The present study aimed to provide a digital story development experience for pre-service science teachers in the “instructional technologies and material development” course and to determine the impact of these experiences on their views on digital storytelling. Simultaneous parallel design, one of the mixed methods in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, was used in the study. Quantitative and qualitative findings are presented in different sections and both were interpreted in the discussion section. The quantitative study data were collected from 50 pre-service teachers, while the qualitative data were collected from 16 pre-service teachers. Quantitative data were collected by a survey and the qualitative data were collected in interviews. Descriptive/inferential statistics were employed in the analysis of the survey data. The steps of the analysis, coding, and categorization were adopted in the study for qualitative data. The positive effect of digital storytelling on the 21st-century skills of pre-service teachers was revealed by both quantitative and qualitative data. Furthermore, it was determined that pre-service teachers considered digital storytelling as advantageous since it provided meaningful and permanent learning, was fun and motivational; however, it also had disadvantages since it was time-consuming and required technological knowledge. It was revealed that they experienced certain difficulties in scriptwriting, finding the related images/videos and photographs, and finalizing the recording, and they considered that most, if not all, topics in the science course were suitable for digital storytelling. For pre-service teachers to acquire 21st-century skills, digital storytelling should be employed in several courses including the teaching practice course, and pre-service teachers should gain experience in preparing the students for digital storytelling.

This study aimed to investigate the degree to which teachers in Qatar implement differentiated instruction as well as the impact of years of experience, qualifications, grade, school subjects and training on teachers’ use of differentiated instruction. Also the study tried to explore the obstacles impeding the application of differentiate instruction. The study targeted all early childhood teachers (1,836) in 99 Qatar public schools spreading across the country. A random sample of 236 teachers, accounting for 12.9% of the population participated in the study. Following the mixed approach, the researchers used questionnaires and interviews to collect the data. The results showed no statistically significant differences among the respondents in the degree of application of differentiated instruction due to training and qualifications; however, statistically significant differences were detected in relevance to years of experience, grade, and the subject being taught. The study also found an agreement among teachers on the obstacles they face during their application of differentiated instruction, most notably the teaching load, class size, and time. The study concluded with recommendations for education providers, teachers and researchers.

The purpose of this study was to find the determinants of effective diffusion of educational robotics in rural areas. The study analysed the key components, difficulties, and major lessons of the successful case of the remote northern region of Russia – Sakha Republic. The study used a mixed-method approach consisting of interviews, survey, literature analysis, and participants’ observation.  In the survey participated 57 robotics teachers and 113 elementary, middle, and high school students of the Sakha Republic. From survey participants were randomly chosen 30 robotics teachers and 18 middle and high school students for the interview. The literature analysis explored reports and articles on the educational robotics activities in the Sakha Republic for the period of 2011-2018. Based on the findings, the study developed a process model with five principles and ten components that influenced educational robotics diffusion in the Sakha Republic. One of the main determinants of the model was a support system of public-private partnerships and a local community of educators. Another was the need to consider the local area’s constraints, possibilities, and culture when implementing any technology in the rural region's education. In the researched case two major determinants would not be possible and sustainable without strong leadership. The findings showed that strong local leadership could use knowledge of the local area to provide more appropriate solutions and could build the active support of the local community and public-private partnerships that would accelerate the diffusion of technology in the rural region's education.

This research aims to investigate the effect of socio-scientific issues (SSI) based instruction on preservice science teachers’ soft skills and environmental awareness. By applying cluster random sampling, 83 preservice science teachers (PSTs) were selected from the Department of Science Education at a university in Indonesia. The participants were divided into two groups which comprised the experimental group who were taught using SSI-based instruction, while the control group received direct instruction. The quasi-experimental study was carried out through a pre- and posttest control group design. Data was gathered quantitatively using soft skills and environmental awareness questionnaires. The soft skills questionnaire comprised six sub-skills questions: communication, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, and social interaction. The environmental awareness questionnaire contained questions about the PSTs’ attitudes, behavior, and willingness to act. These sub-skills were developed based on literature studies and reviews of previous studies. Face validity was conducted by the experts, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.84 (for soft skills) and 0.86 (for environmental awareness) were obtained. The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The result showed that SSI-based instruction had a significant effect on improving preservice science teachers’ soft skills and environmental awareness. After being taught using SSI-based instruction, all the sub-skills of the soft skills of the experimental group had increased compared to before. A similar trend was also found in their scores for environmental awareness. All the components of environmental awareness, after lecturing using SSI-based instruction, showed a significant increase compared to before. These results support the claim that SSI-based instruction fosters soft skills and promotes environmental awareness.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the IPA KIT teaching aids for earthquakes science KIT in improving students' collaboration skills and creative thinking. The design of this research is a quasi-experimental research with a stratified random sampling technique. This study involved two classes, namely the experimental class (n = 32) and the control class (n = 33) with a pretest-posttest control group design. This research was conducted at SMP Negeri 5 Depok. The statistical analysis used to test the research hypothesis based on the pretest and posttest scores is the normality test, linearity test, homogeneity test, correlation test, effect size, and MANOVA test. The results showed that the use of IPA KIT teaching aids for earthquakes was more effective in improving students' creative thinking skills and collaboration. Therefore, teachers are advised to use the earthquake science KIT teaching aids for earthquakes to improve the creative thinking skills and collaboration of junior high school students.

