Inquiry learning is an effective learning approach if learners are properly guided. Its effectiveness depends on learners' prior knowledge, the domain, and their relationship. In a previous study we developed an Experiment Design Tool (EDT) guiding learners in designing experiments. The EDT significantly benefited low prior knowledge learners. For…

Orchestrating technology-enhanced learning is a difficult task, especially in demanding pedagogical approaches like inquiry-based learning (IBL). To foster effective teacher adoption, both the complexity of designing IBL activities and the uncertainty about the student learning path during enactment need to be addressed. Previous research suggests…

This study sought to develop and evaluate an online module based on inquiry learning with digital laboratories, which was intended to address students' misconceptions in a science domain. In a quasi-experimental design, 171 first-year students in a higher education introductory physics course on circular motion were as their existing groups…

A tool is presented that can automatically assess the quality of students' concept maps and provide feedback based on a reference concept map. It is shown that this tool can effectively assess the quality of concept maps, and that it can provide accurate and helpful feedback on a number of specific shortcomings often evident in students' concept…

Giving and receiving peer feedback is seen as an important vehicle for deep learning. Defining assessment criteria is a first step in giving feedback to peers and can play an important role in feedback providers' learning. However, there is no consensus about whether it is better to ask students to think about assessment criteria themselves or to…

Hypothesis generation is an important but difficult process for students. This study investigated the effects of providing students with support for hypothesis generation, with regard to the testability and complexity of the generated hypotheses, the quality of the subsequent inquiry learning processes and knowledge acquisition. Fifty-two…

Social practices are assumed to play an important role in the evolution of new teaching and learning methods. Teachers internalize knowledge developed in their communities through interactions with peers and experts while solving problems or co-creating materials. However, these social practices and their influence on teachers' adoption of new…

This paper describes the development of the BE COOL! learning environment that gives all children, gifted and non-gifted, the opportunity to learn at a level matching their specific needs and abilities within the social context of regular education. BE COOL! uses the ability-adjusted jigsaw method, in which children of varying ability levels work…

The science learning environment is an important factor in students' attitudes toward their science experiences in school, as well as toward science courses. This study compares how learning in different laboratory environments (hands-on or virtual) influences these attitudes for middle school (7th grade) students. Participants were 143…

Model progression denotes the organization of the inquiry learning process in successive phases of increasing complexity. This study investigated the effectiveness of model progression in general, and explored the added value of either broadening or narrowing students' possibilities to change model progression phases. Results showed that…

This study compares learning from designing instruction in the context of simulation-based inquiry learning with learning from expository teaching. The domain of instruction was the electricity domain of high-pass and low-pass filters. Participants were students from a technical vocational school. In the experimental condition ("N" =…

This study compared the affordances of 4 multimedia learning environments for specific learning processes. The environments covered the same domain but used different instructional approaches: (a) hypermedia learning, (b) observational learning, (c) self-explanation-based learning, and (d) inquiry learning. Although they all promote an active…

Self-regulated learners are expected to plan their own learning. Because planning is a complex task, it is not self-evident that all learners can perform this task successfully. In this study, we examined the effects of two planning support tools on the quality of created plans, planning behavior, task load, and acquired knowledge. Sixty-five…

The current study investigated the effects of different external representational formats on learning combinatorics and probability theory in an inquiry based learning environment. Five conditions were compared in a pre-test post-test design: three conditions each using a single external representational format (Diagram, Arithmetic, or Text), and…