The study investigated the effects of non-segmented multimedia worked examples (NS-MWE), segmented multimedia worked examples (S-MWE), and segmented multimedia worked examples enhanced with self-explanation prompts (S-MWE-SE) on acquisition of conceptual knowledge and problem solving performance in an undergraduate engineering course. In addition,…

Most students love to play games. Ernest (1986) believed that games could be used to teach mathematics effectively in four areas: motivation, concept development, reinforcement of skills, and practice of problem-solving strategies. Fifteen is an interesting and thought-provoking game that helps students learn mathematics at the same time. Playing…

This exploratory study highlights certain differences in the way an expert and a novice engineer used their analyzing and generating skills while solving a fairly ill-structured design problem. The expert tends to use more inferences and elaboration when solving the design problem and the novice tend to use analysis that is focused on the…

Using games as a learning tool is not new--research abounds to demonstrate the use of video games enhancing problem-solving skills and creativity. Pioneer educational games, like Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail, have given birth to online, multiuser, digital simulations that would make their forebears blush. Now, in what seems to be a natural…

A total of 136 eighth-grade math students from 2 Singapore schools learned from either productive failure (PF) or vicarious failure (VF). PF students "generated" solutions to a complex problem targeting the concept of variance that they had not learned yet before receiving instruction on the targeted concept. VF students…

The transfer of knowledge is considered to be a fundamental goal of education; therefore, knowing and understanding the conditions that influence the efficiency of the transfer from learning activity to problem solving play a decisive role in the improvement of science education. In this article, the results of a study of 196 high school students'…

The paper presents findings of primary school children's performance on classification and generalisation tasks to demonstrate the fundamental connection between their verbal thinking processes and problem-solving, on the one hand, and the practical activities of their society and culture, on the other. The results reveal that, although children…

The paper-and-pencil programming strategy (PPS) is a way of representing an idea logically by any representation that can be created using paper and pencil. It was developed for non-computer majors to improve their understanding and use of computational thinking and increase interest in learning computer science. A total of 110 non-majors in their…

As much research has demonstrated, novel scientific concepts do not arise fully formed in the head of a scientist but are created in problem-solving processes, which can extend for considerable periods and even span generations of scientists. To understand concept formation and conceptual change it is important to investigate these processes in…

The purpose of this study is to review empirical research articles regarding game-based science learning (GBSL) published from 2000 to 2011. Thirty-one articles were identified through the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. A qualitative content analysis technique was adopted to analyze the research purposes and designs, game design and…

Recent advances in technology and ideology have unlocked entirely new directions for education research. Mounting pressure from increasing tuition costs and free, online course offerings are opening discussion and catalyzing change in the physical classroom. The flipped classroom is at the center of this discussion. The flipped classroom is a new…

This paper presents our initial work to develop trajectories of preservice teachers' knowledge of teaching algebra for equity. We have developed two overlapping hypothetical learning trajectories (HLTs) for teachers' learning to engage and motivate diverse students to solve algebra problems. These HLTs are being used to guide the development of…

This study examined the representational competence of students as they solved problems dealing with the temperature-pressure relationship for ideal gases. Seven students enrolled in a first-semester general chemistry course and two advanced undergraduate science majors participated in the study. The written work and transcripts from videotaped…

Computation instruction continues to be one of the most important aspects of the mathematics curricula. Students who fail to understand and master the foundational components of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are likely to experience mathematics difficulties in both their school and post-school lives. A balanced instructional…

Cognitive scientists investigate mental models (how humans organize and structure knowledge in their minds) so as to understand human understanding of and interactions with the world. Cognitive and mental model research is concerned with internal conceptual systems that are not easily or directly observable. The goal of this research was to…