This study seeks to develop a learning method based on local wisdom that is developed to support the learning process. One of the pearls of wisdom used in developing learning methods is the traditional games of the Sundanese people, namely the Bebentengan game. This study aims to see the improvement of student learning outcomes by implementing the Bebentengan learning method. The mix-method, quantitative data and qualitative data are described based on the research findings. It involves as many as 298 students at various levels; Elementary School (ES), Junior High School (JHS), and Senior High School (SHS) and nine teachers. Data analysis using ANCOVA. The results showed that there was no significant increase in learning outcomes at all levels (sig. 0.020 <α). There is a significant difference in the learning of students who get Sundanese local wisdom-based learning methods at each level (ES, JHS and SHS). Based on the comparison between ES and JHS (Sig = 0.079> α), can be concluded that the learning method is not effective to be applied in junior high schools. Then, between ES and SHS (Sig = 0.006 < α) so it can be concluded that the learning method is effective to be applied in elementary schools. The last comparison is between JHS and JHS or vice versa (Sig = 0.079> 0.314> α), can be concluded that the learning method is not effective to be applied in SHS. Therefore, this method is most effective at the primary level. We find that this learning method can improve student learning outcomes at all levels. Learning methods using local wisdom are effective enough to improve student learning outcomes. Thus, this method can be implemented more broadly. Still, it needs to be developed in the future. It does not rule out the possibility of learning methods based on local wisdom can be combined with technological advances.

This study aimed to describe the profile of the students’ social skills of Bengawan Solo nature elementary school. The study was qualitatively conducted as a case study. The participants were teachers and students who were chosen by employing a purposive sampling technique. The data were obtained through observations, questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. This study employed an interactive model data analysis included: data validating, data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The conclusions of the study comprise: (1) the cooperation aspect, students can collaborate well; (2) the assertion aspect, students can get along with new friends and communicate with others; (3) the responsibility aspect, students understand their role and responsibility to the God, themselves, others, and society; (4) the empathy aspect, students can feel others' feeling and problem; (5) the self-control aspect, students can control their mental state so that they can avoid anger and bad influences.

Challenges arising from the classroom behavioral management of students with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties are a concern for educational professionals. The purpose of this study is to review common elements of behavior interventions for the disruptive behaviors of children with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties. A systematic review was conducted through an electronic search of studies (from 2000 to 2017) on ERIC, Web of Science, FRANCIS, and MEDLINE databases. The inclusion criteria involved: (i) an intervention improving behaviors at school of children with disruptive behaviors; (ii) elementary school children with the majority of the sample or average age between 6-11 years old; (iii) at least one measurable outcome focusing on social/emotional/behavioral outcomes; (iv) single-case designs. Of the 5339 articles that were identified in the initial screening, 27 met the criteria to be included in the review. Common characteristics of successful interventions are discussed to make recommendations for future implementation.

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of virtual laboratory based on semi second life (s-SL) on higher order thinking skills of general senior secondary school in chemistry learning process. The research design was adopted posttest-only design approach to a quasi-experimental. This study was conducted in the one of public general senior secondary school in 3T regions – Bangkalan City – one of the cities in East Java Province, Indonesia. There were 81 students in the grade 11 of natural science who involved in this study. The participants were divided into three groups, namely the students who did practical work by demonstration methods in chemistry real laboratory, the students who did practical work by experiment methods in virtual laboratory based on s-SL, and the students who did practical work by combination both of them (demonstration methods in chemistry real laboratory and experiment methods in virtual laboratory based on s-SL). The students in each group was tested by posttest of higher order thinking skills. The data was analysed with one-way ANOVA. The results of data analysis shows that there is a significance difference of each groups. Virtual laboratory based on s-SL has enough effect on the students’ higher order thinking skills.

