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Developing teaching strategies has become the cornerstone of education. The most successful educational strategies are those that adhere to their vital role to students as they focus on raising the students' attitude towards learning. This research shed some light on the impact of scaffolding strategies on middle school students' attitudes towards the science subject. Specifically, the aim of this research is twofold: to examine students' attitudes towards learning and enjoying science and to emphasise their attitudes towards science teachers and their teaching methods in the classroom. A quasiexperimental research design was implemented to achieve the research objectives involving pre- and post-test for the experimental and control groups. The research population consisted of 84 ninth-grader science students in Saudi. A questionnaire of 24 items was developed to cover the major dimensions of the study after being validated by relevant experts. After conducting the questionnaire, data were collected accordingly and then analysed using descriptive analysis and inferential statistics. Findings showed a significant difference in the science student's attitude in favour of students who were taught using scaffolding strategies compared with those taught using conventional teaching methods. Based on the findings, the research proposes that scaffolding strategies should be applied as educational venues of learning autonomy to students in classrooms that directly and indirectly promote students' positive attitudes towards learning science. The research concluded with a recommendation that scaffolding strategies should be applied when teaching science for better outputs. Therefore, policymakers and curriculum planners need to adopt scaffolding as a typical teaching strategy for the art of teaching in general and science in particular.

This study was conducted to corroborate in understanding the teachers' beliefs about assessment practices. The prior studies related to teachers' assessment beliefs in mathematics have been done to assess teachers' beliefs in the general context of mathematics teaching. This study developed an instrument to assess teachers' assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking. The research aimed to develop and validate a scale of assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking by using the confirmatory factor analysis. The first draft of the scale contained 25 items. The sample of the study consisted of 537 mathematics teachers from public schools in Oman. The instrument was a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale. The scale was validated by asking a number of experts in mathematics educational measurement and evaluation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the model of assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking scale using AMOS 25.0. All constructs had acceptable reliability. The model had a good model fit for the assessment beliefs of mathematical thinking scale which obtainable from the fit indices tests. The findings revealed that all fit criteria indices were realized. The results also showed acceptable validity and construct reliability for the scale.

Computational thinking (CT) is a method for solving complex problems, but also gives people an inventive inspiration to adapt to our smart and changing society. Globally it has been considered as vital abilities for solving genuine issues successfully and efficiently in the 21st century. Recent studies have revealed that the nurture of CT mainly centered on measuring the technical skill. There is a lack of conceptualization and instruments that cogitate on CT disposition and attitudes. This study attends to these limitations by developing an instrument to measure CT concerning dispositions and attitudes. The instruments' validity and reliability testing were performed with the participation from secondary school students in Malaysia. The internal consistency reliability, standardized residual variance, construct validity and composite reliability were examined. The result revealed that the instrument validity was confirmed after removing items. The reliability and validity of the instrument have been verified. The findings established that all constructs are useful for assessing the disposition of computer science students. The implications for psychometric assessment were evident in terms of giving empirical evidence to corroborate theory-based constructs and also validating items' quality to appropriately represent the measurement.

Computational thinking is a strategy of thinking to tackle complex problems. There is a paucity of conceptualization and instruments that cogitate on computational thinking disposition and attitudes. This study reacts to these constraints by establishing an instrument to test computational thinking related dispositions and attitudes. The computational thinking disposition Instrument is an indicator of student's disposition towards computational thinking in daily life. The objective of this study is to investigate the psychometric features using Rasch model. Data of 535 form four computer science students in Malaysia were obtained. Instrument consists of 55 core measures in three domains: cognitive, affective and conative. The Rasch analysis indicated good psychometric features of the instrument. In these three domains no items showed disordered thresholds and the reliability was good. As a result, the Rasch analysis provides basis for cautious optimism permitting more detailed and finer level investigation of the instrument.

This study examined the effect of the SB-CPBL on Jordanian 8th-grade students' attitude towards science. A quantitative quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group was employed in this study. 120 8th-graders, divided into two groups, were involved in this study. Two groups (60 students, 30 males, and 30 females) were designated as the experimental group; they used the SB-CPBL module for six weeks, while two groups (60 students, 30 males, and 30 females) were designated as the control group and taught conventionally. The validity and reliability of the measurements used, comprising four sub-scales with 40-items, were already robust. The statistical comparison between the groups showed a significant improvement in the SB-CPBL students' attitudes towards learning science compared with their conventionally-taught counterparts. The findings also confirmed the insignificant effects of gender vis-à-vis attitudes towards science. The results concluded the effectiveness of SB-CPBL approach in improving students' attitudes towards science in school settings.

