descriptive survey design has been used for determining prospective science teachers’ levels of
understanding and explanation of animal and plant cells. Survey research provides a quantitative description of
trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by studying a sample of that population (Creswell, 2013). The survey
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studies can be descriptive or analytic. Descriptive surveys simply describe data on variables of interest, whilst
analytic surveys operate with hypothesized predictor or explanatory variables that are tested for their influence
on dependent variables (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011).
Participants
The participants of the research consisted of 152 students (female=113, male=39) registered at a state univer-
sity in Turkey. The mean age of the participants was 23.2 (SD=1.08, range: 21 - 26). Purposive sampling was used to
select the participants. In the purposive sampling procedure, the researcher decides what needs to be known and
sets out to find people who can and are willing to provide the information by virtue of knowledge or experience
(Bernard, 2002). The applications were done after the participants received all the courses (General Biology-I-II,
General Biology Laboratory-I-II, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Genetics and Biotechnology, Special Topics in
Biology) they would get during their study period. In particular, the course of General Biology-I that is taken in the
second grade and consists of the topics of “cell, the structure and function of cell, cell membrane, cytoplasm and
organelles, cell nucleus”. Participants were seniors studying at the Department of Science Teaching in the Faculty
of Education. Therefore, the sample of this study was appropriate.
Data Collection Tool
Prospective science teachers participating in the study were asked to draw and explain in writing the structure
of animal and plant cells. To ensure that students could freely express their knowledge on this subject, no pattern
was asserted and it was stated that every kind of drawing and writing could be used. The students were given 40
minutes for this application. Prospective science teachers did not receive private tutoring in this matter. Draw-Write
Form regarding animal and plant cells was applied at the end of 2013-2014 school year fall semester.
Data Analysis
It was anticipated that the prospective science teachers would make the drawings and the explanations that
they would use when they practice their profession. In this respect, the subject content of “the resemblances and
differences between animal and plant cells”, which is in Science Teaching Program (Ministry of National Educa-
tion, 2013) 6th Grade ‘The Systems of Our Body’ unit were examined. In the assessment of the prospective science
teachers’ drawings and explanations, the shapes and explanations that are in the 2013 science course curriculum
and in the 6th grade course book (Öcal, 2014) that science teachers use in their classes were taken as the base.
The determination of prospective science teachers’ levels of conceptual understanding of animal and plant cells
was made by domain experts consisting of two people according to the scoring scale developed by Ormancı and
Şaşmaz (2010) and is used in the assessment of drawing questions given in Table 1 and the scoring scale whose
instructions are given in Table 2. The percentage of agreement between the experts regarding the assessment of
drawing and explanations was measured at 0.91.
Table 1. The scoring scale used in the analysis of drawing questions.
Assessment Criteria Score Scoring Criteria
Clear Understanding 5 Drawings that are fully scientifically correct
3 Drawings containing scientifically a part of the answer or drawings containing

Partial Understanding
misconceptions along with the right answer
0 containing total misconceptions, (b) scientifically wrong, (c) irrelevant or incompre-

Not Understanding
hensible drawings, (d) leaving blank
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Table 2. The scoring scale used in the analysis of writing.
Assessment Criteria Score Scoring Criteria
Correct Explanation 5 An explanation that is scientifically correct
Partially Correct Explanation 3 An explanation that is scientifically correct but cannot be expressed in all its parts
Wrong Explanation 0 (a) an explanation that is scientifically incorrect, (b) explanation irrelevant to the
question, (c) explanation consisted of misconception, (d) explanation in which the
expression in the question is repeated, (e) leaving empty, (f) expressing not know-
ing, (g) leaving empty
Data on both the plant and animal cells related to affidavits and drawings were not normally distributed
(Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, both p <0.05). Thus, for teachers drawings of plant and animal cells, a comparison of
the post-level 3x2 Chi-Square test ( c 2 ) (King and Minium, 2003) was used. Drawing and Spearman rank correla-
tion to determine whether the relationship between the written expression result, the Wilcoxon in order to test
the significance of the difference between the drawings and written expression results, a Signed Rank test was
administered and values with
p <0.05 were accepted as significant. Organelles provided from drawings and reports
were laid out to be calculated as percentage (%) and frequency (f ).
Results of Research
Levels of Understanding
The frequency and the percentage distribution of the drawing levels of prospective science teachers regarding
the structure of animal and plant cells and the results including The Chi-Square test are given in Table 3.
Table 3. Animal and plant cell drawing levels of prospective science teachers.
Animal Cells Plant Cells
Categories of Analysis N % N %
Not Understanding (U-1) 126 82.9 106 69.7

Partial Understanding (U-2) 22 14.5 40 26.3
Clear Understanding (U-3) 4 2.6 6 3.9
Total 152 100.0 152 100.0
Examining Table 3, a large majority of participants had very poor understanding of both plant and animal
cells.
The level of difference between prospective teachers of understanding plant and animal cells was found to
be significant (chi-square test, c 2 (2) = 7.35, p = 0.025). In other words, there was a significant relationship between
teachers’ level of understanding of plant and animal cells.
Description Levels
The frequency and the percentage distribution of the explanation levels of prospective science teachers re-
garding the structure of animal and plant cells and the results including the Chi-Square test are given in Table 4.
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Table 4. The levels of prospective science teachers regarding the structure of animal and plant cells.
Animal Cells Plant Cells
Categories of Analysis N % N %
Wrong Explanation (E-1) 72 47.4 40 26.3

Partially Correct Explanation (E-2) 56 36.8 84 55.3
Correct Explanation (E-3) 24 15.8 28 18.4
Total 152 100.0 152 100.0
Examining Table 4, the vast majority of participants is at the level of description wrong explanation for animal
cells, and partially correct explanation level for the plants. There is a significant relationship over prospective teach-
ers to explain levels of plant and animal cells (chi-square test, c 2 (2) = 15.05, p = 0.001)
Comparison between the Levels of Drawing and Writing

Comparison between the Levels of Drawing and Writing Spearman rank correlation results are given in Table
5 in order to determine the relationship between the drawing and writing scores over plant and animal cells of
participants.
Table 5. Drawing and Spearman rank correlation between the results of drawing and writing.
Explanation
Plant Cells Animal Cells Total
Drawing r p n r p n r p n
Plant Cell 0.288 0.001 152

Animal Cell 0.135 0.096 152
Total 0.242 0.001 304
Wilcoxon Signed Rank test results applied to determine whether there is a significant difference between
prospective teachers’ writing and drawing related to animal and plant cells are given in Table 6.
Table 6. Drawing and writing test scores Wilcoxon signed rank test results.
Drawing-Writing n Mean Rank Sum of Ranks z P
Negative Ranks 72 45.83 3300.00 6.41* 0.001
Animal Cell Positive Ranks 14 31.50 441.00
Ties 66
Negative Ranks 78 41.58 3243.00 7.37* 0.001
Plant Cell Positive Ranks 4 40.00 160.00
Ties 70 - -
Negative Ranks 150 86.82 13023.00 9.74* 0.001
Total Positive Ranks 18 65.17 1173.00
Ties 136 - -
*Based on positive ranks.
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Analysis results indicate that there is a significant difference between drawing and writing levels of teachers
who participated in the research related to plant and animal cells. As the difference in average scores (mean rank)
and row totals (sum of ranks) are observed, the difference is negative hence it is determined to be in favor of writ-
ing scores. When the evaluation criteria of these levels are considered, it can be suggested that the explanations
of animal and plant cells of prospective science teachers are more successful than their drawings.
The frequencies of stating cell structure and its organelles in the drawings of prospective science teachers
are given in Table 7.
Table 7. The frequencies of stating cell structure and its organelles in the drawings of prospective science
teachers.
Drawing of an Animal
Drawing of a Plant Cell Explanation of Animal and Plant Cells
Cell
Organelles F % f % f %
Nucleus 119 77.6 108 71.0 88 57.8

Cell Wall 106 69.7 10 6.5 88 57.8
Vacuole 96 63.1 38 25 114 75.0
Mitochondria 82 53.9 38 25 128 84.2
Chloroplast 80 52.6 2 1.3 96 63.1
Cell Membrane 78 51.3 82 53.9 86 56.3
Ribosome 72 47.3 50 32.8 114 75.0
Endoplasmic Reticulum 68 44.7 34 22.3 82 53.9
Lysosome 68 44.7 42 27.6 86 56.5
Golgi Apparatus 62 40.7 38 25.0 116 76.3
Centrosome 20 13.1 46 30.2 78 51.3
It is remarkable that even though there is a similar structure instead of a lysosome in plant cells, 44.7% (f=68)
of the prospective science teachers drew this organelle. Similarly, even though there isn’t a centrosome organelle
in plant cells, 13.1% (f=20) also drew this organelle.
Even though there isn’t a cell wall and a chloroplast in an animal cell, it is seen that 6.5 % (f=10) of the prospec-
tive science teachers drew the cell wall and 1.3% (f=2) drew the chloroplast.
Discussion
There is a lot of work for science teachers to determine the level of conceptual understanding. In this study,
it was aimed to determine the level of understanding and ability to explain concepts via drawing and writing
descriptions for science teachers who will teach animal and plant cells in near future.
The results are discussed below in order to conclude the level of prospective science teachers regarding their
understanding and explanations of animal and plant cells concepts.
Levels of Understanding
From the analysis of the vast majority of science teachers’ drawings, it might be said that both animal and
plant cells are not at the understanding level. This is followed by the Partial Understanding level. Very few teachers’
drawings being at the Clear Understanding level is noteworthy. Prospective teachers seem to be a relationship
between the understanding of plant and animal cell levels (Table 3).
It is seen that the knowledge levels of prospective teachers regarding animal and plant cells are low and the
number of prospective teachers who have wrong and imperfect data is high. In his studies where he examined
prospective science teachers’ pedagogical field knowledge about cells, Uşak (2009) determined that the prospec-
tive teachers’ field knowledge specific to the subject was demonstrably imperfect.
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Similarly, Mestre (2002) mentioned that university students are insufficient in physics conceptual understand-
ing, Sinan, Kose, Aydin and Gezer (2007) that science teachers are insufficient at enzymes and protein synthesis,
and Brown and Schwartz (2009), that prospective teachers have conceptual understanding problems over pho-
tosynthesis and in cellular respiration. Fančovičová and Prokop (2014) stated that the anatomy knowledge of
prospective biology teachers was weak.
Acquisition of conceptual understanding is influenced by prior knowledge (Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer and
Scott, 1994). Moreover use of higher level strategies contributes to substantially different indicators of conceptual
understanding (Alao and Guthrie, 1999). Especially in the teaching of biology questions and answers (Kumbıçak,
Atılboz and Salman, 2006), the narrative method (Karamustafaoğlu, Bayar and Kaya, 2014) has been found to be
the most often used. The inefficiencies of the teachers in their field knowledge might cause them to use materials
in a way that will give them wrong information about the subject (Canbazoğlu, Demirelli and Kavak, 2010).
Description Levels
According to the results obtained from the article, it was observed that the level of prospective science
teachers’ explanation of animal cells is Wrong Explanation level, and teachers’ level of explaining of plant cells is
Partially Correct level. There seems to be a correlation between the level of description of plant and animal cells
of prospective teachers (Table 4).
Comparison between the Levels of Drawing and Writing
It has been determined that there was no relationship between animal cell drawing and writing but a posi-
tive and statistically significant low level relationship was found between plant cell drawing and writing and total
drawing and writing of plant and animal cells (Table 5). Similarly with animal cell drawing and writing results
Prokop and Fančovičová (2006) failed to find significant relationships between students’ writings and drawings
about the human body.
Analysis results indicate that there is a significant difference between the levels of prospective science teach-
ers in writing and drawing plant and animal cells. It is observed that this difference was in favor of writing scores
(Table 6).
Examining animal and plant cells it is seen that for each of them, the levels of the written statements are higher
than those of drawings. This might be the result of prospective teachers’ memorizing the information rather than
configuring it in their minds. Most of the prospective teachers didn’t include the cell organelles they explained in
their drawings. Ormancı and Şaşmaz Ören (2010) suggested that when the students are asked questions which
they are required to answer in writing, there is a possibility that they will write by heart but when they are asked
to draw the subject, the students need to have full knowledge to make a drawing. It is understood that students
cannot transfer what they know into drawings. A similar result has been suggested by Saka and Akdeniz (2004) in
their study in which they examined prospective science teachers’ different progression levels regarding the topic
of genetics with surveys and drawings.
Also, it is seen that the prospective teachers tried to answer in their written statements instead of leaving
blank even if the answer was wrong. It is determined that this is less done in drawings. Kara, Erduran-Avcı and
Çekbaş (2008) reached a similar result in their study in which they researched the prospective teachers’ levels of
knowledge regarding the concept of light with drawings. This might be the result of knowledge based learning.
Also, it can be interpreted as prospective teachers’ having difficulty in the visualizing process.
Frequencies of Stating Cell Structure and Its Organelles
Examining the written statements of the prospective teachers’ regarding the organelles in animal and plant
cells, it was seen that mitochondria organelle is the most explained. The majority of the prospective teachers ex-
plained the vacuole and ribosome and most of them explained the nucleus, cell wall, cell membrane and lysosome.
The organelle the prospective teachers have the most difficulty in explaining is the centrosome (Table 7).
Examining the prospective teachers’ drawing of the organelles in a plant cell, most of them showed the cell
nucleus and cell wall by drawing. Even though there isn’t a centrosome organelle in a plant cell, the prospective
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teachers’ drawing of this organelle is a good example of lack of conceptual understanding. It draws attention to the
fact that this result is parallel to the findings of Yörek (2007) in the study he conducted with 9th and 11th graders.
Examining the drawings of animal cells, it is seen that most of the prospective teachers drew the nucleus and cell
membrane. It shows that even though there is no cell wall or chloroplast in an animal cell they are still drawn.
Conclusion and Implications
The current study shows that prospective science teachers’ conceptual understanding and explanation of
plant and animal cells is not sufficient. This study also revealed that prospective science teachers’ understanding of
animal cells and plant cells is associated with the level of understanding and explanation. In addition, prospective
teachers’ writing and drawing scores are remarkably in favor of writing and significantly differ. The majority of the
prospective teachers have difficulty while drawing.
Multiple-choice exams based on memorization, the decline of the scores that decrease each year in the edu-
cation faculty entrance exam, (insufficient information levels at the start of university), the prevalence of teacher-
centered implementation, insufficient performance of interdisciplinary work, and courses being studied without
field educators might be some of the reasons and recommendations might be proposed accordingly.
Firstly, this result may be seen as the natural effect of prospective teachers to settle in to university and after
graduating from the university, such as the Public Personnel Selection Exam, which is a multiple-choice, central
examination based on knowledge. Individuals with a time limitation in this exam focus on solving without in-depth
thinking but rather with eliminating techniques (Unal Coban, 2010). University students prefer memorizing test
solving techniques to understand science in order to settle issues conceptually. Employment concerns and lack
of required preconditions of education faculties and base condition scores decreasing each year lead to university
teachers with insufficient preliminary information regarding the area.
The second reason could be the teaching methods used in the course. To solve the problem of learning
wrongly and imperfectly, which is the case of prospective teachers’ knowledge about the topic of cells, it might
be suggested that student centered methods and techniques such as examination of animal and plant cells un-
der a microscope, research and question based learning, problem based learning and project based learning in
which they will actively participate should be used. Also, in different studies, experimental and quasi experimental
research can be conducted on the effectiveness of study leave that is supported by different student centered
methods and techniques for students to gain knowledge of this subject in middle school, secondary school and
higher education.
The third reason might be associated with science concept drawings and the lack of interdisciplinary studies
on the development of three-dimensional materials. An interdisciplinary study could be conducted with visual
arts classes in teaching the subjects that take place in middle school science class especially in biology and teach-
ing biology subjects in secondary school. In higher education, it is necessary that the subjects are understood by
visualizing. The drawing process should be concentrated on in the study leave in the course books.
The fourth reason might be that training courses are given by trainers instead of field educators. Although
these trainers know about education in the sciences, they are not specialists in each field.
Considering the conceptual understanding and explaining levels of prospective science teachers regarding
animal and plant cells, it might be suitable for science education experts to conduct research into Teaching Tech-
nology and Material Design, Science Technology Program and Planning and Special Teaching Methods I-II courses
that require both field and education knowledge. Also, in these courses prospective teachers should participate
in activities in which they can apply their field knowledge. By increasing the number of Teaching Application and
School Experiment courses, prospective teachers should be given more chance to perform an application. Also, by
giving information about conceptual understanding and explaining to the school counselors in practice schools
the prospective teachers attend, they can be supported in making progress.
This research conducted on animal and plant cells can be repeated with the draw and write method by includ-
ing the structures of protists (e.g. paramecium, ameba, and euglena) in further studies. Also, to determine the levels
of conceptual understanding and explaining of prospective teachers on different subjects, data diversification can
be achieved by having interviews and observations.
Moreover, as a follow up study, more research has to be done for prospective teachers to understand and
explain the different concepts of both cells and improving the levels. The findings of this research might help to
create a foundation for the development of this level.
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Received: May 07, 2015 Accepted: August 15, 2015
Huriye Deniş Çeliker PhD, Assistant Professor, Science Education Department, Faculty of Education,
İstiklal Campus, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, 15030, Burdur , Turkey.
Fax: +90 248 213 41 60
E-mail: huriyedenis@mehmetakif.edu.tr, denishuriye@gmail.com
Website: http://abs.mehmetakif.edu.tr/huriyedenis
512
ANALYSIS AND INTERVENTION
OF STUDENT KNOWLEDGE OF
NUTRITION AND SEXUALITY AT
A PENAL INSTITUTION
Agustín Pozo Tamayo, Abstract. Studies related to the habits of

