Handbook preparation as a tool for self- directed learning process: A case study on endocrine topic

Sample

A total of 30 final year university students, who have been studying to become biology teachers, participated in this study. In the Turkish teacher education system, the length of the course for subject teachers is 5 years. 3.5-years are spent in the Science and Art departments to learn subject knowledge, and then 1.5-years are spent in the Education Department for pedagogical courses. Related to the research subject, the student teachers took the animal physiology (compulsory) courses in the Science and Art Faculty; and the instructional technology and material design course was taught in the Education Faculty. In summary, the student teachers had the academic competency to design the handbook.

Instruments and Data Collection Procedure

The simple-experimental design was used (pre-test, implementation, post-test) in this study. Student teachers’ knowledge levels about endocrine glands were examined using a pencil and paper test. Although multiple-choice questions are commonly used for this kind of research, this method often fails to explore the reasoning process and sources of conceptual problems within subjects. Written tests with open-ended questions may more effectively elicit students’ in-depth thinking.

Student teachers were asked two open-ended questions. The questions took into account the objectives of the investigated subjects: the names of endocrine glands (mainly; pituitary glands, thyroid and parathyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands, testis and ovaries), their hormones and functions,asin the National Secondary Biology Curriculum (NBC). The first item of the endocrine test measured student teachers' existing knowledge and misconceptions about these seven endocrine glands. They were asked to draw endocrine glands and to write their functions. The second item measured the student teachers’ understanding of the related concepts of the subject. They were asked to explain the concepts of feedback, hormone and homeostasis. The questions were given to experts to comment on their readability and reliability. The endocrine test was administered as a pre and post-test and the student teachers were given 50 minutes to complete the test.

After the self-directed material development process, student teachers were also interviewed one-by-one using a clinical method to diagnose their psychological and mental development, and the interviews were recorded on tape.

Self-Directed Learning Process

The process took a total of six weeks (two hours per-week). After the pre-test administration, student teachers were informed about the results of their test, which was not pleasant both for the lecturer and the student teachers. A class discussion was held on the reasons for their failure. During the discussion, the student teachers mentioned the causes of their learning problems, which included “rote learning, teacher oriented teaching and the difficulties of the subject.” Although, the student teachers had been complaining about the weakness of traditional teaching methods, they said that they would use these teaching methods as a teacher. They believe that innovative teaching methods are not practical because of crowded classrooms, lack of teaching equipment and a full demanding curriculum.

After the discussion, handbook preparation was introduced as a SDL method. The student teachers were told that their handbooks would include two parts: general information about the endocrine glands and an assessment for the detection of learning processes. The following steps, which were prepared by using the related literature, were used to start the material development process (Ash, 1985; Bauer, 1985; Brockett and Hiemstra, 1985; Brookfield, 1985; Hiemstra, 1982).

• Previous handbook examples were presented to the sample.

• An atmosphere of openness and trust in order to promote better performance was created. • Student teachers’ critical thinking skills were encouraged.

• Student teachers were helped to develop positive attitudes and feelings of independence relative to learning.

• Student teachers were directed to use the Internet, textbooks, journals and newspapers for their handbooks.

• Student teachers were expected to organize the information and to make their personal interpretations, and also expected to discuss relevant scientific issues with their peers outside of class.

fig1

Figure 1. An example from the student teachers’ handbooks. The cover of the handbook (A) and two pages of it (B).

Figure 2. A different example from the student teacher’s handbooks.

Figure 3. Two examples of assessing parts in the student teachers’ handbooks. A story about the endocrine glands and their functions, the user will fill the blanks with the given concepts. A puzzle related with concepts of endocrine system.

Data Analysis

Both qualitative and quantitative data was obtained in this research. The qualitative data attempted to describe the effectiveness of the handbook preparation process on student teachers' self-directed learning. The quantitative data was used to determine the significance of any changes between scores before and after the material development process. The data obtained from the test was analyzed using simple categorization. The answers of the student teachers were scored by each of the authors as "correct," "wrong" and "don’t know" categories. The answers were discussed until a category was agreed upon. Wrong categories were separately coded to examine the student teachers misconceptions about the endocrine system. The categories and the points used for the analysis of the questions are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Categories and points used to analyze the student teachers’ responses.

Categories	Explanation	Points
Correct	Responses that included all components of the scientific response	3 points
Partially Correct	Responses that included at least one of the components of the scientific response, but not all the components	2 points
Misconception	Responses that are partially correct, but also had one or two alternative conceptions	1 point
Incorrect/Blank	Responses that included illogical or incorrect information/no answers	0 point

These categories provided an opportunity to classify student teachers’ responses and compare their levels of knowledge. Drawings of endocrine glands were scored according to its presence (1 point) and function (ranges 0-3 points in Table 1). This means that if an endocrine gland was drawn but its function was not described, it was categorized as "blank"and given 1 point for the drawing and 0 points for the absence of the function. If an endocrine gland was drawn but its function was described incorrectly, it was given 1 point for the drawing and 0 points for incorrect function. The total score of a student teacher for this item may range from 0 to 28 points.

For the second item, the student teacher may earn 0-3 points for each concept. The analyses were carried out by two biology experts and one experienced biology teacher. They classified the answers into categories. The authors then compared their evaluations and looked for agreements and disagreements among the classifications of each member. If at least two of three members agreed on a response in a category, the answer was put in that category.

The data collected from the interviewers were categorized in accordance with their similarities and differences and some of the student teachers' comments were illustrated directly.