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Could a laptop computer plus the liquid crystal display projector amount to improved multimedia geoscience instruction?
No full text[[abstract]]In this study, a multimedia computer-aided tutorial (MCAT) on the topic of debris-flow hazards was developed for senior high-school students in Taiwan. The format of the new course is a blend of whole-class presentations, interactive discussions among the teacher and students, and classroom activities using the MCAT software. The whole-class presentation was presented using both a laptop computer and a high-resolution liquid crystal display projector to display the MCAT contents on a large white screen in front of a whole class. Besides, class discussions between the teacher and the students and among students were also embedded in the teaching format. Students' earth science learning outcomes were evaluated by administering an achievement test and a survey of attitudes towards the earth science subject before and after the course. The results indicated that MCAT accompanied by the current interactive whole-class teaching form could significantly help the students' grasp of earth science concepts and greatly improve their attitudes towards earth science.
A web-based tutoring system with styles-matching strategy for spatial geometric transformation
No full text[[abstract]]It has been a major objective for researchers to develop computer systems that can effectively deliver instruction to learners. Therefore, how to incorporate instructional strategies in computer-assisted learning systems in a systematic manner deserves further investigation. In this paper, a style-matching strategy that attempts to match learning materials' styles to learners' latent traits is proposed and realized in a web-based tutoring system, called CooTutor. The mechanism of adaptive material selection takes learners' different spatial ability and learning styles as an integral learning profile into account, and performs traits-based personalization of learning experience. This system is specifically designed to conquer the difficulty of tutoring the topic on fundamental spatial geometry in conventional curriculums. By conducting empirical evaluation with a small group of students, it is found that CooTutor is generally beneficial to learning the domain, but the effect of the styles-matching mechanism remains inconclusive. The work aims to contribute to the community of adaptive hypermedia in providing an explorative example adopting the concern of individual difference for personalization. The system design, a usage scenario, and an exploratory evaluation are presented in this paper as implications for further studies.
Exploring Taiwanese teachers' perceptions toward and knowledge of climatic hazard mitigation
No full text[[abstract]]This study reports the results of a national representative survey in Taiwan on the primary and secondary school teachers’ perceptions toward and knowledge of climatic hazard mitigation (CHM). Climatic Hazard Mitigation Inventory (CHMI) was developed by the researchers and content validated by a panel of experts including three university professors and two high school teachers. The CHMI instrument consisted of five subtests (80 items) and was pilot tested to a group of 28 pre-service earth science teachers in a teacher education institute in Taiwan. It was thereafter revised and employed to survey 183 randomly selected in-service primary and secondary school teachers in Taiwan. Every eligible science teacher in the target population had a known, positive probability of being drawn into the sample. The CHMI instrument was found to be an appropriate measure to examine teachers’ perceptions toward and knowledge of CHM. The results of the survey also suggested that both primary and secondary school teachers possessed a reasonable level of CHM knowledge. However, significant differences existed in teachers’ CHM knowledge between primary and secondary school teachers. Overall, teachers held positive perceptions toward CHM.
Does problem solving = prior knowledge + reasoning skills in earth science? An exploratory study
No full text[[abstract]]This study examined the interrelationship between tenth-grade students’ problem solving ability (PSA) and their domain-specific knowledge (DSK) as well as reasoning skills (RS) in a secondary school of Taiwan. The PSA test was designed to emphasize students’ divergent-thinking ability (DTA) and convergent-thinking ability (CTA) subscales in the area of Earth science. Two hundred and sixty tenth graders who were enrolled in six Earth science classes at a public senior high school located in the eastern region of Taiwan were participants. Major findings are as follows: (a) A significantly positive correlation existed between students’ PSA and their DSK and RS, approaching large effect sizes; (b) Both students’ DSK and RS significantly explained the variance of their PSA with large effect sizes; (c) Students’ RS could more significantly explain the variance of their DTA subscale with medium effect size while DSK might more significantly explain the variance of their CTA, approaching large effect size. The research suggests that more emphasis should be placed on the reasoning skills when developing students’ divergent-thinking abilities, while stressing more domain-specific knowledge when students’ convergent-thinking ability is considered.
The searching effectiveness of social tagging in museum websites
No full text[[abstract]]This paper explores the search effectiveness of social tagging which allows the public to freely tag resources, denoted as keywords, with any words as well as to share personal opinions on those resources. Social tagging potentially helps users to organize, manage, and retrieve resources. Efficient retrieval can help users put more of their focus on studying the resources rather than the retrieval process. This study was an investigation into the relations between social tags and user queries. Our findings were summarized into 4 main points: 1) 85% of the surveyed users agreed that social tags assisted them in searching for resources; 2) Over 40% of user queries searches, found their resources via the matching of social tags; 3) Social tags matched over 70% of user queries; 4) 14% of the social tags for a resource did not appear in the context of the resource. The experimental results demonstrated that social tags can improve users' efficiency in searching for resources.
Incorporating online informal science learning resources into formal science learning environments in Taiwan
No full textThe Design of New Teaching Model of Neuroanatomy to Prevent Neurophobia in Preclinical Medical Students
No full textExploring the Impact of Animation-based Genetic Instruction on Students' Perceived Cognitive Load and Learning Outcomes
No full text[[abstract]]The aim of this study was to develop an animation-based curriculum and to evaluate the
effectiveness of animation-based instruction. The curriculum was designed in certain principles
considered cognitive load theory for reducing perceived cognitive load and improving learning. The
curriculum was comprised of four subunits to teach the abstract concepts of genetics. There were 190
participants consisted of 7th grade junior high school students. 97 students participated in static graphicinstruction (SI group) and 93 students participated in animation-based instruction (AI group). The
effectiveness of the instruction was evaluated by the Genetic Concept Test (GCT test) and a self-rating
cognitive questionnaire (CLQ). The results indicated that: (1) Animation-based instruction may be a good
strategy to improve abstract concepts comprehensive, (2) Animation-based strategy can reduce the
cognitive load than static graphic-based, when students perceived lower levels of cognitive load, they
showed better learning outcome.
Virtual Learning Environment Preference, Perception of Helpfulness, and Achievement in Taiwanese Earth Science Students
No full text[[abstract]]Using 3D simulation software, 82 tenth grade senior high school students in central Taiwan took a
virtual field trip to the Hsiaoyukeng Walking Area at Yangmingshan National Park in Taiwan. 40 of the students
watched a teacher guide them through the environment, and 42 students explored the environment in teams of
4. Pre and post intervention content knowledge was assessed, as were affective traits. Based on pilot studies, the
assessments results were used to fit a linear multiple regression model. We found that 90% of the students
thought that the intervention was helpful and that 87% preferred the student team-based treatment. In addition, we found that the type of treatment the pre-test score, type of treatment preferred, and degree to which the
student found the intervention helpful were all statistically significant predictors of post-test variability.