Much research in Mathematics instruction has focused on collaborative learning and differentiated instruction. However, very little research in the Philippines focused on utilizing writing activities as an instructional intervention. Even in Mathematics, a subject grounded in computations, this can be beneficial. By explaining how a problem is solved, or why a solution is erroneous, students will learn how the concepts may be applied in a deeper sense. Given the pandemic's limits and the Philippines' low-performance ratings in international assessments, there is a pressing need to develop innovations to continue learning. Hence, this study investigated whether writing activities are effective in improving academic achievement in mathematics classrooms. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study involved selected Grade 8 students in a public school in Pasig City. The results of the quantitative data showed a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group as compared to the control. This was supported by the qualitative data which revealed that writing activities help understand the topics, remember concepts, and serve as a reviewer before an assessment. Overall, the study suggests that writing activities as an intervention in mathematics are effective in improving the student’s academic achievement.

The study investigated the attitudes of Biology teachers towards the Biology Competence-Based Curriculum (BCBC) and their instructional practices at the lower secondary school level in Nyamagabe district, Rwanda. A descriptive survey design was adopted. Also, a purposive sampling technique was used to select 26 (16 male and 10 female) teachers of Biology. Data were collected using a questionnaire addressed to Biology teachers in selected schools and analyzed and presented in terms of frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation. A one-way ANOVA was employed in the hypothesis testing. The findings indicated that these teachers had positive attitudes towards the implementation of BCBC. As for female ones, they had more positive attitudes towards BCBC implementation than the male ones. Considering those from boarding schools, they had a more positive attitude than the ones from day schools. Additionally, teachers with less teaching experience had more favorable attitudes than those with long experience. Teachers' age did not have any effect on their attitudes. The study also revealed that teachers of Biology rarely applied competence-based approaches in their teaching and assessment processes of students’ learning. It was inferred that the usage of CBC approaches differed significantly among teachers from boarding and day schools. The usage of CBC assessment methods did not differ significantly among teachers. From the findings, it was concluded that CBC seems not to be effectively implemented in the lower secondary schools under the study. Consequently, a recommendation was made to facilitate Biology teachers in schools with in-service training for professional development.

3D printer technology and 3D design are used in many fields and are gaining various uses day by day. It is seen that the quality of education and training has increased with the effective use of 3D technology in the education and training environment. This study aims to investigate the attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers about the use of 3D printer activities made with Tinkercad in science education. 43 science pre-service teachers participated in the study, which lasted 8 weeks. A mixed research method was used in this study. The problem-solving scale and the attitude scale towards the use of 3D printers in science education were applied to the pre-service teachers. To collect the research data, the attitude scale was applied as a pre-test and post-test. For Paired samples, a t-test was applied and analyses were performed. In qualitative studies, semi-structured student interview questions were applied. According to the findings of the study, there was a significant increase in students' positive attitudes towards the use of 3D printers in science education. Tinkercad and 3D printer trainings have been given and applications have been made within the scope of these trainings. There have been 6 activities related to 3D printers. Thanks to 3D printers, students have the opportunity to present creative ideas and things they imagine to life by making designs in their minds. It seems that abstract concepts related to the sciences are embodied with a 3D printer and turned into tangible objects. Examining a physical object makes it easier for students to identify mistakes they have made in designs. It is seen that they do creative and solution-oriented work against the problems they encounter. Thus, it is predicted that learning will be more permanent and effective.

Reflection requires someone to think in deep and express the impression of a phenomenon or an event. Reflection can be defined as a mirror to look at and see the personal insights, feelings, motivation, or purposes of individuals within a particular context and practice in a realistic way. This study examined the nature of pre-service science teachers’ reflections during the last semester of the teacher education program. There were four cases as student-teachers attending science teacher education program in northwest region of Turkey. The qualitative data, written reflections and researcher field notes were utilized and analyzed through inductive methods. The results indicated that even though pre-service science teachers learned scientific practices and inquiry, they were not able to implement due to some constraints: mentor teachers forced them to teach on a traditional basis. They could only complete the required four-hour teaching practice. Student teachers reflected on their learning as becoming a science teacher, but their actions were restricted, and they could not find supportive community in school and classroom context.

