EXPLORING PRE-SERVICE CHEMISTRY TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING A SUBJECT IN ENGLISH IN KAZAKHSTAN

CoRe is one of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) representation that it important for pre-service chemistry teacher. This study aimed to analyze the correlation among pre-service teachers’ understanding of curriculum (UC), understanding of context-based learning (UCB), self-efficacy (SE) and the ability for designing Content Representation context-based chemistry (CoRe-CBC). A correlational study was conducted on 41 pre-service chemistry teacher of postgraduate program. Pre-service teachers’ understanding of curriculum was assessed using a 30-item of multiple choices. The 6-open ended questions were used to measure the understanding of context-based chemistry learning. Students’ self-efficacy was assessed by a questionnaire with 18 items. A group of experts confirmed the construct and face validity of all the instruments. Data analysis used Pearson correlation and regression. The result showed a high correlation between UCB and ability for designing the CoRe-CBC also with UC. A low correlation occurred between UC and the ability for designing CoRe-CBC. The variable of UCB had the biggest effect on the pre-service teacher ability for designing CoRe-CBC. However, the pre-service chemistry teacher still had less understanding in context-based chemistry learning. This study suggests that pre-service teachers’ understanding of curriculum and context-based chemistry learning should be improved. It will useful to support the implementing context-based chemistry learning.

Teacher training process must stimulate reflective thinking skill because this skill is crucial to improve teaching and learning capability. Indonesian version of standardized instrument to assess the development of reflective thinking skill in teacher training program is still limited. This research aimed to adapt Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ) to Indonesian version, investigate its quality, probe pre-service chemistry teachers’ level of reflective thinking, investigate relationship between reflective thinking and GPA, and compare between 1st year and 4th year pre-service chemistry teachers’ reflective thinking skill. RTQ is a 16 items 5 point Likert scale questionnaire purposed to measure reflective thinking in 4 subscale levels: Habitual Actions (HA), Understanding (U), Reflection (R), and Critical Reflection (CR). Each subscale was assessed by 4 questionnaire items. With the help of four science education experts who are fluent in both languages, RTQ was first translated into Indonesian and then its empirical result was substantiated. The translated RTQ was given to 147 pre-service chemistry teachers from Department of Chemistry Education, Raja Ali Haji Maritime University, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Rasch model method. Result indicated that the instrument and all 16 items nicely fit the Rasch model. The data also showed good reliability (Cronbach alpha .84). Result of this research also indicated that Understanding received the highest mean (17.70), followed by Critical Reflection (16.50), Reflection (16.48), and the lowest mean was Habitual Action (14.60). Non-parametric analysis was used because normal data distribution is not observed. Based on Wilcoxon Test result, significant difference between all subscales levels were detected, except for CR-R. Spearman Correlation result indicated that correlation between reflective thinking and GPA was not significant. Based on Mann-Whitney Test result, significant difference between 1st year and 4th year college students’ reflective thinking was only detected in CR. The implications relate to reflective thinking skill were discussed to improve the quality of learning process and its’ evaluation.

Scientific inquiry is a process in which individuals pose questions, think critically and engage in problem-solving research and investigation. It enables the explanation of observable scientific phenomena, problems, or events based on evidence. Through this process, students not only find answers to their questions but also structure their knowledge, opening the door to scientific practice. Scientific inquiry skills consist of six process components: defining the question or problem, developing a model to answer the question or find a solution to the problem, planning and realizing the research, analyzing and interpreting data, making evidence-based explanations and producing solutions, and evaluating and sharing knowledge. The aim of this study is to determine the readiness of pre-service chemistry teachers for the competency-based curriculum. Conducted as action research, the study involved 16 pre-service chemistry teachers over 12 weeks during the chemistry laboratory course in the fall semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. Data collection tools included open-ended questionnaire items to gauge pre-service teachers’ perceptions of scientific inquiry skills, an activity sheet designed to foster these skills, and a rubric for evaluation. The study analysed the use of the components of scientific inquiry skills by pre-service teachers. The results indicated that the pre-service chemistry teachers most frequently utilized the components ‘defining the question or problem’ and ‘planning and conducting research,’ which are subcomponents of scientific inquiry. However, the components ‘making evidence-based explanations and producing solutions’ and ‘evaluating and sharing knowledge’ were used less frequently in the activities they designed.

