With the aim to promote students' mathematics learning, we extended the Cognitive Tutor Algebra (CTA), a computer-based tutoring system for high school mathematics, to a collaborative setting. Furthermore we developed a collaboration script to support students' interactions. In an experimental classroom study, we compared three conditions:…

Although the study of the Synoptic Problem has been the focus of scholarly attention for over two hundred years, the social learning theory known as Communities of Practice is a relatively recent phenomenon. This article describes a communities of practice approach to the study of the Synoptic Problem in an upper-division undergraduate course at a…

Understanding students' prior beliefs in nuclear physics is a first step towards improving nuclear physics instruction. This paper describes the development of a diagnostic survey in nuclear physics covering the areas of radioactive decay, binding energy, properties of the nuclear force and nuclear reactions, that was administered to students at…

The meaning of fractions with integer multiplication is something that is difficult to understand by students. They tend to think that the product it produces a larger number, while the multiplication of fractions with integers, the result can be any number larger or smaller. This study is a research design that aims to develop a local…

This paper investigates the activation of students' prior knowledge for the development of vocabulary, concepts and mathematics. It has been observed that many secondary school students are not performing well in the examination conducted by the West African Examinations Council and National Examinations Council of Nigeria. The situation became…

Background: Research in higher education on the effects of student-centred versus lecture-based learning environments generally does not take into account the psychological need support provided in these learning environments. From a self-determination theory perspective, need support is important to study because it has been associated with…

The study evaluated the effects of the Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy on two levels. The Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy integrated story grammar instruction and story maps, prior knowledge and prediction method, and word webs through a culturally responsive teaching framework; the Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy…

Learning with instructional animations may overstretch limited working memory resources due to intense processing demands associated with transient information. The authors investigated whether explicit instructional advice coupled with a task-specific learner control mechanism (such as a timeline scrollbar) could facilitate the successful…

This study examined conceptual change of Thai middle school students after learning photosynthesis with analogy and model. The analogy mapped key features from the analog (cooking food) to the target concept (photosynthesis). Modeling photosynthesis activity provided the opportunity for students to understand how plants use sugar to synthesize…

This study investigated the impact of different modes of scaffolding on students who are learning science through a web-based collaborative inquiry project in authentic classroom settings and explored the interaction effects with students' characteristics. The intervention study aimed to improve "domain-specific knowledge" and "metacognitive…

Short-term study abroad is the fastest growing area of international education and there is increasing interest in the role of modified applications of this form (e.g. faculty-led, field/environmental, and/or educational travel) in influencing global citizenship. Using an empirical database of over 650 students registered for a study abroad course…

Researchers often use measures of the frequency of self-regulated learning (SRL; Zimmerman, "American Educational Research Journal," 45(1), 166-183, 2000) processing as a predictor of learning gains. These frequency data, which are really counts of SRL processing events, are often non-normally distributed, and the accurate analysis of these data…

The advancement of game-based learning has encouraged many related studies, such that students could better learn curriculum by 3-dimension virtual reality. To enhance software engineering learning, this paper develops a 3D game-based learning system to assist teaching and assess the students' motivation, satisfaction and learning achievement. A…

This study focuses on elementary teachers' comprehension of flooding before and after inquiry-based professional development (PD). There was an improvement in teachers' understanding toward a normative view from pre- to post-test (n = 17, mean gain = 4.3, SD = 3.27). Several misunderstandings and a general lack of knowledge about flooding emerged…

The authors examined the effect a curriculum about cooperative businesses had on high school student attitudes toward these businesses. Cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions were measured before and after participating in the curriculum. Older high school students increased their attitudes toward cooperatives more than did younger…