Design and Development of Teaching-Learning Sequence (TLS) Materials Around Us: Description of an Iterative Process

Abstract

The case described in this chapter is the iterative design and development process of an inquiry-based industry site visit teaching-learning sequence (TLS) – materials around us. In order to enhance students’ motivation and interest towards their science studies and promote learning about materials science-related topics, the TLS encompasses an industry site visit and activities related to it. The TLS is designed following the principles of the design-based research (DBR) approach. The iterative design process started with a review of relevant research literature and took place in four cycles. In each cycle, the TLS was tested with ordinary teachers, problems in the procedure were uncovered, and they were rectified. During the testing, versatile case study data were collected and analyzed employing mixed methods. The participating teachers’ and students’ (aged 13–15 years) experiences concerning the TLS were examined with pre- and post-questionnaires and interviews. Differences between pre- and post-questionnaire data were analyzed by t-tests, whereas data from the interviews were categorized according to motivation and interest theories. External observers observed the implementation and wrote evaluation reports. Based on the analysis of the data, the TLS was re-designed and refined after every cycle. As a result of the process, a student book and a teacher guide were designed and published. This chapter focuses on the problematic aspects of the design that emerged during the implementations, changes that were made, and how the changes were justified based on the data that were collected during the process.

Appendices

Appendix 1: ESIAQ

EVALUATION OF SCIENCE INQUIRY ACTIVITIES STUDENT NUMBER: ______________________

DATE: ______________________ COUNTRY: _______________________NAME: ____________________

For each of the following statements dealing with scientific inquiry activities, please indicate how true it is for you, using the following scale: not at all true (1) … very true (7)

	When I engage in a science inquiry activity …	not at all true			somewhat true			very true
1.	I enjoy the activity very much	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
2.	I think I am pretty good at the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
3.	I put a lot of effort into the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
4.	I do not feel nervous at all while doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
5.	I believe I had some choice about doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
6.	I believe the activity has some value for me	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
7.	I feel really distant from my peers while doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8.	The activity is fun to do	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
9.	I think I do the activity pretty well, compared to other students	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
10.	I don’t try very hard to do well at the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
11.	I feel very tense while doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
12.	I feel like it was not my own choice to do the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
13.	I think that doing the activity is useful for my science studies	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
14.	I really doubt that my peers and I would ever be friends through the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
15.	The activity is boring	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
16.	After working at the activity for a while I feel pretty competent	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
17.	I try very hard to do the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
18.	It is important to me to do well at the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
19.	I am very relaxed while doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
20.	I don’t really have a choice about doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
21.	I think the activity is important to do because it can help me in learning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
22.	I feel I can really trust my peers participating in the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
23.	The activity does not hold my attention at all	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
24.	I am satisfied with my performance for the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
25.	I don’t put much energy into the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
26.	I am anxious while working on the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
27.	I feel that I have to do the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
28.	I would be willing to do similar activities more because they have value for me	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
29.	I’d like to interact with my peers participating in the activity more often	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
30.	I would describe the activity as very interesting	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
31.	I am pretty skilled at the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
32.	I feel pressured while doing the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
33.	I do the activity because I have no other choice	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
34.	I think doing the activity could help me to learn science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
35.	I feel close to my peers during the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
36.	I think the activity is quite enjoyable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
37.	I couldn’t do the activity very well	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
38.	I do the activity because I want to do it	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
39.	I believe that doing the activity could be beneficial for me	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
40.	I don’t feel like I could really trust my peers who are participating in the activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
41.	When I am doing the activity, I think about how much I am enjoying it	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
42.	I do the activity because I have to do	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
43.	I think the activity is an important activity	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

Appendix 2: AMQ

ACADEMIC MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING SCIENCE STUDENT NUMBER: _______________

DATE: ____________________ COUNTRY: ______________________ NAME: _______________________________

WHY DO I LEARN SCIENCE?

Using the scale below indicate to what extent each of the following items presently corresponds to one of the reasons why you learn science.

For each of the following statements dealing with scientific inquiry activities, please indicate how true it is for you, using the following scale: not at all true (1)… very true (7)

