Turinys / Contents

COVER

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Cover page, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2020

CONTENTS

Abstract

Contents, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2020, GU/NSE

CORONAVIRUS: TEACHING FOR ELIMINATION

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The main event of the beginning of 2020 should be called the emergence and spread of a new coronavirus infection - COVID 19 among the vast majority of the world's population. The infection affected not only the state of somatic and mental health of a person, but also many other aspects of his life and work - economics, politics, finances. A stable concept is rooted - distance. It has turned into a lifestyle: it has become an attribute of communication of many people of different ages in the household and professional level, part of a new reality. It is obvious that in the near future people will have to adapt to new specific living conditions, including the organization of the process of education of the population. Children of primary school age, and even first-graders, were also involved in distance learning. This fact posed not only situational questions to teach subjects, but also for assessing the value orientations of the modern education system in the near future. Separate results of conducted surveys of teachers on the subject of mastering distance learning have already appeared on the Internet. Teacher opinions indicate that distance learning works more successfully where students have the motivation to learn. At the end of the school year, the results of distance learning in various educational institutions will be known. Obviously, questions will arise about the further use of Internet services in this area. But in our opinion, the role of a teacher as a high-level professional remains the most important condition for a successful educational process.

SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING CHEMISTRY: COMPARISON BY GENDER, AGE AND EDUCATIONAL STREAM

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There is a dilemma among secondary school students’ attitudes towards learning chemistry in public sector educational institutions. Chemistry is considered as complicated and painstaking subject for students. Research was conducted to explore students’ attitudes towards learning chemistry of public sector secondary school students of district Lahore. Researchers used quantitative research approach based on positivist paradigm through conducting survey. Sample consisted of randomly selected enrolled 700 secondary school students: 350 male and 350 female. Questionnaire was administered to measure students’ attitudes based on 5-point Likert type options. Content validity of the instrument was confirmed from three expert opinions, and reliability was measured by calculating Cronbach’s Alpha Scores .841. Normality of the data was confirmed by calculating Shapiro-Wilk’s test, p > .05, n < 2000. Data were analyzed in SPSS by calculating independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Findings revealed significant difference between students’ attitudes towards learning chemistry by gender and no significant difference was found between science and computer science streams. Findings further revealed that students having 14-15 years of age have more attitudes towards learning chemistry as compared to students having 15-16 and 16-17 years of age. It is recommended that female secondary school teachers need to organize classroom activities to arouse female students’ interest towards learning chemistry. Teachers during delivering lectures need to concentrate on students’ cognitive level and age group. They feel themselves as teenagers because 10th grade students have less understanding regarding chemistry. Heads of the institutions should check teachers’ and students’ classroom activities as well.

RECENT TRENDS IN CURRICULUM AND TEACHING METHODS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

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This study aimed to explore modern trends in the field of curriculum research and science teaching methods. To achieve this aim, the research reviews the literature that is closely related to these trends, with a focus on contemporary Arab and foreign studies during the last ten years. Six main axes are identified that comprehensively represent contemporary global trends in curriculum research and science teaching methods: reform movements in teaching and learning science, modern scientific fields and their various branches, methods and strategies for teaching science, science education technology, evaluation of teaching science, and science teacher preparation. This study provides a complete breakdown of the main thrust of the research trends in each axis, while citing solid studies that reflect these trends. This study also provides a set of practical recommendations for developing curricular research and methods of teaching science, especially in terms of research plans and their specific directions in the Saudi context.

INTEGRATION AND USE OF CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGIES IN STEM EDUCATION

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Based on the historical development of industry and society, as well as education, we can conclude that in the future we will see continuous progress and development. Accordingly, education should follow, because only in this way will people be able to live a quality life in the future. Given all the progress so far, the question arises what awaits us in the coming years or decades. This article focuses on the question of whether the society is ready for the changes that await, and whether contemporary devices (3D printers, laser cutting machines, etc.) and processing procedures are already included in education, especially in the field of STEM. In order to explore these issues, a short survey was carried out on a sample of 77 STEM teachers in Slovenia. Results show that Slovenian schools are not yet well enough prepared for contemporary technologies, and that these are not included in the lessons for various reasons. Therefore, a strategy (at different levels) should be developed and introduce certain changes, so that education can keep up with the pace of technological progress.

END

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End page, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2020, GU/NSE