Measuring attitudes towards biology major and non-major: Effect of students' gender, group composition, and learning environment

Overcoming the Barriers to Teaching Teamwork to Undergraduates in STEM

There is widespread recognition that undergraduate students in the life sciences must learn how to work in teams. However, instructors who wish to incorporate teamwork into their classrooms rarely have formal training in how to teach teamwork. This is further complicated by the application of synonymous and often ambiguous terminology regarding teamwork that is found in literature spread among many different disciplines. There are significant barriers for instructors wishing to identify and implement best practices. We synthesize key concepts in teamwork by considering the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) necessary for success, the pedagogies and curricula for teaching those KSAs, and the instruments available for evaluating and assessing success. There are only a limited number of studies on teamwork in higher education that present an intervention with a control group and a formal evaluation or assessment. Moreover, these studies are almost exclusively outside STEM disciplines, raising questions about their extensibility. We conclude by considering how to build an evidence base for instruction that will empower students with the KSAs necessary for participating in a lifetime of equitable and inclusive teamwork.

Attitudes towards science in higher education: Validation of questionnaire among science teacher candidates and engineering students in Indonesia

In higher education, academic success and failure can be affected by students' affective states, such as their attitudes towards courses and learning. Many studies highlight the role of attitudes in the educational process resulting in a high demand for attitude assessments to plan comprehensive instructional strategies. The present study assessed and compared attitudes towards science in higher education. A total of 296 Indonesian undergraduate students from science teacher training and engineering majors participated in this study by completing the online Attitudes Towards Science Questionnaire (ATSQ). The validation analysis with confirmatory factor analysis and the Rasch model was performed to measure the instrument's properties resulting in a good fit model for the questionnaire's theoretical construct with acceptable individual fit items. Comparing the attitudes of science teacher candidates and engineering students, no significant differences were found in attitude towards science. Both groups revealed moderate attitudes, with higher responses to the science value variable, followed by enjoyment and confidence, anxiety and difficulty, and participation in science learning and activities. However, there were differences in the pattern of correlations between the variables, especially for anxiety and difficulty. The ATSQ has good psychometric properties and therefore can be used in research to assess attitudes towards science. It can stimulate further research in different contexts to confirm empirical evidence and promote attitude development in higher education.

Effects of gender diversity on college students' collaborative learning: From individual gender to gender pairing

This study investigated the effects of gender and gender pairing on behaviors and social interaction during collaborative learning in a blended learning environment. Three types of pairing (all-female, all-male, and mixed) were considered in an empirical study with 44 undergraduate students. The results revealed that, first, female students were more likely to perform well in listening, talking, and integrating during class, and in the quality of posts after class, whereas male students tended to engage more in irrelevant behavior in collaboration. Second, same-gender groups were more active in collaborative discussion, but all-male groups performed worst in quality of posts after class. Third, both male and female students were more active in same-gender groups than in mixed groups. Finally, same-gender groups tended to have greater interpersonal connectedness than mixed-gender groups. The paper ends with a list of practical implications for facilitating effective collaborative learning in co-educational college classrooms.

A study on the blended learning effects on students majoring in preschool education in the post-pandemic era: An example of a research-method course in a Chinese university

The world has gradually entered the post-pandemic era. Although the pandemic has been slowing down, it still has a strong impact on the education scene. Thus, how to provide students with an effective and flexible learning style is currently an important educational issue. This study focused on the implementation of effective teaching to improve the learning effects based on these special circumstances. To ensure a realistic teaching situation, an experiment of blended learning was conducted in a university in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China for a short-term study, based on the consideration of pandemic supervision and control. In this experiment, a single-group quasi-experimental design method, using the extended O-PIRTATD/S model, was adopted in a research-method course designed for students majoring in preschool education. This research-method course was an 8-week flipped course, where the first 4 weeks were online teaching and the last 4 weeks were taught offline, thus combining as a blended learning course. A total of 115 active participants were recruited for this study. Based on the theoretical framework of the belief-action-outcome (BAO) model, five research hypotheses were proposed with the aim of constructing a learning behavior pattern based on cognitive beliefs which could be verified by structural equation modeling. The results of the study were concluded as follows: 1. Academic self-efficacy had a positive impact on learning engagement, but had a negative impact on cognitive load; 2. Cognitive load did not have a significant impact on learning engagement; 3. Learning engagement had a positive impact on the enhancement of academic self-confidence; and 4. Cognitive load had a negative impact on the enhancement of academic self-confidence.

Perspectives of EFL learners and teachers on self-efficacy and academic achievement: The role of gender, culture and learning environment

The Omani socio-cultural context, the mono-gender educational system in schools, and the learning environment at the higher educational institutions significantly affect learners' self-efficacy and academic achievement in the mixed-gender EFL classroom. Different studies have revealed both positive and negative implications of mixed-gender classrooms, especially for those who came from a mono-gender learning environment. The adjustment phase for the tertiary learners from school to the university is not only crucial but also significant for the continuation of higher education. The effects of socio-cultural factors on self-efficacy and academic achievement have not been studied in depth, particularly in eastern countries. So, the current study aimed at investigating the role of gender, learning background, socio-cultural circumstances, and the effect of the learning environment on EFL learners' self-efficacy and their academic achievement within the scenario of the prevailing culture and traditions in the Dhofar Region. To conduct this study, mixed research methods (qualitative and quantitative) have been adopted to investigate the perceptions of both teachers and learners. The sample of the study consists of 117 EFL learners ranging between 18–22 years of age and 25 EFL teachers ranging between 35–60 years of age. We used separate surveys for students and the teachers and interviewed students and teachers on a random basis. The results demonstrate that both genders were comfortable in segregated classes. The results also reveal that female learners were active learners and better performers than male learners in the school learning environment. The students reported that social restrictions discouraged them from mixing with the opposite gender in classroom activities and oral discussions. Most teachers believe that, compared to male learners, female learners performed better and were more engaged and responsive to different learning situations. The study found that there were statistically significant differences between both genders in terms of the effects of socio-cultural environment, self-efficacy, and the learning environment. Female learners were better than male learners in mono-gender schools, and they have higher self-efficacy than male students at the university. In conclusion, EFL teachers should consider the socio-cultural context, learners' learning background, and other challenges of learners to bring out positive outcomes in a mixed-gender classroom.

Simulations to Teach Science Subjects: Connections Among Students' Engagement, Self-Confidence, Satisfaction, and Learning Styles

With the increasing technology integration practices in education, the adoption of computer simulations to teach conceptual understanding of science concepts is widely accepted by educators across the globe. To understand the connections between learners' engagement and satisfaction with simulations for science learning and their learning styles, the present study analyzed 1034 university students' perceptions and experiences of using simulations for learning physics, chemistry, and biology subjects. The study took place in a large public university in a gulf country. Precisely, this study provides an empirically driven exploration of the connection between tertiary students' engagement and satisfaction with simulation-based learning and their learning styles. The findings of this study showed that the participants showed a very high level of engagement and satisfaction with the use of simulations for learning science concepts in the subjects of physics, chemistry, and biology. Their self-confidence and VAK learning styles, particularly the kinesthetic style, were significant predictors of their engagement and satisfaction with the learning process. The findings from this study have implications for the benefit of researchers and practitioners interested in the effective adoption of computer simulations as a pedagogical approach in science education.