Computational thinking (CT) is one of the systematic tools in problem solving and widely accepted as an important skill in the 21st century. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of the Chemistry Computational Thinking (CT-CHEM) Module on achievement in chemistry. This study also employed a quasi-experimental design with the participation of 85 form four students in Malaysia. The three types of teaching approaches, namely CT-CHEM Module Plugged-in (CTMP), CT-CHEM Module Unplugged + Plugged-in (CTMUP) and conventional method (CM), were systematically designed and implemented. The achievement of students was measured using an achievement test, where validity and reliability were justified and two-way ANCOVA was used to analyse the data. Findings confirmed that the achievement of students in chemistry is significantly higher in the CTMP group as compared with the CTMUP and CM groups. Instead, gender had no significant effect on students' chemistry achievement. This study concludes that when students were exposed to teaching and learning strategies by integrated CT through plugged-in strategy more effective than a combination of plugged-in and unplugged. Plugged-in visualisation activities are more effective in increasing the understanding and achievement of students compared with the combination of plugged-in and unplugged activities. Plugged-in through visualisation activities is more effective than the combination of plugged-in and unplugged. This is because, the abstract concept in electrochemistry is easier to understand by students through the visualisation activity approach using a computer in explaining the important concepts in the topic and because the whole content is interrelated.

Today's educational challenges necessitate the creative use of digital technology to adapt an effective pedagogical approach in chemistry teaching. While various visualization tools have been developed to improve visual-spatial skills, previous studies on digital technology interventions provide limited findings and show moderate effects on students' learning. Moreover, students still have misconceptions even after using three-dimensional models physically or virtually while learning chemical bonding. Therefore, this study investigates the effectiveness of the CHEMBOND3D e-module that integrates the web-based visualization tool, Molview, on the chemical bonding concept knowledge and visual-spatial skills between treatment groups and control groups. A pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group with a quasi-experimental quantitative design is used in the research. Pilot studies were conducted to verify the validity and reliability of the CHEMBOND3D Chemical Bonding Knowledge Test and Revised Purdue Visualization Test of Rotations. A total of 112 pre-university students from 10 schools in Sabah were selected based on the sampling method. The findings showed significant improvement in the chemical bonding concept knowledge and visual-spatial skills for treatment group students using CHEMBOND3D e-module compared to control group students using conventional methods. This provides new evidence of the potential of web-based application in learning microscopic chemistry concept in chemical bonding. These findings can facilitate further studies of other digital visualization tools such as virtual reality and augmented reality in support of learning complex chemistry concepts in reaction mechanisms and chemical equilibrium.

Mathematical thinking beliefs are a significant element in supporting teachers' practices of learning and teaching school mathematics. Most prior researches on mathematics beliefs have focused on teachers' beliefs about learning and teaching mathematics in general. This research aimed to validate a Mathematical Thinking Belief instruments (MTB). The instrument was distributed to 523 mathematics teachers in Omani public schools. These teachers were asked to write their opinion in an instrument with a 5-point Likert scale. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis have been applied to test the MTB using AMOS 25.0. All constructs show acceptable internal consistency reliability. The model meet a good model fit for the mathematical thinking beliefs measurement model through different fit index tests such as CMINDF, CFI, GFI, SRMR, RMSEA, and TLI. The results show that all indices of fit criteria were achieved. It is also indicated that acceptable validity, construct reliability and variance extracted values.

Computational thinking (CT) is often associated with computer science and mathematics in general. However, the involvement of computer science according to gender is seen to be imbalanced. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the level of students' CT skills by gender and their relationship to achievement in mathematics. The study employed survey research design and purposive sampling that involved 128 participants from four science stream students in one of the states in Malaysia (n = 128). The measurement of CT skills was done using a modified CT test adapted from the previous studies. The results of the study were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Spearman correlational analysis was applied to examine the relationship between CT skill and mathematical achievement and students' t-test analysis was used to determine the difference in CT skills across gender. The study found that the students' CT skills were at the honors level. The relationship between CT skills and mathematics achievement was statistically significant, whereas there exist no significant gender differences in CT skills. This study suggests that the teaching of mathematical logic needs to be considered to improve students' CT skills.

