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Exploring the Efficacy of Specially Designed Hands-On Activities to Develop Conceptual Understanding of Air in Grade Vi Science Students

Thesis Info

Author

Seema Bano

Department

Professional Development Centre, Karachi

Program

MEd

Institute

Aga Khan University

Institute Type

Private

City

Karachi

Province

Sindh

Country

Pakistan

Thesis Completing Year

2016

Thesis Completion Status

Completed

Subject

Education

Language

English

Added

2021-02-17 19:49:13

Modified

2024-03-24 20:25:49

ARI ID

1676727921504

Similar


Hands-on activities make vibrant connections between abstract concepts and material examples in the science classroom. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the efficacy of specially designed hands-on activities to develop conceptual understanding of properties of air in science. A qualitative research design was employed to investigate the research question. Six students of grade VI from a Bright Future School (Pseudonym), a private school in Hunza participated in this study, among which three were girls and three boys. Pre and post- test were undertaken to explore students understanding about properties of air before and after teaching through hands-on activities. Moreover, five activities were designed and implemented to develop conceptual understanding of students about four properties of air such as air exists everywhere, air occupies space, air has weight, and air exerts pressure. More specifically, I was interested in examining how the designed hands-on activities act as an effective pedagogical tool in the science classroom. Findings of the study revealed that students who had weak and partial understanding in pre-test developed better and deep understanding in the post-test. It was also found that each activity designed and implemented can indeed offer distinct benefits in developing in-depth understanding, removing alternative conceptions along with promoting student active engagement and interest in valuable ways. The study also indicates that teacher plays a pivotal role in developing and effective implementation of hands-on activities. The activity work best, if the teacher has a deep understanding of the instruction, plays the role of facilitator and be able to use multiple methods of assessment to assess the effectiveness of the activity while teaching and learning science. The results of the study also bring valuable insights into how teacher successfully develop and implement hands-on activities effectively in the science classroom. For instance, it was difficult for me to develop and implement hands-on activities successfully without pedagogical knowledge and support from the supervisor. Thus, it brings implications for science educators and teachers that teachers should provide opportunities and encourage participating professional development programs and calls for the change in teaching and learning processes in a science classroom in the context of Hunza-GB.
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لے سانس بھی آہستہ

لے سانس بھی آہستہ

                ’’لے سانس بھی آہستہ‘‘مشرف ذوقی کا اکیسویں صدی میں لکھا گیا ایک بہت بڑا ناول ہے جو حلال و حرام کی تمیز، جائز و ناجائز کو ایک الگ نظرسے دیکھتے ہوئے ایک الگ مقام پر لے جاتا ہے۔اس ناول کو پڑھتے ہوئے قاری نفسیاتی الجھن کا شکار ہو جاتا ہے۔کیونکہ اس میں کچھ ایسی باتوں کو جو معاشرے میں کبھی بھی گفتگو کا درجہ حاصل نہیں کرتیں اور پس پردہ سر اٹھا کر دم توڑ دیتی ہیں، وجود ختم ہو جاتا ہے اور خلش باقی رہ جاتی ہے اور اسی خلش کو انسان اپنے اندر دبائے  خود بھی دنیا سے رخصت ہو جاتا ہے۔ان باتوں کو اسے قلم بند کرنا کافی مشکل رہا ہو گا کہ کس طرح ایک مہذب انسان اخلاقیات کی دیوار کو گرا دیتاہے اور تمام تر حدوں کو پس پشت ڈال کر رستہ تبدیل کرنے پر مجبور ہو جاتا ہے۔ مشرف ذوقی کے ناول میں ایک الگ ہی دنیا آباد ہے۔جہاں  تہذیب ختم ہو رہی ہے یا اس کا انداز بدل رہا ہے اور دنیا میں کیا کیا مسائل ابھر رہے ہیں وہاں مصنف نے اس المیہ کو واضح کیا ہے کہ انسان جتنی بھی ترقی کرلے بے شک ترقی کی جدوجہد کو پار کرتا ہوا زندگی کی ہر خواہش کو پورا کر لے پھر بھی وہ اپنے اندر کے جانور کو ختم نہیں کر سکتا۔بات یہاں یہ سامنے آتی ہے کہ کیسی ترقی، کس کی ، کہاں کی ترقی، جب انسان اپنے اندر کا جانور ہی ختم نہیں کر پایا۔مصنف نفسیات کی اہمیت پر زور دیتے ہوئے نظر آتا ہے اور بتاتا ہے کہ ایک فکشن نگار تب تک ایک اچھا فکشن قطعی تخلیق نہیں کر سکتا جب تک وہ انسان کی سائیکی پرگرفت نہ کر لے۔ انسان کے سماجی روابط اورنفسیات کا...

Critical Study of Moral Teachings of Islam and Buddhism for Promotion of Global Peace

All ancient and contemporary religions of the world like Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Jainism and Islam emphasizes and attempts to uphold the highest moral and ethical values in human society in order to produce discipline and good will. Some of the religions strictly command for proper observance and submission to the laws and cannons", whereas the other religions do not stipulate strict allegiance to its principals, yet they nourish and treat human emotions and direct them for the general good of the society. On the whole, all religions aim at moral and ethical uplift of human beings, to install positivity in them and imbues the spirit of sacrifice, equality, affection, brotherhood and justice in mankind. Thus, these all facts testify that all religions, with some differences of pattern, propagate the message of love, Peace, equality, brotherhood, justice, Harmony and equity in the material age and greed-ridden epoch where individual profits and benefit overwhelm collective cause and general welfare of mankind. What we have done here in this paper is not to establish that one religion is better than the other but to demonstrate that almost all world religions stand for love, peace and harmony. There is no doubt, that all religions preach and advocate positive harmony among human beings but the message of Holy Prophet (SAW) is the only example who gave practical aspect of these theories. However, this paper elaborates this reality by a detailed comparison of Islam and Buddhism.

