Small group interactions and interactions with near-peer instructors such as learning assistants serve as fertile opportunities for student learning in undergraduate active learning classrooms. To understand what students take away from these interactions, we need to understand how and what they learn during the moment of their interaction. This…

We conducted an observational exploratory study of distraction by digital devices in multiple different sections across three large undergraduate physics courses. We collected data from two different settings based on the type of devices used for classroom polling: lecture sections that required mobile devices for polling and those that used…

The acceptance of Fourth Industrial Revolution technology for teaching and learning during the pandemic lockdown suggests that a significant portion of educational interactions will shift online shortly. However, the suitability of this technology for inquiry-based learning requires further investigation. This study aimed to assess the…

In this work we discuss the implementation of a flipped active learning classroom model in large general chemistry classes at the University of Nevada, Reno. The flipped setup is detailed with survey results on student perception toward the design of a course. Although our recommendations were originally tailored to the online environment, the…

Inquiry-based learning overcomes the gap between the acquisition of knowledge through discovery though it is not always directly proportional to students' development of critical thinking (CT). Knowledge about the real-world contexts in which children will learn is the first step in cultivating CT in science learning. Science inquiry is most…

Mobile-based learning has emerged as the best solution for the constraints posed by traditional educational methods. This article makes an important contribution by filling the research gap in current trends in mobile inquiry-based learning in science and providing valuable insights for educational researchers and practitioners in developing more…

With the advancement of informational and portable technologies, virtual manipulatives based on tablets are applied to support students' learning in science education. However, research on the impact of tablet-student ratios on individual knowledge acquisition and cognitive load in collaborative inquiry learning has not been addressed in detail…

Scientific argumentation is a higher-order thinking skill that is a major focus in education in the 21st century. This is a skill that plays an important role in knowledge construction which in reality is rarely implemented in science learning. The facts show that most students have low scientific argumentation skills and still need to be…

One promising practice for increasing active learning in undergraduate science education is the use of a mentoring network. The Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network was launched with practitioners from several professional societies and disciplines to make changes in their teaching based on evidence-based practices and to…

Motivation, belonging, and inclusion are all critical factors for student success but can be difficult to support in asynchronous online courses. Active learning and required group work have been shown to increase student motivation in in-person and synchronous online courses, but little is known about their impact in online asynchronous settings.…

Contemporary education research seeks causal inferences in order to guide policy and practice. Often well-controlled quasi-experimental and experimental designs are used as they are very useful for supporting and contextualizing causal inferences. Nevertheless, individual studies, even high-quality, resource-intensive randomized controlled trials,…

We investigate in-service teachers' scientific engagement in a blended online science inquiry course. We analyze a shift from teachers following instructions to doing science themselves, and we characterize it at two levels: first, in how teachers engaged in individual sense-making; and second, in how they oriented to the online community as a…

Learning in asynchronous online environments has gained importance over the last several decades, and educational environment shifts from the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have increased this need. Science educators and students need information about which approaches work in the asynchronous environment where informal feedback tends to be reduced,…

Purpose: This study aims to advance the proposal to use immersive virtual learning environments to stimulate and reveal deep-seated knowledge about science, giving instructors and researchers unique possibilities for assessing and identifying intuitive physical science knowledge. Aside from the ability to present rich and dynamic stimuli, these…

The purpose of most citizen science projects is engaging citizens in providing data to scientists, not supporting citizen learning about science. Any citizen learning that does occur in most projects is normally a by-product of the project rather than a stated aim.This study examines learning outcomes of citizens participating in online citizen…