Reuven Lazarowitz

Science Process Skills of 10th-Grade Biology Students in a Computer-Assisted Learning Setting

AbstractA modular course in microbiology that included the simulation software The Growth Curve of Microorganisms was taught to 181 students from five 10th-grade classes. The goal of the study was to investigate the impact of Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL) integrated with classroom-laboratory instruction versus classroom-laboratory work alone on students’ achievement and mastery of science process skills. The results indicate that students’ entry-level knowledge in microbiology was equal for both groups. On the posttest, the experimental group achieved a significantly higher mean score on academic achievement. There were no significant differences within the groups by gender. Between the groups, girls in the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores than those of girls in the control group. The experimental group performed significantly better on three science process skills: (a) graph communication, (b) interpreting data, and (c) controlling variables. The integration of CAL into the exis...

The Learning Environment of High School Students in Chemistry and Biology Laboratories

Abstract In this article a comparison of students’ perceptions of laboratory classes in chemistry and biology is presented. By using the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI), pronounced and significant differences between chemistry and biology laboratory environments were found on two of the subscales: ‘Integration’ that describes the extent to which its laboratory activities are integrated with non‐laboratory and classroom learning and ‘Open‐endedness’, a subscale that measures the extent to which the laboratory emphasises an open‐ended, divergent, and an individualised approach to experimentation. It is suggested that the SLEI can be considered as a sensitive tool to measure students’ perceptions of their learning environment in different subject matters during the laboratory work. In this study the SLEI was also used to compare students’ actual and preferred learning environments and to explore gender differences regarding this issue.

Learning Microbiology with Computer Simulations: students’ academic achievement by method and gender

Abstract Tenth grade students studied the topic of ‘The growth curve of microorganisms’, which included a computer‐assisted learning (CAL) simulation episode. The CAL episode enabled students to simulate experiments which investigated the simultaneous impact of three independent variables upon the growth curve of microorganisms (temperature, nutrient concentration and the initial number of individuals from which to start a population growth). Two classes (n = 82 students) formed the experimental group and were instructed in a combination of classroom‐laboratory work with CAL. The control group included three classes (n = 99 students) who were taught the topic in the classroom‐laboratory work setting only. Five teachers taught the five classes, three periods weekly and the study lasted 4 weeks. The students’ previous knowledge in the topic to be learned and their academic achievement were assessed with pre‐ and post‐tests, respectively. The data for each lest were treated with a two‐way analysis of varianc...

The Effects of Modified Jigsaw on Achievement, Classroom Social Climate, and Self-Esteem in High-School Science Classes

Cooperative learning in schools is not a new idea. Deutsch’s theorizing, published in 1949, about cooperation and competition has become a foundation for much of the development and research on cooperation in education (Sharan, Hare, Webb, & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 1980; Slavin, 1983).

Teaching biology in a group mastery learning mode : high school students' academic achievement and affective outcomes

Two learning units, the cell and plant topics were taught for seven weeks in four 10th grade classes. Two experimental classrooms (N = 52) were instructed in a Group Mastery Learning (GML) method, and two comparison classrooms (N = 61) in Individualized Mastery Learning (IML). For entry behaviour, data was collected on students’ aptitudes (GATB), and their math and science scores. Students’ pre‐ and post‐tests scores on academic achievement, self‐esteem, perception of classroom learning environment (CLE) and attitudes toward biology were tested using covariance analysis. Students in the GML classrooms had higher scores in self‐esteem, attitudes toward biology, and in the sub‐scales of the CLE. In the IML classes, a decline on these measures occurred. Students in the GML method, scored higher in the cell unit, while students in the IML method scored higher in the plant unit. This result is discussed within the framework of the complexity of the learning units.

The Development of Individualized Audio‐Visual Learning Units in Junior High School Biology and the Students’ Achievements

Summaries English The development of series of audio‐tutorial units for biological education at junior high school level is described. The effectiveness of these units was tested with students from a Kibbutz school and found to produce higher achievement than a ‘normal’ teaching approach, based on the BSCS Yellow Version (Israeli adaptation) materials. The audio‐tutorial method led to a particularly high achievement gain in the case of girls. The achievement gains resulting from the audio‐tutorial approach are explained in terms of the motivational effect of this method on students.