Science Notebook and Student Achievement in Biological Science in a State University Veminrose A. Clariza-Samuel, Lourdes N. Morano
Abstract
Writing notes by students has been greatly influenced by technology. Is keeping notebooks still relevant to record student learning, particularly in science classes? This study aimed to determine the students’ achievement in biological science exposed to structured/ guided use of science notebook and to open/free use of science notebook in one semester. Ninety-five students comprised the two treatment groups - the structured/ guided use of science notebook and the open/ free use of science notebook. A researcher made Test on Animal Organ Systems determined the students’ achievement. The pre-test scores of students exposed to structured use of science notebook and to open use of science notebook were “average”, while both groups obtained
“above average” scores during the post-test. There were significant differences between the pre- test scores of students exposed to structured use and open use of science notebook. The same was true in the post-test scores of students. A higher mean was obtained by the structured use of notebook group. Significant differences were observed in the pre-test and post-test scores of students exposed to each use of the science notebook. Significant mean gain was obtained by the group with structured use of notebooks. Students’ preparation and exposure to structured use of notebooks have enhanced achievement in biology; hence, it could be a learning material even among college students.
Keywords: achievement, biological science, open use of science notebook, science notebook, structured use of science notebook
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute and Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College, Estancia, Iloilo
©WVSU Research and Development Center
Science as a large body of knowledge is a complex and time-consuming process as it involves observation, recording, organization, and transformation of data into information and models of how things work.
With all these complexities, scientists and students would use a notebook to record their insights, observations, and reflections that are developed as they engage with scientific phenomena. Gasaway (2010) stressed the uses of a science notebook in helping students record and make sense of data and observations and to understand the scientific processes deeply.
With the introduction and rapid advancement of technology, students rely on the use and functions of technology in obtaining and keeping relevant information. Some of them no longer keep a notebook for their lessons.
Photocopying has been a rampant practice in securing copies of their lessons in almost all subject areas, including their science classes. Others would download topics from websites, have the pages printed, and make them as their reference in studying their lessons. As observed, these machine-generated copies are easily misplaced, lost, and are often disorganized.
The science notebook can address to these students’ behaviors. In using a science notebook, they may stop and think about the activities and discussions conducted in the classroom. Learning could be more interesting as students apply their thoughts in a creative manner such as highlighting important concepts. The presence of graphs, tables, illustrations, etc. makes learning more fun and exciting.
Gasaway (2010) also mentioned that a science notebook is used beyond data recording. It enriches students’ learning experiences as they share with one another the information recorded in the science notebook.
The study connects itself to positivist and constructivist theories. The use of science notebook includes data that are recorded by students during the conduct of classroom activities that require the use of their senses.
Ideas generated in their minds are put into words, questions, images and or illustrations.
This study determined the student achievement of students in biological science after being exposed to structured /guided use of science notebook and to open/free use of science notebook. It also looked into what teachers write on the chalkboard that students copy in their notebooks and how students use their science notebook in studying their lessons.
Methodology
This study employed the quasi-experimental two group pre-test-post- test with non-randomized design.
In this study, two General Biology classes taking Bachelor in Elementary Education in one of the state colleges in Panay Island were used as participants.
Treatment (group) A used the structured/ guided use of science notebook, and Treatment (group) B used the open/free use of science notebook. A coin toss was done to identify which section will compose Treatment A or Treatment B.
The researcher constructed an achievement test in Biological Science on the topic Animal Organ Systems. The achievement test was composed of two types of test – multiple choice test items and essay questions. The whole test was subjected to a validity test by experts in biology. The final form of the multiple choice test had a Cronbach’s Alpha value of .939. The essay test was scored using a rubric.
The content of the science notebooks of the students also served as data source as it included students’ reflections and outputs. The topics on Animal Organ Systems were the focus of the lessons. The treatment groups differed only on how the students made their science notebook entries. The intervention was done for eleven class meetings. For the purpose of this study, the classes for both groups were done on the same day with quite a few hours interval.
The researcher, after seeking the necessary permits from offices concerned, personally handled the class for the duration of the study. Several days prior to the intervention, the pre-test on Animal Organ Systems was given to the participants. They were given 90 minutes to answer the test.
For the intervention, the students in the structured/guided use of notebook class were directed by the teacher on how to use the notebook and what entries or notes to include in the notebook. In the open use of notebook group, the students were not guided on what and when to write or how to prepare their notebooks. Both groups were exposed to the same instructional procedures, content and duration of the intervention.