Computational thinking (CT) is increasingly acknowledged as an essential skill to solve problems interdisciplinary. This paper describes the development and validation of the unplugged activity of CT in science (ACTS) module, which is specifically designed to integrate CT. The present study was conducted in five phases: Phase I was composed of needs analysis to elicit respondents' opinions regarding the knowledge of CT and appropriate topic to integrate CT within the year 5 science curriculum. Phase II was the development of the unplugged ACTS module, Phase III was content and face validation of the module, Phase IV was the implementation and Phase V was the evaluation of the effectiveness of the module. The needs assessment indicated that students have never known about CT. The module covered the "Matter" topic for year 5. A content validity index (CVI) was used to quantitatively assess content validity, finding a CVI of more than 0.79 as appropriate. The module was found to have a high mean of validity for content value (CVI=0.83). Expert members have made suggestions that will then be used to develop the module as required. This study concluded that the module has strong validity of the content and can be used to improve CT and science content knowledge among children in primary school.

Studies have acknowledged computational thinking (CT) as an efficient approach for problem-solving particularly required in digital workplaces. This research aims to identify indicators for a holistic CT assessment instrument for undergraduate students. A three-round fuzzy Delphi study has been conducted to gain comprehensive opinions and consensus from undergraduate lecturers of computer science disciplines and experts from the information technology industry. In round 1, the experts judged a set of predefined indicators describing CT skills and attitudes identified from the literature, while rounds 2 and 3 focused on variables selection. The consensus was achieved on holistic CT, and the indicators are teamwork, communication, spiritual intelligence, generalization, problem-solving, algorithmic thinking, evaluation, abstraction, decomposition, and debugging. Results demonstrate the importance of attitudes in the process of solving a problem and suggest higher education institutions to consider holistic CT in preparing qualified future graduates. Many CT studies focused only on the skills of CT. This study outlines the assessment indicators that consider both CT skills and attitudes, particularly at the undergraduate level.

Scence educational standards are increasingly emphasising on argumentation skills. However, students' argumentation skills are often not developed well as their experience of science knowledge in schools is often in the form of uncontested facts. This research asserts that argumentation skills should be developed through explicit teaching of argumentation while engaged in practical work that draws on students' science process skills. In turn, developing argumentation skills also improves their science process skills. Thus, this research sought to examine the effect of the Modified Argument-Driven Inquiry approach (MADI), Inquiry without Argument approach (IWA), and the conventional practical work approach (CON) on the development of argumentation and science process skills of Grade 10 students in practical biology. This research employed the quasi-experimental methodology involving Pre-test Post-test Non-equivalent Control Group design. The data were collected through tests on argumentation skills, science process skills and diffusion and osmosis concepts' understanding. The MANOVA results showed that there was a significant improvement in the argumentation skills, science process skills and biology understanding among the students who experienced the MADI approach in practical biology. In contrast, students who experienced the IWA approach in practical biology showed significant improvement only in biology understanding.

Encouraging students' higher-order thinking skills (HOTs) has become an ultimate objective for several education programmes. Being a significant domain of scaffolding strategies, HOTs has been considered as a concern that should persistently be at the vanguard of reform agenda of science. The present research aims to examine the effect of scaffolding strategies on HOTs of middle school science students in the context of Saudi Arabia. To carry out the research aim, quasi-experimental design has been applied based on multiple-choice questions comprising 20 questions all distributed on four skills, namely, application, analysis, evaluation and creation. The total population of the research was 84 grade 9 students who all sat for both pre-test and post-test. Convenient sampling was chosen as a sampling method that typically suits both the experimental group (42 students) and the control group (42 students). After collection, data were analysed using both descriptive analysis, mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics including t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate ANOVA. The effect of scaffolding strategies on the four skills was found to be significant (p <0.01). The present research can contribute to the enhancement of students' HOTs, provided that scaffolding strategies are applied in science classes and, from a research perspective, will be a reference for researchers who are interested in scaffolding strategies in the context of either Saudi Arabia or other countries.