Organic chemistry is a mandatory component of chemistry II and chemistry III within the curriculum for pre-service chemistry teachers (PSCTs) pursuing a degree in chemistry teaching. The organic chemistry course sequence is well recognized as challenging and unapproachable for students, despite its significant relevance and impact across several sectors. While efforts have been made to recognize and deal with challenges faced by students in the cognitive and psychomotor aspects, there has been less attention given to identifying PSCTs’ conceptual difficulties and misconceptions of organic chemistry. This includes the subsequent strategies to design instructions to enhance students’ learning experiences, which are crucial elements in addressing their achievements in organic chemistry. The study aimed to identify the conceptual difficulties and misconceptions encountered by PSCTs in organohalides and stereochemistry. Furthermore, the study aimed to suggest strategies to enhance PSCTs’ understanding of the course. The study was situated within the theoretical framework of constructivism and employed an interpretivist qualitative case study design. The population under study consisted of all individuals who were enrolled in the Bachelor of Education program within the faculty of educational sciences. A cohort of 33 whole-class PSCTs who had registered for the chemistry III course, where organohalides and stereochemistry were taught as units, were purposefully selected to participate in the study. The main instruments were document analysis, formal written tests, and interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that PSCTs encountered difficulties when attempting to solve problems related to organohalides and stereochemistry. In addition, PSCTs had misconceptions about these concepts. The study, therefore, recommends the implementation of suitable and appropriate instructional strategies to enhance PSCTs’ conceptual understanding and reduce misconceptions.

The purpose of this study was to determine the metacognitive skill levels and motivation of preservice chemistry teachers and to investigate the effect of different metacognitive skill levels on their motivation. The study was conducted during 2014-2015 spring semester. In this research, survey method was used to reveal the effect of different metacognitive skill levels on motivation. The population of this study was comprised of preservice chemistry teachers attending the faculty of education. The Chemistry Motivation Scale which was developed by Glynn, Brickman, Armstrong and Taasoobshirazi (2011) and adapted into Turkish by Şen and Yılmaz (2014) was applied to determine preservice chemistry teachers' motivation. The Metacognitive Activities Inventory (MCA-I) which was developed by Cooper and Sandi-Urena (2009) and adapted into Turkish by Temel, Dinçol and Yılmaz (2011) was applied to determine metacognitive skill levels. The results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between preservice chemistry teachers grouped on the basis of differing levels of metacognitive skills on intrinsic motivation and self-determination.

In some school, teacher-centered is commonly found in the learning process. The learning process itself is still in the form of direct transfer of knowledge from teacher to students. Actually, students will learn better if they are engaged in a meaningful learning activity. STEM and project-based learning are one of the alternative teaching strategies that engaged students in meaningful learning. This research aims to investigate the impact of project-based learning that integrates with STEM on students' creativity in the topic of “Garbage Designer Who Use Waste As Inspiration For New Products”. The target group is 4th pre-service chemistry teachers at Thaksin University, Songkhla campus, academic year 2021. The data is obtained through Creativity Product Analysis Matrix (CPAM), which was analyzed from the product of pre-service chemistry teachers created. Three creativity dimensions used in this study which are novelty, resolution and elaboration dimension. The results of this research showed that pre-service chemistry teachers' creativity is obtained as much average scores of creative dimension equal to 72 %, that pre-service chemistry teachers' creativity were categorized as good. Based on the result, STEM project-based learning give a good impact on the improvement of pre-service chemistry teachers' creative thinking. Hence, integrated STEM linked with project-based learning can be implemented as alternative learning strategy.

