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Introduction This study aims to investigate the changes and developments in mathematics curricula, which approved by the Ministry of Education for teaching mathematics during the period (1964-1999). It also aims at highlighting the feature of every period of development and to review the reasons that lead to such development. The study has the aim to answer the following questions: 1.What are the developments that the learning objectives of mathematics curricula in Jordan have witnessed during the period (1964-1999) ? 2.What are the developments that the mathematical content of mathematics curricula in Jordan have witnessed during the period (1964-1999) ? 3.What are the developments that the instruction methods of mathematics curricula in Jordan have witnessed during the period (1964-1999)? 4.What are the developments that the evaluation methods of mathematics curricula in Jordan have witnessed during the period (1964 –1999)? The first chapter of the study describes some facts about Jordan, the educational system, and instructional plans for teaching mathematics, which was approved by MOE during the period (1964-1999), the need for developing mathematics curricula, and statement and significance of the study with the questions mentioned above, and includes the limitation of the study. The second Chapter includes on a review of literature through display the international development of mathematics curriculum and relative studies, the development of mathematics education in Germany, and the development of mathematics curriculum and relative studies in the Arab World, especially in Jordan. Chapter three describes the methodology and procedures which are used: the analysis method, (analysis procedures of content mathematics curricula, analysis tool), and the interview: (sample, interview procedures, tool, and procedures of interview analysis). Chapter four: contains the findings of the study represented with the analysis results of mathematics curriculum according to the study questions, the results of content analysis of Mathematics curricula according to the “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics” which issued by NCTM, the response and opinion of interview sample to the items of a study tool (questionnaire). Chapter five: Include discussion of the findings and the results of the study according to the study question, and investigate the characteristics and the reasons behind the development witnessed by the curricula of mathematics in Jordan during the period (1964-1999). The main analysis results of mathematics curriculum which approved by MOE in Jordan, and the opinions of the interview sample are concentrated on discussion and investigation the development characteristics of learning objectives of teaching mathematics, mathematical content, instructional and evaluation methods of teaching mathematics, according to the “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics”, and through division the whole period into three sub-periods. The curriculum documents (in English translation), the NCTM standards, and other data with additional information – among other things the results of the interviews – are arranged as appendix 1 to appendix 10. This study is significant as being one of the rare attempts in Jordan to explore the development of mathematics curricula. The study is also unique in the length of the period it has chosen, 1964-1999. As such, it can be referred to as a historical source for the evolution of mathematics curricula in Jordan, so that scholars benefit from its analysis and historical documentation of the period of the development of these curricula. It is also beneficial to the writers of school textbooks since it provides a list of universal standards used to analyze the mathematical content of curricula. These are attached in a short section as “recommendations”.
The main research aim of this Ph-D thesis is to develop students�understanding of the nature of science on the background of Alexander von Humboldt's legacy for Grade 5 and Grade 6 classrooms in Baden-Württemberg schools. The Ph-D research questions are: 1.What conceptions do students of the age group 10-12 regarding the nature of science hold? 2.Does students� understanding of science change as a result of discovery-based science activities taken from Alexander von Humboldt� scientific observations during his expedition to Latin America between 1799-1804? If yes, in what way? This was done by: 1.Gathering background information about students� images of scientists and how they work. 2.Designing the most appropriate learning environment for improving their understanding of science. At the beginning of the intervention study, Humboldt�s life was used as a stimulus of student�s thoughts about science at. Students were put in the same situation of a scientist: posing a question about a theme of their interest, designing and realizing an experiment in order to satisfy their curiosity. By doing so, students� understandings of the construction of scientific knowledge would be improved. After a preliminary study between June and July 2002 at the Bammental Gymnasium, a case study took place from March till July 2003 at the Realschule Linkenheim for students of Grade 5. Students� epistemologies about science and scientists at the Realschule Linkenheim were collected by using the current trends in science education research: pre- and post-questionnaires, classroom observation, pre- and post- interviews, the Draw-A-Scientist-Task and portfolio work. This intervention study was realized in 26 school sessions and all the work sessions were also video taped. Students� views about their actual nature of science aspects were characterized and coded using a framework drawing on the following areas: characteristics of scientists, history of science and the epistemology about science and scientists. Finally, students were asked to write about their learning process by using portfolios. As to the recommendations: This study suggests that in order to develop some aspects of the nature of science, students need a free space at school to realize hands-on inquiry and a trained teacher who can translate to his students besides content knowledge, the nature of knowledge and the historical evolution of scientific knowledge.
The Kingdom of Bhutan’s development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) emphasises the need to balance sustainable economic growth with environmental conservation, promotion of cultural heritage, and good governance. In consonance, Bhutan’s Constitution entrusts every citizen with the sacred task of protecting the natural environment and preventing all forms of ecological degradation. Moreover, given the increasing global crisis of degrading the earth, climate change, resource depletion, and species extinction, the urgency of nature conservation in school education cannot be ignored. The need to articulate clearly how nature conservation education should be promoted in Bhutanese primary schools is, therefore, becoming increasingly urgent.