Teachers in the constitution in Indonesia are professionals who must meet pedagogical, social, personal, and professional competencies. This qualitative research with a phenomenological approach aims to explore the experiences of the teacher professional education program (PPG) participants in gaining soft skills. The research data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted on fifteen PPG participants consisting of seven females and eight males. The fifteen participants attended PPG in five universities spread out from universities in Central Java, West Java, Yogyakarta Special Region, and Jakarta Special Capital Region. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Data analysis was carried out through the horizontalization, texturally, structurally, and essential descriptions stages. The results of this research found that PPG participants received soft skills learning in hidden curriculum patterns so that each participant had an initial understanding and how to get various soft skill understandings. Soft skills obtained by participants during the PPG implementation are self-confidence, collaboration, hard work, respect for culture, patience, wisdom, maturity, mental resilience, humility, responsibility, creative thinking, positive thinking, cooperation, humility, respect for others, and tolerance. This research recommends that soft skills learning at PPG be implemented with a structured curriculum so that participants have better abilities as teachers.

A Descriptive-correlational study was sought to investigate the influence of metacognition on the academic achievement and learning style of undergraduate students. Using the survey method, data was collected from a sample of 150 undergraduate students selected through a stratified random sampling technique which includes 50 students each from the three schools namely School of Humanities and Social sciences (HSS), School of Engineering (SOE), and School of Sciences (SOS) of Tezpur University. The tools used are five-point Likert-type Metacognitive skills scale and five-point Likert-type Learning Style Inventory. Academic Achievement of the students was measured based on the semester grade point average SGPA obtained in the semester examination. The data were analyzed using percentage, simple regression, multiple regression and one-way ANOVA. The result showed that only 34-36% of the undergraduate students have above-average metacognitive skills. The undergraduate students have equal preferences in all the five learning styles rather than focusing on one learning style. There is a significant difference between metacognition levels and academic achievement of the undergraduate students of SOS, HSS and SOE. The metacognitive skill explicates only 43% variability of academic achievement of the undergraduate students which implies that the undergraduate student’s metacognitive skills influence and determines their academic achievement to some extent. However, the undergraduate student’s learning style doesn’t account for variation in metacognitive skills. Thus, it is suggested that metacognitive skills should be integrated into curricular components and learning strategy which will help the students to monitor and regulate their own learning to meet the challenges of academic society.

Because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, most universities were forced to choose Online Distance Learning (ODL). The study aimed to examine the response of university students to the new situation. A questionnaire was sent to the entire university student population. Based on responses from 606 students, it was revealed that use of all applications in ODL increased. However, only the use of MS Teams increased significantly, while the use of the other applications (email, Moodle, e-textbooks) increased in a range of low to medium in terms of effect sizes, and even nonsignificant for applications such as Padlet and Kahoot. Based on the replies of 414 respondents, a Model of Forced Distance Online Learning Preferences (MoFDOLP) based on Structural Equation Modeling was developed. With a chosen combination of predictors, we succeeded in predicting 95% of variance for Satisfaction, more than 50% for Continuance Preferences variance in MS Teams applications, and nearly 20% in the case of e-materials. Among hypothesized constructs, only Attitudes are a strong predictor of Satisfaction, while Organizational Support, Perceived Ease of Use and Learner Attitude toward Online Learning are not. Satisfaction is a good predictor of Continuance Preferences to use Information Technology after the lockdown ended.

