This paper reviews the literature relating to the factors that contribute to the difficulties in learning of computer programming. Programming has been a difficult subject to learn and master even at the early stage of education. It has been a global problem and continues to worsen at the local level. Although, there are many education tools…

Simulation-based learning offers a wide range of opportunities to practice complex skills in higher education and to implement different types of scaffolding to facilitate effective learning. This meta-analysis includes 145 empirical studies and investigates the effectiveness of different scaffolding types and technology in simulation-based…

Multiple studies report that Computer Science (CS) instructors face problems on how to integrate visualizations in their teaching. This problem gets compounded for instructors in technology-constrained classrooms that are common in developing countries. In these classrooms, students are not able to interact with visualization directly; instead,…

Learning theory provides a powerful framework for analyzing instructional consultations and increasing their effectiveness. In this paper, the authors review the main tenets of learning theory, apply them to consultation scenarios, and present a complex case study to show how they can guide analysis and problem solving around challenging…

This paper investigates undergraduate students' application of theory in their analysis of problems presented in authentic leadership cases. Taking a phenomenographic research approach, the paper identifies two levels at which students understand "theory": Level 1-Theory as knowledge acquired from books; Level 2-Theory as support for…

Many approaches to instruction focus on helping people learn to recognize "the old in the new"--to turn what would otherwise be novel problems into familiar patterns that can be solved efficiently through the reuse of prior learning. Instruction that leads to efficient transfer is important, but it can also promote what we call "overzealous"…

This exploratory study presents the outcomes of using self-explanation to improve learners' performance in solving basic chemistry problems. The results of the randomized experiment show the existence of a moderation effect between prior knowledge and the level of support self-explanation provides to learners, suggestive of a synergistic effect…

This study attempted to determine the influence of prior knowledge in mathematics of students on learner-interface interactions in a learning-by-teaching intelligent tutoring system. One hundred thirty-nine high school students answered a pretest (i.e., the prior knowledge in mathematics) and a posttest. In between the pretest and posttest, they…

Undergraduate preservice teachers face many challenges implementing inquiry pedagogy in mathematics lessons. This study provides a step-by-step case analysis of an undergraduate preservice teacher's actions and responses while teaching an inquiry lesson during a summer math camp for grade 3-6 students conducted at a university. Stumbling blocks…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching/learning strategy through which students learn course content by solving real-world problems associated with the course material. Although the benefits of PBL have been amply demonstrated in the medical field and other selected subject areas, few studies have examined PBL's potential contributions in…

This study examined whether familiarity with content influences performance on conditional reasoning problems of the form P implies Q independently of ease of generation of specific examples of "Q and not-P." Results indicated that increased content familiarity resulted in higher performance levels. (Author/JAZ)

Self-regulation components linked to academic problem-solving were studied. Cognitive process instruction on analogy problems was given to 63 undergraduates on a Monday. On Wednesday, problem-solving performance within the inductive reasoning domain was assessed with 30 Remote Associate Test (RAT) problems. On Friday, problem-solving performance…

A study examined the extent to which common knowledge structures and the presence of common performance components are important factors in reasoning. The eye fixations of 37 college students were recorded as they solved four types of complex inductive reasoning tasks: (1) verbal analogies, (2) figural analogies, (3) verbal series completions, and…

Business management students who earned prior learning credit through portfolios (n=27) and 27 who completed coursework were compared. Results indicated that metacognitive skills can be developed outside the classroom to an equal or greater level. Portfolio development assisted learners in articulating tacit knowledge they acquired through…

It is proposed that the various classes of a priori knowledge incorporated in heuristic reasoning processes exert a strong influence over architectural design activity. Some design problems require exercise of some provisional set of rules, inference, or plausible strategy which requires heuristic reasoning. A case study illustrates this concept.…