Online Teaching Practices of Science and Mathematics Preservice Teachers in middle schools

The chapter presents a qualitative study that describes and discusses the teaching practices of four preservice teachers (PSTs) during their mathematics and science internship with 6th graders, performed in the context of distance learning related with the COVID-19 pandemic. The data collected included PSTs' documents, such as lesson plans, descriptions of and reflections on the practical work, student outputs, and interviews. The online organization and dynamics of the internship process describe the practices of the PSTs, inservice teachers, and teacher educators, which provided a practical context for the development of PSTs' online practice. Moreover, the results present digital educational resources used by PSTs, mainly for inquiry, communication, construction, and problem-solving purposes. PSTs pointed out benefits arising from the online internship experience. It better prepared them to use and create digital resources, increased awareness of the importance of collaboration and the role of formative assessment.

Knowledge of Greek and Latin Roots is Related to Reading Comprehension among French-Speaking Sixth Graders

By the end of primary school, students are confronted with expository texts known for their high proportion of domain-specific academic vocabulary words. These words usually comprise Greek or Latin roots in their internal structure. Recent findings showed that knowledge of Greek and Latin roots is related to reading comprehension. However, no study has investigated such a relationship in a francophone context. Therefore, the present study sought to measure Greek and Latin roots’ relation to reading comprehension among French 6th graders. To do so, 40 participants were administrated an experimental task on Greek and Latin roots knowledge and a reading comprehension standardized subset test. Variables related to reading comprehension, such as morphological awareness, vocabulary breadth, word reading fluency, oral comprehension, and working memory were also measured. Results showed that knowledge of Greek and Latin roots significantly predicted variation of reading comprehension. This paper discusses scientific and educational implications of this finding.

UNDERSTANDING BOUNDARIES OF SPACES AND EACH OTHER: CONTEMPORARY ARTIST USED IN VISUAL ARTS

This visual essay focuses on how social media tools and contemporary artist influence learners and the course process as one of the methods used in visual arts lectures. Participants of this project are ten 6th graders in a public secondary school selected with a random sampling method. At the beginning of the project, researchers asked to the learners about social media considerations, what social media tools were and how often they used social media. In the process of the study, participants used the Louisiana Channel and Art21 channels on YouTube to watch artist Julie Mehretu’s videos about her workshops and actual works performances. Following this implementation, researchers interviewed the learners about the course. As a result of this project, it is assumed that learners will have more active participation in the course by using social media and learners would have more positive views on using social media tools in visual arts courses. In addition, it was concluded that getting to know contemporary artists and looking at their works in detail contributed to children's artistic perspectives. Keywords: Contemporary Artist, Visual Arts Education, Social Media Tools, YouTube, Technology in Education

Fraction Ball: Playful and Physically Active Fraction and Decimal Learning

This study tested a novel approach to capitalizing on the benefits of play for informal math learning. Two experiments evaluated a platform called “Fraction Ball”, that provides an embodied, playful, and physically active learning experience by modifying the lines on a basketball court to support rational number learning. In the Pilot Experiment, 69 5th-6th graders were randomly assigned to play a set of 4 different Fraction Ball games or attend normal physical education (PE) class and completed rational number pretests and posttests. After strategic improvements to expand the intervention, the same protocol was implemented in the Efficacy Experiment with 160 4th-6th graders. Playing Fraction Ball for 4 PE class periods (Pilot Experiment) improved students’ ability to convert fractions to decimals. Playing a revised version of 6 different Fraction Ball games for 6 PE class periods (Efficacy Experiment) significantly improved children’s rational number understanding as reflected by higher scores in overall accuracy, with positive impacts on several subtests. Fraction Ball represents a low-cost, highly scalable intervention that promotes math learning in a fun and engaging approach.

Comparing probabilities in urns: A study with primary school students

The study aimed to explore the strategies used by Costa Rican primary school students when comparing urn probabilities. The sample was intentional and consisted of 55 6th graders. Using an interpretive approach, we analyzed the children’s responses to a questionnaire of five probability comparison items taken from previous studies, including different levels of proportional reasoning. Results indicate that problems in the first levels of proportional reasoning were solved easily by students, while problems at higher levels increased in difficulty. One-variable strategies, which compare only the favorable or unfavorable cases in both urns, are predominant; although there are correspondence strategies, few students show complete proportional reasoning. Aside from slight variations, results are similar to previous studies, which suggests that this task is influenced more by the child’s level of maturity than the instruction received.