Engineering design that requires mathematical analysis, scientific understanding, and technology is critical for preparing students for solving engineering problems. In simulated design environments, students are expected to learn about science and engineering through their design. However, there is a lack of understanding concerning linking…

Amid the maker movement, educators are proposing various making activities with programmable artifacts to prepare students for coping with the challenges in the twenty-first century. Today, the "4C" skills--critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration--are regarded as significant learning outcomes in Science,…

In science and engineering education, the use of heuristics has been introduced as a way of understanding the world, and as a way to approach problem-solving and design. However, important consequences for the use of heuristics are that they do not always guarantee a correct solution. Learning by Design has been identified as a pedagogical…

Computing has become essential in modern-day problem-solving, making computational literacy necessary for practicing scientists and engineers. However, K-12 science education has not reflected this computational shift. Integrating computational thinking (CT) into core science courses is an avenue that can build computational literacies in all…

Videos created with the hands of teachers filmed have been perceived as useful educational resource for students of Physics in undergraduate courses. In previous works, we analyzed the students' perception about educational videos by asking them about their experiences. In this work, we analyze the same facts, but from a learning analytics…

Introductory courses in biology often lack sufficient emphasis on quantitative skills and interdisciplinary problem solving, leaving many students unprepared for more advanced biology coursework and hampering their ability to pursue biology research careers. MathBench Biology Modules were created to enhance the quantitative skills of biology…

This study examines how different roles and background knowledge transform players' dyadic conversations into spatial dialogues in a virtual cellular biology game. Cellverse is a collaborative virtual reality (VR) game designed to teach cell biology. Players work in pairs, assuming the role of either a Navigator, with reference material and a…

According to the National Research Council, the ability to collaboratively solve problems is of the utmost importance in scientific careers, yet students are not exposed to learning experiences that promote such expertise. Recent studies have found that interdependent roles used within collaborative mobile games are an effective way to scaffold…

Synergistic learning combining computational thinking (CT) and STEM has proven to be an effective method for advancing learning and understanding in a number of STEM domains and simultaneously helping students develop important CT concepts and practices. We adopt a design-based approach to develop, evaluate, and refine our Collaborative,…

In this study, we designed and developed an app called Ubiquitous-Physics (U-Physics) for mobile devices like tablet PC or smart phones to help students learn the principles behind a simple pendulum in Physics. The unique characteristic of U-Physics is the use of sensors on mobile devices to collect acceleration and velocity data during pendulum…

In recent years, interactive computer simulations have been progressively integrated in the teaching of the sciences and have contributed significant improvements in the teaching-learning process. Practicing problem-solving is a key factor in science and engineering education. The aim of this study was to design simulation-based problem-solving…

When solving a scientific problem through experimentation, students may have the responsibility to design the experiment. When students work in a conventional condition, with paper and pencil, the designed procedures stay at a very general level. There is a need for additional scaffolds to help the students perform this complex task. We propose a…

Gaps between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and required workplace skills have been identified in industry, academia, and government. Educators acknowledge the need to reform STEM education to better prepare students for their future careers. We pursue this growing interest in the skills needed for STEM…

Simulation environments make it possible for science and engineering students to learn to interact with complex systems. Putting these capabilities to effective use for learning, and assessing learning, requires more than a simulation environment alone. It requires a conceptual framework for the knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking that are…

From a theoretical viewpoint, educational interfaces that facilitate communicative actions involving representations central to a domain can maximize students' effort associated with constructing new schemas. In addition, interfaces that minimize working memory demands due to the interface per se, for example by mimicking existing non-digital work…