students of Nutrition and Sexuality show
Lina Viviana Melo Niño,
the existence of inaccurate knowledge that
Javier Cubero Juánez leads them to adopting unhealthy lifestyles.
The team of teachers at a Penal Institution
in Spain diagnosed this aforementioned
lifestyle was becoming a reality in their
students aged between 18 and 47. The aim
of this research was to analyse and improve
Introduction
the Nutritional and Sexual knowledge of
these students. The students’ level of knowl-
Scientists who have studied sexual and nutritional behaviour have
edge was detected through a pre-test and
shown the importance of Education in this field related to people. Those
post-test that were quantitatively designed
who have received scientific, truthful and reliable information about Sexual-
and analysed according to four variables
ity and Nutrition tend to be more responsible than those who have not had
(studies, gender, age and body mass index).
the opportunity (Liu, Hariri, Bradley, Gottlieb, Leichliter & Markowitz, 2015).
In order to improve their knowledge, an
Therefore, they manage to adopt healthy lifestyles so as to diminish risky
educational intervention was conducted
behaviour and have a much better quality of life (Wald, Muennig, OĆonnell
and was quantitatively and qualita-
& Garber, 2014).
tively analysed according to six categories:
The contents on Nutrition and Sexuality are usually dealt with in a shal-
change or improvement in sexual knowl-
low way (McCaughtry, Fahlman, Martin & Shen, 2011). Given the students are
edge, change or improvement in nutritional
adults, it is believed, that they already have a good knowledge in these two
knowledge, affective factors, the learning
areas at schools of Penal Institutions in Spain. However, Collantes & Llorente
process, evaluation and methodology.
(2015) and Fornons (2011) state that Spanish prisoners/students bear deep
The results show conceptual differences
conceptual errors that cause them to adopt risky behaviour. Given they have
according to the four variables and that the
been imprisoned and have no access to new scientific advances, it is neces-
intervention contributes to a conceptual
sary that their teachers incorporate activities that allow assessment of their
change or improvement thanks to the ac-
students’ erroneous knowledge in their classes. Once they have obtained the
tivities and resources used. The implication
right knowledge, their teachers ought to think of educational interventions
of this research is to reveal the importance
in order to diminish their students’ conceptual mistakes so they can attain
of analysing students’ knowledge so as to
a more significant way of learning (Kremer, Specht, Urhahne & Mayer, 2014;
improve the quality of the teaching/learn-
Larson, 2015). In this sense, Alekseeva, Krasnopolskaya & Skokova (2015) and
ing process.
Coates, Petersen, & Perry (2013) refute the necessity of performing simula-
Key words: nutritional education, penal
tions and practices in adequate contexts, displaying real images related to
institution, previous knowledge, sexual
sexual and nutritional behaviour and the use of other techniques different
education.
to using textbooks and expository lessons.
Having said that, the way teachers conceive the construction of scientific
knowledge or the way science evolves is the foundation where the didactic
proposals are supported (Rozenszajn & Yarden, 2014). Teachers have to detect Agustín Pozo Tamayo,
Lina Viviana Melo Niño,
possible variables of study where they can display differences as to the level Javier Cubero Juánez
of the students’ learning process related to Sexual and Nutritional contents, University of Extremadura,
which are the axis of Health Education. In this research four variables will be Badajoz, Spain
considered: type of studies, sex, age and body mass index (Scholer, 2002).
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To sum up, the aim of this research is to analyse the secondary school students’ sexual and nutritional knowl-
edge at a Spanish Penal Institution according to the aforementioned variables and to improve their knowledge
through educational intervention designed with this purpose in mind.
Students’ Previous Knowledge of Sex and Nutrition
A lot of research has unveiled that students belonging to different levels of study have inaccurate or wrong
concepts on scientific, conceptual and methodological contents. Such concepts are mainly triggered by conceptual
contamination that derives from inaccurate learning sources, such as the Internet, television, popular beliefs…
(Cubero, Calderón, Costillo & Ruiz, 2011; Kortum, Edwards & Richards-Kortum, 2008). In this sense, the necessity
of good Sexual Education in particular contexts such as in Biology classes at Penal Institutions is obvious. For it is
essential the teacher teaches, more in depth, the content about the anatomic and physiological differentiation
of reproductive organs, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases (Alekseeva, Krasnopolskaya & Skokova,
2015; El Maerrawi & Carvalho, 2015; Liu, Hariri, Bradley, Gottlieb, Leichliter & Markowitz, 2015).
Kuhn (1971) affirmed that the domain in Anatomy and Physiology is a key to understanding the Theory of
Evolution, one of the paradigms in Biology. Likewise, confusion and misinterpretations have been detected in the
meaning of the term Anatomy and Reproductive Health, having students confuse concepts such as vulva and
vagina, foreskin and fraenulum, vasectomy and tubal ligation and the effectiveness of contraception pills and the
Ogino-Knaus method (Clark, 2001; Darby & Svoboda, 2007; Loc, McDonagh & Rumble, 1995).
In spite of nutritional aspects having a great importance to personal health as well as to the rest of society,
both are dealt with in a shallow way so as to cover all the contents dictated by the secondary curriculum. In addi-
tion to it, “they” only appear indirectly in textbooks when it comes to the composition of food and anatomic and
physiological digestive aspects. Consequently, despite having researched eating disorders at great length, there
have been few specific studies dealing with previous knowledge of prisoners-students on Nutritional Education
(Smoyer & Blankenship, 2014; Turner, 1997; Watt & Sheiham, 1997). In this way, it should be pointed out that false
myths and beliefs exist of particular groups of food and the calorific value they provide, the inaccurate relation and
link between foods with particular diseases such as Obesity and not being able to discern the nutritional require-
ments that each food group offers (Brown, Ioannidis, Cope, Bier & Allison, 2014; Casazza et al., 2013).
Therefore, it is necessary to think about the origins of the hurdles that students find in the process of learning
Sexual and Nutritional concepts in the subject of Biology. As well as proposing innovative and effective methodolo-
gies in order to nutritionally guide students so that they obtain a significant learning experience (Brun, 1985).
Alekseeva, Krasnopolskaya & Skokova (2015) and Hartas (2015) conclude that the best way of analysing sexual
and nutritional knowledge of students is to carry out a quantitative analysis of a pre-test and post-test that has
been validated by experts in Didactics of Biology and Health Education. In order to check the validity of an educa-
tional intervention, an initial pre-test must be carried out and, slightly over a year later, a final post-test. A didactic
unit will always become valid if it diminishes conceptual errors from survey respondents, which will indicate that
the learning process has been significant based on a long-term basis (McCaughtry, Fahlman, Martin & Shen, 2011;
Rozenszajn & Yarden, 2014; Smith, 2015).
Besides that, in order to complete a validation process of an intervention in the field of Education, it is necessary
to carry out a qualitative analysis so that well-defined categories and subcategories are established and determine
what the improvements in the learning/teaching process and worked-on contents are due to (Yakovlevich, 2014).
One of the most appropriate ways to achieve that in Didactics of Experimental Sciences is to hand out a test with
open questions where the student can express whether they considered the intervention helped them improve
their knowledge or not in the field of studies and what they consider are the main reasons for a conceptual change
(Bergin, 2011). In this way, after a quantitative and qualitative analysis, the teacher may readjust their didactic plans
with the final aim to improve the quality and productivity in the teaching of Biology contents.
Educational Interventions of Sexuality and Diet
Teachers should bear in mind the knowledge their students have. From that point, they should build upon
that knowledge or modify their educational interventions so the quality of the learning/teaching process will be
maximised (Larson, 2015). These didactic units should take into account contents of their own area of work (in
this case, Biology) and specific contents in areas to be worked on (Sexuality and Nutrition). The activities outlined
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in these units have a didactic aim to be reached and have a close bond to a content to deal with (Smith, 2015). In
this way, it is necessary that these activities (Figure 1) help the student study more in depth the contents on the
anatomic and physiological differentiation between the masculine and feminine reproductive organs so as to help
prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Anatomy and Physiology form part of one the
many branches Biology has, whose learning process presents more difficulties for the students. Its current interest
is unquestionable in order to attain an adequate scientific literacy (Scholer, 2002).
Aim: To become familiar with the name and where masculine and feminine reproductive organs are.
Content: Anatomy of the human reproductive organs.
Activity: To complete the crosswords with names (in Spanish) of masculine and feminine reproductive organs.
Figure 1: Example of outlined activity in the Sexuality didactic unit.
On the other hand, one well-implemented nutritional educational intervention ensures improvement of
previous knowledge students have before they are submitted to the formative action (Banet & Núñez, 1997). In
this way, students manage to reorganise their ideas about nutritional processes and obtain essential knowledge to
adopt healthy nutritional habits (Powers, Struempler, Guarino & Parmer, 2005). In order to obtain this improvement,
it is necessary in the classroom to apply a constructive methodology as opposed to the traditional methodology
based on explanations and the use of textbooks. It is necessary to use diverse activities (Figure 2), such as of inquiry
which favours the autonomy of the learning process; where the teacher would become a facilitating element of
the learning process and the student would take the main role (Brown, Ioannidis, Cope, Bier & Allison, 2014; Mc-
Caughtry, Fahlman, Martin & Shen, 2011).
Aim: To create an adequate diet according to height and weight of the student and include foods from the food pyramid.
Content: Healthy diet. Food and Calories.
Activity: Create a healthy diet according to body mass index and using the food pyramid as a guide.
Figure 2: Example of outlined activity in the Nutritional didactic unit.
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Research Questions
In this current research the following questions were seen to:

a) What is the Sexual and Nutritional knowledge that the students of secondary school have at a Penal
Institution in Badajoz? What statistically significant differences are there in the content according to
the four variables of study (type of studies, sex, age and body mass index)?
b) Are the educational interventions on Sexuality and Nutrition carried out to improve the knowledge on
the students subjected to the study valid?
c) What aspects should teachers and students of Biology bear in mind at a Penal Institution to improve
the quality of the teaching/learning process?
A descriptive/exploratory research was carried out where a type of research known as test research method
was used. In this way, a pre-test was designed and validated allowing diagnosis and analysis of the previous sexual
and nutritional knowledge of the studied imprisoned population. After the pre-test was completed, the analysis
detected conceptual inaccuracies in the students according to the four defined variables of the research.
In order to restructure their inaccurate knowledge, an educational intervention was designed and conducted.
It was evaluated with another test that displayed two open questions that students answered through which we
could verify if the intervention helped to improve and restructure the conceptual errors.
After a year had passed, a post-test was conducted (bearing the same structure and items as the pre-test)
through which we verified if the restructured sexual and nutritional knowledge had been significantly internalised
in the body of students’ cognitive structure and if it had produced a long term learning process. Research time
took three years.
Sample Selection
In this study the Penal Institution of Badajoz (Spain) was selected given it has a very diverse range of students
according to age, social-cultural level, geographic origin, sexual tendency and type of studies.
Inside the institution, the last year of secondary school was chosen given that at this stage, according to the
educational curriculum, the students must have become familiar with the concepts related to this project. A total
number of 30 students were counted. According to their type of studies, 15 of them studied Humanities and the
remaining 15 studied Science, according to gender, 15 women and 15 men. According to age, 10 of them aged
between 18 and 27, another 10 students aged between 28 and 37 and the remaining 10 aged between 38 and 47.
Finally, according to body mass index, 15 of them were fit and the remaining 15 were overweight.
In order to become aware of sexual knowledge, a test was made (pre-test and post-test) with 40 yes/no ques-
tions, 10 questions on Anatomy, 10 questions on sexually transmitted diseases and 10 questions on contraception
and unwanted pregnancy prevention. In order to become aware of nutritional knowledge, a test was made with
24 yes/no questions that were divided into 2 questions per each nutritional category (vegetables, fruit, cereal, le-
gumes, milk and dairy, meat, fish and shellfish, eggs, oils and fats, sweets and sugars, drinks, vitamins and minerals).
Each question had three possible answers: yes, in case of agreeing with the considered statement; no, in case of
disagreeing; and, DK/NO when the participant did not know which answer to choose. Afterwards, the tests were
validated by four experts in Didactics of Experimental Sciences and in Health Education.
In order to confirm if the carried-out educational intervention was valid to improve the knowledge of students,
a test was developed and validated in which the following open question was formulated: Do you think that the
teaching method used for the didactic units on Sexuality and Nutrition was valid to improve your knowledge?
“Please outline the type of knowledge that was improved”. So as to detect what aspects teachers and students of
Biology ought to take into account in order to improve the learning/teaching process of the contents previously
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worked on, a second open question was asked: “What aspects of the educational intervention improved your
Sexual and Nutritional knowledge?”
Data Analysis
After the students had completed the pre-test and post-test on Sexuality and Nutrition, they were quanti-
tatively analysed through the statistical program SPSS 17.00 for Windows. The inferential analysis was carried out
bearing in mind a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). Thus, for the gender analysis the tests of U of Mann-Whitney
(type of study variables, gender and body mass index) and the H of Kruskal-Wallis were used for multiple compari-
sons (age variable).
On completion of the test on educational intervention, it was qualitatively analysed through the program
NVivo 10 for Windows. To do this, corresponding categories and subcategories (Table 1) were established following
the proposals from Kelle (2007) and Tójar (2006). The answers given by the participants were categorised and a re-
counting of each category and subcategory was done. Finally, it was checked if there were statistically significant
differences according to the categories and the variables of study through a quantitative analysis in the same way
as the previous section.
Table 1. Categories and subcategories of qualitative analysis of sexual and nutritional knowledge and edu-
cational intervention.
Categories Subcategories
1. Change-Improvement of Sexual Knowledge 1.1. Anatomy and Physiology of female sexual reproductive organs
1.2. Anatomy and Physiology of male sexual reproductive organs
1.3. Contraception methods and unwanted pregnancy prevention
1.4. Sexually transmitted diseases and healthy habits to prevent them
2. Change-Improvement of Nutritional Knowledge 2.1. Food and Obesity

2.2. Design of a healthy diet
2.3. Food, nutrients and nutritional contribution
2.4. Food, other eating disorders
3. Emotional Nature 3.1. Student´s attitude

3.2. Teacher´s attitude
4. Learning Process 4.1. Conceptual errors

4.2. Learning process evolution
4.3. Reassurance of previous knowledge
5. Evaluation 5.1. Improvement of marks
5.2. Less effort made to prepare for exams
6. Methodology 6.1. Teacher´s change of role

6.2. Student´s change of role
6.3. Use of different activities and resources
6.4. Regard to students´ previous ideas
An essential element to the development of metacognitive strategies was the collaborative work conducted
by the teachers and students of the Penal institution. The educational interventions were created according to
constructivist perspective, where the students were active elements building up their own knowledge through
inquiry and research activities they outlined themselves.
Results of Research
The inferential results of the Sexuality and Nutrition pre-test show that there are statistically significant dif-
ferences on the students’ previous knowledge, therefore, the students of Humanities, male gender, aged between
28-37 and overweight are the ones whose knowledge is the most inaccurate. After a year of conducting the edu-
cational intervention, the results of the post-test indicate that there are no statistically significant differences on
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the answers given by the participants and thus improved their sexual and nutritional knowledge (Table 2).
Table 2. Quantitative results of the right and wrong pre-test and post-test answers of the students on Sexual-
ity and Nutrition (n=30; 1- α=95%).
Sexuality Test Nutrition Test
Right answers Wrong answers Right answers Wrong answers
Post- Post- Post- Post-

Pre-test Pre-test Pre-test Pre-test
test test test test
Variables Students p-value
Studies Humanities 0.012* 0.461 0.013* 0.643 0.000* 0.436 0.000* 0.202
Gender Male 0.011* 0.251 0.012* 0.516 0.000* 0.525 0.000* 0.609
Age 18-27 and 0.015* 0.274 0.014* 0.427 0.040* 0.254 0.040* 0.614
38-47 years old
Body mass index Overweight -- -- -- -- 0.000* 0.148 0.000* 0.624
Regarding the qualitative results of the categories of change and improvement of Sexual and Nutritional
knowledge the students consider that the educational intervention helps them improve their knowledge of con-
traception methods and unwanted pregnancy prevention and the existing relationship between ingested food
and obesity (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Percentages of improvement of Sexual and Nutritional knowledge of the students according to the
four variables of study (n=30; 0< %< 100).
Besides that, according to gender, it is affirmed that men, thanks to the intervention, improve their knowledge
of Anatomy and Physiology of female reproductive organs (Table 3).
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Table 3. Transcriptions of six students regarding their improvement in the contents of the sexual and nutri-
tional category.
Categories Subcategories Variables Characteristics of improvement of knowledge
“Thanks to the intervention I learned to tell the parts

