Hashimah Mohd Yunus

Enhancing Students' Ecological Thinking to Improve Understanding of Environmental Risk

The current rate of human development poses a major threat to the ecological balance of the environment, and this is exacerbated by climate change effects. It is therefore important for people to understand the ecology of different locations so they can make informed decisions that will not have an adverse effect on the environment. In this regard, students form a significant group for whom sound ecological thinking is necessary as they will be the future leaders and decision makers who can ensure the world’s continued sustainability. This chapter presents the results of an ecological education project that successfully expanded students’ ecological thinking. Evidence of this change is taken from interview responses before and after the ecological education project. The interview was based on a set of six photographs of different situations found in the environment. Responses were analyzed based on an ecological thinking framework developed by the researchers. This framework consisted of two components: understanding of ecology concepts and understanding of the impacts of human activity on ecosystems. The ecological education project succeeded in increasing students’ ecological thinking, thereby increasing their awareness of environmental risks.

Solar Cooking Activity for Preschoolers in Developing Inquiry Skills

The aim of this study is to explore children’s inquiry skills. Twenty children from a selected preschool in Penang were involved in this study. This study adapted the qualitative research approach using videotape observation. In this study, children were asked to develop a solar cooker by using a pizza box and bake biscuits. All instruction was given by a facilitator and preschool teacher. The data were analysed by using a rubric – Skills Required for Success in Inquiry (SRSI): classroom behaviour skills, social skills and group coping skills. For the classroom behaviour, the findings showed that preschoolers were actively involved, listened carefully to the instruction and were very excited in handling the hands-on activity. They also completed the task at acceptable level. However, they did not follow the classroom rules, make noise and did not complete the task on time. For the social skills, findings showed that they interacted appropriately among them, had good skills in conversation and showed a friendly attitude. Unfortunately, they did not think before acting due to their high excitement to do the activity. While for the group coping skills, preschoolers worked cooperatively in a group, contributed to group work and negotiated and compromised. However, they did not listen to others, did not accept criticism and had difficulty in expressing their opinion. Those findings indicate that preschoolers still need guidance to develop their inquiry skills. Thus, teachers played an important role in integrating inquiry skills in the classroom.

Preparing Lesson Plans: Preschool Teachers as Instructional Designers

provide brief guidelines for planning each stage of a lesson select appropriate teaching techniques provide sample templates that are useful for planning lessons.