This exploratory study uses the convergent design of mixed methods to integrate adaptive expertise theory to study how individual student participant from graphic design or non-graphic-design majors to solve a novel ideation problem in graphic design. Adaptive expertise includes six dimensions: metacognition, flexibility, dynamic knowledge,…

This work is an exploration of upper elementary students' sense making around four conventional representations of function: equations with algebraic notation, Cartesian graphs, function tables, and natural language. The cornerstone to the empirical work is a task called the Function Puzzle, where students are given 16 cards representing four…

There has been much attention given to the use of technology in education; mostly concentrating on physical artifacts of technology to facilitate teaching delivery but little mentioning technology as a cultural resource to organize the learning environment promoting social interaction among students and between teacher and students. This paper…

Many studies have shown that visual representations can enhance student understanding of STEM concepts. However, prior research suggests that visual representations alone are not necessarily effective across a broad range of students. To address this problem, we created a novel, scaffolded form of diagrammatic self-explanation in which students…

Pivot Professional Learning, in consultation with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, summarises their study into the characteristics of Australian mathematics teachers. The study reinforced that Australia has many excellent teachers of mathematics, but can improve by sharing excellent teaching practices of its expert teachers…

Organic chemistry students at two universities, one in Canada and the other in the United States, connected using video conferencing software as learning partners for six online collaborative assignments. Mixed-methods analysis of interviews, surveys, and student-written reflections was used to identify barriers that students encountered during…

A critical assumption made in Kapur's ("Instr Sci" 40:651-672, 2012) productive failure design is that students have the necessary prerequisite knowledge resources to generate and explore solutions to problems before learning the targeted concept. Through two quasi-experimental studies, we interrogated this assumption in the context of…

Exploratory learning environments (ELEs) promote a view of learning that encourages students to construct and/or explore models and observe the effects of modifying their parameters. The freedom given to learners in this exploration context leads to a variety of learner approaches for constructing models and makes modelling of learner behavior a…

Metacognition is vital for a student's academic success. Gifted learners are no exception. By enhancing metacognition, gifted learners can identify multiple strategies to use in a situation, evaluate those strategies, and determine the most effective given the scenario. Increased metacognitive ability can prove useful for gifted learners in the…

In this article, the authors first present the Hands Together! task. The mathematics in this problem concerns the relationship of hour and minute durations as reflected in the oft-overlooked proportional movements of the two hands of an analog clock. The authors go on to discuss the importance of problem solving in general. They then consider…

This article describes the author's experience using SCAMPER, a creativity-building technique, in a creative problem-solving session that was conducted in an environmental conflict course to generate ideas for managing postconflict stability. SCAMPER relies on cues to help students connect ideas from different domains of knowledge, explore random…

The task of constructing a square is used to argue that looking for and pursuing several solution routes is a powerful principle to identify and analyse properties of mathematical objects, to understand problem statements and to engage in mathematical thinking activities. Developing mathematical understanding requires that students delve into…

Understanding the students' programming misconceptions is critical in that it identifies the reasons why students make errors in programming and allows instructors to design instructions accordingly. This study investigated the mental models of programming concepts held by pre-service teachers who were novice programmers. In an introductory…

Knowing the facts is not enough. If we want students to develop intellectually, creatively problem-solve, and grapple with complexity, the key is in "conceptual understanding." A Concept-Based curriculum recaptures students' innate curiosity about the world and provides the thrilling feeling of engaging one's mind. This updated edition…

Chemical processes can be fully explained only by employing quantum mechanical models. These models are abstract and require navigation of a variety of cognitively taxing representations. Published research about how students use quantum mechanical models at the upper-division level is sparse. Through a mixed-methods study involving think-aloud…