Male, aged 32 and overweight.
of the female reproductive organs (where the clitoris,
Student of Humanities.
Anatomy and Physiol- vagina are...) And what they are used for.”
ogy of female sexual
reproductive organs “The knowledge that was improved was related to
Male, aged 44 and average weight.
Change-Improvement of women, given I did not know of many parts of the
Student of Sciences.
Sexual Knowledge female Anatomy.”
Female, aged 20 and overweight. “I learned about the female version of the Condom
Contraception methods Student of Sciences. and the hygienic habits to implant the IUD or coil.”
and unwanted preg-
nancy prevention Female, aged 26 and average “That the Ogino-Knaus method is not reliable enough
weight. Student of Humanities. to prevent pregnancies.”
“My knowledge of non-fattening food was improved
Female, aged 31 and average
and I learned that the society states that they are fat-
weight. Student of Humanities.
tening, such as potatoes, water and bread.”
Change-Improvement of
Food and Obesity “I thought that if fruit was eaten before lunch, it would
Nutritional Knowledge
Female, aged 33 and overweight. not be fattening but I learned that fruit fattens you
Student of Humanities. independently of when you eat it because the energy
contributions are the same”
The qualitative results of the analysis of the causes and consequences of the educational intervention regard-
ing the improvement of knowledge show that students consider that the change of student’s attitude and the use
of different activities and resources lead to an improvement in the learning process (Figure 4).
Figure 4: A qualitative and quantitative (*) analysis of the categories and subcategories of the educational
intervention that improved the learning process for the students.
The quantitative analysis of the categories and subcategories of the qualitative analysis show statistically
significant differences (*) according to the variables of study, thus the students of Humanities consider that the
intervention helped them improve their marks (Figure 4); and, the students aged 18 to 27 and with average weight
indicate that the change of role of the teacher is essential to improve the teaching/learning process (Table 4).
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Table 4. Transcription of ten students regarding the causes and consequences of the improvement of the
educational intervention.
Categories Subcategories Variables Characteristics of improvement of knowledge
“With this new didactic method, it is easier to learn the

concepts because it forces you to think of those things
and understand them.”
Emotional Nature Student´s attitude
“The monotony of how we traditionally did things in
Female, aged 31 and average weight. class was broken, and in this way, it caught our attention
Student of Humanities. and made us glimpse the functionality of learning the
contents for our daily life.”
“With this method the knowledge I previously had was
Male, aged 44 and overweight.
becoming broader and therefore I understood the new
Learning process concepts better.”
Learning Process
evolution “We completed various questionnaires in which we
Female, aged 40 and overweight.
checked the knowledge we had and in this way I under-
stood the new concepts better.”
Male, aged 39 and average weight. “The method was valid as it helped me obtain a higher
Improvement of Student of Sciences. mark in the exam and easily pass (the subject?)”
Evaluation
marks Male, aged 26 and average weight. “You can pass the exam revising the day before because
Student of Humanities. you understand the concepts.”
“In other classes, the teacher explains and sets exer-
cises to do. In this class, the teacher guides us through
Teacher´s change our learning process.”
of role “The teacher used to give brief instructions on how to
Methodology Female, aged 21 and overweight.
work out the exercises and problems; but the spotlight
was on the students.”
“We did a lot of exercises to give our opinions and
Female, aged 19 and overweight.
to debate them. In addition to this, we did laboratory
Use of different Student of Sciences.
experiments which we had not done before.”
activities and
resources “We watched films about Sexuality and Nutrition and we
used the computers to search for more information than
what a textbook could give us.”
Discussion
The obtained results show that the secondary school students of the Penal Institution of Badajoz present
conceptual differences on Sexuality and Nutrition according to the type of studies, gender, age, and body mass
index. These results coincide with that of others obtained by other authors (Hartas, 2015; Liu, Hariri, Bradley, Got-
tlieb, Leichliter & Markowitz, 2015; Pozo, Gavidia, Cubero & Ruiz, 2015), who indicate that the influence of different
variables has to be taken into account in the teaching/learning process of the Biology students in prisons. In this
way, this research coincides with Alekseeva, Krasnopolskaya & Skokova (2015), Banet & Núñez (1997) and Casazza
et al. (2013) when it comes to considering that the quantitative analysis of a previously validated test by experts in
Health Education and Didactics of Experimental Sciences is a valid instrument for detecting which groups of students
present previously accurate or inaccurate knowledge. In general, as it occurred in this present research, students
of Sciences, female gender, fairly young and with average weight are the ones who have better knowledge.
Starting from the premises of Coates, Petersen & Perry (2013) and Cubero, Calderón, Costillo & Ruiz (2011),
the promotion of health and the prevention of diseases are the main axis by which educational interventions on
Anatomy and Reproductive Physiology (Darby & Svoboda, 2007) and Nutrition are based on, hence the preoc-
cupation with conducting research on said topic. Even more so in prisons, where grave confusions have been
detected regarding the way in which contraception methods were used in a face-to-face meeting (Clark, 2001; Loc,
McDonagh & Rumble, 1995) in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (El Maerrawi & Carvalho, 2015) and
the need that the students obtain the necessary alimentary knowledge to decide what type of food they should
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choose from the catering that is offered to them in order to get into a healthy diet (Smoyer & Blankenship, 2014;
Turner, 1997), as it occurred in our study.
As Brown, Ioannidis, Cope, Bier & Allison (2014) and Powers, Struempler, Guarino & Parmer (2005) conclude, it
is necessary that students take into account the inaccurate ideas they have related to Sexual and Nutritional Health
and the related terminology of both. Also, it is essential that the teachers go back to the previous ideas students
of Biology have bearing in mind a constructivist Epistemological framework where students are able to develop
their own conceptualisations and the teacher is the one who should guide them on how to modify or transform
them (Kuhn, 1971; McCaughtry, Fahlman, Martin & Shen, 2011). In this sense, conducting educational interventions
such as the ones presented in this study, with inquiry activities help improve the didactic knowledge of the Sexual
and Nutritional contents of the students (Kortum, Edwards & Richards-Kortum, 2008; Rozenszajn & Yarden, 2014).
In order to do that, it is necessary that Biology teachers analyse a series of qualitative variables that enable them
to understand what aspects of Secondary Education curriculum they should improve to guarantee success in the
teaching process (Hartas, 2015; Smith, 2015).
This research shows a change of the student’s attitude in the educational intervention, the use of different
types of activities and educational resources are key factors in the evolution and improvement of the student’s
knowledge at the Penal Institution in Badajoz. Similar to other research (Larson, 2015; Wald, Muennig, OĆonnell &
Garber, 2014), the change of the role of the teacher is an aspect that Biology teachers ought to bear in mind, thus
the students are the “lead actors” of knowledge and through enrichment activities and reinforcement of contents
(Laboratory experiments to visualise microscopic preparations of microorganisms that cause sexually transmitted
diseases, the design of a healthy diet according to the body mass index of the student, debates about educational
videos and books on Sexuality and Nutrition, semi-structured exercises so as to, starting from a premise, demon-
strate a fact…) a learning process is acquired based on a long-term basis (Brígido, Couso, Gutiérrez & Mellado, 2013;
McCaughtry, Fahlman, Martin & Shen, 2011; Rozenszajn & Yarden, 2014; Scholer, 2002). In this research, similar to
those of other cases (Kremer, Specht, Urhahne & Mayer, 2014; Pozo, Gavidia, Cubero & Ruiz, 2015), the students
of Humanities with average weight consider that all these aspects help them attain, apart from the improvement
of exam marks, a more positive assessment with this type of participatory methodology than with a traditional/
expository methodology.
Conclusions
Teachers of the Penal Institution would be advised to use different activities and didactic resources and
ought to change the role of the student so that the learning/teaching process is improved. This conclusion is im-
portant to the teachers who work at any Penal Institution because they demonstrate what groups of students are
more at risk of developing unhealthy lifestyles given a lack of good sexual and nutritional knowledge. This may
occur, in some cases, when the prisoners have restricted access to information through the Internet and scientific
progress made public through the radio, television and educational magazines. For instance, risky sexual behaviour
often takes place in a face-to-face meeting and in the dining room prisoners do not notice the eating disorders
that may lead them to have an unhealthy diet. In addition to that, we must bear in mind that teachers can help to
reduce those risks by conducting interventions where emotional, conceptual, methodological and attitude aspects
are worked on. Thus, the student body becomes the protagonist of the teaching/learning process, which enables
improvement of inaccurate knowledge allowing them integration into an active society once freedom has been
granted.
The bureaucratic paperwork to make it possible to conduct research with students/prisoners in Spain is hard
to obtain and the number of inmates that are granted a Secondary School education is limited because of the il-
literacy found in the imprisoned population. This has meant that this research could not augment the sample size
nor the number of analysed institutions, which created a limitation. All this creates the need to keep on researching
in the future with students from other educational levels and other institutions.
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Received: July 14, 2015 Accepted: August 18, 2015
Agustín Pozo Tamayo Professor of Secondary Education, Natural Sciences Education.

Assistant Professor, Laboratory for Health Education, University of
Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas, Badajoz, Spain.
E-mail: apozotamayo@hotmail.com
Lina Viviana Melo Niño PhD., Researcher of the University of Extremadura, Experimental and
Mathematical Sciences Education, Badajoz, Spain.
E-mail: lina.viviana.melo@gmail.com
Javier Cubero Juánez PhD., Professor of the University of Extremadura, Laboratory for Health
Education, Experimental Sciences Education, Badajoz, Spain.
E-mail: jcubero@unex.es
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BETWEEN COGNITIVE
STRUCTURE OUTCOMES AND
TEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRE-
SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS
ON CHEMICAL BONDING VIA
FLOW MAPPING
Abstract. The relationship between Elif Atabek-Yigit

cognitive structure outcomes of students
and their test achievement was examined
in this study. A question form and two
types of tests (a multiple-choice test (MCT)
and a true-false test (TFT)) were used to
gather the research data. According to the
Introduction
results of this study, extend, richness and
integratedness of students’ statements Every student learns in a different way, i.e., by using different methods
significantly correlated to their scores in and techniques to organize the knowledge in his/her mind, and his/her ex-
TFT. Also, richness of students’ statements isting knowledge is essential to the formation of new knowledge. Learning
was significantly correlated to their MCT involves an active process in which learners construct meaning by linking
scores. Describing and comparing were sig- new ideas with their existing knowledge (Naylor & Keogh, 1999). Therefore,
nificantly correlated with MCT scores, while it is very important in teaching and learning processes to have a better un-
derstanding about “how to determine pre-existing knowledge” and “how we
describing, comparing and inferring were
learn” in order to construct new knowledge.
significantly correlated with the students’
Structured knowledge (or cognitive structure) provides a stable and
TFT scores. Therefore, it can be said that organized framework to construct new knowledge. A well-organized ide-
tests reflect students’ cognitive structures. ational network also facilitates problem solving by providing an ordered
Furthermore, students with higher order set of generalizations and principles that can be efficiently mobilized and
thinking skills can be identified by TFT applied to new problem situations (Anderson, Randle & Covotsos, 2001).
rather than with MCT. Students’ misconcep- Cognitive structure is an indication of an individual’s organization of concepts
tions about the research topic were also in memory and the relationships between them (Tsai & Huang, 2002; Oskay
& Dincol, 2011; Tsai, 2001; Bischoff, Avery, Golden & French, 2010; Dhindsa &
examined, and they were generally on the
Anderson, 2004). Probing the cognitive structures of learners can enlighten
classification and types of chemical bonds.
learning processes. By exploring students’ cognitive structures, educators can
Key words: chemical bonding, cognitive understand students’ conceptions, interrelationships between concepts, and
structure, flow map, pre-service science scientifically incorrect understandings, i.e., misconceptions, and, therefore,
teachers, test achievement. help students to enhance their learning outcomes. Hence, “what the students
learn” and “how they learn” can be revealed by investigating the cognitive
structures of students. Thus, educators can design better learning settings
according to the findings.
Elif Atabek-Yigit There are five common methods of representing cognitive structures:
Sakarya University, free word association, controlled word association, tree construction, con-
Sakarya, Turkey cept map and flow map (Tsai & Huang, 2002). They provide evidence of the
network organization of information of a respondent, thus an insight into
the respondents’ organization of knowledge; though not all of them preserve
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the sequential organization of information recall. Since sequential organization may be related to the meaning of
categories and concepts, it is important to get respondents’ thoughts in an order (Anderson et al., 2001). Among
other methods, flow maps are not only easily adapted, but are also a valuable approach to represent both the
sequential and network features of peoples’ thoughts in a non-directive way (Anderson & Demetrius, 1993; Tsai,
2001). A flow map is constructed either from respondents’ written narrative or spoken discourse. It starts by enter-
ing the statements of the respondents in a sequential order and then every uttered statement is given a number.
Thereafter, linear and recurrent linkages are examined. A linear linkage shows the sequential flow of respondents’
ideas and a recurrent linkage shows the connections among relational ideas i.e., revisited ideas. Recurrent arrows
are drawn back to the earliest step where the revisited statement appears.
Respondents’ misconceptions are also examined throughout the flow maps since misconceptions represent
the part of cognitive structure. A number of quantitative variables such as extend, richness, integratedness and
misconceptions, representing cognitive structure, can be obtained from flow map analysis (Tsai, 2001; Tsai & Huang,
2002; Tsai, 1998; Yang, 2004). Extend shows the number of statements present in the flow map, richness shows the
number of recurrent linkages and integratedness gives the proportion of recurrent linkages.
Flow maps can also be used to conduct a series of content analyses of the students’ information processing
operations. Information processing, that is “how the students organize their ideas” mainly concerns the cognitive
reasoning accompanying each idea in the learners’ cognitive structures and can be categorized as: defining (defi-
nition of a concept), describing (picturing a concept or a phenomenon), comparing (comparison of two or more
concepts or situations) and inferring (describing what will happen under certain circumferences) modes. Defining
and describing modes are, as “require” low thinking skills, whereas comparing and inferring require higher order
thinking skills (Tsai, 2001).
The flow map method has been used in many studies. For instance, Bischoff et al. (2010) studied the devel-
opment of pre-service science teachers’ knowledge structures regarding redox chemistry. Dhindsa and Anderson
(2004) investigated the effect of the conceptual change approach to the reorganization of pre-service chemistry
teachers’ knowledge structures and they used flow map analysis prior and after a conceptual change intervention.
Yang (2004) aimed to explore students’ use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio-scientific issue and used
the flow map method to analyse participants’ conceptual knowledge. Tsai (2001) used the flow map method to
probe eight grader students’ cognitive structures on atomic theory. Similarly, Wu and Tsai (2011), Selvi and Yakisan
(2005), and Oskay, Temel, Ozgur and Erdem (2012), also used the flow map method in their studies to determine
students’ cognitive structures. Tsai (1998) investigated the relationship between eight grader students’ science
achievement, scientific epistemological beliefs and their cognitive structure outcomes. Students’ science achieve-
ment was obtained via science tests, their scientific epistemological beliefs via a scale and their cognitive structures
by interviewing and then transforming the recordings into a flow map format.
Misconceptions are misunderstandings of concepts or having scientifically wrong conceptions. They are vital
in learning processes since they hinder meaningful learning. Teachers having misconceptions is one possible reason
for students’ misconceptions; therefore, it is especially important to prevent pre-service teachers’ misconceptions
(Oskay et al., 2012). Hence, pre-service science teachers were chosen as participants in this study.
Testing, which has been primarily considered as an evaluation tool (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Chang, Yeh &
Barufaldi, 2010), can promote learning and conceptual change. Reading the choices in a test or retrieving informa-
tion by cues might activate relative memory, modify the memory trace of target items, and increase the probability
of a successful retrieval later (Kang, McDermott & Roediger, 2007). Since tests promote conceptual change the aim
of this study was to investigate how they reflect the cognitive structures of students.
In this study, “chemical bonding” was used as the research topic. Students can relate to many basic chemistry
subjects and better understand many concepts by deeply understanding this topic.
The main purpose of this study was to determine the cognitive structures of the students on chemical bond-
ing and to explore the relationships between cognitive structure outcomes and test achievements. Therefore, the
results of this study can be helpful for science educators to determine if students who receive high grades in tests
are richer in cognitive structure. More specifically, the study aimed to obtain answers to the following questions:
1. What are the cognitive structure outcomes of science education students regarding chemical bond-
ing?
2. What are the relationships (if any) between cognitive structure outcomes and test achievements?
3. Which types of tests better reflect students’ cognitive structures?
4. What are the misconceptions of the students regarding chemical bonding?
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This study is a correlation study that aims to determine the relationship between cognitive structure outcomes
and the test achievements of students. The data were gathered in a period of two weeks.
Participants and the Research Topic
The participants of this study were 68 freshmen (52 female and 16 male) attending the General Chemistry I
course during the fall semester of 2014-2015 at a university’s (located in the south west of Turkey) Science Educa-
tion Department. They can be regarded as relatively homogeneous on relevant academic dimensions because they
were all taught the research subject at a high school with a similar curriculum, and they had taken an entrance
exam before admittance to university and were appointed to a certain school based on the exam results. All of
the participants were informed about the study (by explaining its aim, design and procedure) and participated
voluntarily.
The research topic chosen in this study was “chemical bonds”. “Chemical Bonds” is one of the major topics
within General Chemistry courses. Students can relate to many of the topics (formation of compounds, reactions,
etc.) well by deeply understanding this topic (Nahum Mamlok-Naaman, Hofstein & Taber, 2010; Burrows & Moor-
ing, 2015). Research also shows that students have many misconceptions about chemical bonding (Morgil, Erdem
& Yilmaz, 2003, Burrows & Mooring, 2015, Ozmen, 2004). Therefore, probing cognitive structures about this topic
can enlighten misconceptions.
Instruments
Data were gathered through two different types of tests (multiple-choice test and true-false test) and a ques-
tion form. The types of tests used in this study were chosen because they are commonly used types in educational
settings (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Zimmerman, 2003; Chang et al., 2010). A detailed description about the instru-
ments used in this study is described as follows.
Multiple-Choice Test (MCT): The researcher developed a multiple-choice test about the research topic. First,
32 questions were involved in the pre-test, which was reviewed by two field experts (a researcher in the field of
chemistry education and a researcher in the field of chemistry) regarding the students’ appropriateness and the
adequacy of the tests’ chemistry content. After their examination, some questions were eliminated and some ques-
tions were modified. Thereafter, a pre-test was applied to 100 students studying science education. The Cronbach
alpha validity of this test was calculated as .83. The Multiple-Choice Test consisted of 25 four-choice questions.
Each question was allocated 4 points. Two examples from MCT are given as follows:
Which one is the strongest intermolecular bond?
a) Hydrogen bond
b) Van der Waals bond
c) Ionic bond
d) Dipole-dipole bond
How does the metallic bond form?
a) One metal gains an electron and the other one loses an electron.
b) It forms by sharing valence electrons of two metals.
c) It forms due to instant dipole moment of metallic atoms.
d) It forms by delocalization of the valence electrons of the interacting metal atoms.
True-False Test (TFT): After the development of the MCT, a total of twenty-five true and false statements par-
allel to the questions in the MCT were written and a True-False Test was formed. Students were told to read each
statement and write “T” for the statements they thought true, and “F” for the statements they thought false. The
TFT consisted of 25 statements (14 true and 11 false) and each right answer scored 4 points. Examples from TFT
are given as follows:
Van der Waals interactions are the weakest intramolecular interactions.
Metallic bond forms due to the instant dipole moment of metallic atoms.
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Question form: A question form consisting of five questions to analyse the cognitive structures of the students
was prepared. Another researcher was asked to review the form and some minor modifications were made after
his examination. Students were told to read each question and write down their responses. Questions on the form
were:
•• What is a chemical bond? Why and how does it form?
•• What are the types of chemical bonds? Can you explain them?
•• What is Lewis structure of a molecule? Can we draw a Lewis structure for all types of molecules?
•• What is the octet rule? Can you explain?
•• What is the VSEPR model? Can you explain?
Students’ responses were analysed via the flow map method using four different parameters (extend, rich-
ness, integratedness and misconceptions). Each statement in the flow maps was also categorized into one of the
following four levels of information processing modes: defining, describing, comparing, and inferring.
A different researcher (a professor in the field of science education) also performed an analysis of 10 students’
responses (randomly selected) and the inter-coder agreement was calculated as .89. Therefore, flow map analyses
were thought to be reliable.
Design and Procedure
A detailed design and procedure of the research is given as follows:
Step 1: Question form administration:

