Central to the creativity development in elementary schools are competent teachers. Enhancement of teachers’ competence could be done through the provision of guidance handbooks for the teachers. As based on the problem statements, this research was aimed at developing handbooks of guidance and counseling that could improve teachers’ competence in providing quality guidance and counseling services; the handbooks were expected to help teachers in cultivating the creativity of elementary school students. In this research and development study, the designed handbooks consisted of book 1 Guidance and Counseling Implementation Plan, Book 2 Service Materials, Book 3 Teachers’ Guideline, and Book 4 Evaluation Guideline. The effectiveness of the handbooks was examined using a quasi-experimental method with one group pre-test and posttest. According to the results of experimental data analysis, the tcount and ttable arrived at 7.665 (significance level of 0.05 (14)) and 1.76, respectively, meaning that tcount > ttable. This result signified that the handbooks were practical to build teachers’ competence in providing quality guidance and counseling services, which was helpful in assisting the teachers in instilling the creativity of elementary school students. In brief, the handbooks are recommended to be used by teachers in promoting the creativity of elementary school students.

In several shows prepared for children and adults in the media, the representation of “individuals with special needs” can ensure that other members of the society empathize with disability and the characteristics of disabled people, and make it easier that prejudices are replaced by social acceptance through gaining information. Finding a place frequently used in children’s literature, children’s reality satisfies the curiosity and experience-gaining demands of children about the cases they encounter for the first time using various examples, and helps them internalize the information and experience they gain. Children’s shows and cartoons have an effective power in influencing the viewpoint of children as target group for disabled people within the framework of “children’s reality” by means of the representation of children with special needs who are socially disadvantaged. In this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate and examine in terms of various factors the social representation style of main characters with Down Syndrome represented in “My Brother Ozi” and “Punky” cartoons broadcasted on local children television channels and internet sites where cartoons for children can be found. 51 episodes of both cartoons (26 and 25) were viewed in the framework of the study and findings were analyzed using “document analysis” method which is a qualitative research method.

Considering the low achievement of Indonesian students in international studies (PISA), which measures Higher-Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) in solving the problem, improving the quality of mathematics learning in Indonesia is very important. The purpose of this research was conducted to explore the variations in students’ learning strategies and students’ Self–Regulated Learning (SRL) in solving mathematical HOT problems. The study employed a mixed-method, namely quantitative and qualitative methods were applied through five tests and seven interviews for over eight weeks. Two types of instruments were employed in this study, and they include tests and interviews. At the initial stage, we randomly selected 30 students from all those in grade 10 (Senior High School ), after which 12 were chosen purposively after the pre-test for an interview, having satisfied all complete group, middle group, and lower group. All of them were treated using metacognitive questions. Data analysis techniques used were percentage, data reduction, presentation, and conclusion. The quantitative results showed the students could generally use orientation, organization, and elaboration learning strategies as observed with 68.3%, 60%, and 56.7% for complete, middle, and lower groups. Moreover, the students were also observed to have conducted three cognitive processes in selecting the rules for solving the mathematical HOT problem, namely using models and drawing, written texts, and combining both. Furthermore, their final solution failures were affected by their misconceptions and errors in creating the mathematical model. The interview results on designing the learning procedures, monitoring the progress, and evaluating the outcomes, show that the students’ SRL level is good for complete (89.3%), middle (75%), and lower groups (60.7%).

This study aims to test proving the scale of measuring the character of students' curiosity using confirmatory factor analysis. This study uses a quantitative approach. The sample used was 325 randomly selected participants. The variable examined in this study is the character of curiosity. The curiosity variable is focused on elementary school students. In this study, this variable was measured by four indicators and 16 measuring items. The four indicators include: paying attention, taking notes, asking questions, and comparing. Data collection was carried out by distributing curiosity questionnaires to participants. The data analysis technique used was confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability analysis used was the composite score reliability analysis. The results of the study concluded that the constituent indicators of the latent variables of students' curiosity show that all loading factor values have a significant effect on the latent variables in the first order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Meanwhile, in the second order CFA, the variable of curiosity, the biggest contribution was the indicators compare. This student curiosity assessment model has fulfilled the goodness of fit aspect of the model and has been reliable based on construct reliability. This study recommends a scale measuring elementary school students' curiosity.