Recently, Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) has caused a considerable interest in the school community due to the wide-scale lockdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The curriculum's alteration necessitated a call to explore mechanisms for effective remote instruction delivery—including parental involvement. This research determined the psychometric properties of the "Strategies for Parental Involvement during Emergency Remote Teaching - Scale (SPIERT-S). The tool assesses the strategies used by teachers to facilitate parental involvement during ERT. Through a thorough literature review, 22 items about home and school collaboration and ERT were initially developed. Evidence related to content validity was established through two-round expert consultation, while data related to construct validity were gathered through factor analyses. The content validity analysis resulted in the deletion of four (4) items; hence, 18 items were retained. A three-factor structure was yielded from Exploratory Factor Analysis (parents as facilitators of learning, parents as sources of information, and parents as collaborators), and a total of 15 items were retained. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable level of the goodness-of-fit indices measured. The internal consistency of the factors and the whole scale showed excellent reliability. The results suggest that the SPIERT-S has good, valid, and reliable psychometric qualities and can be used to examine the strategies for parental involvement that teachers utilize during emergency remote teaching. Recommendations and limitations of the study are discussed.

The educational transition between early childhood education and primary education is a complex moment of change with repercussions throughout the academic life of the students. For this reason, it is important to seek continuity between both educational stages. A successful transition produces for the social, cognitive and emotional well-being of the student. The aim of this study is to find out how transition-related factors apply in ten European Union (EU) countries. The factors analyzed are the age of onset of transition, the teacher–student ratio, types of clustering, financing of the stage, responsibility, and both initial and in-service teacher training. The methodology followed in this study is documentary analysis and the main source of data search has been the European Commission's Eurydice portal. The results show differences in stage change within each country, especially in the explicit consideration of a transition period. The main conclusion is that there is a great difference between the northern and southern countries. The main differences between countries in the transitions from early childhood education to primary education in the EU are in the years of compulsory education, the teacher/student/unit ratio, the initial teacher training, and the decentralization of education.

This research aims to develop Indonesian Language textbooks with multiculturalism and character education for traditional poetry writing learning. This research uses a research and development approach until the discovery of a proper textbook. The subjects involved in this study were 101 elementary school fourth-graders, 33 teachers, and 2 Indonesian language and literature learning experts. Data analysis techniques at the need analysis stage through interactive models, and data analysis at the product testing stage using quantitative techniques with non-independent t-test statistics. Preliminary studies found that teachers and students needed creative writing skills textbooks developed by integrating the values of multiculturalism and character education. Textbook development referred to aspects of content, language, presentation, and graphics. Limited textbook product testing using t-test showed that t-obtained= -4,265 and t-table on α = 5 % is 2,064, so H0 is rejected. Broad testing also resulted in    t-obtained= -6,426 and t-table = 2,004, so it can be decided that H0 is rejected. Students' traditional poetry writing skills after learning using textbooks are better than before learning using textbooks. Thus it is concluded that the textbooks developed are inferred worthy of use by teachers and students to improve their writing skills in elementary school.

The article deals with mathematical literacy in relation to mathematical knowledge and mathematical problems, and presents the Slovenian project NA-MA POTI, which aims to develop mathematical literacy at the national level, from kindergarten to secondary education. All of the topics treated represent starting points for our research, in which we were interested in how sixth-grade primary school students solve non-contextual and contextual problems involving the same mathematical content (in the contextual problems this content still needs to be recognised, whereas in the non-contextual problems it is obvious). The main guideline in the research was to discover the relationship between mathematical knowledge, which is the starting point for solving problems from mathematical literacy (contextual problems), and mathematical literacy. The empirical study was based on the descriptive, causal and non-experimental methods of pedagogical research. We used both quantitative and qualitative research based on the grounded theory method to process the data gathered from how the participants solved the problems. The results were quantitatively analysed in order to compare the success at solving problems from different perspectives. Analysis of the students’ success in solving the contextual and non-contextual tasks, as well as the strategies used, showed that the relationship between mathematical knowledge and mathematical literacy is complex: in most cases, students solve non-contextual tasks more successfully; in solving contextual tasks, students can use completely different strategies from those used in solving non-contextual tasks; and students who recognise the mathematical content in contextual tasks and apply mathematical knowledge and procedures are more successful in solving such tasks. Our research opens up new issues that need to be considered when developing mathematical literacy competencies: which contexts to choose, how to empower students to identify mathematical content in contextual problems, and how to systematically ensure – including through projects such as NA-MA POTI – that changes to the mathematics curriculum are introduced thoughtfully, with regard to which appropriate teacher training is crucial.