First of all, the participants were informed about the study. The question form was given to the students and
they were asked to write down their answers to five questions. The purpose of this form was to determine the
cognitive structures of the students. There was no time limit in this step and it took students about 45 minutes to
complete their answers.
Step 2. Test administration

One week after the question form, students were asked to respond to the true-false test. This test was com-
posed of 25 statements and students were asked to decide whether the statements were true or false. All of the
students completed the test in about 25 minutes.
One week after the true-false test, the multiple-choice test was given to the students and they were asked to
respond to 25 four-choice questions. It took students about 25 minutes to complete this test.
Both tests needed to be of a similar difficulty as the aim was to relate test scores and cognitive structure
parameters. For this reason, questions and statements in TFT and MCT were made similar; but this may lead to
another situation, which is called the testing effect. If students are tested on a subject they may remember it in the
future. This phenomenon is known as the testing effect and it has generally been studied in the field of cognitive
psychology (Carrier & Pashler, 1992; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Butler & Roediger, 2007; Chang et al., 2010). In order
to minimize the testing effect on the results, there was a time gap of a week (which was thought to be enough)
between the tests’ administrations.
Step 3. Evaluation of the data
Data obtained via the question forms were evaluated by the flow map method. The flow map method is a
valuable approach to show the sequential and multi-relational ideational frameworks of learners (Tsai, 2001). Ac-
cording to this method, narratives of each student to each question were transformed into consequent sentences
and flow maps were formed for each student separately. A sample flow map can be seen in Figure 1. All statements
were numbered and linear and recurrent linkages were formed. Linear linkages show the flow of student narrative,
and recurrent linkages show revisited ideas among the statements. Statement 3 in Figure 1, for example, “Chemical
bonds are formed in order for? an atom to reach to max stability and min orderliness”, includes one major revisited
idea “chemical bonds”. Consequently, a recurrent arrow was drawn back to statement 1, where the revisited idea
appeared first. After examining the flow maps from this point of view, four quantitative variables, e.g., extend, rich-
ness, integratedness, and misconceptions, representing the cognitive structures of the students, were calculated for
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each flow map. Extend is given as the total number of ideas represented in the flow map. For instance, there were 17
statements in the flow map shown in Figure 1, therefore, extend was determined as 17 for this flow map. Richness
is given as the total number of recurrent linkages, i.e., 17 in Figure 1. Integratedness is the proportion of recurrent
linkages and calculated as (recurrent linkages)/(linear linkages+recurrent linkages). Integratedness was calculated
as 0.50 in Figure 1. Misconception is the number of misconception in the flow map, i.e., 4 in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: A sample flow map.
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Further analysis to obtain a deeper understanding about students’ information processing strategies was ac-
complished by categorizing the statements in the flow maps into one of the following four levels of information
processing modes, e.g., defining, describing, comparing, and inferring. Statements giving definition of a concept
were categorized as “Defining mode”. Statement 14 in Figure 1, “Lewis structure is the demonstration of electrons of
a molecule by dots”, for instance, gives a definition of Lewis structure. Therefore, this statement was categorized as
defining. “Describing” is picturing a phenomenon or a fact. Statement 2 in Figure 1, They are formed by gaining or
losing an electron or electron sharing, was categorized as describing mode, as it depicts the formation of chemical
bonds. If two subjects or things were compared as in statement 9, in Figure 1 for instance, “Strength of intramo-
lecular bonds can be given as metallic bonds>ionic bonds>covalent bonds”, then it was categorized as comparing
mode. Statements describing what will happen under certain conditions or interpreting phenomenon, for instance,
statement 17 in Figure 1, “We can make use of VSEPR model while drawing Lewis structures”, were categorized as
inferring mode.
For reliability of the flow map method, an independent researcher was asked to evaluate a total of 10 flow
maps and the inter-coder agreement was calculated as .89 (greater than .80 is generally accepted as the minimum
for reliability). Therefore, this method was assumed to be reliable.
Statistical analysis in this study was accomplished through correlation analysis between the quantitative
variables obtained from flow maps and the test scores. SPSS 20.0 was used for the data analysis.
Results of Research
Students’ Test Achievements
Students’ test scores are given in Table 1. According to this table, students’ average score in MCT was 62.79,
while their average in TFT was 67.21.
Table 1. Test scores of the students.
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
MCT 68 28 88 62.79 13.490

TFT 68 32 90 67.21 14.497
Students’ Cognitive Structure Outcomes
Regarding the first research question, students’ cognitive structure outcomes obtained via the flow map
method are given in Table 2. From this table it can be said that the “extend” of students’ cognitive structures was,
on average, 14.97; that is, students were able to write down an average of 14.97 statements. The “richness” of
students’ cognitive structures was, on average, 11.81, and the “integratedness of their cognitive structures was, on
average, 0.43. Students have an average of 2.21 “misconceptions”, which means about 14.8% of their statements
were scientifically incorrect.
Table 2. Students’ cognitive structure outcomes.
Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Extend 4 31 14.97 5.87

Richness 3 29 11.81 5.86
Integratedness .29 .53 .43 .051
Misconceptions 0 6 2.21 1.73
Flow maps derived from students’ narratives to question forms were also examined from the point of informa-
tion processing modes. The results are given in Table 3.
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Table 3. Students’ information processing modes.
Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Defining 1 11 4.56 2.31

Describing 0 24 8.82 4.79
Comparing 0 5 .82 1.26
Inferring 0 5 1.29 1.12
According to the results, students have an average of 4.56 statements in “defining” mode, in which they give
the definition of a term or concept. They have an average of 8.82 statements in “describing” mode, in which a de-
scription of a situation or condition is given. Students gave an average of .82 statements in “comparing” mode and
an average of 1.29 statements in “inferring” mode. These results show that students mostly “describe” information
and they less frequently “compare” information. Keeping in mind that “comparing” and “inferring” modes require
higher order thinking skills, it can be said that students tend to use the information processing modes (defining
and describing) that require lower order thinking skills.
Relationship between Test Achievements and Cognitive Structures of the Students
Regarding the second research question, the relationship between test scores of the students and their cog-
nitive structure outcomes was examined through correlation analysis. Table 4 shows the results of this analysis.
According to Table 4 extend (r=0.342, p<0.01), richness (r=0.505, p<0.01) and integratedness (r=0.497, p<0.01) of
students’ statements were significantly correlated to their scores in TFT. From Table 4 it can also be said that rich-
ness (r=0.252, p<0.05) of students’ statements was significantly correlated to their MCT scores. The results showed
that students with more extended, richer and more integrated statements showed good performance on TFT, and
students with richer structures were successful on MCT. In other words, the students who performed well on TFT
were the ones with broader extend, richer and more integrated statements. However, students who performed
well on MCT were only correlated with their “richness”.
Table 4. Correlation between test achievements and cognitive structure outcomes of students.
MCT TFT
Pearson Correlation .236 .342**

Extend
Sig. (2-tailed) .053 .004
Pearson Correlation .252* .505**
Richness
Sig. (2-tailed) .038 .000
Integratedness
Sig. (2-tailed) .366 .000
Pearson Correlation -.011 -.065
Misconceptions
Sig. (2-tailed) .930 .600
Regarding the third research question, since TFT correlated many cognitive outcomes, it can be said that
true-false tests better reflect students’ cognitive structures.
A correlation analysis between test scores and the data on students’ information processing modes was also
accomplished, and the results are given in Table 5. According to these results, describing (r=0.245, p<0.05) and
comparing (r=0.253, p<0.05) were significantly correlated with the MCT scores of the students, while describing
(r=0.326, p<0.01), comparing (r=0.449, p<0.01) and inferring (r=0.321, p<0.01) were significantly correlated with
TFT scores of the students.
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Table 5. Correlation between test achievements and information processing modes of students.
MCT TFT
Pearson Correlation .009 .055

Defining
Sig. (2-tailed) .945 .654
Describing
Sig. (2-tailed) .044 .007
Comparing
Sig. (2-tailed) .037 .000
Inferring
Sig. (2-tailed) .176 .008
Another correlation analysis was performed between the variables obtained from flow maps and the results
are given in Table 6. It can be said from Table 6 that defining (r=0.363, p<0.01), describing (r=0.865, p<0.01), com-
paring (r=0.584, p<0.01) and inferring (r=0.510, p<0.01) were significantly correlated with the extend of students’
cognitive structures.
Similarly, all information-processing modes (defining (r=0.367, p<0.01), describing (0.755, p<0.01), compar-
ing (r=0.634, p<0.01) and inferring (r=0.587, p<0.01)) were significantly correlated with the richness of students’
cognitive structures. Also, the comparing (r=0.325, p<0.01) and inferring (r=0.409, p<0.01) modes were significantly
correlated with the integratedness of the statements.
Table 6. Correlation between the variables obtained from flow map analysis.
Extend Richness Integratedness Misconceptions
Pearson Correlation .363** .367** .194 .027

Defining
Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .002 .112 .828
Pearson Correlation .865** .755** .191 .292*
Describing
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .118 .016
Pearson Correlation .584** .634** .325** -.100
Comparing
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .007 .419
Pearson Correlation .510** .587** .409** .130
Inferring
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .001 .291
Misconceptions of the Students about the Research Topic
Regarding the fourth research question, the misconceptions of the students were also analysed through the
flow map method. Results of this study showed that students have many misconceptions (an average of 14.8% of
their statements) about the topic of chemical bonds. When the data were analysed, misconceptions were gener-
ally about the classification of chemical bonds. Confusion arose regarding inter- and intramolecular bonds and
their types. Some students stated, “H bonds, Van der Waals interactions and dipol-dipol interactions were types of
intermolecular bonds”. Some others said, “covalent bonds were a kind of intramolecular bonds”. It was also found that
students have difficulties clarifying the octet rule, Lewis structure and VSEPR model. For instance, a student stated,
“Lewis structure of a molecule is to draw lines between atoms to complete all the atoms to 8 electrons in that structure”.
Another one said, “Lewis structure means the geometry of the molecule”. Interestingly, a few students had the mis-
conception that “Van der Waals interactions are about the bonds between gases”, possibly because they remember
the Van der Waals equation from the topic on gases.
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Discussion
This study aimed to examine the cognitive structures of freshmen students studying science education
regarding chemical bonding. It also aimed to investigate, if there was a relationship between students’ cognitive
structure outcomes and their scores on different types of tests. A question form consisting of five questions was
administrated to obtain students’ cognitive structures, and two types of tests: multiple-choice and true-false, were
used to gather students’ test scores. Data obtained from the question form were analysed through the flow map-
ping technique and quantitative variables regarding students’ cognitive structures were formed. In order to obtain
a deeper insight into students’ cognitive structures, flow maps were also examined from the point of students’
information processing.
Students’ cognitive structure outcomes with regard to this study’s first research question were evaluated and
details are given in Table 2. Extend of students’ cognitive structures was 14.97 on average; richness and integrated-
ness of their cognitive structures were 11.81 and 0.43, respectively. According to these results, it can be said that
students have low to medium cognitive structures about the research topic.
The results of the study revealed that there was a relationship between students’ scores in the tests and some
of the quantitative variables of the cognitive structure (with regard to the second research question). Students’ MCT
scores were significantly correlated with the richness of their cognitive structure outcomes (r= 0.252, p<0.05). Also,
students’ scores on TFT were significantly correlated with extend (r=0.342, p<0.01), richness (r=0.505, p<0.01), and
integratedness (r=0.497, p<0.01) of their cognitive structures (Table 3). It can be concluded from these results that
the tests reflect students’ cognitive structures. Similarly, Tsai (1998) found that students’ achievement in science
was correlated with extend, richness and integratedness of their cognitive structures, and concluded that students’
achievement in science is an important predictor in explaining their cognitive structure outcomes. Another study
by Tsai (2001) also found a significant positive correlation between students’ science achievement (by a multiple-
choice test) and extend and richness of their cognitive structures. Oskay et al. (2012) also investigated a significant
positive correlation between pre-service chemistry teachers’ test scores on a Correct Concept Test and their flow
map scores. According to Anderson et al. (2001), there is a significant correlation between the number of complex
linkages in flow maps and students’ scores from open-ended laboratory observations, scores from unit test and
the number of concepts students wrote about in their essays.
The results of this study also state that, while there were significant correlations between students’ test scores on
TFT with some data (describing (r=0.326, p<0.01), comparing (r=0.449, p<0.01) and inferring (r=0.321, p<0.01)) from
the point of information processing modes, students’ MCT scores were significantly correlated to describing (r=0.245,
p<0.05) and comparing (r=0.253, p<0.05) modes of information processing (Table 4). Therefore, it can be concluded
that students who mostly describe and/or compare information are higher achievers in both tests. In addition, stu-
dents who infer information get high scores from TFT. In other words, TFT scores can reveal students who have higher
order thinking skills (i.e., inferring). In another study by Tsai (2001) it was also concluded that there was a correlation
between students’ science achievement and their describing and inferring modes of information processing.
In light of the findings of this study, it can be concluded that TFT tests can be thought of as more reflective
of students’ cognitive structures, since more correlations were found with TFT scores. Students face the right an-
swer, as well as wrong choices in MCT; they need to discriminate among the options provided in order to choose
the correct answer. Therefore, a MCT requires recognition. However, in TFT students are required to retrieve and
generate an answer to a question. In other words, a TFT requires response production (Kang et al., 2007; McDaniel,
Roediger & McDermott, 2007; Karpicke & Zaromb, 2010). Since it must be thought true-false type tests require
more retrieval than multiple-choice type tests, TFT can reveal students who have higher order thinking skills and
more cognitive structure outcomes.
It should also be noted that the testing effect was not reflected in the results of the study as students obtained
higher scores from TFT (the first administered test). Therefore, the time between the administrations of both tests
was thought to be adequate.
Many students have misconceptions regarding the topic of chemical bonding - i.e., they have difficulties
about the formation of bonding, types of chemical bonding (Ozmen, 2004), electronegativity and polar covalent
bonding (Burrows & Mooring, 2015), octet rule, molecular shape and bond polarity (Nahum et al., 2010). This study
revealed that its participants also have some misconceptions about chemical bonding, mostly on the categoriza-
tion of chemical bond types. This can be related to their lack of comparison and explanation skills as clarified by
flow map analysis.
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In conclusion, the flow map method is not just a simple method; it is also valuable in gathering the cognitive
structure outcomes of the students. These outcomes can be correlated to scores of MCT and TFT. Therefore, it can
be said that the tests reflect students’ cognitive structures. Furthermore, TFT requires more retrieval process than
MCT, and students with higher order thinking skills can be identified by TFT rather than by MCT.
Conclusions
The cognitive structure of students has always been a major concern of educators. Teaching processes are
mostly evaluated by tests and students are thought successful if they obtain a good score from testing. Therefore,
educators should know if a test reflects a student’s cognitive structure. This study revealed that there is a relationship
between the cognitive structure outcomes of students and their test scores. The size of the relationship depends
on the type of test. Two types of test (MCT and TFT) were used in this study and according to the results TFT tests
have a greater correlation with students’ cognitive structure outcomes. TFT tests require students to generate
an answer to the question; therefore, students need to retrieve the information. This might be the reason for the
greater correlation. Therefore, it can be implemented that TFT type tests are applied in order to obtain a deeper
insight into students’ cognitive structures. However, it should be kept in mind that this study has some limitations.
For example, the participants of this study were from one university, i.e., they have a similar academic background;
the research topic was one which students have many misconceptions about; and just two types of tests were
examined. Therefore, for future research it is recommended that the relationships with larger and different groups,
with different research topics, and with different types of tests be examined.
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EDUCATION AIMED AT
DATABASE SYSTEMS
Abstract. Currently science education is