	Why do I learn science?	Does not correspond at all			Corresponds moderately			Corresponds exactly
1.	Because I have the impression that it is expected of me	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
2.	To show myself that I am a good student	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
3.	Because I choose to be the kind of person who will know many things as an adult	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
4.	Because it’s important to me to learn science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
5.	Because I enjoy the feeling of acquiring knowledge about science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
6.	For the enjoyment I experience when I grasp a difficult subject in science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
7.	Because it will help me make a better choice regarding my career orientation	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8.	For the “high” feeling that I experience when I am having discussions with interesting science teachers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
9.	Because studying science allows me to continue to learn about many things that interest me	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
10.	Because I think it is good for my personal development	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
11.	For the pleasure that I experience in knowing more about science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
12.	Because I would feel ashamed if I couldn’t discuss with my friends about things concerning science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
13.	I don’t know why I study science, and frankly, I don’t give a damn	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
14.	In order to get a more prestigious job later on	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
15.	For the “high” feeling that I experience while reading about various interesting science subjects	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
16.	Because science learning allows me to experience a personal satisfaction in my quest for excellence in my studies	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
17.	Because I really like science learning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
18.	Because I would feel guilty if I didn’t study science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
19.	Because I’ll get in trouble if I don’t do so	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
20.	For the pleasure I experience when surpassing myself in science studies	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
21.	Honestly, I don’t know, I truly have the impression of wasting my time in studying science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
22.	I once had good reasons for learning science; however, now I wonder whether I should continue	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
23.	Because I choose to be the kind of person who knows matters concerning science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
24.	For the satisfaction I feel when I am in the process of accomplishing difficult exercises in science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
25.	Because I want the teacher to think I’m a good student	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
26.	For the satisfied feeling I get in finding out new things	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
27.	Because for me, science learning is fun	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
28.	I don’t know why I am studying science	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
29.	In order to have a better salary later on	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

Appendix 3: Interview Questions

3.1 Semi-Structured Interview, Questions

Guided questions or themes discussed with the students during the interview.

3.2 Part 1: Motivation

3.2.1 Orientation

Can you please tell me about the site visit and the learning tasks related to it?

• 1. What was most interesting or motivating in the site visit TLS?

  • What else was interesting or motivating?

  • Ask about the following features of the site visit if the student does not mention anything about them.

• 2. What kinds of possibilities to influence the way things were done during the site visit TLS did you have?

  • Was it interesting or motivating to have an influence on the way things were done during the site visit TLS?

  • Did you have possibilities to plan the learning activities?

  • Did you have an influence on the way the learning tasks were done?

  • Did you have an influence on choosing the learning tasks?

  • Did you have an influence on the order the learning tasks were done?

  • What else were you allowed to decide about?

  • Was it nice to influence the way things were done during the site visit TLS?

• 3. What kinds of possibilities to work together with your classmates did you have during the site visit TLS?

  • Did working together with your classmates increase your motivation or interest towards studying?

  • Did you feel close to your group members?

  • Was it nice to work together with the other pupils?

  • Did you have a possibility to plan the learning activities with the other pupils?

• 4. Did you feel competent during the learning tasks related to the site visit?

  • Are you sure you were competent?

  • Did feeling competent increase your interest or motivation towards studying?

  • What made you feel yourself competent? (Was it your own, your teacher’s or other pupils’ view?)

  • Did you feel competent during the ICT tasks related to the site visit TLS?

  • Did you feel your competency was appreciated?

  • Could you do well some other thing related to the site visit TLS?

• 5. Can you please tell me about your feeling of interest and enjoyment during the site visit TLS.

  • Did you feel convenient during the learning tasks related to the site visit?

  • Did your feeling of interest and enjoyment have an influence on your interest and motivation towards the site visit TLS?

  • What learning tasks affected your interest most during the site visit TLS?

• 6. Can you please tell me about the motivating or interesting content or context of the TLS.

• 7. Overall, what do you think about the TLS?

3.3 Part 2: Learning

• 8. What do you know about products of the site visit company?

  • Do you know, what materials the products is made of?

  • Do you know, how are products manufactured from materials? What is the manufacturing process of a product like?

  • Do you know, what properties the products have?

  • Do you know, where are the products are used?

• 9. What do you know about the materials used in the company?

  • Do you know, what raw materials are used to produce materials the company uses and where these materials come from?

  • Do you know, how the materials are manufactured from raw materials?

  • Do you know, what properties these materials have?

  • Do you know, how the properties of the materials are analysed?

  • Do you know, a simple structural mode that explains a property of the material, describes the structure of each material?

• 10. What do you know about the occupations in the site visit company?

  • Do you know, what kind of occupations there are in the site visit company?

  • Do you know, what kind of education is required for each job?

  • Do you know, what the people who do the various jobs have to do at work?

  • Do you know, what kinds of skills/abilities/knowledge/attitudes/ways of thinking are required in each occupation?

• 11. What do you think about site visit as a way of working?

  • What do you think about the advance preparation of the site visit?

  • What do you think about the site visit?

  • What do you think about studying after the site visit?

  • What do you think about the site you visited?

  • How do you assess your own working?

  • What do you think you have learned during the site visit?

• 12. Tell us something about the mindmaps you constructed before and after the site visit.