An evidence-based, interactive teaching method peer instruction (PI) is promoted to support effectiveness over more commonly used teaching methods. Usually it is proposed for the university and upper secondary school. The research reports on the implementation of the PI approach in teaching subject Science and Technology (S&T) in the 4th grade of primary school. The aim of this research was to verify the feasibility of this approach for much younger students in primary school by evaluating the students’ progress in the subject S&T, identifying the differences in individual progress in relation to students’ general learning success, and determining students’ opinions about the approach and where no desired progress has been made. In a selected Slovenian primary school, a classroom with 26 students (age 9 – 10) was included in the study and 5 different content areas (Earth’s motion, Matter, Magnetism, Forces and motion, and Electricity) were taught using this PI approach. Results show that students made progress in all content areas and no differences were identified in the progress of individual students in terms of general learning success. Students were satisfied with the approach, although more than half of them found the multiple-choice questions as too difficult. Although the PI approach is successful, teachers must be aware that some persistent and widespread misunderstandings may still remain and require additional intervention.

Professional teaching competence is significantly influenced by beliefs about teaching and learning. Prospective teachers start their teacher training with quite persistent beliefs about learning processes. These beliefs are mainly influenced by the way they experienced their own lessons as a student at school. Previous biology lessons at school might be linked to the imagined biology lessons of prospective teachers. We interpret these future lessons as a representation of their beliefs about teaching and learning. The present study investigated how prospective teachers remembered their previous biology lessons as well as how they imagine the lessons they will conduct in the future. The drawings of 181 prospective biology teachers in Germany (Mage = 22.1; SD = 3.6; 64.1 % female) were analyzed using the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C). Results of the study indicate that the lessons they experienced were mainly teacher-centered, whereas the lessons they imagined were mainly student-centered. Results of a chi-square-test indicate that there is no connection between these two drawings of biology lessons. This suggests that experiences from one’s own schooling may have no connection with the way prospective teachers would like to teach in the future. The results of this study might be used as a basis for further studies examining the development of prospective biology teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning.

The aim of the study is to adapt Preschool Children’s Science Motivation Scale (PCSMS) developed by Oppermann et al. into Turkish and conduct the validity and reliability analyses. This scale is considered important in terms of evaluating the science motivation of preschool children through the science concepts they are familiar with, based on their daily life experiences. The research data were obtained from 303 children attending preschool education in central districts of Adana. The findings of exploratory factor analysis, a two-factor structure named self-confidence and enjoyment consist of 28 items was determined in accordance with the original structure of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that this two-factor structure showed good fit. Subsequently, the study proceeded to reliability analyses and Cronbach’s α and Composite Reliability values were calculated. In consequence of the study, it was seen that the original form of the scale and the goodness of fit and internal consistency values obtained within the scope of the adaptation form coincided. The findings of the study indicate that the Turkish version of the PCSMS is valid and reliable for Turkish preschoolers.

As a part of learning process, project-based assessment (PBA) is determined to be a potential approach in higher education evaluation that focuses on developing the important objectives related to critical thinking, team working and problems solving skills. The aim of the paper is to find out students’ reflection and teachers’ beliefs towards using this project-based assessment method in teaching Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC). To collect the data, a project-based assessment design was applied for 124 English major students at B University in the 9 weeks ICC course. This project was implemented from the beginning of the course, and at the end of the course, learners’ products were performed with specific activities regarding culture knowledge competition, online cultural community activities, talent performance, situational judgment ability, and eloquence skills. In addition, a set of questionnaires were delivered to the participants, plus the interviews with 36 teachers who have taught culture-related subjects from the universities in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. The findings revealed that although there were certain challenges, using project-based assessment in teaching culture had satisfactory effects on students’ intercultural competence, problem- solving skills, critical thinking, and learning motivation.

The current study investigated Student-Teacher Relationship Measure (STRM) psychometric properties using Rasch analysis in a sample of middle school female students (N = 995). Rasch Principal Components Analysis revealed psychometric support of two subscales (i.e., Academic and Social Relations). Summary statistics showed good psychometric properties. The category structure and individual statistics (i.e., items and person infit and outfit) were not ideal. Category structure showed that the distances between adjacent thresholds were lower than optimal criteria. Even though findings indicated that items mean square statistics (MNSQ) were optimal, standardized fit statistics (i.e., ZSTD) reflected many misfit persons and items in each subscale. After eliminating the misfit persons and items, the two subscales met the Rasch optimal criteria. The updated short 22-item scale had good psychometric properties, high item and person separation, and good item and person reliability for the two subscales and can be used as a reliable and valid scale.

Transcript Based Lesson Analysis (TBLA) is a transcript-based learning analysis method developed at Nagoya University, Japan. This new method is believed to justify the success of instructional design planned by the teacher. So far, the success of learning design has been reflected in student learning outcomes, even though the learning outcome data are not sufficient to provide an overview of the actual classroom conditions. This study aims to analyse the communication patterns in learning Chemistry using the TBLA method. This research is a descriptive qualitative study that analysed the lesson of Chemical Bonds and Carbon Atoms Characteristics, which were conducted in two Senior High Schools in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The data were collected using observation and documentation study. The lessons recorded using cameras and camcorders devices were transcribed and analysed using the Excel program based on the number of words spoken by teachers and students and the frequency of keywords in learning chemistry. The data were transformed into graphs. The results showed that analysis using TBLA provided integrated information about communication patterns and classroom quality. In these two classes, communication pattern occurs in Chemistry learning was teacher-student interaction only. The multi-ways transactions pattern has not occurred. The low quality of teacher questions and the incomplete deep learning phase in learning chemistry caused the expected multi-directional transaction communication has not been conducted. The result implies that TBLA is an effective tool to reflect on teacher practices and improve their teaching process for better instructional practices.

