Climate change is an important issue with potentially catastrophic consequences. In this assignment, you will engage with both the scientific and political aspects of the problem by drawing a concept cartoon to explore the following prompt: “Do carbon-capture technologies do more harm than good?”
Background: Carbon-capture technologies alone will not be sufficient to avert the environmental crisis predicted by several climate scientists. Such technologies risk creating a false sense of security that humankind is doing okay at managing the environment. Considering this, does their development do more harm than good?
Step 1. Research
Using course materials and your own research, investigate the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of carbon-capture technologies.
Step 2. Access
Access the information on and examples of concept cartoons on the Module 3 Learning Objects page.
Step 3. Create
Create a concept cartoon featuring comments that provide various perspectives on carbon capture and possible misconceptions that people could form.
Step 4. Plan
Plan how you would use your concept cartoon to engage the public in the debate about carbon- capture technologies and their impact on the environment.
Step 5. Evaluate
Evaluate how effective you think concept cartoons would be for engaging the public in scientific debate.
Step 6. Compile
In a document, compile your cartoon and your responses in Steps 1, 4, and 5.JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES
IN THE WORLD
August 2016, Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Article: 06 ISSN: 2146-7463
THE EFFECT OF CONCEPT CARTOONS ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
AND INQUIRY LEARNING SKILLS
Assoc. Prof. .Dr. Özge Özyalçın Oskay
Hacettepe University
Faculty of Education
TURKEY
ozge@hacettepe.edu.tr
Hüseyin Efil
Amasya Social Sciences High School
TURKEY
efilkimya@gmail.com
Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the effects of concept cartoon supported learning activities on academic
achievement about “Chemistry and Energy” and perception of inquiry learning skills. The sample of the study is
100 students attending to the 11th class of Amasya Social Sciences High School in 2015-2016 spring semester.
As data collection tools Academic Achievement Test developed by researchers and Inquiry Learning Skills
Perception Scale developed by Balım et. al. (2007) will be used. At the beginning of the study Inquiry Learning
Skills Perception Scale will be used as pre-test. While the “Chemistry and Energy” unit will be studied with the
aid of concept cartoons in the experiment group, it will be studied using the present curriculum in the control
group. At the end of the study Inquiry Learning Skills Perception Scale will be used as post-test. The results will
be analyzed using SPSS programme.
Keywords: Concept cartoon, chemistry and energy, perception of inquiry learning skills, academic
achievement.
INTRODUCTION
Concept cartoons have recently been used across the world so as to provide an innovative learning-teaching
strategy in the constructivist approach, which is available in the curricula of many countries (Keogh and Naylor,
2015). Learning process rather than learning outcome is in the centre, and learners rather than teachers are
put in the centre in the curricula designed on the basis of constructivism. Therefore, learners think actively,
they inquire, develop their upper order learning skills, they wonder, they research, they solve problems, they
build new knowledge on the previous knowledge, and thus they make their learning permanent.
Concept cartoons are drawings in the form of cartoons employed so as to state opinions on scientific concepts,
and they also focus on issues that learners can experience in their daily life (Naylor & Keogh, 1999). Webb,
Williams and Meiring (2008) define concept cartoons as a method which is made up of drawings, which makes
the characters inside discuss in relation to science concepts of real life, and which thus encourages learners to
think.
Concept cartoons are among the visual aids which can be implemented in various ways. They can be used for
such purposes as to uncover students’ views, to encourage students to think and to develop their ideas, to
offer them alternative perspectives, to function as a stimulant for discussion, to encourage thinking and
reasoning, to help learners ask their own questions, to form a starting point for scientific research and for
enquiry, to form a sense of goal for the rest of the lesson, to raise motivation and to encourage participation in
the lesson, to put forward open-ended questions, to offer extra activities, to summarise or revise a topic, and
to make use of out-of- the- class time effectively (homework, etc) (Naylor and Keogh, 2010). Concept cartoons
49
COPYRIGHT © JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES
IN THE WORLD
August 2016, Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Article: 06 ISSN: 2146-7463
can also be used at the beginning of a class or a topic, as stimulants in discussions, and to identify domains of
question which are indistinct and which need to be answered (Naylor and Keogh, 2010).
A review of studies concerning concept cartoons demonstrates that they generally analyse students’ academic
achievement (Özyılmaz, Akamca, Ellez and Hamurcu, 2009; Keogh, Naylor and Wilson, 1998; Keogh and Naylor,
1999; Stephenson and Warwick, 2002), students’ attitudes towards a course (Özyılmaz, Akamca, Ellez and
Hamurcu, 2009), and identification of misconceptions and eliminating them (Stephenson and Warwick, 2002;
Chin and Teou ,2010; Kabapınar, 2005).
Considering the fact that concept cartoons present the conversations between characters by relating the
concepts to daily life, it becomes clear that students should be engaged in inquiry. It can be stated in this
context that students’ use of inquiry skills is closely related with concept cartoons enabling students to gain
th
discussion and research skills (Chin and Teou 2009; Keogh and Naylor, 1999). Using concept cartoons in 7
grade science lessons, Balım, Inel and Evrekli (2008) found that concept cartoons influenced students’ inquirybased learning skills. In their study of science education, Keogh and Naylor (1996) concluded that concept
cartoons were influential in discovering students’ views through discussions, in developing their ideas, in
ensuring high levels of involvement and motivation, and in encouraging students to do research. It is evident
from studies conducted that concept cartoons are usually examined in terms of effects on students’ academic
achievement, their attitudes towards a course, and on identifying and eliminating misconceptions. Yet, only a
small number of studies concerning the effects of concept cartoons on students’ inquiry learning skills are
available in the literature. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effects of concept cartoon supported
learning activities on academic achievement about “Chemistry and Energy” and perception of inquiry learning
skills. The reason for choosing the unit of Chemistry and Energy in this study is that such concepts as entropy,
enthalpy, heat, temperature, isochoric and isobaric systems, Gibbs energy and labour are too abstract for
learners to understand, and thus learners have various misconceptions about them (Reiner et al. 2000, Doige
and Day, 2012., Krajcik, 1991; Lewis and Linn, 1994; Banerjee, 1995; Thomas 1997; Thomas and Schwenz 1998;
Greenbowe and Melzer, 2003).
