Concept-maps are widely used to assess students' conceptual understanding in different subject areas. Conventionally, it is mostly built maps which are assessed. In this study, we explore if "concept-mapping" could be used as a case for constructive alignment of both the process and the outcome of learning. Specifically, we have studied…

Many scientific concepts and theorems are often abstract and challenging to relate to real-life problems, making it difficult for students to grasp them. Therefore, some researchers have attempted to enhance students' understanding by employing a contextual learning approach, which allows students to apply scientific knowledge to real situations…

Confusion may benefit learning when it is resolved or partially resolved. Metacognitive strategies (MS) may help learners to resolve confusion when it occurs during learning and problem solving. This study examined the relationship between confusion and MS that students evoked in Betty's Brain, a computer-based learning-by-modelling environment…

Describes the exploratory assessment of strategy for learning redox reactions in High School, which seeks to prevent students from developing memoristic and mechanical skills, in addition to emphasize the experiences of daily life that go unnoticed or unexplained to the student in the classroom and at the same time are able to incorporate the key…

This work presents a proposal for the teaching-learning of the concept map technique applied to the Natural Sciences course in the second year of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO, according to its initials in Spanish). Two sessions have been designed, one of which is an instructor-led session to learn the technique and another is a session in…

Conceptual change instruction recognizes that students bring personal, or naive, conceptions to the classroom, which they use to explain their world, interpret situations, and create meaning (Driver et al. 2007). But what happens when students' personal conceptions are inconsistent with experts' views of scientific knowledge? Even after direct…

This research project investigates students' development of problem solving schemata while using strategies that facilitate the process of using solved examples to assist with a new problem (case reuse). Focus group learning interviews were used to explore students' perceptions and understanding of several problem solving strategies. Individual…

This study investigated how well 74 6th-grade science students represented text structures from a 900-word textbook chapter on soil conservation, given a concept map template with four superordinate terms and 24 unsorted concepts. Findings suggest students were more successful at classifying pre-selected terms under given superordinate categories…

The researchers investigated the comparative effects of individually-constructed and collaboratively-constructed computer-based concept mapping on middle school science concept learning. One hundred and sixty one students completed the entire study. Using prior science performance scores to assure equivalence of student achievement across groups,…

When students understand content deeply, they recognize main concepts and understand the relationships among ideas. But the typical processes students use to study are generally not designed to generate conceptual understandings. Instead, they tend to become passive learners. In this article, the authors present three commonly used classroom…

Within the field of education, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of formative assessment and of structural knowledge. In an effort to fill needs in each of these areas, this article describes an innovative feedback strategy intended to improve students' structural knowledge. Twenty-four high school physics students were…

Theme-based learning (TBL) refers to learning modes which adopt the following sequence: (a) finding the theme; (b) finding a focus of interest based on the theme; (c) finding materials based on the focus of interest; (d) integrating the materials to establish shared knowledge; (e) publishing and sharing the integrated knowledge. We have created an…

Reviews a special issue of The Journal of Research in Science Teaching dedicated to concept mapping. Describes four ways in which concept mapping can be of value in science education: (1) as a learning strategy, (2) as an instructional strategy, (3) as a tool in the instructional design process, and (4) as a means of assessing a student's…

This paper reports on a paper and pencil concept-sorting strategy that enables trainee teachers to restructure their knowledge in any one domain of science. It is used as a self-study tool, mainly to enable them to break down and understand the progression of concepts beyond the level at which they have to teach. The strategy involves listing key…