Evaluation and Comparison of Newly Designed IBSE Oriented MBL Activities and of Work with MBL Systems by Slovak and Czech Teachers (a Comparative Study)
Abstract
Despite its benefits, the implementation of MBL (at least) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia suffers from problems, when price and availability of probeware needn't to be at the top of the list. The acceptation of the technology by students as well as teachers is influenced by further factors, for example (possible) technical problems or a lack of well-designed research based MBL materials (what to do reasonably with sensors).
To contribute and support the implementation of MBL into schools, in the framework of European project COMBLAB, new inquiry-based MBL activities on chemistry, biology and physics were designed and developed and, the courses on MBL implementing the newly developed activities were held for Czech and Slovak teachers.This contribution focuses on the attitudes of teachers who were working with school experimental systems during the project COMBLAB and performed newly designed activities in microcomputer-based laboratory. A new research-based framework for computer based laboratory activities in science education has been proposed and implemented.
The activities were evaluated by teachers very positively and in the case of majority of activities, teachers considered their duration, difficulty and content (with respect to the state and school curriculum) as optimal. The teachers also considered the objectives to be defined adequately and instructions as clear.
In all the analysed items of the questionnaire, there was no difference between the Czech and Slovak teachers, probably due to their similar conditions of their professional preparation as majority of them started their professional career (or life) in former Czechoslovakia or soon after the splitting of the country. Although, there was no difference between the Czech and Slovak teachers, there was difference between Czech teachers and students as teachers evaluated the activities more positively than students, probably due to longer experience with MBL systems.
On the other hand, all the students as well as teachers of both of the countries rated the instructions of the activities very similarly as clear with a logical structure. The analysis showed significant differences among the particular activities.
Despite very positive evaluation of the activities as well as of set-up and work with MBL systems by teachers as well as students, the course with MBL can be still considered more demanding for teachers than "regular" courses held without the MBL systems. The analysis of teachers' opinions related to the "fears" of teachers implementing MBL courses, and, hence, the most appreciated parts of MBL course for teachers, revealed that these "fears" are mostly oriented to technical aspects and issues, methodology and organization aspects and lack of availability of tested and evaluated worksheets.
These results rationalize again organization of appropriate courses on MBL for pre-service teachers in the framework of their university curriculum as well as for in-service teachers in the framework of their professional development and also preparation of new activities and materials (worksheets, tutorials) which employ the MBL systems.