Data collection- Qualitative
One of the qualitative instruments that would be used is the interview. Five teachers would be invited to take the interview. The interview questions would be developed based on the level of motivation towards science learning. The teachers would, however, be asked whether they find it difficult to motivate students and whether can increase the motivation level of students towards science learning. They would also be asked to give the attributes of motivated students, suggest several ways in which the motivation level of students towards science learning could be improved and whether or not making a connection between science learning and real-world issues would make students more interested in science learning.
The teachers to be interviewed should have taught first graders in the science subject. This is because the first-graders teachers have interacted with the students before, and they could be knowing the strategies that are most effective in ensuring that students are motivated to learn science. The interviews would be useful in collecting the views of teachers about student motivation in science learning. “Interviews are useful to explore experiences, views, opinions, or beliefs on specific matters” (Gerstner, 2017, p.12). The intervention suggested is to connect science learning to real-world issues to increase the level of motivation among students. It would, therefore, be good to ask teachers about its effectiveness when used as a teaching strategy in science teaching. Comment by Juliet Krummick: This is a great section. However, it needs more support. “fully supported with research, literature, and the textbook.”
Data collection- Quantitative
The quantitative instrument to be used is the survey. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) would be used to determine the most effective way of motivating students in science learning. Some of the dimensions of the survey would include uncertainty and personal relevance. “Uncertainty dimension aims to assess student perception about the tentative nature of science and their experience in the uncertainty of scientific knowledge” (Cetin-Dindar, 2016, p.243). The effectiveness of connecting science learning to real-world issues would be evaluated. Some of the items in the constructivist learning environment survey would include: “Williams would enjoy watching educational videos during science learning”, ‘In this science class, she learn about the world outside school”, “Williams motivation level in learning science would be increased if there were more science laboratory experiments”, “Williams would be more motivated to learn science if there were more activities”.
A five-point scale would be used to give responses to the items in the survey. The elementary school students would be required to give their thoughts genuinely. “The responses were in five-point scale: Rarely, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, and Almost Always; and they were scored from one to five respectively.” The responses given in the survey would determine the effectiveness of strategies that teachers use to connect science learning to real-world issues. Students would be given instructions before they take the survey. This is because they would need to know that it was just a survey and not a test, and they were allowed to give different answers. Comment by Juliet Krummick: Same thing here. “fully supported with research, literature, and the textbook.”
Constructivist learning environment survey: Comment by Juliet Krummick: Your instrument should be in the appendix section. I added a heading following the reference page. Here I would quickly describe what your instrument includes and say to see appendix A for the example tool.
| Item | Almost never | Seldom | Sometimes | Often | Almost always |
| In this science class, learning about the world outside school | |||||
| Their motivation for science learning is increased when they conduct science experiments. | |||||
| They often enjoy it when we are learning science activities. | |||||
| Enjoying watching educational videos on science. | |||||
| The motivation for science learning would increase if there was a connection with real-world issues | |||||
| The teaching strategy affects their attitude towards science learning |