Studies have shown that various factors (the role of formal education, informal education, and community) contribute to the lack of participation in STEM and STEM careers. This research aimed to understand the multi pathways of factors contributing to the interest in STEM careers (STEM careers in physical sciences and STEM careers in life sciences). This research was a survey research which administered a questionnaire randomly to 1485 secondary school students (14 years of age). Data analysis was based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test the hypothesized model. A model containing five constructs, namely environmental factors (learning experiences, media, social influences), self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics respectively, perceptions of STEM careers and interest in physical sciences and life sciences STEM careers was proposed in this research. The results show that students' interest in life sciences based careers is influence by their self-efficacy and perceptions of the career. Meanwhile, students' interest in physical sciences based careers is influence only by their self-efficacy and not influence by their perceptions of the career. The need to improve students' self-efficacy through STEM learning experiences is imperative to ensure continued interest in STEM careers.

Given that science and technology innovations are increasingly becoming important in the global economy market in the twenty-first century, many countries around the world put greater emphasis on producing students who have mastered knowledge of chemistry and who possess twenty-first century skills. However, chemistry is perceived as a difficult subject, and the topic of salts is considered the most difficult in the Malaysian chemistry curriculum. Previous studies have found that digital game-based learning is an effective approach for enhancing academic achievement and promoting twenty-first century skills. The MyKimDG module was developed on the basis of this approach. In MyKimDG, students were engaged in developing digital games whilst learning the topic of salts. A nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design was used to investigate the effects of MyKimDG on students' understanding of the topic and the promotion of twenty-first century skills. Results showed a significant difference between the understanding of the control and treatment groups of the topic of salts. The results also indicated that the high productivity scores improved significantly between the pretest and the posttest for the treatment group. Our findings suggest that MyKimDG can help improve students' understanding of the topic of salts whilst nurturing their twenty-first century skills.

One classic problem in science education that is still happening today is the lack of learners' involvement in scientific activity. This may lead to not instilling positive scientific attitudes and the fostering of positive attitudes towards science is an important aspect that could promote greater interest towards science. The Take-Home-Experiment strategy is an attempt to implement an alternative strategy to ascertain whether its implementation promotes a positive attitude towards science among lower secondary school students. A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the effect of the T-H-E strategy on students' scientific attitudes. A total of 151 students in Form 2 from a lower secondary school at Pekanbaru Indonesia were divided into three groups: T-H-E group, Laboratory-Experimental group and Conventional group. The research used a questionnaire instrument on scientific attitude which consisted of 31 items with a Cronbach alpha reliability index of 0.68. The result of a one-way ANOVA shows that there was a significant difference in scientific attitude of students among these 3 groups. The mean score (mean = 3.21) for scientific attitude of the T-H-E group was higher compared to both the laboratory-experimental group (mean = 3.07) and the conventional group (mean = 2.91). This research found that the use of the Take-Home-Experiment strategy in teaching science has the potential to enhance lower secondary school students' scientific attitude.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Malaysian "Kimia" (Chemistry) Digital Games (MyKimDG) module on students' achievement and motivation in chemistry as well as 21st century skills. Chemistry education in Malaysia should put greater emphasis on combination of cognitive, sociocultural and motivational aspects to ensure that students are well-equipped with knowledge, skills and values relevant to the new global economy. Previous studies have reported that digital game-based learning (DGBL) provides opportunities for increasing students' motivation in learning while enhancing their academic achievement and 21st century skills. Based on the DGBL approach as well as constructivist-constructionist learning theories, MyKimDG was developed as a mechanism for achieving the desired goals. In this study, students were provided opportunities to take on the role of game designers, developing digital games while learning chemistry. This study employed quasi-experimental with non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest control group design. Subjects were composed of 138 secondary students. Results showed that the treatment group outperformed the control group in the chemistry achievement test. In addition, students' self-efficacy and high productivity scores improved significantly between pretest and posttest for treatment group. The findings imply that the inclusion of student as game designer approach in chemistry learning is able to help students develop an in-depth knowledge on chemistry and foster their 21st century skills as well as increase students' motivation in chemistry.