The post-test was administered to the students in both groups two days later after the last session of the intervention. Observations, individual interviews and focus group discussions were done in order to obtain detailed information and insights from the participants of the study. The notebooks from both groups were analysed to find out what students wrote in their
Results and Discussion
The pre-test scores of students in Treatment A (exposed to structured/
guided use of science notebook), and Treatment B (exposed to open/ free use of science notebook) were “average”. Significant differences were noted between treatments where students in the open free/ use of science notebook group had a higher mean score
The post-test achievement test scores among the students in both treatment groups in biological science increased to “above average”. There was a significant difference in the post-test achievement scores of the students exposed to the structured use of science notebook and open/ free use of science notebook with a higher mean score obtained by students in the structured/
guided notebook group.
Table 1
Difference in the Pre-test and Post-test Achievement Scores of Students Exposed to Structured Use of Science Notebook and Open/ Free Use of Science Notebook
Mean df t-value p-value
Pre-test
Structured 27.94
90 2.84* 0.00
Open 31.30 Post-test
Structured 45.98
90 5.45* 0.00
Open 39.02 Note: *p < .01
notebooks and how they used their notebooks in studying their lessons.
The descriptive analysis used frequency counts, mean and standard deviation. The differences in the students’ achievement in biological science for both interventions were analyzed using the t-test for dependent and independent samples. The significance level for all inferential statistics was set at alpha 0.05.
The notebooks from both groups were analysed to find out what students wrote in their notebooks and how they used their notebooks in studying their lessons.
When the pre-test and post-test achievement scores of students exposed to the structured use of science notebook were compared, there was a significant increase in favor of the post-test. There was a significant difference in the pretest and post-test achievement scores with the post test scores better than in the pretest (Table 2) among students using the open/ free use of science notebook group. The results imply that learning has taken place within the intervention period for both groups. It can be inferred that any note taking strategy can improve student learning and develop their skills.
Table 2
Comparison of pre-test and post-test means within groups
Mean df t-value p-value
Structured
Pre-test 27.94
48 28.4* 0.00
Post-test 45.98 Open
Pre-test 31.30
42 7.73* 0.00
Post test 39.02 Note: *p < .01
When mean gains between groups were compared, there was a significant difference with the students in the structured use of notebook group.
They obtained a higher mean gain (Table 3). The result is supported by De Luca’s (2011) findings that students showed higher achievement when they used science notebook. He further added that note taking allowed students to develop skills much more that they had in the past because they could look back to their notebooks to remember prior experiences and refer also to the notebooks of their peers.
Table 3
Comparison of the Mean Gains of Students Exposed to Structured/ Guided Use of Science Notebook and to Open/Free Use of Science Notebook
Mean df t-value p-value
Mean
Structured 18.04
93 8.94* .000
Open 7.72
Note: *p < .01
Perhaps, the disparity in the mean gains could be attributed to the way students perceived what is important and should become part of their notebooks after they were given instructions on how to prepare their science notebooks – the procedure and science notebook rubric. The science notebook of students from the structured/guided use of notebook contained instructional features such as students’ own notes, teachers’ note copied from the chalkboard, and photocopies of certain pages of books particularly those with illustrations.
The notes of students have graphic organizers such as concept maps, graphs and free hand drawings, tables and others.
Observations, focus group discussion and actual scanning of students’
notebooks of both groups yielded interesting results. Students in open/free use of notebooks group used teacher’s hand outs and other photocopied materials in taking down notes. A student mentioned that she only copies the entries of the teacher on the chalkboard when these are important words/key concepts including their meanings or definitions for purposes of understanding the lesson. For her, understanding the concept is more important than memorizing.
While the students appreciate the notes in the chalkboard, they depend on hand-outs given or notes sourced out by them in internet. They consider taking notes while the class is going on as time consuming, and one even mentioned that she would miss some discussions because her focus was on note taking.
Photographs 1and 2 show sample entries on students’ notebook and their reflections on the open use of science notebook. Photographs 3 and 4 show the sample entries of student’s notebook (structured) and their reflections.
Photograph 1. Sample entry on students’ notes in the open/free use of science notebook. This was placed/ clipped inside a folder.
Photograph 2. Sample entry of students’ reflection in the open use of science notebook.