Students' critical thinking ability requires improvement from schools as an educational institution. Besides, it is important to maximally integrate character education into mathematics learning. One of the attempts was implementing mathematics comic that contains Pancasila values as teaching material through contextual teaching and learning. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effectiveness of mathematics comic teaching material with Pancasila values in improving students' critical thinking and character. This is a quasi-experimental study that involves non-equivalent control group design. The population was fourth-grade students of elementary schools in Gajahmungkur District, and data were collected using a critical thinking test and questionnaire. The results showed that using mathematics comic teaching material with Pancasila values was (1) effective in improving students' critical thinking ability; (2) effective in developing character, especially discipline and hard work trait. In the beginning, both character traits were categorized as good, and after treatment, there was an increase in the very good category. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of mathematics comic teaching material with Pancasila values is effective in improving critical thinking ability and character traits.

The objective of this research is to analyze the twelfth graders' mathematics critical thinking skills using a mathematics learning model to stimulate fundamental critical thinking abilities of science courses in SMA Negeri, Pacitan Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia. This quasi-experimental research design was used in this study with one group posttest only design using multiple substantive posttests. The sample of 141 students from the total population of six public schools involving the twelfth graders of the natural sciences was selected through purposive sampling technique, data were taken through tests of students' critical thinking skills and interviews. The data analysis consists of five stages, namely an analysis of one sample t-test, an analysis of students' grades, an analysis of problem-solving stages, an analysis of critical thinking abilities indicators, and an analysis of mathematics critical thinking abilities indicators. The results showed (1) The results of the one sample t-test show that the mathematics learning model is effective to stimulate critical thinking, which means that the application of the mathematics learning model is effective to stimulate critical thinking; (2) the overall grades of students that met the minimum mastery criteria; (3) the data analysis of eleven problem-solving stages proves that the criteria for critical thinking abilities are categorized as good and very good. The highest score indicator considers the principle and definition of transformation, while the lowest grade indicator is mainly concerned with the questions on right and coherent steps; (4) the critical thinking skills have seven indicators that highlight the criteria of students' critical thinking abilities categorized as good and very good. The indicators that get the highest score determine the definitions of terms, while the indicators of the lowest score determine the action; (5) the results of the analysis show indicators of mathematics critical thinking skills that have eight indicators. The criteria of students' critical thinking abilities met good and very good categories along with indicators with the highest value score by considering the definitions of terms, while the indicators of the lowest score deal with the habit of caution.

Mechanics, as a large part of physics, shows the most basic concepts we encounter in our daily lives. With this regard, we implemented the mechanics baseline test (MBT) to the University of Rwanda - College of Education before and after the teaching mechanics module to track students learning. About 38 students participated in this study. We found the instructional strategies used to fit in a model we named "teaching and learning bucket" (lecturer backing and learners owning learning) during data analysis. The results showed that the performance occurred only in 12 out of 26 MBT items at a p<.001, and Cohen's D effect size of 1.26. Such analysis also allowed us to identify areas of mechanics that need teaching improvement, such as (a) constant acceleration, (b) average velocity, (c) the first law of Newton, (d) work and energy, and (e) energy conservation. There was also a positive correlation (r=0.58) between students' confidence in answering questions and correct answers provided and vice versa. Therefore, the research significantly informs lecturers to use various teaching approaches to effectively employ the teaching and learning bucket (TLB) model.

Continuous changes in social demand and development provide an acute and continuous pressure on universities. The question is whether higher education institutions (HEI) in Ecuador deliver graduates with the competences to provide timely economic, ecological, and sustainable solutions. Additionally, HEIs should prepare graduates to find employment in a society characterized by greater uncertainty, extensive use of information technology, speed, risk, complexity and interdisciplinary work. To face this challenge, universities need lecturers to possess a mix of aptitudes, attitudes, and professional development in teaching, research, and services. Unfortunately, knowledge is sparse about the readiness of their pupils to function effectively in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized environment. Accordingly, this study uses an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach to explore the impact of lecturers’ aptitudes, attitudes, and professional development on teaching and student learning at the University of Cuenca. Lecturers’ perceptions about their aptitudes and their attitudes are higher than the students’ perceptions. Faculty representatives believe that untenured lecturers have a better attitude and aptitude than the tenured lecturers. A third part of lecturers have achieved one of the required criteria in research development. Students from biological sciences are more satisfied with their lecturers and the competence development that they receive than the students from social sciences or engineering. Understanding the likely implication of the variables, aptitudes, attitudes and professional development, on the quality of teaching and learning is fundamental for the design and carrying out of educational reforms.