Social interactions, including collaborative problem-solving situations, can trigger critical thinking skills. Giving questions that are not routine can trigger students' critical thinking skills in solving problems collaboratively. This research aims to develop non-routine mathematics problems that can be used to explore students' critical…

Background: This paper explores K-12 interdisciplinary learning in the humanities (IL-Humanities), an area that, until now, has seen limited research focus compared to its STEM counterparts. We asked: (1) What are the outcomes of IL-Humanities in terms of interdisciplinary competences? (2) How do learners in these environments engage in…

This study aimed to uncover common difficulties and possible areas for improvement by focusing on the approaches and errors made by 3rd-year undergraduate chemistry students in solving organic synthesis problems. The study employed a purposive sampling technique to select 112 undergraduate chemistry major students to participate in this study.…

In an effort to further develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, a guided-inquiry-based, multioutcome organic chemistry synthesis and characterization experiment was developed. Students were provided with the protocol for a time-saving microwave-assisted acetanilide synthesis reaction from acetic anhydride and an unknown primary aryl…

Background: Students experience higher-order thinking skills by finding ways to solve the problem, debugging errors while applying the solution, and testing the solution in programming. However, the inability to create schemas that will characterise programming structures is one of the difficulties during this process. Objectives: This study aimed…

This study examines students' visual behaviors when they tackle two types of synthesis problems, sequential and simultaneous problems. Sequential synthesis tasks can be solved by applying pertinent concepts consecutively, whereas simultaneous synthesis tasks require concurrent application of multiple concepts. Twenty-two students from an…

The main purpose of this research is to determine the effect of the REACT strategy in augmented reality applications on the problem-solving skills of teacher candidates. A parallel mixed method, which converges from mixed research designs, was used in the research. The study group of the research consists of 50 teacher candidates studying at the…

The ability to solve physics problems that require multiple concepts from across the physics curriculum--"synthesis" problems--is often a goal of physics instruction. Three experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of two instructional methods employing worked examples on student performance with synthesis problems; these…

The purpose of this research was to determine how information synthesis skills can be taught effectively, and to discover how the level of synthesis in student writing can be effectively measured. The intervention was an information synthesis lesson that broke down the synthesis process into sequenced tasks. Researchers created a rubric which they…

This paper presents a comprehensive synthesis of physics education research at the undergraduate level. It is based on work originally commissioned by the National Academies. Six topical areas are covered: (1) conceptual understanding, (2) problem solving, (3) curriculum and instruction, (4) assessment, (5) cognitive psychology, and (6) attitudes…

Organic chemistry has the long-standing reputation as a challenging course, and organic synthesis is an aspect of organic chemistry that requires students to make the most links between concepts and requires the highest order of thinking. One-on-one interviews were conducted with students from a second undergraduate organic chemistry course in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model that uses dialectical inquiry (DI) to create cognitive conflict in strategic decision-makers for the purpose of improving strategic decisions. Activation of the dialectical learning process using DI requires strategic decision-makers to integrate conflicting information causing…

In this paper we explore the relationship between language and developmental processes of logical tools through the analysis at different levels of some "linguistic-manipulative" activities in a primary school classroom. We believe that this kind of activities can spur in the children a reflection and a change in their language…

This synthesis paper discusses the research exploring analogical reasoning, the role of analogies in the engineering design process, and educational applications for analogical reasoning. Researchers have discovered that analogical reasoning is often a fundamental cognitive tool in design problem solving. Regarding the possible role of analogical…

Describes a study of graduate distance education students that defined and measured collaboration during asynchronous computer-mediated communication using a threaded Web discussion. Developed a model for evaluating interdependence, synthesis, and independence in collaboration; and discusses the role of collaboration in problem solving, along with…