While some elements of nature conservation education are included in the school curriculum, not much is known about educator perceptions, school curricula, teaching and learning processes, and the role of school concerning nature conservation. Hence, this empirical study was necessary and timely to understand how nature conservation was perceived, taught and practised in Bhutanese primary schools. Social constructivism with an ethnographical research design was employed for this study. Relying on participant observation techniques for data collection, perspectives of 15 educators and 105 students of four Bhutanese primary schools were gathered. Three data collection tools, namely, a semi-structured interview, an open-ended questionnaire and field notes were used.
The study brought out a number of significant findings. Although Bhutan’s unique features, such as being heavily forested, traditional farming practices and spiritual practices, are advantageous to nature conservation education, gaps and inconsistencies were seen in the school curriculum and practices. Firstly, the educators and students who participated in the study misunderstood nature conservation as environmental conservation. Secondly, the curriculum textbooks on nature conservation generally represent Western perspectives of nature conservation rather than the Bhutanese spiritual and cultural beliefs that are primarily influenced by Buddhism. Findings also showed that children in the four primary schools had limited opportunities for direct experiences with nature during their lessons on nature. Lastly, the role of schools in nature conservation education lacks clarity.
The findings from this study have direct implications for the Ministry of Education, teacher education colleges, and other primary education stakeholders in the country. Several strategies are suggested to address the gaps identified. These include professional development programmes for teachers to enhance their knowledge about nature conservation education. The next strategy is reviewing the science and social studies curriculum to integrate the Buddhist values of interdependence and harmonious living with nature. The study also flagged the need to create rich natural environments on school campus, including using the community forests for children to play, study and develop connection with nature. Lastly, the study recommends developing reading materials for children on themes of nature.
Mobile Technology Impact In Support Note-Taking And Sharing Activities During Biology Field Trips
(2024)
This research study is to explore methods for incorporating mobile technology into field trips to support note-taking activities.
It presents the result of a qualitative study to determine the methods and tools biology students use to take and share notes on field trips and to develop useful guidelines for the development of mobile technologies to support note-taking and sharing activities. A field note is a combination of raw data and ideas that represents the process of transforming an observed interaction into a written one.
The study design consisted of two research phases:
Phase 1: Observation of 14 undergraduate Biology students attending the Marin ecology field study trip at the Technical university of Kaiserslautern, and 14 undergraduate biology students also how took part in the Botany Biodiversity field trip at the Saarland university.
Phase 2: Interview with 13 undergraduate biology students who took part in the Marin Molecular biology field trip and 14 undergraduate biology students who took part in the Botany biodiversity field trip.
The results of this research provided an understanding of generic requirements (and context-specific requirements) by identification of the undergraduate biology students' needs and requirements during field trip learning activities, i.e., it was observed that all groups of students take a number of devices with them, these include a mixture of traditional and modern tools such as note and sketchbooks for note taking. Also, it was identified what makes mobile technology useful to use in the field, to support the outdoor students learning experience i.e. the system must provide a GPS link function to link the taken notes with location automatically. Also, from the other side this research study explored factors that affect the use of mobile technology in biology field trips by university students can lead them to choose paper-based tools to support their learning experiences during fieldwork.
In general, Mobile technology have a great impact on the students in collecting data and capturing their learning experiences during the field trip.
Individuals differ in their timing of sleep (bed times, rise times) and in their preference for morning or evening hours. Previous work focused on the relationship between academic achievement and these variables in secondary school students. The main aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between chronotype and academic achievement in 10-year-old children (n = 1125, 536 girls, 584 boys and 5 sex unspecified) attending 4th grade of primary school. They filled a cognitive test (Culture Fair Intelligence Test, CFT 20-R) and questions about rise times and bed times, academic achievement, conscientiousness and motivation. We implemented questions about wake times and bed times, academic achievement (measured by grades in Mathematics, German, English and Nature & Culture), ‘‘scales for the assessment of learning and performance motivation’’ (SELLMO; Skalen zur Erfassung der Lern- und Leistungsmotivation for motivation), the short version of the Five-Factor Personality Inventory Children (FFPI-C) to measure conscientiousness, and the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) to assess morningness-eveningness. Mean CSM score was 37.84 ± 6.66, midpoint of sleep was 1:36 ± 00:25 and average sleep duration (time in bed) was 10:15 ± 0:48. Morningness orientation was positively related to intelligence, conscientiousness and learning objectives. Results showed that boys and girls did not differ in chronotype. There were significant differences between girls and boys in academic performance but the direction was subject-specific: Girls did better in languages (German, English) and Nature & Culture, but boys had better scores in Mathematics. Overall, there were no gender differences in grades. There were significant gender differences in midpoint of sleep with girls sleeping later and showed higher social jetlag. Eveningness orientation was related to avoidance performance objectives and work avoidance. Early midpoint of sleep, conscientiousness and intelligence were associated with better grades. The multivariate model showed that intelligence was the strongest predictor of good grades. Conscientiousness, motivation, younger age and an earlier midpoint of sleep were positively related to good grades. This is the first study in primary school pupils, and it shows that the negative relationship between evening orientation and academic achievement is already prevalent at this age even when controlling for important predictors of achievement.