Photograph 3. Sample entry on student’s notebook (structured use) showing the left and right sides of the notebook.
In the structured/guided use of science notebook, students copied almost all entries written on the teacher’s chalkboard. For them, copying the objectives, figures, drawings, concepts, maps, and illustrations was important in studying their lessons. In jotting down notes, some students used the back portion of their photocopies while others made use of the notebooks that also contained entries on other subjects. Some of the pages of the notebooks were colorful (Photograph 3). The hand-outs and other references searched by the students were properly inserted in their notebooks. One student said that making a science notebook is very tedious; however, she enjoyed in doing so because the notebook was of valuable help to her studies. Table 4 presents the summary of entries written on their notebook.
Photograph 4. Sample entry of students’ reflection in the experimental group (structured use of science notebook).
On the other hand, students changed their manner of studying their lessons. Instead of using handouts and unorganized notes, they used their science notebook in reviewing and studying their lessons. For them, their science notebook made studying and learning more enjoyable and easy because of its organization and content.
Most importantly, the note taking activity done by the students in this study reflected not only what the students knew and what they wanted to know, but also what they learned. Their science notebooks showed that students made diagrams, figures, and summaries that they understood through the group discussions, presentations, and lectures.
Researchers believe that the actual process of taking notes in combination with these focused attentions assists students in encoding new information (Ruhl & Suritsky, 1995). Active note taking results in better comprehension of the text and improvement of information recall (Katayama, Shambaugh,
& Doctor, 2005). Note taking that involves significant levels of student engagement such as problem solving, self-questioning, or reorganizing material, is most effective (Trafton & Trickett, 2001). However, the greatest indicator of student performance associated with note taking is whether students take advantage of the opportunity to review (Kobayashi, 2006). The present study offers similar conclusions.
Implications to practice would point that using a science notebook is an appealing and informative resource in studying lessons in biology among students. It could be a way of making science more interesting and fascinating to students. Proper facilitation by the teacher is necessary so that students can focus on the quality of notes they write and use in their studies.
Some problems may be met in asking students to make notebooks, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Conclusions
The structured/ guided use of science notebook has considerable effect on the achievement scores of students in understanding biological science concepts. Students’ preparation and exposure to structured use of science notebook affect the achievement scores in biological science. The science notebook may have served as an easy printed material for students to refer to for review. This may have allowed them to synthesize whatever learning they have.
Recommendations
It is recommended that the use of science notebook, in particular the structured/guided notebook, is a strategy in the classroom that can benefit the students’. Both teachers and students must spend time together in understanding concepts by using brainstorming, small-group discussions, animation in the presentations, video clips, or other internet materials that explain and give more details on biology topics.
Purely lecturing must be reconsidered in a 3-unit biological science class; more activities, such as field and laboratory work must be done.
Learning becomes meaningful and interesting if students are engaged in life situations. The more students use their senses, the more they learn. Teachers, administrators, and curriculum designers must consider the use of science notebook in all biological science classes. Science notebook is also a note taking strategy that can be incorporated in the syllabus.
It is also suggested that the science notebook be used not only in biology but also on other fields of science. Other forms of science notebook can be done depending on the resourcefulness of the teacher and the content of the notebook that can aid in student learning.
References
De Luca, J. (Presenter). (2011). Science notebooks and students achievement [Motion picture]. Netherland: International School Almere
Gasaway, K. (2010). Thinking on paper: Using science notebooks to increase active engagement in the elementary science. Iowa Science Teaching Section (ISTS) Journal, 37(3). 6-9
Katayama, A. D., Shambaugh, R. N., & Doctor, T. (2005). Promoting knowledge transfer with electronic note taking. Teaching of Psychology, 32(2), 129-131. doi:10.1207/s1532 8023top3202_9
Kobayashi, K. (2006). Combined Effects of Note-Taking/-Reviewing on Learning and the Enhancement through interventions: A meta-
analytic review. Educational Psychology Review, 26(3), 459-477. doi:
10.1080/01443410500342070
Ruhl, K. L., & Suritsky, S. (1995). The pause procedure and/or an outline:
Effect on immediate free recall and lecture notes taken by college students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly 18(1), 2-11. doi: 10.2307/1511361
Trafton, G. J. & Trickett, S. B. (2001). Note taking for self-explanation and problem solving. Human Computer Interaction. 16, 1-38.