METHOD
Sample
The sample of the study is 88 students attending the 11th grade of Amasya Social Sciences High School in 20152016 spring semester. Initially, 44 students were assigned to the experimental group, and the remaining 44
students were assigned to the control group randomly. The students in the experimental and the control
groups attended the same high school, and they had the same level of achievement in chemistry.
Data Collection Tools
Inquiry Learning Skills Perception Scale
The “Inquiry Learning Skills Perception Scale” developed by Balım et al. (2007) was used in this study so as to
measure learners’ inquiry learning skills perception. There are three factors in the scale: “items for negative
perceptions”, “items for positive perceptions”, and “items for perception of inquiring the accuracy”. The
reliability for these items are 0.73, 0.67 and 0.71. Cronbach Alpha reliability for the overall scale is 0.84, and
internal consistency coefficient for Spearman-Brown test half-life is 0.82 (Balım et al., 2007).
“Chemistry and Energy” Achievement Test
The achievement test prepared by the researchers was composed of 10 open-ended questions. The content
validity of the test was attained by obtaining expert opinion.
Research Problems
The research problems for the study, which analysed the effects of a lesson of the unit of “Chemistry and
Energy” taught through concept cartoons on academic achievement and on inquiry learning skills perceptions,
were formulated as in the following:
50
COPYRIGHT © JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES IN THE WORLD
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL STUDIES
IN THE WORLD
August 2016, Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Article: 06 ISSN: 2146-7463
1.
2.
3.
At what level are the experimental and the control group students in terms of inquiry learning skills
perceptions prior to and following the application?
Are there any statistically significant differences between the experimental and the control group
students’ inquiry learning skills perceptions prior to and following the application?
Are there any statistically significant differences between the experimental and the control group
students’ academic achievement prior to and following the application?
Procedure
At the beginning, the Inquiry Learning Skills Perception Scale was administered to the students in the
experimental and the control groups as the pre-test. The students in the control group were taught the
concepts of the unit of Chemistry and Energy through the curriculum available and in traditional method for
four weeks.
The same concepts were taught to the students in the experimental group through concept cartoons. The
students in both groups learnt the concepts in the unit for the first time, and their prior knowledge was
restricted to the curriculum applied in the previous grade levels. At the beginning of the lesson, the researcher
handed out to the students the concept cartoons prepared for the concepts and sub-headings in the teaching
unit on the computer, and introduced the thoughts held by the characters in the cartoons to the students.
Then, the researcher asked the students which characters they agreed with and why they agreed with them.
The students discussed in groups the views and thoughts held by the characters and the concepts, and they
stated their opinions. Having received the alternative ideas and criticisms, the statements in the cartoons were
considered again, and the researcher taught the subject, and thus the lesson was finished.
FINDINGS
Table 1 shows the independent-samples t-test results for the experimental and the control group students’
inquiry learning skills perceptions (ILSP) prior to and following the application.
Table 1: The Independent-Samples T-Test Results for the Experimental and the Control Group Students’ Inquiry
Learning Skills Perceptions (ILPS) Prior to and Following the Application
Group
N
X
Ss
t
p
(ILPS)
Experimental
44
85.61
9.36
0.60
0.54
Pre-test
Control
44
84.18
1.54
(ILPS)
Experimental
44
84.36
8.68
-0.57
0.56
Post-test
Control
44
85.50
9.73
According to Table 1, students have quite high levels of inquiry learning skills perceptions both before and after
the application. Yet, the difference between experimental group and control group students’ inquiry learning
skills perceptions before and after the application was not statistically significant (p>0.05).
Table 2 shows the independent-samples t-test results for the experimental and the control group students’
academic achievement in the unit of Chemistry and Energy prior to and following the application.
Table 2: The Independent-Samples T-Test Results for the Experimental and the Control Group Students’
Academic Achievement in the Unit of Chemistry and Energy Prior to and Following the Application
Group
N
X
Ss
t
p
Experimental
44
82.59
18.79
2.62
0.01
Control
44
72.05
18.41
According to Table 2, statistically significant differences were found in favour of the experimental group
students on examining the experimental and the control group students’ score differences for academic
achievement test after the application (Xexperimental=82.59; Xcontrol=72.05 p
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
Why Choose Us
- 100% non-plagiarized Papers
- 24/7 /365 Service Available
- Affordable Prices
- Any Paper, Urgency, and Subject
- Will complete your papers in 6 hours
- On-time Delivery
- Money-back and Privacy guarantees
- Unlimited Amendments upon request
- Satisfaction guarantee
How it Works
- Click on the “Place Order” tab at the top menu or “Order Now” icon at the bottom and a new page will appear with an order form to be filled.
- Fill in your paper’s requirements in the "PAPER DETAILS" section.
- Fill in your paper’s academic level, deadline, and the required number of pages from the drop-down menus.
- Click “CREATE ACCOUNT & SIGN IN” to enter your registration details and get an account with us for record-keeping and then, click on “PROCEED TO CHECKOUT” at the bottom of the page.
- From there, the payment sections will show, follow the guided payment process and your order will be available for our writing team to work on it.