We investigated the effects of just-in-time guidance at various stages of inquiry learning by novice learners. Thirteen participants, randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 8) or control (n = 5) group, were observed as they learned about DC electric circuits using a web-based simulation. Just-in-time instructional prompts to observe, predict, explain, systematically test, collect evidence, and generate rules were strongly associated with diagnosing and correcting misconceptions, and constructing correct scientific concepts. Students’ repeated use of predictions, systematic testing, and evidence-coordinated reasoning often led to formulating new principles, generalizing from observed patterns, verifying comprehension, and experiencing “Aha!” moments. Just-in-time prompts helped learners manage embedded cognitive challenges in inquiry tasks, achieve a comprehensive understanding of the model represented in the simulation, and show significantly higher knowledge gain. Just-in-time prompts also promoted rejection of incorrect models of inquiry and construction of robust scientific mental models. The results suggest ways of customizing guidance to promote scientific learning within simulation environments.

The progressive integration of mobile technology in the classroom is generating new scenarios to innovate teaching methods. The aim of this study was to analyse the perceptions of university students toward the use of Socrative and its implications in gamified learning situations. This is a descriptive-survey investigation, complemented with content analysis techniques. The data were collected using a questionnaire designed ad hoc by Quiroga-Estévez et al. and structured interviews. The sample consisted of undergraduate students (n=472) of the degree of Primary Education from the Faculty of Education Sciences of a Spanish university. The results show significant changes in the learning process of the students, in social relations and in the teaching methodology.

This study aimed to analyze the Research-Based Learning (RBL) model implementation in the natural sciences in improving students’ analytical thinking skills. This study employed a mixed-method with a sequential exploratory design. Data collection began with qualitative data and then continued with quantitative data. Qualitative data collection techniques used observation and interviews, while quantitative data collection used essay tests. Sampling was carried out before the research implementation. The samples were students of the PGMI IAIN Surakarta Study Program, Indonesia, which consisted of 34 pre-service elementary school teachers. The research was conducted in the odd semester of the 2019/2020 academic year. Quantitative data analysis techniques used a quasi-experimental design with one group pretest-posttest. Based on the results of four observations on the research treatments, the mean was 3.714, in which the values of preliminary activities were 3.625, core activities were 3.714, and closing activities were 3.75, used a rating scale (1-4) with the very good category. The RBL model implementation in the natural sciences in the concept of energy can improve the analytical thinking skills of students, as evidenced by the N-gain value was 56.57%in the medium category. This increase was obtained from the mean of the pretest score (46.84) and the post-test score (76.9), by using a rating scale (0-100). The research findings provide ideas to lecturers and researchers in improving the student's analytical thinking skills through the application of innovative learning models in the topic of the concept of energy.

The mastery of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is very important for teachers in order to achieve qualified learning. Analyzing the mastery of TPACK by teachers in Indonesia seems to be imperative to provide baseline data to Indonesian government. This study aimed to examine the mastery of TPACK, in particular among biology teachers in terms of their teacher certification status, educational level, and academic background. This research involved 68 biology teachers obtained through proportional random sampling in five districts of Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. The data collection was conducted through a multiple-choice test consisting of 33 items. The results showed that although the teacher’s mastery of TPACK was categorized as fair (60.13), it does not meet the work performance standards as a good teacher in Indonesia which has a minimum score of 76.00. Using Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis Tests (p< 0.05), the evidence revealed that the mastery of TPACK among biology teachers is likely influenced by the academic background, educational level, and teacher certification status.

This study examines the basic underlying structure of burnout experiences among teachers in Malaysia by discovering the challenges which lead them to experience burnout. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the current study explores the coping strategies that these teachers used to remain in their profession. Ten teachers from two public high schools participated in the study. The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using the constant comparison method. The findings revealed challenges that cause teachers to experience burnout, which are student misbehaviour, insufficient parental collaboration, occupational stress in the teaching environment, and negative emotions. The themes related to the coping strategies used to remain in the teaching profession are understanding teaching and learning, positive approach, individual factors, and support system. This paper lists some recommendations for managing the issue of teacher burnout and facilitate teacher retention is proposed, which includes providing training and development activities for teachers, increasing salaries, helping teachers develop coping strategies, and creating adequate support systems.