The Effect of Learning Styles of Preservice Chemistry Teachers on Their Perceptions of Problem Solving Skills and Problem Solving Achievements

The purpose of this study was to improve preservice chemistry teachers' understanding of surface tension by using guided-inquiry activities. Ten preservice chemistry teachers participated in this study. Data were collected with open-ended questions on the effect of molecular weight, branching, and temperature on surface tension before and after guided-inquiry. The results indicated that most of the participants had difficulties in understanding surface tension and could not provide scientific explanations before the guided-inquiry activities. However, after the guided-inquiry activities, most of the participants were able to provide true or partially true responses and also to present scientific justifications in terms of the effect of molecular weight and the effect of branching on surface tension. Moreover, the study revealed that guided-inquiry activities immensely helped participants to understand the effect of temperature on surface tension, especially when compared to the effect of the other two factors. The study found that guided-inquiry activities improved the understanding of the preservice chemistry teachers about surface tension. In light of the results of this study, implications are stated for preservice chemistry teacher education and chemistry education researchers.

Pre-service teachers for secondary schools do not often perceive the academic content knowledge from their university teaching programme to be relevant for their future teaching profession. Hence, they lack motivation to learn those contents, which may have effect on their achievement. The aim of the study was, to develop a specific learning programme to enhance the perceived relevance of academic content knowledge. The learning programme was applied as an obligatory course for pre-service chemistry teachers with three 90-minute sessions and aimed to connect the academic content knowledge with the school-related content knowledge by structured content knowledge. The intervention study with a control group and a pre-post-test design to evaluated this approach involved N = 55 pre-service chemistry teachers (nintervention group = 23, ncontrol group = 32) and analysed the effects of this intervention on the perceived relevance of academic content knowledge. The results showed that pre-service chemistry teachers evaluate the academic course more likely to be relevant for their future profession already before the intervention took place. Nevertheless, compared to the control, the intervention showed a positive effect on the perceived relevance of academic content knowledge and the overall assessment of this academic course. Examining the explanations for the pre-service teachers’ perceived relevance revealed that they reasoned mainly from a school associated perspective, though their explanations remained at a rather low level.

The Examination of Metacognitive Skill Levels and Usage of Learning Strategies of Preservice Chemistry Teachers

This study discussed the recent application of Virtual Reality Technology (VRT) in an educational setting and self-face learning of chemistry in specific considering the need for an effective strategy in learning chemical concepts among the pre-service chemistry teachers in Nigeria. It highlighted some benefits of VRT to pre-service chemistry teachers who are faced with difficulty in content knowledge of teaching abstract chemistry concepts such organic structure, molecular structure, chemical reactions and stoichiometry through scrutinizing existing literature on VRT in chemistry. The paper further presented some empirical studies on VTR in resolving misconceptions among pre-service chemistry teachers in Nigeria. Some of the VRT benefits highlighted include; interactivity, immersability, and visualizability which are expected to enable the pre-service chemistry teacher to fully understand concepts better for effective and efficient chemistry instructional delivery after their graduation.

The Relationship between Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-Esteem and Emotional Intelligence Levels