Bring your own device (BYOD) policy implementation in schools worldwide has allowed students to learn subjects, including mathematics, using personal mobile devices (PMDs). PMD use has enhanced students’ mathematics enjoyment by bridging the gap between theoretical mathematics concepts and their practical applications, which makes mathematics more meaningful and leads to improved results. Nonetheless, students in Namibian basic education are not authorised to learn with PMDs in school. While students’ PMD use in school remains a topic of debate, there remains a need to investigate its impact on students’ mathematics learning and teachers’ perceptions of BYOD in mathematics classrooms. This study evaluated the perceptions and intentions of 209 Namibian mathematics teachers from the Omusati and Khomas regions regarding students’ mathematics learning using PMDs in schools. Data were collected through an online survey. A structural equation model revealed teachers’ positive intentions towards students’ use of PMDs through BYOD in learning mathematics in school. Perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEoU), and price value (PV) factors directly affected the teachers’ behavioural intentions (BI) towards students learning mathematics through BYOD. PEoU significantly affected teachers’ PU, and PV significantly affected teachers’ PEoU and PU. PU significantly mediated the relationship between PEoU and teachers’ intentions. PV significantly indirectly affected teachers’ intentions through PU. PEoU non-significantly mediated the PV and intention relationship. Practical implications are discussed, and recommendations are offered for the Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and teacher training institutions.

The study investigated the impact of YouTube video assisted instructions (YVAI) on pre-service teachers’(PSTs) attitudes and academic performance in chemistry classroom. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. One hundred and twenty (120) Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) pursuing primary education programme constituted the participants of the study. Sixty (60) PSTs each were non-randomly assigned to the Experimental Group (EG) and Control Group (CG). Data on PSTs’ attitude and performance were collected with PSTAS and GCPT respectively. The SPSS software version 20 was used to analyse the data to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. A non-parametric analysis was used in the inferential statistics. The attitude means rank (MR=78.62) of EG (U = 713.000, Z=-6.924, p <.001) was statistically higher than CG (MR=42.38) (U = 713.000, Z=-6.924, p <.001) after treatment. The EG after treatment recorded a mean rank (80.86) statistically higher than CG (40.14), U = 578.500, Z = -6.441, p <.001 after treatment. YVAI was proven as an effective instructional strategy that enhances learners’ altitudinal changes and performance. The study recommended the use of YouTube technological-driven instructions to support classroom instructions.

Learning to teach mathematics has become crucial since its application in real life cannot go unmentioned. The desire of mathematics education researchers to make mathematics concepts easier for pre-service teachers to easily understand has attracted attention. This has become indispensable since after college, pre-service teachers are deployed from K-12 to assist learners in understanding mathematics concepts. The study aimed to ascertain how improvement in the learning of mathematics concepts using the Problem-based learning (PBL) approach could be understood and/or explained among pre-service teachers. This was viewed in two folds: how improvement in learning outcomes using the PBL approach could be explained; and how pre-service teachers’ disposition about the PBL could be explained/understood. Exploratory case study design involving qualitative and quantitative data was concurrently gathered and used. This involved the use of data collection instruments such as focus group discussion, pre-post-test scores, PBL observation protocol, and PBL disposition questionnaire. The study showed that the PBL method improved the learning of mathematics concepts among pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers also showed a positive disposition (interest, belief, and attitude) toward the PBL intervention. The authors advocated for the conduct of a longitudinal study to understand the direction of change over time.

This paper derives from a large research project focusing on mathematics and science assessment of student learning in three high-need, rural, and urban secondary schools in Manitoba, Canada. The study employed qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews and classroom video recordings of teaching practice experiences of 12 mathematics and science teachers, with the purpose that explore how authentic assessment forms assist effective teaching to monitor and motivate student learning achievement and growth. The results indicate that about 67% (eight out of the twelve of the participants) of the research participants practice the traditional mode of standard assessment that consists of multiple forms of questioning. The participants' rationale relates to speedy evaluations of student work, preparing feedback reports to parents and students, and objectivity of the assessment process. The other 33% (four out of twelve of the participants) of participants practice authentic assessment that concentrates on: (1) Allowing students to apply what they have learned rather than testing their ability to memorize and regurgitate concepts, (2) Allowing students to personalize their knowledge and values, (3) Encouraging group project-based learning and with the use of rubric for evaluating and monitoring, (4) Promoting deep learning to become life-long learners, (5) Recognizing, acknowledging, and validating diversity in student learning styles, interests, and aspirations, and further, authentic assessment is an excellent opportunity to apply communicative technologies such as podcasts and webinars in learning and undertaking investigations in mathematics and science learning. Furthermore, some participants asserted that authentic assessments are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and resource-demanding, aside from the limited resources and lack of training, which are some of the challenges of implementing authentic assessment. Other participants stated that all teachers must be familiar with using all assessment tools. The paper concludes that the principal plays a critical instructional leadership role in a school-wide implementation of authentic assessment.