Ján Záhorec, understood not only as education in math-
Alena Hašková, ematics, physics and chemistry, but also
Michal Munk, as an education in informatics. To analyze
the current state of informatics education
Martin Bílek within the tertiary economy and manage-
rial study fields was the aim of the research,
the purpose of which was to support cur-
ricula innovation in the relevant study pro-
grammes and to bring their content closer
to the demands and needs of the labour
market. An original feature of the research
Introduction has been the fact that it has been based on
students` points of view. The research sam-
Quality of education is assessed on the background of the society`s ple consisted of students of the concerned
needs and requirements. The particular aspects related to the term quality study programmes in the Slovak and Czech
education are influenced by the most significant features or tendencies in Republic. The paper presents methodology
the society at the time. In today’s technology-based societies, understanding of the carried out questionnaire survey and
main findings related to the data recorded
fundamental scientific concepts and theories and the ability to structure and
at items focused on database systems and
solve scientific problems are more important than ever before. An under-
technologies. The obtained data related to
standing of science and technology is central to a young person’s prepared- the respondents` opinions and the assess-
ness for life in modern society. This was reflected also in indicators on quality ments of the selected learning topics taught
education selected by the working committee of national experts in 2000 (EC, within their study programmes and the
2001). Among the indicators included in the area of attainment, one can find importance of these topics for the respond-
mathematics, reading, science, information and communication technolo- ents` professional career were processed
gies, foreign languages, the ability to learn to learn and civics. Reading skills according to the factors of the country,
play a central role in an individual’s learning at school in all countries and gender and field of the study. The results
also all countries share a solid grounding in mathematics at the very core of showed a significant dependence of the
the educational curriculum. Scientific disciplines create bases for much of respondents` answers on their field of the
study independently on their gender and
the core foundations of business and industry in each society. Information
the country in which they took their study.
and communication technologies are having an accelerating impact on the
Key words: tertiary education, evaluation
way we learn, live, work, consume, express and entertain ourselves. The use methodologies, curricula innovation, sci-
of information and communication technologies is reflected also in one of ence education, scientific literacy, informat-
the key competency, which should be developed within the formal school ics, computer literacy.
education (through informatics education), and it is the computer literacy of
the students. This can be carried out either by particular curricular informatics
Ján Záhorec
subjects or across different subjects of non-informatics specialization. Methodology and Pedagogy Centre in
In relation to science education informatics education has a special Bratislava, Slovak Republic
position. On the one hand, science education is perceived as education in Alena Hašková, Michal Munk
Constantine the Philosopher University in
mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, but on the other hand, informat- Nitra, Slovak Republic
ics together with technology is very often also incorporated into the content Martin Bílek
of this term. Already from 2000 the OECD’s international study of education University of Hradec Králové,
Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) has assessed learn-
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ing achievements of 15-year-old students periodically in three-year cycles. PISA monitoring focuses on the youth`s
ability to use their knowledge and skills acquired at schools to meet real-life challenges. While the first cycles of
the OECD’s international monitoring of education PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) were
focused mainly on the level of the 15-year-old students` reading literacy, since 2006 the PISA monitoring has paid
more and more attention to students’ competency in mathematics and mainly science. Within that the orientation
of the monitoring has been increasingly shifted to what students can do with what they learn at school and not
merely with whether they have mastered the specific curricular content. In 2006, 2009 and consequently in 2015
a domain part of the PISA monitoring was scientific literacy (in 2012 the main domain of the PISA monitoring was
the financial literacy of the youth (OECD, 2014). While, as it was already mentioned, the common understanding
of science education reflects knowledge obtained in mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, PISA defines
scientific literacy as the ability to use scientific knowledge and processes, not only to understand the natural world,
but also to participate in decisions that affect it (OECD, 2007a, 2007b, 2010a, 2010b, 2014). It defines it as an indi-
vidual’s scientific knowledge, and the use of that knowledge, to identify questions, acquire new knowledge, explain
scientific phenomena and draw evidence based conclusions about science-related issues; their understanding of
the characteristic features of science as a form of human knowledge and enquiry; their awareness of how science
and technology shape our material, intellectual and cultural environments; and their willingness to engage in
science-related issues, and with the ideas of science, as a reflective citizen (OECD, 2009). In the context of the PISA
2015 monitoring the view of scientific literacy, which forms the basis for this cycle of the international assessment
of the youth education achievements, is a response to the question what is important for young people to know,
value, and be able to do in situations involving science and technology (OECD, 2015).
Problem of Research
Nowadays, in Slovakia informatics is integrated in different forms in the study programmes of almost all study
fields, carried out at the tertiary level of education. With the exception of technical faculties and departments of
informatics offering study programmes directly in the field of informatics. Education in the field of informatics is
mostly focused on applied informatics in the context of the particular study field and the profile of the graduate
of the relevant study programme. An important reason, why informatics topics are included into the study pro-
grammes of the study fields economy and management on the tertiary level of education (ISCED 6, ISCED 7), is a
need to develop students` computer literacy in general (MŠ, http://www.akredkom.sk/index.pl?tmpl= odbory),
and enhance those their informatics competencies, which have a broad transfer from the point of practice and
labour market view (PAS, http://www.alianciapas.sk) and enhance one`s adaptability in personal out-of-service life
(Skalka, Drlík & Švec, 2012; Pešaković, Flogie & Aberšek, 2014).
Proclaimed overall unsatisfactory level of informatics education within the economy and managerial study
programmes considerably relates to the insufficient attention paid to the fitting of teaching database into the study
programme curricula. Partially, it is also a consequence of a low lesson allocation devoted to subjects taught within
the informatics education in the concerned study programmes (Lareki, Morentin & Amenabar, 2010). Graduates of
economy and managerial study programmes usually are not learned to be able to develop and program databases
and information systems by themselves. But on the other hand, in practice the majority of them is facing situations
in which they are asked to define and specify requests which a designed institutional information system should
fulfil. Demands and requirements of practice show, that not only the employees in leading positions, but also the
common users of the information systems, who daily entry and update the data in the systems, should be familiar
with the basic principles on which these systems run and are operated (Lamanauskas, 2013, Burgerová, Maněnová,
& Adamkovičová, 2013).
Research Focus
A way how to eliminate the proclaimed dissatisfaction with informatics education offered by the higher
education institutions to their students within the economy and managerial study programmes is to innovate
and modernize the relevant curricula and to bring their content closer to the demands and needs of the labour
market. But this has been done on a reasonable platform, not in an intuitive way. To create such a platform for a
possible innovation of the informatics education leading to a higher professional competency of the graduates
of the economy and managerial study fields, there was initiated a research which aim was to analyze the current
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state of informatics education within the relevant study programmes. An original feature of the research has been
the fact that it has been based on students` points of view.
Instruction of database systems and database technologies at Slovak and Czech higher education institutions
is carried out dominantly by the faculties majoring in information and communication technologies (i.e., facul-
ties of informatics, information technologies, electrical engineering, etc.). In some cases, instruction of database
systems and database technologies is done, also at other faculties by their departments specialized in the field
of informatics.
Database systems and database technologies are taught also within the majority of the economy and
managerial study programmes, offered by the concerned faculties in Slovakia as well as in the Czech Republic.
In comparison with the technical faculties, weight (credit value), lesson allocation (number of lessons devoted to
informatics education) and arrangement of the appropriate subjects or courses (first or second level of the tertiary
education, term of their instruction, their status of a compulsory or optional subject) they depend strongly on the
particular study programme graduate`s profile (for example administration of the database systems is not taught
at all faculties of economy and management and the same applies also to the development of database applica-
tions). These facts are consequently reflected in the particular subject or course curricula. The concerned one or
two term courses (subjects incorporated into the study programmes) are usually drafted in a way, which enables
students to acquire basic database knowledge and skills to program in the SQL database language on the user
level or, if appropriate, to gain also some database modelling knowledge.
Very often a common factor of different discussions led at the professional forums is the importance of a
higher education knowledge applicability to the practice (Zúbková & Orosiová, 2011; Robbert, Wang, Guimaraes &
Myers, 2000; Šebo, 2013). We are witnesses of a rapid development of the database and information technologies.
For this reason, it is very important to make the up-to-date trends in this field to be one of the key points within
the informatics curricula incorporated into the economy and managerial study specializations at the tertiary level
of education (Johnston & Webber, 2003). Very often integration of these topics into the curricula of the particular
informatics subjects taught at higher education institutions is not easy and immediately feasible. A consequence
is that the graduates leave their alma maters with the knowledge which does not fulfil their employers` expecta-
tions on them (Jong, 2007).
Different research results show that currently provided instruction in the field of informatics related to the
database issues incorporated in some economy and managerial study programmes of higher education institu-
tions in Slovakia more or less does not respond to now-a-days needs of practice neither to now-a-days require-
ments of employers on the professional competencies of the graduates. Because of that, a question arises – how
the instruction of database systems and database technologies within the economy and managerial study pro-
grammes should be modified (its scope, content, arrangement) to bring it in accordance with the current needs
of the practice and constantly increasing informatization in all life areas. The carried research was to give at least
some partial answers to this question.
Keeping in mind the above-mentioned facts, the carried out research analyzed the current state of the infor-
matics education in the selected economy and managerial study programmes just from the point of view of the
database systems and database technology instruction to modernize and optimize informatics teaching according
to the needs of practice and requirements of the labour market on the competency profile of the relevant study
programme graduates.
Sample selection
Considering the relationship between the systems of education in the Slovak and Czech Republic (their
common development), the Czech Republic was chosen as a comparative country, the situation in Slovakia was
compared with. The research samples in both these countries, the groups of the questionnaire respondents, were
created primarily on the basis of availability of the students enrolled in the observed study programmes and sec-
ondarily on the basis of the selected study programme relevance as regards their specialization, their graduate
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profiles, number of students as well as their reputation. In Slovakia the research sample consisted of students of
the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM), Slovak University of Agriculture (SUA) in Nitra, enrolled in one
of the following study programmes: Business Management (BMA), Quantitative Methods in Economics (QME),
Accounting (AC), Agrarian Trade and Marketing (ATM) or Business Economics (BEC), and students of the Faculty
of European Studies and Regional Development (FESRD), Slovak University of Agriculture (SUA) in Nitra, enrolled
in the study programme European Development Programmes (EDP). Due to our limited possibilities, the research
sample in the Czech Republic consisted only of the students attending the Faculty of Business and Economics
(FBE), Mendel University (MU) in Brno, enrolled in study programmes Economic Policy and Administration (EPA) and
Accounting and Taxes (ACT). All these faculties offer education in nearly identical study programmes of economy
and managerial study specializations.
Composition of the research sample in dependence on the factors (in the meaning of the variables related
to the respondent characteristics) COUNTRY, GENDER and FIELD OF STUDY (study specialization) is presented in
Table 1. Herein, it is necessary to notice that COUNTRY means the country in which the respondents undergo their
higher education studies and not the respondents’ nationality.
Table 1. Composition of the research sample according to the respondent characteristics.
Factor (variable related to the respondent characteristics) N
Slovakia (SK) 493

COUNTRY
Czech Republic (CZ) 42
Female (F) 373
GENDER
Male (M) 162
Business Economics (BEC) 319
Agrarian Trade and Marketing (ATM) 62
Quantitative Methods in Economics (QME) 28
Accounting (AC) 37
FIELD OF STUDY
Business Management (BMA) 20
European Development Programmes (EDP) 27
Accounting and Taxes (ACT) 18
Economic Policy and Administration (EPA) 24
Total 535
Using the above-mentioned research sample the research was aimed at four subtasks:
•• mapping and analysis of informatics education with focus on the database systems and database
technologies in the context of the selected economy and managerial study programmes carried out
at the chosen faculties in the Slovak and Czech Republics,
•• comparison analysis of the informatics education carried out in the Slovak and Czech Republics within
the concerned study programmes done in focus on the database systems and database technologies
instruction,
•• recommendations to optimize informatics subject instruction within the analyzed study programmes in
accordance with the current requirements on the observed study programmes graduates` knowledge
and skills related to the database systems and database technologies,
•• proposal and design of animation and simulation models in the context of innovation and moderniza-
tion of informatics subject teaching in the frame of the concerned tertiary study programmes.
Mapping and analysis of the current state of informatics education in the concerned study programmes was
based on the screening of the students` opinions by means of a questionnaire survey. The necessary research data
were collected through a questionnaire, in the frame of which the respondents expressed their opinions and as-
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sessments of different actually taught or potentially innovated topics related to database systems and database
technology issues. The fact that the research has been based on students` points of view can be evaluated as an
original feature of the carried out research.
In the screening the students expressed their opinions and requirements or needs to insertion different
relevant topics into the curricula of their study programmes from the point of view of their study specialization.
The screening was based on the use of a questionnaire consisted of 104 items which were structured in six areas
(questionnaire parts A – F):
•• Part A: Introduction (7 items)
•• Identification of the respondent’s gender, age, study specialization
•• Part B: What I want to learn (26 items)
•• Identification of the informatics topics/subjects, which the students want to learn from those included
in the actual curriculum of their study programmes, estimation of the level of attractiveness of these
subjects for students (how interesting they are for students in the context of their further career spe-
cialization)
•• Part C: My future profession (24 items)
•• Estimation of the level to which some given factors are important for students in their decisions made
at their future job selection
•• Part D: What I would like to learn (22 items)
•• Identification of the informatics topics/subjects which the students would like to learn and which are
not included in the actual curriculum of their study programmes, estimation of the level of attractive-
ness of these subjects for students (how interesting they are for students in the context of their further
career specialization)
•• Part E: My education in the field of informatics (18 items)
•• Assessment of some statements regarding the informatics education the students have already passed
during their higher education study (estimation of the measure to which the students agree or do not
agree with the given statements)
•• Part F: My professional competencies in the context of the study specialization (7 items)
•• Screening of the students` opinions on the development of their study specialization: how they assess
their professional competency and how they assess their possibilities to employ on the labour market
in the context of their study specialization
In the questionnaire parts B – E the respondents expressed their opinions and assessments to the particular
questionnaire items through five point Likert scale, i.e. through assessments from 1 to 5 points with a mean value
to express neutral, emotionally indifferent evaluative answer. A higher level of the negative assessment or dis-
agreement has been expressed by a lower point value, markedly negative assessment or a total disagreement has
been expressed by the point value 1. A higher level of the positive assessment or agreement has been expressed
by a higher point value, the maximum positive assessment or a total agreement has been expressed by the point
(scale) value 5. At each respondent his/her responses to the particular items were recorded, i.e. one recorded the
scale values by which the respondent assessed the particular informatics topic areas from the point of view of their
interest and attractiveness for his/her study specialization, and the scale values corresponding to the degree of
the respondent’s agreement or disagreement with the particular given statements.
In the questionnaire part named My professional competencies in the context of the study specialization the
respondents chose out of seven alternative answers the one which they identified mostly with, or which repre-
sented their viewpoint mostly.
The questionnaire survey for the purpose of the necessary research data collection was carried out in the
academic year 2013/2014 in cooperation with the teachers of the concerned faculties who personally administrated
the questionnaires.
Within the framework of the comparison analysis of the informatics education, carried out in the concerned
study programmes in the Slovak and Czech Republics, in view of the database systems and database technology
teaching as the data source, the relevant study programmes and information sheets of the particular subjects
were used.
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Data Analysis
a) Analysis of the informatics education
At the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM), Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (SUA Nitra),
database systems and database technologies are taught within the course Managerial informatics in the second
term of the first level of the tertiary study. Within this subject teaching the students should acquire basic knowledge
on the key notions and conceptions regarding relational database technology, and skills to use databases in the
Microsoft Access environment on the application level. Curriculum of the subject Managerial informatics creates a
platform for students to pass a set of standardized certification exams on an advanced level of the ECDL (European
Computer Driving Licence) system and to obtain the Expert version of the ECDL certificate, i.e. the subject should
prepare students to be ready to obtain an internationally accepted document (certificate) on their computer lit-
eracy and digital expertise advanced level (ECDL, http://www.ecdl.sk/testy-ecdl/sylaby-ecdl-advanced). The basic
knowledge from the subject Managerial informatics is further developed in the frame of the study programme
Quantitative Methods in Economics (QME) in the first term of the second level of the tertiary study within the subject
Database systems. The subject Database systems is a very important component part of both full- and part-time
studies at the Faculty of European Studies and Regional Development (SUA Nitra), specifically of the study pro-
gramme European Development Programmes. The main goal of this subject instruction is to make students both
theoretically and practically acquainted with the core principles of database design and creation, which enables
them, in the future at their job performance, to formulate requirements on the institutional information systems
creation, modification and adaptation. Students are acquainted in a practical way with particular levels of the
information systems, relational data models, relational algebra, query language principles, SQL language DML,
DDL and DCL statements. Further, they are acquainted with a conceptual, database and physical data models, with
data normalization, methodology of data model creation, data protection and integrity restrictions. To enroll the
subject Database systems provides students a possibility to gain large knowledge of the use of different database
models, algorithmization processes and standardization. Programming and development of the database systems
are not incorporated in the informatics education curricula (as to the both faculties, i.e. FEM and FESRD). The clos-
est knowledge to this issue, which students can obtain, is the knowledge and skills provided by the study subject
Programming in applications taught at the Faculty of Economics and Management in the last term of the second
level of the tertiary education.
In the Faculty of Business and Economics of Mendel University in Brno informatics subjects are an integral
part of its study programmes, too. Ones of them are the study subjects Database systems I and Database systems II.
Within the subject Database systems I, students learn to design database models for different applications, to
describe and explain advanced SQL queries and their parts and to master SQL query logic. Students, passing this
subject, are able to implement database models in the most common database systems. A continuation of the
subject Database systems I, is the subject Database systems II taught at the second level of the tertiary (master)
study. Passing this subject students are able to define and explain data analysis results on the reporting level, to
design data warehouse model on the application level with its consequent optimization and to describe and carry
out ETL process of data recording into the data warehouse. In general, the students are knowledgeable to create
database queries on an advanced user level, including their optimizing strategies.
b) Analysis of the reliability of the collected data
Reliability of the created questionnaire was approved on the basis of its item reliability evaluation and suspi-
cious questionnaire items identification by means of reliability/item analysis. The total reliability of the question-
naire was calculated through the Cronbach alpha coefficient. The Cronbach alpha values stated separately for all
four areas B – E αB = 0.9570 (What I want to learn), αC = 0.8405 (My future profession), αD = 0.9620 (What I would like to
learn) and αE = 0.9293 (My professional competencies in the context of the study specialization) indicate a high level
of the internal consistency of the used measuring tool.
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Results of Research
Hereinafter there are presented the main results resulted from the analysis of the questionnaire items in-
cluded in the questionnaire part named What I want to learn (items B1 – B26). In the primary plane, the attention
is paid to the items related to the issues of database systems and database technologies instruction and issues of
incorporating these topics into the informatics education carried out within the observed study programmes (i.e.
with regard to the specialization of these study programme graduates).
Table 2. Descriptive statistics to the selected questionnaire items from the part What I want to learn.
95% Confidence Interval for

