Teacher Instructional Support as a Way to Enhance Student Perceptions—Evidence From Direct and Indirect Hands-on Learning

Our study examined how different types of teacher instructional support (direct—DI and indirect—II) during hands-on (HO) learning influence student perceptions towards the understanding of the content, cooperation, and activities in integrated science classes (ISCs). 94 3rd graders were divided into II + HO and DI + HO groups. The results showed that students perceive II as a support that significantly influences the development of content understanding and cooperation in ISC. Students perceive both instructions as a support that equally influences their activities in ISC. It is recommended to adequately dose and combine instructional support to achieve the best results.