Science, magic, and education have always been linked, from science-based magic shows to teachers presenting demonstrations as magic tricks to capture their students’ interest and provide a mnemonic reference for the topics under discussion. Magic as an art form is also often used to convey information or act as an analogy for invisible phenomena. This study examined how the use of a magic effect designed as an analogy for active and passive transport in cells affected student scores and perception of the activity when compared to a standard story analogy in a high school integrated science course. To determine this, students participated in either a magic-based analogy activity (MBAA) or a concrete story-based analogy activity (SBAA), and then data was collected and analysed using a pre-test/post-test for the content and a Likert-scale anonymous survey for the student perception of the activity. The MBAA was shown to be similar to the SBAA in helping students learn but had the added benefit of increasing students’ reported engagement with the activity. This study shows how bringing magic into the science classroom can have a positive impact on student engagement and provides teachers with another option to support student learning.

Research shows that learning enjoyment in specific socio-scientific issues (SSI) plays an important role in predicting grade 10 students’ learning interest and learning enjoyment (i.e., genuine interest) in SSI subjects generally. However, it remains unexplored whether learning enjoyment also mediates a predictive effect of learning interest in a Big Science SSI of pressing contemporary global concern—COVID-19—on grade 12 high school students’ learning interest in SSI generally. The purpose of this study is to investigate how learning enjoyment may mediate the predictive effect of learning interest in the specific Big Science SSI of COVID-19 specifically on students’ learning interest in SSI subjects generally. Latent variable modeling using data collected from grade 12 students (N = 691) showed personal perceptions of learning enjoyment in SSI partially mediated the predictive effect of learning interest in the SSI of COVID-19 on learning interest in other Big Science SSI subjects. Implications for promoting among science educators and policy specialists the active development of students’ individual interests and involvement in other 21st century Big Science SSI challenges are forwarded. 

Recent studies in mathematics education have focused on students' geometric problem-solving abilities, self-regulation, and the problem-based learning (PBL) model. The goal of this study is to examine how well junior high school students' self-regulation and geometric problem-solving skills are enhanced by the PBL model. In this study, quantitative methods using a quasi-experimental design were used. The sample consisted of 45 students from Amanatul Ummah junior high school in Mojokerto, Indonesia. Five types of instruments were utilized to collect data for this research, namely Syllabus, lesson plans, student worksheets, Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ), and Geometry Problem-solving Test (GPST). The outcomes of the N-Gain test demonstrated how well the PBL model works to help students develop their capacity for self-regulation and geometric problem-solving. Apart from that, there are some notable differences between the traditional technique and the experimental class that is taught using the PBL paradigm. It is advised that similar trials be conducted in the future with a larger population and sample size. In both public and private junior high schools, it is strongly advised that more research be done with a larger population and sample size. Future researchers can also expand the study materials of geometry, not only to flat-sided geometric shapes but even further to curved-sided geometric shapes and also other subject matters.

Scaffolding dialogue is a concept in learning that refers to the support or assistance given to individuals during the dialogue process. The main objective of this research is to create a basic structure of dialogue to help and support students during the learning process in improving their algebraic reasoning skills. Algebraic reasoning is a process in which students generalize mathematical ideas from a certain set of examples, establish these generalizations through argumentative discourse, and express them in a formal and age-appropriate way. The study was designed using the grounded theory qualitative model method, which used three sequential steps: open coding, selective coding, and theoretical coding. The research was conducted on students of the mathematics education department at Universitas Islam Sultan Agung. Data collection methods include algebraic reasoning ability tests, questionnaires, and interviews. Data analysis in grounded theory is an iterative and non-linear process that requires researchers to constantly move back and forth between data collection and analysis. This process aims to produce a theory that is valid and can explain phenomena well based on empirical data obtained during research. The dialogue scaffolding strategy framework in improving students' algebraic reasoning abilities includes instructing, locating, identifying, modeling, advocating, exploring, reformulating, challenging, and evaluating.