STEM integration has become a popular concept not only in the context of education practices but also as a way of learning. The integration of the STEM domains is evident in students’ learning experiences when engaging in STEM activities. However, there is a lack of instruments for evaluating students’ levels of self-efficacy in these activities. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a survey for evaluating upper primary students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities and to explore whether a student’s gender, grade, and participation in STEM activities predict his or her self-efficacy in STEM activities. A total of 844 fourth- to sixth-grade primary students participated in this study. After pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted, the survey was found to have a single-factor structure with high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .90). Linear regression analysis showed that school and out-of-school participation in STEM activities significantly predicted the students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities, while grade and gender did not. The survey developed in this study provides a reliable and valid way to measure students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities. These findings also highlight the importance of encouraging students’ participation in both formal and informal STEM activities.
Nucleic acids in plant tissue lysates can be captured quickly by a cellulose filter paper and prepared for amplification after a quick purification.In this study,a published filter paper strip method was modified by sticking the filter paper on a polyvinyl chloride resin(PVC)sheet.This modified method is named EZ-D,for EASY DNA extraction.Compared with the original cetyl trimethylammonium bromide(CTAB)method,DNA extracted by EZ-D is more efficient in polymerase chain reaction(PCR)amplification due to the more stable performance of the EZ-D stick.The EZ-D method is also faster,easier,and cheaper.PCR analyses showed that DNA extracted from several types of plant tissues by EZ-D was appropriate for specific identification of biological samples.A regular PCR reaction can detect the EZ-D-extracted DNA template at concentration as low as 0.1 ng/μL.Evaluation of the EZ-D showed that DNA extracts could be successfully amplified by PCR reaction for DNA fragments up to 3000 bp in length and up to 80%in GC content.EZ-D was successfully used for DNA extraction from a variety of plant species and plant tissues.Moreover,when EZ-D was combined with the loop-mediated isothermal amplification(LAMP)method,DNA identification of biological samples could be achieved without the need for specialized equipment.As an optimized DNA purification method,EZ-D shows great advantages in application and can be used widely in laboratories where equipment is limited and rapid results are required. 相似文献
