الملخص الإنجليزي
The study investigates the influence of a training program on the development of
female social studies teachers’ knowledge and skills using infographic patterns to teach
spatial thinking skills and mind habits and its impact on the development of 10th
-grade
female students’ achievement, spatial thinking skills, and geological sense in Oman. A
quasi-experimental design with pre-test/posttest for both experimental and control
groups was used. This approach was used twice, firstly for examine the intervention of
teacher training program, and secondly for examining the effect of teachers use of
infographic on students. The sample of the training program consisted of 15 female
social studies teachers in Al-Batinah South Governorate, randomly divided into
experimental (n = 7) and control (n = 8) groups. The students sample consisted of 452
10th
-grade female students from Al-Batinah South Governorate, divided randomly into
experimental (n = 220) and control(n = 232 (groups.
Two instruments were used to collect data about the influence of training
program. A test consisting of 21 multiple choice items was used to measure teacher
knowledge about using infographics in teaching spatial thinking skills and mind’s
habits. An observation checklist consisting of 38items was used to measure teachers’
skills in using infographics to teach spatial thinking skills and mind’s habits.
Four instruments were used to collect data about the impactof training program
on the development of 10th-grade femalestudents’ achievement, spatial thinking skills,
and geological sense.Achievement test consisting of 25items, spatial thinking skills test
consisting of 30 items. A mind 's habits scale consisting 36 items divided into six habits:
Persisting: Managing Impulsivity, Thinking Interdependently, Metacognition (thinking
about thinking), Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations, Questioning, and Posing
Problems. A 36-item scale measured geological sense in six domains: aesthetic,
scientific, educational, psychological, national, and economical.
The validity of the instruments was examined by a panel of judges while their
reliability was examined by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Cooper equation.
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The alpha coefficientswere as follows: knowledge test (0.625), achievement test
(0.785), spatial thinking skills test (0.769), mind’s habits scale (0.852), and the
geological sense scale (0.869).Cooper equation for the observation checklist was 73%.
The reliability of all instruments was satisfactory.
The results showed that the training program was effective in developing female
social studies teachers’ knowledge of infographics and their teaching skills of spatial
thinking skills and mind’s habits, with a statistically significant difference at the level of
significance (α=0, 05) It also showed that there was a significant effect of the training
program on the development of females’ students’ achievement, spatial thinking skills,
mind’s habits, and geological sense.
Based on the results, the study recommend sproviding training programs to
develop teachers’ skills in using infographic to address the issue of low achievements
among students in social studies, and to spread awareness of geological sense, its
teaching methods, and concern about spatial thinking skills.
