This study assessed the influence of using mind maps as a learning tool on eighth graders’ science achievement, whether such influence was mediated by students’ prior scholastic achievement, and the relationship between students’ mind maps and their conceptual understandings. Sixty‐two students enrolled in four intact sections of a grade 8 science classroom were randomly assigned to experimental and comparison conditions. Participants in the experimental group received training in, and constructed, mind maps throughout a science unit. Engagement with mind mapping was counterbalanced with involving the comparison group participants with note summarization to control for time on task as a confounding variable. Otherwise, the intervention was similar for both groups in all respects. A multiple choice test was used to measure student gains across two categories and three levels of achievement. Data analyses indicated that the experimental group participants achieved statistically significant and substantially higher gains than students in the comparison group. The gains were not mediated by participants’ prior scholastic achievement. Analyses also indicated that iconography was not as central to participants’ mind maps as often theorized. Depicting accurate links between central themes and major and minor concepts, and using colors to represent concepts were the major aspects that differentiated the mind maps built by students who achieved higher levels of conceptual understanding.
This study aimed to identify the types of arguments promoted in various contexts common to a high school chemistry classroom, including lecture‐discussion and laboratory activities. The study was guided by the following research question: What types of argument structures and schemes, if any, are promoted and engaged by students within various contexts in the participant classroom? Participants were 73 students enrolled in three sections of a grade 10 high school chemistry classroom. The same teacher taught all three sections and covered the same chemical topics. All regular and laboratory sessions were videotaped over the course of 2 months. Researcher fieldnotes were used to generate selective transcripts of argumentation evident during instruction. Additionally, semistructured interviews were conducted to assess participants' argumentative abilities in an inquiry‐oriented context. Student arguments were found to be limited in number and mostly characterized by incomplete structures, especially in terms of warrants within all three target contexts. However, student reasoning schemes varied across the three contexts, with the most developed ones evident in the inquiry‐based interview context. It is argued that “traditional” science instruction contexts can be used to promote argumentation if students are afforded certain support and guiding elements.
This study investigated pre-service teachers’ perceptions of using iPads in teaching, with a focus on motivation to adopt iPads, iPad-integration self-efficacy, and intention to adopt iPads for future teaching. Changes of pre-service teachers’ perceptions of using iPads over time as well as the relationships of motivation, self-efficacy, and intention for iPad adoption were examined. Participants were pre-service teachers from a university in the northeastern United States. Data were collected using online pre- and post-surveys. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were performed to analyze the data. Results indicated that there were significant changes in pre-service teachers’ motivation and intention to adopt iPads before and after their participation in a mobile learning project. Motivation and iPad-integration self-efficacy were significant predictors of pre-service teachers’ intention for future adoption. iPad ownership and prior experience with iPad-integrated lesson plans were potential factors that had a significant impact on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of using iPads in future teaching. Pre-service teachers’ perceived advantages and disadvantages of using iPads were reported and discussed. The findings of this study not only contribute to the understanding of iPad integration among pre-service teachers, but also provide an evidence on the positive influence of iPad-integrated activities on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of using iPads for future teaching.
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