Journal of Teacher Professional Learning Community (JTPLC) (Online)

Establishing Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research in Science Classrooms

2025-12-29T10:27:57+07:00

Qualitative research plays a vital role in understanding the complex phenomena within science classrooms, such as teacher-student interactions and the processes of knowledge construction, which quantitative methods may overlook. However, qualitative inquiry often faces skepticism regarding researcher bias and the lack of standardized procedures. To address these concerns, this article presents the application of the "Trustworthiness" framework developed by Lincoln and Guba (1985) as a standard for quality assurance in science education research. The framework of trustworthiness consists of four essential components. Credibility, which focuses on establishing the "truth-value" of the findings through strategies such as triangulation, member checking, and prolonged engagement in the research field. 2. Transferability, achieved through thick description, allows readers to determine if the findings can be applied to their own specific contexts. 3. Dependability ensures the consistency of the findings over time. 4. Confirmability emphasizes neutrality, ensuring that interpretations are derived from actual data rather than the researcher's imagination, often documented through an audit trail. Furthermore, the article highlights the importance of reflexivity, where the researcher acts as the "primary instrument" and must continuously reflect on their own biases and roles through tools like research diaries. Implementing these rigorous strategies enables researchers to present profound, valuable, and credible findings. Ultimately, establishing trustworthiness strengthens the body of knowledge in science education and supports the sustainable development of teaching and learning.

Autoethnographic Study as a Research Methodology for Constructing Meaning in a Science Project-Based Learning Classroom

2025-12-29T21:14:35+07:00

In contemporary science education, learning is increasingly understood as an active, experiential, and meaning-making process rather than the mere accumulation of measurable outcomes. Within this paradigm, project-based learning (PBL) has gained wide recognition for its potential to cultivate scientific understanding, systems thinking, and collaborative practices among students. Nevertheless, research on PBL has largely privileged quantifiable indicators of achievement, often rendering invisible the lived experiences, tensions, negotiations of meaning, and subtle transformations that emerge within everyday classroom practice. This article contends that a fuller understanding of project-based science learning requires closer attention to learning as it is lived, felt, and interpreted from within the classroom. To address this methodological and epistemological gap, the article proposes autoethnography as a productive and generative research approach for science education. Positioned as both practitioners and researchers, teachers are invited to engage in systematic self-reflection and narrative inquiry, drawing on their insider perspectives and lived experiences to examine project-based science classrooms at a deeper level. Autoethnographic inquiry foregrounds experience-oriented questions, such as what teachers come to understand through moments of uncertainty, conflict, or insight, and how their emotions, beliefs, and positionalities shape pedagogical decisions and classroom interactions, while situating these personal accounts within broader social, cultural, and institutional contexts. The article presents a conceptual and practical framework for conducting autoethnographic research, encompassing the formulation of experience-centered research questions, the generation of data from lived practice, interpretive and reflexive analysis, and the crafting of scholarly narratives. It also critically examines the methodological strengths of autoethnography in illuminating the internal meanings and complexities of learning processes, alongside ongoing challenges related to subjectivity, trustworthiness, and ethical responsibility in representing personal and relational experiences. Ultimately, this article invites researchers and educators to reconsider whose knowledge is recognized as legitimate in science education research and to view teachers’ lived experiences not as anecdotal accounts, but as a vital and rigorous site of inquiry capable of contributing to learning and development at the levels of the individual, the classroom, and the broader science education system.

Ethnographic Lens on Science Learning in Early Childhood

2025-12-29T20:05:50+07:00

This article presents the conceptual and methodological application of an Ethnographic Lens to develop a culturally grounded understanding of science learning in early childhood contexts. It challenges the dominance of the positivist paradigm, which prioritizes measurement and quantitative indicators, by adopting an interpretivist approach that foregrounds children’s subjective experiences, worldviews, and the co-construction of meaning in everyday learning. Ethnographic research is positioned as a powerful approach for accessing the complex dynamics of young children’s interactions, inquiry processes, and meaning-making within natural classroom settings. Central to this perspective is the recognition of children’s voices and respect for children’s agency, viewing children as active co-constructors of knowledge rather than passive learners. The study proposes that early childhood teachers assume the role of researchers as the primary research instrument, employing thick description within an ethnographic framework. This methodology is particularly suitable for research with young children who may be unable to express their understanding through conventional tests or questionnaires. Ethnographic inquiry generates rich, context-sensitive insights into classroom culture and pedagogy, connects science learning with children’s lived experiences, and informs the design of learning experiences that promote holistic and sustainable development in early childhood.

The Effects of 5Es Inquiry-Based Learning with Metaverse on Sound Topic on Analytical Thinking Ability and Learning Achievement in Science for Grade 5 Students

2025-08-26T22:57:21+07:00

This research aimed to 1) compare analytical thinking abilities of Grade 5 students before and after learning, 2) compare learning achievement of students before and after learning, and 3) study students’ satisfaction toward inquiry-based learning (5Es) with Metaverse. The target group consisted of 38 Grade 5 students (Unit E2/1) from Khon Kaen University Demonstration Elementary School, during the first semester of the 2024 academic year. Research instruments included: 1) five lesson plans on “Sound” using inquiry-based learning (5Es) focusing on analytical thinking, 2) learning materials on “Sound” on the Metaverse, 3) an analytical thinking ability test, 4) a learning achievement test, and 5) a satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed by comparing pre-test and post-test results using t-test for dependent samples, while satisfaction was analyzed using mean scores. The results revealed that: 1) Students who learned through inquiry-based learning (5Es) with Metaverse demonstrated significantly higher analytical thinking abilities after learning at the .01 level. Before learning, 23.68% of students passed the criteria, increasing to 84.21% after learning. 2) Students’ learning achievement significantly increased after learning at the .01 level, with mean scores increasing from 16.87 before learning to 19.76 after learning. 3) Students’ satisfaction toward the learning management was at the highest level (85.68%).

The Results of a Study on Teachers’ Problems and Needs Regarding the Organization of Learning Activities in the Earth and Space Science Course at the Grade 10 Level

2025-12-29T12:21:57+07:00

This study aimed to explore the problems, obstacles, and needs of teachers regarding the organization of learning activities in Earth and Space Science. Data were collected from ten Earth and Space Science teachers with at least ten years of teaching experience. The research instruments included semi-structured interviews and records from Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings. The PLC meeting records were compiled and analyzed using content analysis, involving coding and categorization procedures. The qualitative data analysis revealed five major categories of problems in the teaching and learning of Earth and Space Science: (1) issues related to highly abstract content and a lack of connections to empirical evidence; (2) issues related to instructional processes that emphasize lecture-based teaching with limited opportunities for hands-on learning; (3) issues related to students’ skills and attitudes toward astronomy; (4) issues related to insufficient or inappropriate instructional media, activities, and learning innovations; and (5) issues related to assessment and evaluation practices that fail to reflect students’ scientific competencies. The most frequently reported problems were lecture-centered instructional approaches and the lack of instructional media or activity sets that promote hands-on learning (100%), followed by abstract content (90%) and students’ skills and attitudes (80%).The findings are consistent with related research, highlighting the necessity of shifting instructional practices toward inquiry-based learning and the use of authentic data. The researcher therefore recommends the development of Earth and Space Science laboratory activity sets based on Activity-Based Learning (ABL) with a scaffolding structure to reduce students’ learning difficulties, integrate authentic empirical data into learning activities, and design assessment methods aligned with scientific competencies.