This paper explores misconceptions and errors (M/Es) of eighth-grade students in Nepal with a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent control and experimental groups. The treatment was implemented with teaching episodes based on different remedial strategies of addressing students' M/Es. Students of control groups were taught under conventional teaching-learning method, whereas experimental groups were treated with a guided method to treat with misconceptions and errors. The effectiveness of treatment was tested at the end of the intervention. The results showed that the new guided treatment approach was found to be significant to address students' M/Es. Consequently, the students of experimental groups made significant progress in dealing with M/Es in mathematical problem-solving at conceptual, procedural, and application levels.

This research is motivated by a linear equations system, which is the basis for studying necessary linear algebra materials, such as rank, range, linear independent/dependent, linear transformations, characteristic values and vectors. There are still prospective mathematics teachers who have difficulty solving linear equations system and understanding the form of row echelon and reduced row echelon forms. In this study, subjects were three prospective mathematics teachers from Swadaya Gunung Jati University Cirebon who were taking matrix algebra courses. This study aims to reveal the conceptual understanding of prospective mathematics teachers in determining the solution to systems of linear equations. The results show that there are still prospective mathematics teachers who only use memory about the properties and procedures in determining whether a matrix is said to be a row echelon form or a reduced row echelon form. Then, there is still weakness in building the algorithms' relationship due to the immature knowledge of the concepts. Researchers found that many prospective mathematics teachers were more comfortable solving problems that were performed procedurally. Further research is needed to determine how the mental construction process and mathematical conceptual knowledge of prospective mathematics teachers are through meaningful learning so that conceptual understanding is maximized.

Absenteeism is of great concern for K–12 school students in the United States. The aim of this study is to evaluate effects of parental participation types in absenteeism of Elementary and Secondary Education (K-12) students in the United States. We analyze the data of the U.S. Department of Education (Hanson et al., 2019), in relation to students, schools and parents’ characteristics, along with various parental involvement activities, for exploring how these factors influence K-12 students’ absenteeism in the United States. We employ Chi-square tests for the significance of relationships between parental involvement types and absenteeism of K-12 students. We also undertake multiple logistic regression analyses to evaluate the significance and odds of K-12 students’ absenteeism due to parental involvement activities and other underlying factors. The results of bivariate analyses suggest that parental involvement types are significantly associated with K-12 absenteeism (chi-squared p-value<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis reveals that only a subset of underlying parental activities is significantly related to higher odds of absenteeism as measured by estimates of odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval estimates. It also suggests that parental education, ethnicity and poverty adjusted for other factors also significantly affect absenteeism.

The primary purpose of this research was to determine the effect of principal instructional leadership behavior on several determinants: organizational commitment, efficacy, and teacher satisfaction through school health. Five instruments that had been used are the principal instructional management rating scale (PIMRS); organizational health inventory for elementary schools (OHI-E); online course questionnaire (OCQ); teacher satisfaction scale (TSS); teacher efficacy scale (TES). All of these instruments had high validity and reliability; with Cronbach’s alpha values of each was PIMRS (.83), OHI-E (.81), OCQ (.80), TSS (.86), and TES (.79). A total of 350 public primary school teachers in Surakarta had been selected as respondents in this study with satisfied random sampling. AMOS software version 6.0 is used to analyze CFA and SEM. The results of SEM analysis to the structural model built by the researcher was good, with Probability = .001; RMSEA = .043; GFI = .941; AGFI = .907; CMIN/DF = 1.522), so the relationship between the variables in the constructs was interpreted; (1) The Principal instructional leadership behavior had a significant direct influence on the school health, (2) The school health parameter had a significant direct influence on organizational commitment, efficacy, and teacher satisfaction, (3) The principal instructional leadership behavior did not have a significant direct effect on organizational commitment, efficacy, and teacher satisfaction through the variables and school health.

Creative thinking skills are 21st century learning needs that can be applied through the Scientific Reading Based Project (SRBP) model. The purpose of this study is to empower creative thinking skills through SRBP models in science learning in elementary school teachers’ education students. This research is mixed research with qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative research is used to explore students' creative thinking abilities. Quantitative research uses a quasi-experimental approach carried out for six months on the candidates of elementary school teachers’ education. Participants in this study were the candidate of elementary school teachers’ education of 75 people who took the Basic Concept of Science subject. Data collection in this study was through observation, documentation, pre-test, and post-test with essay questions to measure creative thinking skills. The final result of the project is the final product to measure creativity. The data analysis used was an ANOVA test to measure every aspect of creative thinking skill. Qualitative analysis was used to describe the learning process and the final project of creativity. The results showed that there was an increase in creative thinking skills from aspects of flexibility, elaboration, fluency and originality. The SRBP model has a positive effect on improving the ability to think creatively.