Consanguinity, Prevalence Pattern of Hereditary Malformations, and Genetic Analyses of Rare Anomalies Segregating in Familes from Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Rahim Yar Khan District is a remotedtown of Southern Punjab Pakistan with inhabitants of mixed culture and origin. This multi-faceted study was designed in order to, 1): get an insight into the population structure of Rahim Yar Khan district through determining consanguinity and inbreeding coefficient; 2) to observe the prevalence pattern of hereditary and congenital anomalies commonly occurring in the population; 3) to report phenotypic variability in limb deficiency disorders; 4) and to molecularly characterize rare malformations segregating in extended families. First, I conducted an epidemiological survey to collect data about consanguinity prevalence and its relationship with biodemographic parameters. In a cross-sectional approach, first-hand data of 2174 females were obtained and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. It was observed that Rahim Yar Khan District has a high prevalence of consanguinity, i.e., 58.5% with a cumulative coefficient of inbreeding IC-F=0.0355. Consanguinity showed a significant association with variables like rural origin, Saraiki language, nuclear household and illiteracy. In subjects with consanguineous unions, fertility and mean live births were higher contrasting to category of non-consanguineous unions, but no statistically significant differences were detected in consanguineous couples and non-consanguineous couples regarding child mortality and morbidity.Secondly, a total of 231 independent cases of congenital and hereditary anomalies (HDs) were recruited from Rahim Yar Khan District. An estimated 62.8% cases were sporadic and 37.2% familial; and 82.7% isolated and 17.3% syndromic. HDs were categorized into 12 broad phenotypic categories. Neurological defects (n=65; proportion:0.2814; CI:0.2234-0.3394) topped the list of all anomalies followed by limb anomalies (n=58), musculo-skeletal defects (n=33), deaf/mute cases (n=31), and visual impairments (n=21).Thirdly, eight independent cases with transverse limb defects (TLD) were recruited (case series 1), 7 of which were nonsyndromic and one was syndromic. The anomalies in these subjects exhibited as unilateral amputation through the palm, accompanied with the short or hypoplastic thumb, mild to moderate shortening of the affected limb, distorted palmer creases, and relatively unaffected contralateral limb or feet. Moreover, six independently recruited cases with thumb aplasia are reported (case series 2). All cases had isolated presentation and five subjects had sporadic occurrence. The involved arms of subjects showed the absolute absence of first digital rays, medial inclinations of middle and little fingers, narrowing of palms, absence of small carpals, and reduction in the normal size of zeugopod.Cenani-Lenz syndactyly syndrome (CLSS) is a hereditary condition having phalangeal disorganization with a variable degree of oligodactyly/syndactyly features. Mutations in LRP4 have been implicated in families with CLSS. Two independent Pakistani families with characteristic features of CLSS were recruited. In kindred 1 and 2, one and two affected individuals born to consanguineous couples were observed, respectively. Affected subjects in both families were presented with Thesis Abstract x drastically reduced autopod and zeugopod with grossly disorganized skeletal elements, the features consistent with CLSS spoon-head type. Additionally, affected subjects presented certain anomalous facial features including hypertelorism, downslanting palpebral fissures and enamel hypoplasia. Mutation analyses revealed a A>G base transition in exon 12 at position c.1820 in LRP4 in the index patients in both families. The mutation segregation was concordant with the disease model in both families. Our study provided a support to genotype-phenotype correlation as a missense mutation caused a relatively milder form of CLS. DuPan syndrome, one of several chondrodysplasias, affect appendicular skeleton without causing any harm in the axial skeleton. It is caused by a member of the BMP family, CDMP1 which regulates condensation and differentiation of mesenchymal tissues during skeletal development in embryonic growth. Another independent limb malformation, Brachydactyly type C (BDC) depict consistent clinical features like brachymesophalangy of second, third and fifth digits, with hyperphalangy of the second and third digits along with short proximal phalanges and reduced anterior metacarpal. An extended family with simultaneous segregation of DuPan syndrome and BDC in various loops of the pedigree was studied. These characteristic phenotypic entities were observed to show clear autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant inheritance patterns, respectively. Molecular genetic analyses of this family demonstrated that a novel mutation NM_000557(GDF5):c.404delC in CDMP1 segregated with the DuPan syndrome and brachydactyly type C phenotypes in homozygous and heterozygous states, respectively. Intellectual disability (ID) is characterized by reduced adaptive and cognitive functionality affecting 3% population worldwide. A large Pakistani family with multiple affected subjects exhibiting the symptoms of inherited ID was studied. Initially, SNP based genotyping was carried out with the help of a commercial service provider. Further, homozygosity mapping was used in order to detect regions of homozygosity shared among the patients. One patient from this family was selected for exome sequencing. Analyses of these data led to the exclusion of many of the previously known genes for ID. Nonsynonymous homozygous variants were identified in four genes which also fall within the homozygous intervals detected in SNP analyses. One of the identified genes has been implicated in autosomal recessive intellectual disability while the rest three are expressed in the brain. Identified variants the currently being tested through Sanger sequencing. In conclusion, this study presents interesting data regarding inbreeding coefficient and clinical and molecular characterization of hereditary anomalies of rare phenotypes.