Standard Standard the Mean
Questionnaire part/item Mean
Deviation Error
-95 % +95 %
What I want to learn

B6 – Use of tools and advanced techniques of work with MS
3.90 1.01 0.04 3.82 3.99
PowerPoint to create interactive presentations
B7 – Creating and formatting of structured documents using
3.85 1.01 0.04 3.76 3.94
MS Word tools
B10 – Possibilities of conditional cell formatting in MS Excel 3.53 1.08 0.05 3.44 3.62
B5 – Use of standard tools and Windows applications 3.47 1.10 0.05 3.38 3.57
B8 – Data entry through data form, formatting, data editing

3.41 1.09 0.05 3.32 3.50
and data back-up
B16 – Using the tools for analytical output creation 2.75 1.07 0.05 2.66 2.84
B14 – Creation of own expressions by combining different

2.73 1.13 0.05 2.63 2.83
functions
B20 – Defining relationship between database tables 2.67 1.10 0.05 2.57 2.76
B1 – Algorithmization of mathematical problems solving 2.16 1.15 0.05 2.07 2.26
B3 – Number systems, transfer algorithms of numbers

2.16 1.07 0.05 2.07 2.25
between systems
N = 535
Table 2 summarises descriptive statistics of the total score achieved in cases of the five most positively and
most negatively assessed items – learning topics falling within the field of informatics (within the questionnaire
part B What I want to learn). There are presented total scores of the items for the whole research sample without
the respondent differentiation (i.e. without dividing the respondents into the subgroups on the basis of the fac-
tors COUNTRY, GENDER, FIELD OF STUDY), values of the mean, standard deviation, standard error of the estimated
mean and 95% error band of the scale value mean.
The results of the assessments of the content attractiveness and importance of the topics selected in the
questionnaire part What I want to learn (i.e. the assessment related to the subjects currently incorporated into the
concerned study programmes) from the students` point of view are summarized in the graph in Figure 1. The box
plot (Figure 1) presents mean, standard error of the estimated mean and standard deviation of the assessments
of the particular items.
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Figure 1: Box plot – differences in ratings of the particular items from the questionnaire part What I want to
learn.
Explanatory notes: B1 – Algorithmization of mathematical problems solving; B2 – Computer hardware; B3 – Number systems,
transfer algorithms of numbers between systems; B4 – Administration and orientation in structure of objects and data stored
in Windows; B5 – Use of standard tools and Windows applications; B6 – Use of tools and advanced techniques of work with MS
PowerPoint to create interactive presentations; B7 – Creating and formatting of structured documents using MS Word tools;
B8 – Data entry through data form, formatting, data editing and data back-up; B9 – Creating documents for mail merge; B10 –
Possibilities of conditional cell formatting in MS Excel; B11 – Filtering large tables, defining filter criteria for the values of
different
formats; B12 – Use of functions; B13 – Work with large tables using data tools; B14 – Creation of own expressions by combining
different functions; B15 – Graphical interpretation of data (creation and changing chart attributes); B16 – Using the tools for
analytical output creation; B17 – Numerical and graphical analysis of data through the pivot table and pivot chart; B18 – Utiliza-
tion of macros to automate repetitive operations in MS Excel; B19 – Definition of the table design in the MS Access database
application; B20 – Defining relationship between database tables; B21 – Work with forms in MS Access database application; B22
– Selection of required data using select query; B23 – Creation of own calculations and use of functions in select query; B24 –
Using aggregate functions in queries for statistical, financial and economic data analysis; B25 – Creation of simple reports in MS
Access; B26 – Dynamic interconnection of data between MS Access and external applications
A question is whether the differences among the statistic values of the respondents` answers to the particular
questionnaire items are random or statistically significant. To answer this question the repeated measures analy-
sis of variance was used. It is necessary to point that the test was not applied on the dependence on the factors
COUNTRY, GENDER and FIELD OF STUDY, as at the beginning of the sample survey the intention was to obtain only
a global view on the observed issues, without any differentiation.
On the basis of the presented results of the description statistics, the following null hypothesis was formulated
and consequently tested at the 5 % significance level:
H0: There is no statistically significant difference between the assessments of the items B1 – B26 of the
area “What I want to learn”.
To the data obtained by the selective finding repeated measures ANOVA (analysis of variance) was applied.
Assumption of the analysis of variance for repeated measures is equality of the variances and covariances in the
covariant matrix for repeated measures, so-called assumption of the covariant matrix sphericity. The assumption
of normality had not to be tested as the research samples were big enough.
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To test the equality of the variances and covariances in the covariant matrix Mauchly’s sphericity test was
used (Table 3).
Table 3. Mauchly’s sphericity test.
Area of the survey /Items W Chi-Sqr. df p
What I want to learn / Item (B1 –B26) 0.002 3311.026 324 0.00000
In case of the items (B1 – B26) the test is statistically significant (p < 0.05), so the assumption of the variance
equality failed and so it is refused (Table 3).
If the assumption of the covariance matrix sphericity is not fulfilled, the value of the type I error increases.
That is why in such cases degrees of freedom for the used F-test are revised by corrections to achieve the de-
clared significance level. Because of the failure of the assumption of the variance analysis validity, there was used
Greenhouse-Geisser and Huynh-Feldt correction for analysis of variance repeated measures (Table 4).
Table 4. Greenhouse-Geisser and Huynh-Feldt correction for analysis of variance repeated measures.
df F p G-G G-G G-G G-G H-F H-F H-F H-F
Epsilon Adj. df1 Adj. df2 Adj. p Epsilon Adj. df1 Adj. df2 Adj. p
Item 25 119.210 0.00000 0.589 14.728 7864.745 0.00000 0.607 15.170 8100.900 0.00000
Error 13350
The results of Greenhouse-Geisser and Huynh-Feldt correction for analysis of variance repeated measures to
test the respondents` answers to the items B1 – B26 (Table 4) proved the statistical significance of the differences
between the respondents` assessments of the particular items within the studied area (p < 0.05). Following the
obtained results (the achieved significance values in all three cases are the same) the above-stated null hypothesis
H0 was disapproved at the 5 % significance level.
Within the tests also Friedman test and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance were applied. The results of Fried-
man’s test (ANOVA Chi Sqr. (N = 535, df = 25) = 2404.36; p = 0.00000) and achieved values of Kendall’s coefficient of
concordance (Coeff. of Concordance = 0.18) have proved Greenhouse-Geisser and Huynh-Feldt correction results
(p < 0.05). The results are consistent, so they can be taken as robust.
After the approval of the statistically significant differences among the respondents` answers to the items
B1 – B6 of the questionnaire part What I want to learn the differences in the assessment were tested to find those
items between responses to which the differences are statistically significant. The identification of the homoge-
neous groups in the concerned part was done by the means of the repeated comparison of the particular couples.
Overview of the repeated comparison is presented in Table 5.
Table 5. Identification of the homogeneous groups.
Item Mean 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B3 2.160748 ****
B1 2.162617 ****
B20 2.665421 ****
B14 2.730841 **** ****
B16 2.747664 **** ****
B26 2.783178 **** ****
B17 2.839252 **** ****
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Item Mean 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B22 2.850467 **** ****

B4 2.865421 **** ****
B21 2.869159 ****
B24 2.897196 **** ****
B19 2.900935 **** ****
B18 2.900935 **** ****
B23 2.904673 **** ****
B2 2.925234 **** ****
B25 2.928972 **** ****
B13 3.085981 ****
B9 3.299065 ****
B11 3.321495 ****
B12 3.357009 **** ****
B15 3.394393 **** ****
B8 3.411215 **** ****
B5 3.474766 **** ****
B10 3.530841 ****
B7 3.850467 ****
B6 3.902804 ****
Within the identified seven homogeneous groups the respondents (without their differentiation according
to the factors COUNTRY, GENDER and FIELD OF STUDY) responded almost identically.
Following the obtained results and particular findings, the further subject of the research was to find out the
divergence of the means of the particular item scores (B1 – B26) in dependence on the factors COUNTRY, GENDER
and FIELD OF STUDY. From the whole statistics evaluation only the results regarding database systems and data-
base technologies, i.e. items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 and B26 are presented. The results recorded at these items
are summarised in Table 6. It is an overview of the values of the means, standard deviations, standard errors of the
mean estimation and 95% confidence intervals of the means of the scale value processed for the whole research
sample (total) and for the sub-samples differentiated in dependence on the factors COUNTRY (SK, CZ), GENDER (F,
M) and FIELD OF STUDY (BEC, ATM, QME, AC, BMA, EDP, ACT, EPA).
Table 6. Descriptive statistics for selected items from the part What I want to learn.
95% Confidence 95% Confidence

B19 B20
B19 / B20 Interval for the Mean Interval for the Mean
Level of
Factor Std. Std.
Mean Std.Err. -95% +95% Mean Std.Err. -95% +95%
Dev. Dev.
Total 2.90 1.18 0.05 2.80 3.00 2.67 1.10 0.05 2.57 2.76
SR 2.90 1.16 0.05 2.80 3.01 2.65 1.07 0.05 2.55 2.74
CZ 2.86 1.39 0.21 2.42 3.29 2.86 1.42 0.22 2.41 3.30
F 2.96 1.19 0.06 2.84 3.08 2.70 1.11 0.06 2.59 2.82
M 2.77 1.15 0.09 2.59 2.95 2.58 1.06 0.08 2.42 2.74
BEC 2.94 1.13 0.06 2.81 3.06 2.68 1.04 0.06 2.57 2.80
ATM 2.89 1.20 0.15 2.58 3.19 2.69 1.10 0.14 2.42 2.97
QME 3.61 1.03 0.19 3.21 4.01 3.21 1.20 0.23 2.75 3.68
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B19 B20
Level of
Factor Std. Std.
Dev. Dev.
AC 2.84 1.07 0.18 2.48 3.19 2.70 0.94 0.15 2.39 3.02
BMA 2.55 1.28 0.29 1.95 3.15 2.20 0.83 0.19 1.81 2.59
EDP 2.19 1.21 0.23 1.71 2.66 1.85 0.99 0.19 1.46 2.24
ACT 2.83 1.58 0.37 2.05 3.62 2.78 1.48 0.35 2.04 3.51
EPA 2.88 1.26 0.26 2.34 3.41 2.92 1.41 0.29 2.32 3.51

B21 B22
Level of
Factor Std. Std.
Dev. Dev.
Total 2.87 1.18 0.05 2.77 2.97 2.85 1.10 0.05 2.76 2.94
SR 2.87 1.16 0.05 2.77 2.98 2.85 1.09 0.05 2.76 2.95
CZ 2.83 1.40 0.22 2.40 3.27 2.81 1.25 0.19 2.42 3.20
F 2.91 1.19 0.06 2.79 3.03 2.86 1.07 0.06 2.75 2.97
M 2.78 1.17 0.09 2.60 2.97 2.83 1.16 0.09 2.65 3.01
BEC 2.91 1.13 0.06 2.78 3.03 2.92 1.10 0.06 2.80 3.05
ATM 2.77 1.18 0.15 2.47 3.07 2.65 1.04 0.13 2.38 2.91
QME 3.75 0.97 0.18 3.38 4.12 3.39 0.92 0.17 3.04 3.75
AC 2.84 1.21 0.20 2.43 3.24 2.62 1.11 0.18 2.25 2.99
BMA 2.65 1.18 0.26 2.10 3.20 2.85 0.75 0.17 2.50 3.20
EDP 2.00 1.07 0.21 1.58 2.42 2.26 1.06 0.20 1.84 2.68
ACT 2.83 1.58 0.37 2.05 3.62 2.78 1.31 0.31 2.13 3.43
EPA 2.83 1.27 0.26 2.30 3.37 2.83 1.24 0.25 2.31 3.36

B24 B26
Level of
Factor Std. Std.
Dev. Dev.
Total 2.90 1.24 0.05 2.79 3.00 2.78 1.20 0.05 2.68 2.89
SR 2.88 1.23 0.06 2.77 2.98 2.80 1.19 0.05 2.70 2.91
CZ 3.14 1.34 0.21 2.73 3.56 2.55 1.35 0.21 2.13 2.97
F 2.86 1.27 0.07 2.73 2.99 2.77 1.19 0.06 2.65 2.89
M 2.98 1.15 0.09 2.80 3.15 2.81 1.25 0.10 2.61 3.00
BEC 2.97 1.19 0.07 2.83 3.10 2.89 1.13 0.06 2.77 3.02
ATM 2.56 1.20 0.15 2.26 2.87 2.65 1.20 0.15 2.34 2.95
QME 3.75 0.80 0.15 3.44 4.06 3.39 1.20 0.23 2.93 3.86
AC 2.76 1.21 0.20 2.35 3.16 2.59 1.30 0.21 2.16 3.03
BMA 2.60 1.14 0.26 2.07 3.13 2.60 1.23 0.28 2.02 3.18
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B24 B26
Level of
Factor Std. Std.
Dev. Dev.
EDP 2.00 1.44 0.28 1.43 2.57 1.96 1.19 0.23 1.49 2.43
ACT 3.06 1.30 0.31 2.41 3.70 2.44 1.42 0.34 1.74 3.15
EPA 3.21 1.38 0.28 2.62 3.79 2.63 1.31 0.27 2.07 3.18
Before the valid use of the analysis of variance to test the differences of more means, there was applied Hartley,
Cochran and Bartlett test (univariate tests on variance) to prove that in case of all tested items the presumption of
equality of variances, which the tested data have to fulfil, was not broken (p > 0.05).
Dependence of the respondent`s answers on the factors COUNTRY, GENDER and FIELD OF STUDY was tested
for all items of the questionnaire part B1 – B26, not only for the mentioned ones B19 – B22, B24 and B26. It means
that the validity of the following three null hypotheses, from which each one represents de facto 26 partial null
hypotheses, was verified:
H0: Answers to the items B1 – B26 in the area “What I want to learn” do not depend on the factor COUNTRY.
H0: Answers to the items B1 – B26 in the area “What I want to learn” do not depend on the factor GENDER.
H0: Answers to the items B1 – B26 in the area “What I want to learn” do not depend on the factor FIELD OF
STUDY.
Dependence and independence on the particular factors, stated in the above-mentioned hypotheses, was
tested by the means of parametric tests. In case of the items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 and B26 the dependence was
proved only in relation to the factor FIELD OF STUDY.
Depending on the factor COUNTRY is the p value higher than the chosen significance level (5 % = 0.05) for
each of the tested items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 a B26, what means that in dependence on the factor COUNTRY
there was not proved any statistically significant difference among the responses to these items.
A similar situation can be found at the assessments of the given items in dependence on the factor GENDER.
Depending on this factor boys and girls` responses to the items do not differ significantly. This is proved by the
results of the analysis of variance (at none of the tested items the p value was lower than 0.05), what means that the
differences between the corresponding values of means calculated for the relevant groups are only a consequence
of the random selection of the research samples. As it was already above-mentioned, the results of the statistical
analysis proved the null hypothesis, according to which responses of the respondents to the items B19 – B22, B24
and B26 do not depend on the factor GENDER.
As it follows from the results of the analysis of variance summarised in Table 7, at testing the dependence of
the responses on the factor FIELD OF STUDY the p value was lower than 0.05, based on what the null hypothesis
was rejected and it was stated that the respondent study specialization has a significant influence on how they
evaluate the tested items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 and B26.
Table 7. Analysis of variance for the factor Field of study.
B19 B20
Item
SS MS F p SS MS F p
Intercept 1937.457 1937.457 1428.406 0.000000 1662.103 1662.103 1434.634 0.000000

