The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess the integration of computational thinking with learning about biological evolution. Specifically, we investigated the effectiveness of a framework from a recently developed learning progression that emphasises the complex nature of teaching both computational thinking and biological evolution.…

The need to develop clean-energy storage systems, harvesting technologies, and new functional materials are but a few of the many contemporary challenges in the domain of science today. To address these challenges, problem solving has become a key skill of the 21st century. It is generally documented, however, that experts and students differ in…

Researchers believe that the way that students talk, specifically the language that they use, can offer a window into their reasoning processes. Yet the connection between what students are saying and what they are actually thinking can be ambiguous. We present the results of an exploratory interview study with 10 participants, designed to…

A model of teaching/learning is proposed based on a "problem-based structure" of the contents of the course, in combination with a training in paper and pencil problem solving that emphasizes discussion and quantitative analysis, rather than formulae plug-in. The aim is to reverse the high failure and attrition rate among engineering…

Bodily manipulations, such as juggling, suggest a well-synchronized physical interaction as if the person were a physics expert. The juggler uses "knowledge" that is rooted in bodily experience, to interact with the environment. Such enacted bodily knowledge is powerful, efficient, predictive, and relates to sensory perception of the dynamics of…

A study on the effect of a structured problem-solving strategy on problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding of physics was undertaken with 189 students in 16 disadvantaged South African schools. This paper focuses on the development of conceptual understanding. New instruments, namely a solutions map and a conceptual index, are…

This study examines Indonesian students' understanding of conservation of matter, balancing of equations and stoichiometry. Eight hundred and sixty-seven Grade 12 students from 22 schools across four different cities in two developed provinces in Indonesia participated in the study. Nineteen teachers also participated in order to validate the…

Investigates the efficacy of promoting 8th grade students' problem-solving ability through history of science teaching. After one year of teaching, with the statistical procedure of the analysis of covariance, finds that the experimental group students outperformed their counterparts in the chemistry conceptual problem-solving ability. Initial…

Supports the use of microanalysis of conceptual change as a tool for reconceptualizing the nature of students' knowledge-in-development and dissolving concept-misconception and expert-novice dichotomies. Contains 48 references. (DDR)

Describes one student's learning pathway as a sequence of several metastable conceptions of the atom starting from a planetary model. Displays the final cognitive element as an association of three parallel conceptions. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Presents results of preliminary trials that suggest that the program devised helped UK Year 12 (A-level) learners develop useful concepts of current and voltage, acquire a more integrated understanding of circuit behavior, and overcome their tendencies towards localized and sequential reasoning. Provides learners with a valuable aid for problem…

Compares the impact of a role-play versus a conventional discussion on students' argumentation on an issue involving animal transgenesis. Applies two different debate situations and asks students to decide whether or not to approve a giant transgenic salmon farm being set up in a seaside village. (Contains 30 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes an approach to the teaching of electricity that uses box and AVOW diagrams, novel representations of the properties of the electric circuit that portray current, voltage, resistance, and power. The diagrams were developed as aids in learning, understanding, and problem solving and to promote conceptual change by challenging a number of…

This paper presents the results of part of an investigation carried out with fourth-level Spanish secondary education students (15 years old), in which we implemented a teaching unit based on problem-solving methodology as an investigation to teach genetics and human inheritance curricular contents. By solving open problems, the students…

The uses that chemistry students (undergraduates, postgraduate, and trainee teachers) make of analog models when relating equations to projects were identified. Although only a restricted use of such models were found, and for none of the reasons valued by practicing chemists, patterns were identified. The implications for chemical education at…