Inculcating collaborative problem solving (hereinafter CPS) skills to help develop students' knowledge, especially for problem solving (PS) involved in the subject of physics is of utmost importance in the 21st century. It was on such grounds that in the present study, physics PS learning was innovated by engaging students' generated animation within the recent CPS learning framework process. Next, the effectiveness of the steps in this innovative approach, which was developed as Lensmation CPS Module, in inculcating CPS skills was determined. Seventy respondents were involved in this quasi-experimental study, in which one treatment group was exposed to the module whereas the control group practised the conventional PS learning. In the course of completing their PS tasks, the students who were involved in this study had their CPS skills assessed using the CPS Proficiency Rubrics. MANOVA analysis revealed significant effects on CPS skills between the two groups. It is concluded that the innovative PS learning approach which tapped into students' ICT literacy in physics CPS learning was effective in inculcating CPS skills among the students.

Virtual Field Trip is a computer aided module of science developed to study the Colonisation and Succession in Mangrove Swamps, as an alternative to the real field trip in Form for Biology. This study is to identify the effectiveness of the Virtual Field Trip (VFT) module towards the level of achievement in the formative test for this topic. This study was conducted to 60 students employing a quasi-experimental design involving a treatment group taught using the VFT module and a control group who were taught using conventional methods. Analysis into the effectiveness of the virtual module was done descriptively, followed by inferential analysis involving the two-way ANOVA. The results showed significant differences in the mean scores of pre and post achievement between students taught using VFT and students who were taught using conventional methods for objective, structure and essay type questions. The study concluded that teaching and learning by using the VFT module, integrated with ICT, has a positive impact on student achievement when compared to conventional methods. This study focuses on the use of the VFT recognizing that teachers are often unable to conduct a real field trip on location.

In modern education, there is a significant increase in the use of digital innovations to enhance students' Computational Thinking (CT) disposition. However, the integration of CT into educational curricula often faces various challenges. This study examines the effects of integrating CT through a mobile application on students' CT disposition. Using a quasi-experimental design, the research involved 60 students divided into two groups: the treatment group using a CTfocused mobile application, and the control group following traditional teaching methods. Both groups underwent pretests and post-tests to assess changes in CT disposition. Statistical analysis, including repeated measures MANOVA, indicated a significant improvement in CT disposition among those using the mobile application. The study highlights the effectiveness of using mobile applications in integrating CT to enhance students' CT skills. Additionally, it underscores the importance of CT elements in education to promote more inclusive teaching practices. Overall, the findings confirm the value of mobile learning applications in advancing CT in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching and learning based on web or web-based learning is a concept which integrates information and technology in education. Teachers and instructors have to assist their learners to learn to function in this information environment. However, teacher trainers and instructors have limited experience in the integration of ICT by using web in their teaching, mainly for Biology subject. The Indonesian Ministry of Education has started to implement ICT in the process of learning and teaching. Hence, it geared our attention to evaluate the suitability of WebQuest to be used in teacher training among Biology teachers in central Kalimantan. Results showed those teachers' perceptions towards WebQuest on technical, content, as well as teaching and learning structure were on the high level. However, there was no significant difference on teachers' perception towards WebQuest based on their experience. Further evaluation study should be done on students to gauge their perception towards the WebQuest.

Statistical analysis is one component that cannot be avoided in a quantitative research. Initial observations noted that students in higher education institution faced difficulty analysing quantitative data which were attributed to the confusions of various variable measurements. This paper aims to compare the outcomes of two approaches applied in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning statistics. 143 communication undergraduate students were involved as participants in this action research. They were divided into two groups, in which one experienced "group quiz" technique and the other went through the newly designed "challenge the challenger" technique. The effects of interventions given were measured from the students' cognitions of variable measurements before and after such interventions. The action taken is believed to play an important role in the effort to improve teaching and learning of variable measurements in quantitative research.

Electrochemistry is found to be a difficult topic to learn due to its abstract concepts that involve three representation levels. Research showed that animation and simulation using Information and Communication Technology can help students to visualize and thus enhance students' understanding in learning abstract chemistry topics. As a result, an interactive multimedia module with a pedagogical agent (IMMPA) named EC Lab was developed to assist students in the learning of Electrochemistry. There were 35 students and seven experts involved in this formative evaluation to test the usability and effectiveness of the module developed. Instruments involved were module evaluation questionnaire, module reliability questionnaire, module validity questionnaire, pretest, post-test and motivation questionnaire. Results showed that the students and experts rated the module developed as high (M = 3.94) and very high quality (M = 4.45). Besides, the respondents also see the module as reliable (M = 3.87) and valid (M = 4.51). Students have higher scores on their post-test and have gained higher motivation level after learning with the IMMPA EC Lab. However, some corrections and modifications have been made based on feedback and suggestions from the respondents to improve the quality of IMMPA EC Lab.