St. Field 30.939 4.420 3.259 0.002136 32.551 4.650 4.014 0.000271
Error 714.810 1.356 610.559 1.159
Total 745.750 643.110
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B21 B22
Item
SS MS F p SS MS F p
Intercept 1915.640 1915.640 1436.707 0.000000 1868.455 1868.455 1588.318 0. 00000

St. Field 44.163 6.309 4.732 0.000036 24.089 3.441 2.925 0.005186
Error 702.678 1.333 619.949 1.176
Total 746.841 644.037
B24 B26
Item
SS MS F p SS MS F p
Intercept 1969.625 1969.625 1366.452 0.000000 1680.836 1680.836 1202.254 0.000000

St. Field 55.720 7.960 5.522 0.000004 38.065 5.438 3.890 0.000382
Error 759.626 1.441 736.783 1.398
Total 815.346 774.849
To the graphical visualisation of the respondents` assessments to the given selected items (related to the issues
of database systems and database technologies) in dependence on the factor FIELD OF STUDY there were used dot
and interval diagrams of the average score estimation of the relevant items assessments (Figure 2). The graphical
interpretation of the achieved results shows a slight shift of the opinions in the given items assessments between
the group of the QME study programme students and the groups of the other study programme students.
Figure 2: Dot and interval estimation of the average score to the selected items in dependence on the factor
Field of Study.
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After the approval of the statistically significant differences among the respondents` answers in dependence
on the factor FIELD OF STUDY, there was a search for the study groups between which in the context of their various
study specializations this occurs. The identification of the homogeneous groups in dependence on the factor FIELD
OF STUDY was done by the means of the multiple comparison of the particular couples of the groups. Overview
of the relevant results is presented in Table 8.
Depending on the factor FIELD OF STUDY the average scores of the responses to the items B19, B20, B21,
B22, B24 and B26 take a value from 1.85 (rather uninteresting) even to 3.75 (rather interesting) from the maximum
scale value (Table 8). The lowest mean of the response values, among all the observed items focused on database
systems and database technology issues, was recorded in the group of EDP (European Development Programmes)
study programme. This study programme students evaluated the given learning topics rather in a negative way.
The highest average score, in case of the respondents differentiation according to the factor FIELD OF STUDY, was
recorded at the group of QME (Quantitative Methods in Economics) study programme students at two items, in
particular B21 (work with forms in MS Access database application) and B24 (using aggregate functions in queries for
statistical, financial and economic data analysis), equally 3.75 (rather interesting).
At the items B19, B20, B21, B22 and B26 two homogeneous groups have been proved, and at the item B24
three homogeneous groups. The data presented in Table 8 show that the homogeneous groups overlap in the case
of the assessment of all six items at the groups of respondents – students of the study programmes ACT, BMA, BEC
and AC. At the item B24 there is an overlap only at two first homogeneous groups of the ATM study programme
students and at the last two homogeneous groups of the EPA study programme students.
Table 8. Identification of the homogeneous groups at the respondent differentiation according to the factor
Field of Study.
Item B19 Item B20

1 2 1 2
St. Field Mean St. Field Mean
EDP 2.185185 **** EDP 1.851852 ****

BMA 2.550000 **** **** BMA 2.200000 **** ****
ACT 2.833333 **** **** BEC 2.680251 **** ****
AC 2.837838 **** **** ATM 2.693548 **** ****
EPA 2.875000 **** **** AC 2.702703 **** ****
ATM 2.887097 **** **** ACT 2.777778 **** ****
BEC 2.937304 **** **** EPA 2.916667 ****
QME 3.607143 **** QME 3.214286 ****
Item B21 Item B22

1 2 1 2
EDP 2.000000 **** EDP 2.259259 ****

BMA 2.650000 **** **** AC 2.621622 **** ****
ATM 2.774194 **** **** ATM 2.645161 **** ****
EPA 2.833333 **** **** ACT 2.777778 **** ****
ACT 2.833333 **** **** EPA 2.833333 **** ****
AC 2.837838 **** **** BMA 2.850000 **** ****
BEC 2.905956 **** **** BEC 2.924765 **** ****
QME 3.750000 **** QME 3.392857 ****
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Item B24 Item B26

1 2 3 1 2
EDP 2.000000 **** EDP 1.962963 ****

ATM 2.564516 **** **** ACT 2.444444 **** ****
BMA 2.600000 **** **** **** AC 2.594595 **** ****
AC 2.756757 **** **** **** BMA 2.600000 **** ****
BEC 2.965517 **** **** **** EPA 2.625000 **** ****
ACT 3.055556 **** **** **** ATM 2.645161 **** ****
EPA 3.208333 **** **** BEC 2.890282 **** ****
QME 3.750000 **** QME 3.392857 ****
Testing the significance of the differences among the means of the items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 and B26,
only the difference between the groups of QME and EDP study programme students has been proved. This result
can have a bearing on the fact that students of the study programme QME (Quantitative Methods in Economics),
following the structure of the learning courses (subjects) included in their study programme, are led to a more
intense use of the software products and engineering and economical ICT applications in comparison to the
EDP (European Development Programmes) study programme students. The structure of compulsory, compulsory
optional and optional subjects from the informatics area offered within the particular study programmes is
almost identical, with the exception of the subject structure of the QME study programme, but in their topical
curricula none of the subjects goes deeper into the concerned issues.
The results of the variance analysis (Table 8) prove the statistical significance of the differences also among
the responses of the respondent groups – students of the EDP and EPA study programmes, in particular at the
item B20 (defining the relationship between database tables), and the respondent groups – students of the ATM
and QME study programmes at the item B21 (work with forms in MS Access database application). In case of the
item B24 assessment (using aggregate functions in queries for statistical, financial and economic data analysis),
where three homogeneous groups were identified, statistically significant differences between the answers of
the particular groups of the respondents were proved, similarly to the items B20 and B21, at the respondents
with study specialization ATM and QME, or EDP and EPA.
Following the average scores of the responses to the items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 and B26 in the context
of the respondent differentiation according to the factor FIELD OF STUDY there is no marked favour (popularity)
of the learning topics related to database systems and database technologies, in the observed study special-
izations. The values of the average score are mostly at the scale level 3 (neither interesting nor uninteresting).
Deviation from this neutral response is noticeable in the group of BMA study programme students at the as-
sessment of the interest/attractiveness of the topic defining relationship between database tables (B20) and in
the group of EDP study programme students at the assessment of all six items related to the database systems
and database technology issues. In these cases the average values of the responses are about the scale level
2 (rather uninteresting).
Discussion
As the results presented in Table 2 and Figure 1 show, the respondents` responses regarding attractive-
ness (interest) of the selected learning topics in the field of informatics were mostly neutral (at the scale value
3 – neither interesting, neither uninteresting). The average score of the responses for the whole research sample,
i.e. without any differentiation according to the given factors, for the part What I want to learn ranges from
the value 2.16 (2 – rather uninteresting) to the value 3.9 (4 – rather interesting) from the maximum scale value
5 (5 – very interesting). In our opinion the achieved average score follows rather a lower attractiveness of the
learning topics, which are included in the informatics part of the curricula of the concerned study programmes
of the respondents. However, these results can be viewed from the point of view of different aspects. On the
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one hand, discussions could be led in a context of the surveyed study programmes innovation and moderniza-
tion. On the other hand, a question arises to which level, from the students` point of view, to these subjects
relevant education content is fulfilled.
Relatively a more positive situation is in the evaluation of the questionnaire items B6 (3.90), B7 (3.85) and
B10 (3.53), at which the topics were assessed by the respondents as rather interesting. In all three cases the
assessed issues is a part of the content of the subject Managerial informatics incorporated in the second term
of the general basis of the study programmes at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Slovak
University of Agriculture in Nitra, or of the subject Informatics for economists of the students of the Faculty of
Business and Economics at the Mendel University in Brno. Visualization of the results of the students` assess-
ments of the particular items (Figure 1) clearly shows that among all of them significantly the highest score was
recorded at the item B6 (mean 3.95 from the 5 point scale). At the same time the lowest value of the standard
deviation (1.01) was recorded at the items B6 and B7, what means the lowest variability of the respondents`
responses (B6 – from 3.82 to 3.99; B7 – from 3.76 to 3.94). In this way the respondents declared their opinion
that the use of tools and advanced techniques of work with MS PowerPoint to create interactive presentations as well
as creating and formatting of structured documents using MS Word tools, which they do within the informatics
lessons, are for them interesting properly or enough.
From the result tabulation (Table 2) can be seen that totally the lowest average score in the discussed
questionnaire part was recorded at the items B3 (2.16) and B1 (2.16). This result proves that the students are less
interested in studying the issues of algorithmization of mathematical problems solving (B1) and number systems
and transfer algorithms of numbers between the systems (B3). In a great measure it can be influenced by the tasks
which the students solve at the lessons, i.e. it can be a consequence of the fact that they solve only trivial unin-
teresting problems. Here a challenge for teachers arises to use such kinds of application tasks and case studies
which would be more motivating for the students and would lead them to apply the acquired knowledge in
real situations with the stress on the situations corresponding to the area of their study specializations.
The topics B3 and B1 are assessed by the students as uninteresting in the context of their study specializa-
tions, however, we consider them to be important for the students as the application of the creative algorithmic
and mathematical thinking at solving appropriate tasks contributes significantly to the development of new
competencies whether in the advanced work with data using the SQL database instruction language or in
development of different applications in the MS Excel or MS Access by means of programming in the Visual
Basic program language.
Following the descriptive statistics one can state that the standard deviation result values of the respon-
dents` answers to the particular items do not differ. Values of the particular responses, in regard to the interval
estimation of the mean, range from 2.07 (B1, B7) up to 3.99 (B6), what means within the used scale assessments
the range from rather uninteresting (2) to rather interesting (4). If we have a detailed look at the obtained results
from this statistic index point of view, the most varied responses were recorded at the item B24 (variability
coefficient 1.24) what means that the highest variety of the responses, as to the attractiveness (interest), was
given by the respondents to the use of aggregate functions in queries for statistical, financial and economic data
analysis. A higher variety of the responses was recorded also in case of the items B18 (variability coefficient
1.21), B17 (1.20) and B26 (1.20). On the basis of the mean interval estimation the average score values range
from 2.80 to 3.00 (B18 – utilization of macros to automate repetitive operations in MS Excel), from 2.74 to 2.94
(B17 – numerical and graphical analysis of data through the pivot table and pivot chart), from 2.69 to 2.90 (B26
– dynamic interconnection of data between MS Access and external applications) regarding to the assessment of
the attractiveness (interest) of the concerned issues by the respondents.
Average values of the respondents` answers to the items B1 – B26 (Table 5) are in the range from 2 (rather
interesting) to 4 (rather uninteresting) at the maximal scale value 5. The majority of the questionnaire items was
assessed by the respondents as neither interesting, neither uninteresting (scale value 3). This is a quite alarm-
ing result, as in the context of the other results this proves that the students of the economy and managerial
study programmes do not consider study of these informatics topics to be interesting enough. But this is only a
hypothetical level. Exactness into this situation could be brought by testing the correlations between the given
results and the respondents` assessments of the interest (attractiveness) or meaningfulness of the content of
the particular learning topics included in the part What I would like to learn (items D1 – D22), assessed from
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the point of view of their future professional career. Further, the question is to which level, from the student
point of view, the educational content of the concerned study subjects is fulfilled at the lessons.
Table 5 shows noticeable displacement move in the positive assessment of the items B6 and B7 in the
seventh homogeneous group towards the items B1 and B3 in the first homogeneous group. Besides the fact,
that at these items of the given two groups the highest means of the score were recorded (B6 = 3.90; B7 =
3.85 – rather interesting), or the lowest ones (B1 = 2.16; B2 = 2.16 – rather uninteresting), also the difference
between the respondents` answers to these items is statistically significant. In this way the students declared
their opinion that the use of tools and advanced techniques of work with MS PowerPoint to create interactive
presentations (B6) and creating and formatting of structured documents using MS Word tools (B7), which are
taught at informatics lessons, are interesting enough.
The third, and the biggest, identified homogeneous group is overlapping either with the second homo-
geneous group (B14, B16, B26, B17, B22, B4) or with the fourth one (B24, B19, B18, B23, B2, B25) on the level
of all their items (with the exception of the item B21 at the second group). In a detailed look at the results
of the assessments of the topics related to database systems and database technologies (items B19 – B26) it
is clear that all these items are part just of the mentioned second or third homogeneous group. Statistically
significant difference of the respondents` answers was recorded e.g. between the assessments of the interest
level of the topics defining relationship between database tables (B20) and work with large-scale data at maths,
statistical or logical function applications (B12 – use of functions) and the data tools offered by the Microsoft
Excel environment (B13 – work with large tables using data tools).
Statistically significant differences between the respondents` answers were recorded also in case of some
relatively related topics, as are e.g. selection of required data using queries (B22) and filtering large tables, defining
filter criteria for the values o
f different formats (B11), or using aggregate functions in queries for statistical, financial
and economic data analysis (B24) and using the tools for analytical output creation (B16), as well as some other
assessed topics which are integrated into the curricula of the subjects Informatics and Managerial informatics
included in the first and second term of the study programmes carried out at the Faculty of Economics and
Management at SPU in Nitra, or the subject Informatics for economists II included in the study programmes of
the respondents studying at the Faculty of Business and Economics at MU in Brno.
To master a well-done database design is a rather challenging task for students, because it requires to have
developed analytic thinking at an appropriate level – to create a conceptual scheme on the basis of information
acquired about the concerned area, on the basis of this scheme to develop a logical model which undergoes
a normalization process, and consequently to design a physical model of the database. To manage method-
ology of database designing requests knowledge of a lot of new terms, procedures, modelling approaches,
normalization processes, etc. Object approach, in which the database designer, modelling a real situation,
should be focused mainly on the categorization of the objects, which he is working with, into the appropriate
categories and determination of the relations between these objects and relevant categories, is not easy, more
to the contrary. Experiences with database system teaching prove that students have serious problems, when
they get assignments to design a database, to define right entities, attributes, application rules and relations
between the entities. It happens very often that they cannot differentiate between the entities and attributes,
and defining the right relations between the data entities rather not to mention.
At the items B3 and B1 the research sample of the students expressed more in a negative way, giving their
opinions to the theoretical informatics topics (number systems, transfer algorithms of numbers between systems)
and algorithmization of mathematical problems solving interest (attractiveness). The mean of the score at these
two items achieved significantly the lowest values (of the same value 2.16). Currently, in informatics teaching
in the economy and managerial study programmes, lower and lower attention is paid to algorithmization.
Algorithmization is mostly taught on a minimal level in the frame of informatics subjects incorporated in the
general part of the study programmes. But, it is not infrequent to find algorithmization and programming in-
cluded in the study programmes also as obligatory or optional self-existent subjects. This follows the fact that
algorithmic thinking and algorithmic problem solution processes in connection to the current practice and
labour market demands are becoming more and more important part of the informatics competency (literacy)
required from the economy and managerial study programme graduates.
Students, who learn to inscribe the solved problems in the algorithm form, need to understand the learnt
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issues and to acquire correct and complex ideas on the used terms. Otherwise, they are not able to understand
further ideas which follow from these ones, what causes that they are not able to apply them in any relevant
practical tasks given to them. It is also important to call the students` attention to the fact, that theoretical
informatics knowledge and algorithmization skills have a broad transfer except other areas also into the area
of the data database processing by the means of the SQL language, or into the area of database application
programming through script languages (e.g. PHP, Perl, Python or JavaScript). Through the optional subjects
aimed at programming, included in the selected economy and managerial study programmes, the students
have a possibility to obtain and develop their programming knowledge and algorithmization skills, and they
can learn to apply them at solving more difficult tasks in an accessible advanced program language. Besides
teaching programming carried out in the accessible advanced program language, also theoretical informatics
topics used to be included in the curricula. In this area, teachers used to teach the theory of formal languages,
grammars, automatics and operating systems. But, a program language mastery is currently becoming more
and more sensitive need even for a common user as these skills are necessary to design own web sites, to set
macros in documents, to design simple games or to design different applications for common own needs
(Klement, 2000).
From the descriptive statistics presented in Table 6 it is clear that the values of the standard deviation of
the respondents` responses to the particular items do not vary markedly. From the point of view of this statis-
tical indicator the most different responses were at items B19 (1.58), B20 (1.48), B21 (1.58), B22 (1.31) and B26
(1.42) in the group of the respondents – ACT study programme students. At the item B24 the highest variety
(1.44) of the responses was recorded in the group representing EDP study programme. Within the used scale
these results express assessments in the range from rather uninteresting learning topics to rather interesting
learning topics.
The lowest value of the standard deviation, what means the lowest heterogeneity of the expressed an-
swers (0.75), was recorded in the group of the respondents – BMA study programme students, at the item B22
(selection of required data using select query). The values of the particular answers vary from 2.50 up to 3.20
(see the confidence interval of the mean estimation). The next ones were the standard deviation value 0.80
(the confidence interval of the mean estimation in the range from 3.44 to 4.06) in the group of QME study
programme students, item B24 (attractiveness/interest of the topic using aggregate functions in queries for
statistical, financial and economic data analysis), and standard deviation value 0.83 (the confidence interval
of the mean estimation in the range from 1.81 to 2.59) at the item B20 (attractiveness/interest of the topic
defining the relationship between database tables), again in the group of the respondents specialized in BMA.
The same results, i.e. the lowest divergences in the respondents answers`, can be found at the items B21 (0.97)
and B19 (1.03) in the group of QME students and at the item B26 (1.13) in the BEC group. In these study groups
the respondents` answers just to the above-mentioned items show the lowest heterogeneity at the reached
values of the confidence interval of the mean estimation from 3.38 to 4.12 for B21, 3.21 to 4.01 for B19 and
2.77 to 3.02 for B26.
Responses of the respondents studying in Slovakia to the items B19, B20, B21, B22, B24 and B26 were
almost identical with those given by the respondents studying in the Czech Republic. The respondents evalu-
ated the attractiveness and interest of the assessed learning topics as very neutral, i.e. mostly they stated that
the given topic is neither interesting nor uninteresting for them. Processing the collected data in dependence on
the factor GENDER, the subgroup of the respondents – boys marked the highest score at the item B24 (mean
2.98) and the group of girls at B19 (2.96). The lowest value of the standard deviation, what means the lowest
heterogeneity of the answers, was recorded at the respondents – boys at the item B20 (1.06). The confidence
interval of the mean estimation is in the range from 2.42 (what means assessment of the learning topic on the
level rather uninteresting) up to the value 2.74 (what means assessment of the learning topic on the level neither
interesting nor uninteresting). Relatively high homogeneity (1.07) in the respondent answers in relation to the
attractiveness/interest of the particular learning topics was found out in the subgroup of the respondents –
girls at the item B22. The confidence interval of the mean estimation for this group has a range from 2.75 to
2.97 from the maximum scale value 5.
On the basis of the dot mean estimation of the assessments of the particular learning topics regarding
the area of database systems and database technologies, it can be stated that the respondents in Slovakia in
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comparison to those studying in the Czech Republic evaluated four from the six concerned items in a more
positive way (B19, B21, B22, B26). Exceptions are the items B20 (level of the attractiveness/interest of the topic
defining the relationship between database tables) and B24 (level of the attractiveness/interest of the topic using
aggregate functions in queries for statistical, financial and economic data analysis). At the same time in the group
of the Czech respondents the answers to the item B20 show the highest value of the standard deviation (1.44),
what means the highest variability (2.41 – 3.30) of the respondents` answers at their differentiation according
to the COUNTRY factor.
Experiences and achievements connected with instruction of database and information technology cur-
ricula within the economy and management fields of study at the tertiary level (ISCED 6, ISCED 7) in the West
European countries, USA and also in the Central European countries are described in many professional pub-
lications and studies (Gorgone, Gray, Stohr, Valacich, & Wigand, 2006; Ekstrom & Renshaw, 2003; Springsteel,
Robbert & Ricardo, 2000; Urban & Dietrich 2001; Robbert, Wang, Guimaraes & Myers, 2000). Their authors point
out that the practice demand on higher education graduates specialized in economy or management is to
dispose, except of the economical, managerial or marketing erudition, also of the adequate knowledge and
skills from the area of database systems and information technologies. This knowledge and skills are very often
the crucial criterion for the enterprise bodies at recruiting just the graduates of the mentioned specializations.
Just the graduates familiar with the work with the database systems and technologies or with the data mining
at the quantitative statistical method application are many times productive and successful in their professional
career (Jakuš & Páleníková, 2009).
As Drlík and Skalka indicate (Drlík & Skalka, 2009), a possible solution could be the academic initiative
Oracle Academy of the Oracle company and the possibilities to integrate it into the present curricula of different
types of schools not only in Slovakia. The Oracle Academy initiative offers study programmes through which
students and teachers have access to the most current software products, study materials and certificates in
quite interesting reasonable prices (Oracle Academy, https://academy.oracle.com/).
Conclusions
The presented results can be understood as a kind of the current state of informatics teaching within
the study programmes of economy and managerial specialization. But, what is more important, they create a
platform showing the ways in which the informatics education of the students in the concerned study branches
should be innovated and modernized to reach its proclaimed quality assurance and meet the demands of the
student profilization according to the practice and labour market needs.
With regard to the possibilities of the economy and managerial study programme graduates to employ
themselves in the labour market in the context of its current requirements on their professional competencies,
it is indisputable that the issues of the database systems and database technologies should be included in the
study programmes of their pre-graduate training. A question is the specification of the learning topics related
to the database systems and database technology issues, which should be accentuated and which should be
stated as inessential or supplementary for the specialization of the concerned study programme graduates.
Another question is whether the relevant study specializations should have the same informatics preparation
or whether the informatics training should be diversified in dependence on each specific specialization. In
general the respondents stated the topics use of tools and advanced techniques of work with MS PowerPoint
to create interactive presentations, use of tools and advanced techniques of work with MS PowerPoint to create
interactive presentations, possibilities of conditional cell formatting in MS Excel, programming and web site design,
programming of the web applications (chat, discussion forums, e-business) and harmful software (viruses, Trojan
horse, spyware, adware, hoaxy) as the most significant from the point of view of their professional specializa-
tion. However, in the context of the presented findings, it can be discussed whether it is a consequence of the
specific requirements of the professional specialization or rather a consequence of the need to develop the
common key competencies of each information society member (Hašková, 2004). Skills to design effective
interactive presentations in the MS PowerPoint environment, to create and format structured documents in
MS Word applications are currently considered to be one of the basic key competencies, whereby as the key
competencies are specified those which are applicable in solving wide scopes of usually unpredictable prob-
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lems, and enabling individuals to cope successfully with rapid changes in work, private and social life (Hrmo
& Turek, 2003; Šimonová, 2009).
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Ján Záhorec Professional Assistant, Methodology and Pedagogy Centre in Bratislava, Slovak
Republic, Ševčenkova 11, 850 05 Bratislava, Detached workstations MPC, Ul.
kozmonautov 5, 949 01 Nitra, Slovak Republic;
Department of Informatics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak
University of Agriculture in Nitra,
Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic.
E-mail: jan.zahorec@mpc-edu.sk
Website: http:// www.mpc-edu.sk
Alena Hašková Professor, Department of Technology and Information Technologies, Faculty of
Education, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra,
Dražovská cesta 4, 949 74 Nitra, Slovak Republic.
E-mail: ahaskova@ukf.sk
Website: http://www.ukf.sk
Michal Munk Associate Professor, Department of Informatics, Faculty of Natural Sciences,
Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovak
Republic.
E-mail: mmunk@ukf.sk
Website: http://www.ukf.sk
Martin Bílek Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec
Králové, Rokitanského 62, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
E-mail: martin.bilek@uhk.cz
Website: http://www.uhk.cz
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JBSE
Problems of Psychology in the 21st
Century is an international, periodical,
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Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century

