Mathematics Education
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Browsing Mathematics Education by Subject "conceptual understanding"
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Item A Blended Approach of Jigsaw-4 and Problem-Solving Strategies in Preserv-ice Physics Teachers’ Understanding of Newton Laws of Motion Concepts and Their Affective Factors(Addis Ababa University, 2024-03) Zerihun Anibo; Desta Gebeyehu (PhD)Education in the twenty-first century needs new, creative instructional approaches to teach, like the active learning method, to help students understand physics concepts better. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Blended Approach of Jigsaw-4 problem-solving strat-egies on factual, conceptual understanding, procedural knowledge, problem-solving skills, moti-vation, and perception in a mechanics course, particularly on laws of motion, compared to the conventional method in the college of teacher education in the Southern Nation Nationality Peo-ples Regional State. In this study, 136 preservice physics teachers were chosen non-randomly from four colleges of teacher education. A quasi-experimental, non-random pretest-posttest re-search design with a mixed research method was used. Factual knowledge diagnostic tests, con-ceptual understanding tests, procedural knowledge tests, problem-solving skills tests, and phys-ics motivational questionnaires were administered to all groups as pretests and posttests. After the treatment, 24 preservice physics teachers, six from each group, were interviewed semi-structurally to collect data. In terms of data analysis, descriptive statistics, paired sample t-tests, and inferential statistics such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), post hoc tests were used for the analysis of the quantitative data, whereas deductive coding of verbal description was used for qualitative analysis. The findings of the quantitative analysis revealed statistically significant differences in preservice physics teachers' conceptual understanding, procedural knowledge, and problem-solving skills in learning laws of motion, which were found to be better after learn-ing through Jigsaw-4 problem-solving strategies. Concerning motivation, it was found that the blended Jigsaw-4 problem-solving strategy had a significantly superior effect over other prob-lem-solving strategies and conventional instruction. The interview analysis was drawn out using five major themes of pre-service physics teachers’ views: conceptualizing concepts of force view, the advantage of frictional force view, laws of inertia view, third law of motion view, and nature of frictional force view. It was found that preservice physics teachers' views improved more through Jigsaw-4 problem-solving strategies. In conclusion, the blended Jigsaw-4 problem-solving strategy using the TECMRER ( Thinking, Exploring, Choosing Strategies, Manipulation, Reflection, Evaluation, and Reteaching ) model improved learning of physics more than the Jig-saw-4 Techniques of Teaching, Problem-Solving Strategies, and conventional method. Finally, the researcher suggested that physics teacher educators have to use the Jigsaw-4 problem-solving strategy using the TECMRER model to develop the conceptual understanding, procedur-al knowledge, and problem-solving skills of preservice physics teachers in laws of motion con-cepts. Keywords: factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, conceptual understanding, problem-solving skill, Jigsaw-4-problem-solving strategyItem Context-Based Instructional Approaches and Students’ Scientific Reasoning Skills, Conceptual Understanding and Epistemological Beliefs in Biology(Addis Ababa University, 2024-05) Wuleta Ketema; Habtamu Wodaj (PhD)The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a context-based Relating, Experiencing, Applying, Cooperating, and Transferring (REACT) instructional strategy on students’ scientific reasoning skills, conceptual understanding, and epistemological beliefs on heredity concepts. In this study, a mixed-methods approach and a convergent embedded experimental design were used. One hundred thirty-one tenth grade students took part in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Three schools and three intact classes were selected randomly from each school. Treatment groups 1, 2, and comparison groups were assigned randomly to each school. Treatment group 1 received a context-based REACT instructional strategy; treatment group 2 received conventional instruction integrated with context-based activities; and conventional instruction was used alone to teach heredity concepts in the comparison group for six weeks. All groups received pre- and post-tests of the genetics conceptual understanding test, scientific reasoning skill test, and epistemological beliefs questionnaire. During the intervention, classroom observations and, after the intervention, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA), while narrative analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The MANOVA results showed that there were significant mean score differences between treatment group 2 and the other two groups in favor of treatment group 2 in both conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning skills. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between treatment group 1 and the comparison group in both variables. The observation and interview results supported these findings. The one-way ANOVA result also showed that there were significant mean score differences between the groups in favor of the treatment groups when it came to epistemological beliefs. However, there was no significant difference between treatment groups 1 and 2. This suggests that, compared to conventional instruction, the context-based instructional strategy had a positive effect on students' epistemological belief shifts toward expertise. In conclusion, this study found that integrating context-based activities with conventional instruction has more effect on three variables than context-based REACT strategy and conventional instruction alone. Key words: context-based instruction, conceptual understanding, scientific reasoning, epistemological beliefs, heredityItem Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge-Based Instruction and Grade 11 students‘ Chemistry Learning(Addis Ababa University, 2025-03) Kassahun Dejene; Temechegn Engida (PhD); Woldie Belachew (PhD)Chemical kinetics and equilibrium pose significant challenges to students' understanding in chemistry. Although pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been identified as a beneficial tool in improving learning outcomes, limited research focuses specifically on its effectiveness in these topics. This study investigated the impact of topic-specific PCK-based instruction on students' conceptual understanding, achievement, and motivation in chemical kinetics and equilibrium. Participants were 159 High school students in treatment groups receiving topic specific PCK-based instruction and a control group receiving conventional instruction. Three treatment groups, each emphasizing different PCK elements (curricular saliency-based, representation-based, and conceptual teaching strategy-based) were compared in this investigation. Data collection instruments included conceptual understanding test, chemistry achievement test, chemistry motivation questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. A mixed method with non-equivalent pre-test-posttest quasi-experimental design was utilized in this study. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA, MANOVA, follow-up ANOVA, and multiple regressions. Interview data were analyzed based on themes generated from interview data. Moreover, classroom observation data on students engagement and teachers facilitation role in teaching chemical kinetics and equilibrium concepts were anlyzed. The results indicated that the REPs and CTS methods were particularly effective, showing the highest gains in students' understanding. These interventions not only improved understanding and achievement but also mitigated common misconceptions associated with chemical kinetics and equilibrium. Notably, female students exhibited improvements in their grasp of concepts compared to their male counterparts, though no significant gender differences were observed in overall outcomes. The study underscores the effectiveness of TSPCK-based approaches in chemistry education, highlighting the importance of interactive and technology-supported teaching strategies. Results demonstrated the superiority of the treatment groups over the Comparison group in conceptual understanding, achievement, and motivation. Specifically, the representation- based instruction group exhibited significant improvement in conceptual understanding and motivation, while the conceptual teaching strategy-based group has shown a significant enhancement in achievement. Multiple regression data revealed that intrinsic and mark motivation strongly impacted students' conceptual understanding and achievement. Based on the findings and discussions of this study, summary, conclusions and recommendations were made. Keywords: Achievement, Chemistry learning, Conceptual teaching, conceptual understanding, Mark motivation, motivation, Representations, TSPCK-based instruction