Background: Previous studies have reported the impact of integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-based programmes on students' interest towards STEM, however, only few have tracked the longitudinal impact of such programmes across the years. Purpose: This study examined the long-term impact of the "Bitara-STEM: Science of Smart Communities Program" ("Bitara"-STEM) on middle school students' interest towards STEM. Program description: The program exposed students with integrated STEM education through a hands-on project based learning experiences, in an informal learning environment involving the application of the five phases of an engineering design process. Sample: This study involved 121 students who participated in the 2014 cohort of the "Bitara-STEM" program. Design and methods: Data were collected through a longitudinal survey and interviews. Interviews were conducted with sub sample of students to gauge the reasoning behind the decline, sustain or increment of interest towards STEM. Results: Findings revealed that, 2 years after leaving the programme, the levels of interest towards STEM careers were sustained but interest towards STEM subjects was not. The data from interviews revealed that the possible reasons for the decrease in interest towards STEM subjects could be due to the quality of teaching and learning that they experienced in the classroom. Conclusions: Thus, in order to sustain interest towards STEM subjects, students should be involved with "Bitara"-STEM type active learning strategies more regularly. Teaching and learning approaches in schools need to reflect the more active learning approaches, involving the integration of STEM subjects, as exemplified in this programme.

The aim of this research was conducted to determine the effects of Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) with mind mapping strategy on the student's achievement and motivation of 11th-grade Secondary students in Pekanbaru Indonesia regarding topics related to colloid. This research employed a pre test / post test quasi-experimental design. This study was carried out with two groups, a study group (were instructed using CIRC with mind mapping method) while a control group (approached with conventional teaching method). Data for achievement were collected using Colloid Conceptual test and motivation data were collected using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed used SPSS 20.0 statistic program in term of descriptif, frequency, arithmetic means, and standard deviation. Unclear sentence inferential statistical analysis used t-tests and MANOVA to identify differences in achievement and motivation of the treatment and control groups. The findings show that there are differences in the achievement of students who used Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) with mind mapping strategy, and no significant difference in motivation. This research has identified a learning strategy that can improve students' achievement in chemistry that needs to be applied, so that they can enhance their learning experience and achievement in chemistry lesson.

Embedding higher-order thinking within science education, particularly in teaching physics, can equip students to learn physics at a deeper level and to become active learners who can analyze and solve problems independently. The present research aimed to assess the effectiveness of scaffolding strategies along with a guided discovery approach on students' higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) at technical colleges in Saudi Arabia. The study employed a quasi-experimental design to involve 104 students enrolled in the physics 101 course in two groups: an experimental group (EG) (n = 54), which experienced scaffolding strategies and guided discovery approach during the instruction, and a control group (CG) (n = 54), which received the instruction through conventional teaching methods. All participants took a pre- and post-test consisting of a HOTS test. Data analysis using inferential statistics revealed significant differences in the test scores between CG and EG. The results indicated that students in the EG performed better on the HOTS test in comparison to the students in the CG. Based on these results, it is concluded that the scaffolding strategies and guided discovery have a positive effect on students' HOTS. The study's findings have significant implications for enhancing science instruction, particularly teaching of physics in Saudi technical and vocational colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to identify students' changes of (i) interest toward STEM subjects and (ii) interest to pursuing STEM career after participating in non-formal integrated STEM education programme. The programme exposed students with integrated STEM education through project based learning involving the application of five phases engineering design process. Two cohorts of middle secondary students participated in 2014 (n=129) and 2015 (n=113) were involved in this study. The study utilized one group quasi-experimental design. The analysis revealed that, overall there is a significant increase in mean scores for interest towards STEM subjects and career after participating in the programme. The findings also indicated that the program was effective at modifying students' interest level as the result revealed positive changes (from moderate to high level) for both 2014 and 2015 groups for interest toward STEM career (42.6% and 69.9% respectively) and interest towards STEM subjects (45% and 82% respectively).