(ISSN 2029-8587) is abstracted and/or indexed
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Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, Ukraine
Dr., assoc. prof. Irena Gailiene, SMC "Scientia Educologica", Republic of Lithuania
Dr., prof. Irakli Imedadze, Dimitri Uznadze Georgian Psychological National Society, Georgia
Dr. Julia Lakhvich, Belarusian State University, Republic of Belarus
Dr., prof. Vladimir S. Karapetyan, Armenian State Pedagogical University named after Kh.
Abovyan, Armenia
Dr., prof. Vincentas Lamanauskas, Scientific Methodical Centre „Scientia Educologica“, Republic of
Lithuania (Editor-in-Chief)
Dr., prof. Maria LedziĔska, University of Warsaw, Poland
Dr., prof. Aleksandr Lobanov, Belarusian State Pedagogical University, Republic of Belarus
Dr., prof. Guna Svence, Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy, Latvia
Website: http://www.jbse.webinfo.lt/PPC/Problems_of_Psychology.htm
557
ISSN 1648–3898
JBSE
Quality Issues and Insights in the 21st

Century is an international, periodical,
peer reviewed scientific journal, issued by
the Scientia Socialis, UAB in cooperation
with SMC “Scientia Educologica”.
Editor-in-Chief
Prof. dr. Vincentas Lamanauskas, Scientific

Methodical Centre „Scientia Educologica“,
Republic of Lithuania
Quality Issues and Insights in the 21st Century

(ISSN 2029-9575) is abstracted and/or indexed
in:
Index Copernicus -
http://journals.indexcopernicus.com
Electronic Serials in Lithuania -

http://www.eperiodika.lt/index.php?id=moksl
Editorial Board
MSc., Renata Bilbokaitơ, University of Siauliai, Republic of Lithuania (Editorial Assistant)

Dr., Andrea Bernhard, Universities Austria, Austria
Dr., Prof. John Gowland Mwangi, Egerton University, Kenya
Dr., Prof. Vincentas Lamanauskas, Scientific Methodical Centre „Scientia Educologica“, Republic of
Lithuania (Editor-in-Chief)
Dr., Prof. Liviu Moldovan, „Petru Maior” University of Tirgu Mures, Romania
Dr., Prof. Kestutis Pukelis, Vytautas Magnus University, Republic of Lithuania
Prof. Ramayah Thurasamy, University of Science Malaysia, Malaysia
Dr., Assoc. Prof. Dalius Serafinas, Vilnius University, Republic of Lithuania
Dr., Assoc. Prof. Adriana Tafrova-Grigorova, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria
Website: http://www.jbse.webinfo.lt/QIIC/Quality_Issues_Insights.htm
558
ISSN 1648–3898
JBSE
2nd International Baltic Symposium on
Science and Technology Education
(BalticSTE2017)
„SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION: ENGAGING THE NEW
GENERATION“
12-15 June 2017, Siauliai, Lithuania
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the organizing committee, we are delighted to welcome you to Šiauliai, Lithuania, for the
II International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Education, BalticSTE 2017.
The Symposium will be held in Šiauliai (Lithuania) in June 2017 during days 12-15.
We cordially encourage you to attend and contribute to one of the major events of 2017 on the field of
science and technology education. We are confident that you will appreciate the scientific program and
the city of Šiauliai. We look forward to seeing you in 2017 in Lithuania.
Organizers of the Symposium
Siauliai University, Faculty of Education, Natural Science Education Research Centre, Lithuania,
http://www.gutc.su.lt/
Scientific Methodical Centre „Scientia Educologica“, Lithuania
http://www.gu.puslapiai.lt/indeks_en.htm
Ways of Participation Paper Submission:

x Paper Presentation Original unpublished short scientific papers (2 - 3 pages) written in
x Oral Presentation English should be submitted in electronic form as WORD files and
x Interactive Poster send to the symposium secretariat via e-mail: balticste@gmail.com
Presentation Information on paper submission, format and the review processes
x Workshop is available on symposium website.
x Listener Symposium proceedings will be published before the symposium.
Topics and Areas Authors of selected outstanding papers will be invited to submit
The BalticSTE 2017 will cover all extended versions of their papers for consideration of publication
aspects of science and technology in the reputed Journals (JBSE, PEC, GU/NSE, SPVK/EPMQ).
education.
Important Dates
Abstract/Paper/Poster Submission 20 April 2017
Abstract/Paper/Poster Acceptance 30 April 2017
Registration and payment 20 May 2017
Camera-ready paper submission 20 May 2017
Announcement of the Final Symposium Program 01 June 2017
Symposium Dates 12 – 15 June 2017
(11/12 - arrival; 16/17 - departure)
Symposium Website: http://www.scientiasocialis.lt/balticste
E-mail: balticste@gmail.com
Phone: +370 41 595736; Fax: +370 41 595710
© NSERC, Siauliai University, 2015
559
Compiled by: Vincentas Lamanauskas

Linguistic Editor: Ilona Ratkevičienė
Cover design by: Jurgina Jankauskienė
Layout design by : Linas Janonis
Contact person: Laima Railienė
30 August 2015. Publishing in Quires 9. Edition 200
Publisher SMC „Scientia Educologica“ in cooperation with Scientia Socialis,

Donelaicio Street 29, LT-78115 Siauliai, Lithuania
E-mail: scientia@scientiasocialis.lt
Phone: +370 687 95668
http://www.jbse.webinfo.lt/centras.htm
http://www.scientiasocialis.lt

Printing Šiauliai printing house
9A P. Lukšio Street
LT-76207 Šiauliai, Lithuania
Phone: +370 41 500 333.
Fax: +370 41 500 336
E-mail: info@dailu.lt

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2015

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Vol.14, No.

The International Journal of the Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”

Published since 2002 Address:

ISSN 1648–3898 © Scientific Methodical Center „Scientia Educologica“, Lithuania,

COGNITIVE INTEREST: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN THE ACQUISITION OF SCIENCE AND

CONTEXT-BASED LESSONS WITH 5E MODEL TO PROMOTE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING

CHANGES IN THE NUMBER OF IDEAS DEPENDING ON TIME WHEN CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC

NEW NATURAL SCIENCE LITERACIES OF ONLINE RESEARCH AND COMPREHENSION: TO

COGNITIVE BASIS AND SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL REASONING ON

THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEARNING MOTIVATION AND METACOGNITIVE SKILL ON COGNITIVE

PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION OF

ANALYSIS AND INTERVENTION OF STUDENT KNOWLEDGE OF NUTRITION AND SEXUALITY

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COGNITIVE STRUCTURE OUTCOMES AND

TERTIARY ECONOMY AND MANAGERIAL STUDY FIELDS AND ISSUES OF SCIENCE

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556

PROBLEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557

QUALITY ISSUES AND INSIGHTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION: ENGAGING THE NEW GENERATION . . . . . . . . . 559

ELEGANCE IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

Elegance in Science Education

The equation assumes that there are no

0.8 0.5 0.5 1.2 = 0.24

0.8 0.7 0.3 1.2 = 0.202

Received: August 15, 2015 Accepted: August 22, 2015

Abstract. Cognitive interest is a vital Dagnija Cēdere,

General Characteristic of Research

Defining the Levels of Cognitive Interest

Table 1. Criteria, indicators and levels of cognitive interest.

High level Average level Low level

Table 2. Sample of students’ desire to explore science and mathematics (1 ≤ M ≤ 4).

table 3. Average level of cognition per criteria.

No Criterion M­aver Level of cognition

2 Interest to discover the essence of phenomena and processes 2.68 average

3 Disposition in research activity 2.39 average

4 Willingness to solve complex tasks, practice related problems 2.80 average

5 Devoting free time to science and mathematics 1.90 low

Students’ Interest to Learn the Sciences

Levels of Students’ Cognitive Interest

Received: April 16, 2015 Accepted: July 05, 2015

Dagnija Cēdere Dr.chem., Leading Researcher, Riga Teacher Training and Educational

Abstract. This study explores whether the

Table 1. Common problems related to CRE concepts.

Concepts Problems with concepts Studies

Figure 1: Theoretical framework.

Table 2. Research design of the study.

Groups Pre-tests Treatments Post-tests

EG CRECT, SPST CBA-5E CRECT, CREAT

Table 3. The distribution of the sample.

Teacher X Teacher Y Teacher Z Total

CG-1 EG-1 CG-2 EG-2 CG-3 EG-3

Table 4. Lesson plans implemented in experimental groups.

The context for chemical reactions and energy unit: cars

Note: RLO: Related learning outcomes of CRE unit, Exp: Experiment

Table 5. Descriptive statistics for Pre-CRECT and SPST scores.

Test N Mean Standard Deviations

Table 6. Follow-up ANOVAs for pairwise comparisons.

Group (EG, CG) Pre-CRECT 1 .147 .702 .001 .067

Table 8. MANCOVA results regarding the collective dependent variables.

Treatment .782 23.621 2 169 .000 .218 1.000

Table 9. Univariate ANCOVA results based on each dependent variable.

Treatment Post-CRECT 1 13.269 .000 .072 .952

CREAT 1 31.584 .000 .157 1.000

This study is produced from first author’s PhD dissertation.

Received: May 28, 2015 Accepted: July 25, 2015

No Criterion Maver Level of cognition