IntroductionMathematics anxiety is phenomenon that blocks students from learning mathematics. Mark Ashcraft defines math anxiety as a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math (Ashcraft, 2002). Extended mathematics anxiety can contribute to the development of negative attitude toward the subject. On the other hand, some researchers used mathematics anxiety as part of their instrument to measure attitudes toward mathematics (Tapia, 1996). Thus, Mathematics anxiety and attitude toward mathematics can be interrelated, both having implications in teaching and learning mathematics. Anxious individuals will avoid subjects, courses, and careers that involve mathematics. Such avoidance can limit students' opportunities and career pathways. For this reason, Hoffer reported that attitudes change rapidly and must be studied more intensely (Hoffer, 1993). Moreover, many professional associations for mathematics have emphasized the need to improve students' attitudes toward mathematics.Howson and Wilson suggested that mathematics courses must offer materials that are personally engaging and useful, or motivating in some ways (Howson & Wilson, 1986). Additionally, implementing real-life applications in class has been proven to be effective to improve students' attitudes toward mathematics (Wade, 2013). At the University of Cincinnati, Foundations of Quantitative Reasoning, project-based course, was designed in 2012 to teach students to better understand the mathematics used in their daily lives and to use mathematics effectively to make better decisions every day. Contents are organized, with engaging coverage in sections like Taking Control of Your Finances and full chapter about Mathematics and the Arts. After taking the course, students are expected to recognize that mathematics is important and relevant to their lives. This new course serves non-STEM majors to fulfill their mathematics requirements. While Foundations of Quantitative Reasoning contains heavy load of applications, it has similar Student Learning Outcomes regarding mathematical concepts that are also covered in College Algebra. Both courses are college level; however, College Algebra falls in slightly higher level because the prerequisite for College Algebra is minimum score of 430 from the Math Placement Test while the prerequisite for Foundations of Quantitative Reasoning is minimum score of 420 from the same test.Related LiteratureStudents' attitudes toward mathematics have been studied for at least the last forty years (Neale, 1969; Aiken, 1976; Ma & Kishor, 1997; Alkhateeb & Mji, 2005; Hemmings & Kay, 2010). Several researchers reported negative correlation between mathematics anxiety and low performance in mathematics, and negative attitudes towards mathematics (Fennema, 1977; Fennema & Shermon, 1977; Richardson & Suinn, 1972; Tobias & Weissbrod, 1980). Belbase discussed that perceptions of mathematics can have possible impacts on learning with the subsequent development of attitudes toward mathematics and associated mathematics anxiety (Belbase, 2013). In addition, negative attitudes toward mathematics often lead to poor engagement causing students to fail the course (Mayes, Chase, & Walker, 2008). There is also correlation between attitudes toward mathematics and withdrawal rates from mathematics courses (Ma & Willms, 1999). There is some evidence showing that students' positive attitudes toward mathematics have positive impacts on students' achievement in college statistics and mathematics courses (House, 1995; Evans, 2007). The effect of the emporium teaching approach on students' attitudes toward mathematics and students' achievement is positive (Bishop, 2010). In particular, there is another study of the effectiveness of implementing real-life applications in class to improve students' attitudes toward mathematics in college mathematics courses (Hodges & Kim, 2013). …

Research has shown that negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are common and widespread in Western societies. However, few studies have addressed attitudes toward transgender individuals. In addition, although research has shown that homophobic harassment and bullying is highly common among adolescents, little is known about adolescent's attitudes toward sexual minorities. This study aimed to fill these gaps in knowledge, by investigating adolescents' attitudes toward transgender individuals and possible attitudinal correlates of those attitudes. Participants (N = 188; 62 males and 126 females) were recruited in high schools in Lisbon, Portugal. Age ranged from 15 to 19 years (M = 17; SD = .96). Participants completed a questionnaire booklet measuring attitudes toward transgender individuals, lesbians, and gay men, and gender role beliefs. Results revealed that attitudes toward transgender individuals were significantly correlated with all attitude measures. Specifically, it was revealed that those participants who endorsed negative attitudes toward transgender individuals were also endorsing of negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and tended to adhere to traditional gender roles. A significant gender effect was found with males being more negative toward sexual minorities than females, but these negative attitudes were more extreme toward gay men than toward lesbian women. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The few studies assessing the affective reactions of different groups of respondents to this disorder reported that their physiological or emotional responses were negative. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of college students’ gender and major on their feelings and attitudes towards a peer who stutters. The study was conducted with 342 college students aged 19–33 years from different majors. Their attitudes to stuttering peers were evaluated by the Sękowski’s Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDPS) and feelings by the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). The study revealed that some gender-major interactions were associated with less negative feelings and attitudes towards stuttering peers and that different emotions about a stuttering peer led to different attitudes. In male students, the main moderating effect of the major on the relationship between negative feelings and negative attitudes was only established for students of economics. The major of female students also differentiated the relationship between negative feelings and attitudes. Teaching programmes for helping majors (paramedics/nurses) stimulate students’ positive feelings towards persons who stutter. Students in non-helping majors may need special soft skill training to develop positive attitudes towards persons with speech fluency disorders.