Students nowadays need to be equipped with twenty first century skills in order to ensure their competitiveness in this era of globalization, especially in the science and technology sector. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the changes of 21st century skills among students after participating in an integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education program. Project Oriented Problem Based Learning (POPBL) approach was applied in the learning activities of this program as its fundamental pedagogy. A total of 125 secondary school students of the age 13-14 namely from the rural areas were involved as respondents. This study employed one group quasi-experimental to identify the students' 21st century skills before and after participating in the program. Data were analysed for descriptively, followed by an inferential analysis to compare the means (t-test) between the pre- and post-test. The findings from this study revealed that the level of 21st century skills (Digital age literacy, Inventive thinking, Effective communication and Spiritual values) among the students did increase and the increase was statistically significant. Interestingly, one of the components of the 21st century skills, namely "high productivity skills"' showed positive changes, from moderate to high level skills. The outcome of this study provides evidence that the application of POPBL in STEM education programs could help students to enhance their 21st century skills by learning how to solve real world problems based on authentic and real life experiences through project work.

This research was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of BIOMIND portal in enhancing students' 21st century skills and overcoming their misconceptions in Biology subject. 118 Indonesian high school students were involved in this quasi-experimental study. The experimental group underwent learning experiences using BIOMIND portal whereas the control group experienced conventional learning approaches. The effectiveness of the BIOMIND portal was measured based on the students' 21st century skills development and their level of misconceptions. There were significant differences in the 21st century skills development found between the experimental group and the control group. In addition, this research has found that the BIOMIND portal could overcome misconceptions among students due to the trainings given during interventions. This study concluded that teaching and learning using BIOMIND portal has brought positive impacts especially in developing the 21st century skills and overcoming students' misconceptions in Biology subject.

Three teaching methods were compared in this study, namely a Cognitive Conflict Management Module (CCM) that is infused into Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), (Module A) CASE without CCM (Module B) and a conventional teaching method. This study employed a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design using non-equivalent control groups. The design involved 130 participants from Form 2 (Grade 7) in a Malaysian secondary school. The cognitive level of all participants was classified as non-formal operational on the pre-test and were allocated to one of the four intact groups: experimental group 1, EP1 experienced Module A, experimental group, and EP2 experienced Module B, while the others were divided between two control groups. The impact of the three teaching methods on the level of cognitive development and science achievement were observed after a 20-week intervention. Data were analysed using multivariate analysis of variance/multivariate analysis of covariance, analysis of covariance and a paired-samples t test. It is hoped that this study can contribute to knowledge in the field of cognitive intervention and cognitive conflict strategy. The findings show that a high dose of cognitive intervention in CASE activities within a short period has an effect on the levels of students' cognitive development, standard science achievement and constructive cognitive conflict.

Students' achievement in Biology is often looked up as a benchmark to evaluate the mode of teaching and learning in higher education. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an approach that focuses on students' solving a problem through collaborative groups. There were eighty samples involved in this study. The samples were divided into three groups: ICT integrated with PBL group: a PBL group, and a lecture group. The PBL with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) group used a PBL module integrated with the following ICT elements: Microsoft Word template; Microsoft PowerPoint; electronic discussion group, and blog. Meanwhile the PBL group used the PBL module alongside log books and posters. The control group utilized the lecture method. All these groups went through four sessions of Biology. Before the beginning of session one and after the fourth session, an achievement test was given to all the students. Based on the analysis for MANOVA with repeated measure 3x2x2, the main effect for type of treatment, exam time and subscale was found significantly different. Additionally, the type of treatment interacts with exam time and subscale in contributing towards the achievement test scores. Overall, the findings suggested that the ICT integrated with PBL group was significant compared to the PBL group and control group. The ICT integrated with PBL group also performed significantly higher for the subjective scale.

Biotechnology has been widely applied in various products throughout the 21st century. Malaysia selected the biotechnology sector as one of the key strategic technologies that would enable Malaysia to transform into a fully developed nation by the year 2020. However, to date, there has been very little research on the level of biotechnology literacy amongst school students in Malaysia and the aim of this study is to determine the presence of biotechnology literacy, based on knowledge, perception, and attitude. Besides, this study also determines the factors affecting the students' attitude towards biotechnology. This study is a quantitative study involving 292 secondary school students from science and non-science classes. The findings showed that overall students have what we describe as a medium level of knowledge, perception, and attitude towards biotechnology. It is anticipated that this pattern of findings can help teachers, the Ministry of Education and the media to strategically plan ahead.