Introductory programming courses (CS1) are difficult for novices. Inspired by "Problem solving followed by instruction" and "Productive Failure" approaches, we define an original "necessity-driven" learning design. Students are put in an apparently well-known situation, but this time they miss an essential ingredient…

As a multifaceted concept, the learning of angle concepts takes years to achieve and is beset with challenges. This paper explores how the processes of constructing and validating a learning progression in geometric reasoning can be used to generate targeted teaching advice to support the learning of angle concept. Data from 1090 Year 4 to Year 10…

In this dissertation study, I report on six middle school students' construction and interpretation of graphs and associated dynamic situations. Constructing and interpreting graphs represents a critical moment in middle school mathematics due to its opportunity to provide a powerful foundation for learning. Nevertheless, researchers have…

There is growing interest in implementing reform-based lab courses in undergraduate physics that are student driven rather than instructor driven. In these courses, students develop and carry out experiments while simultaneously reasoning about their hypotheses, data collection procedures, collected evidence, and the relevant physics content.…

Several studies revealed that probability misconceptions were widespread among students, but the activities for addressing the misconceptions has been lacking. This study designed activities that reflect real life situations for addressing equiprobability bias, positive and negative recency effects, belief bias and representativeness bias for…

Analogical reasoning is a basic learning mechanism. Analogy in teaching science is a very popular pedagogical approach in many countries. The use of analogy is not recognized as one of the formal teaching learning strategies to facilitate students' science learning in Bangladesh. In secondary science teaching, teachers' unconscious and…

In this work, we discuss the importance of underlying theoretical assumptions in research, focusing on the conclusions reached when analyzing data from a misconceptions constructivist (stable, unitary) perspective in contrast to a fine-grained constructivist (resources, knowledge-in-pieces) perspective. Both frameworks are rooted in the idea that…

Our motivation for this article is for students to realize that opportunities for discovery are all around them. Discoveries that can still puzzle present day researchers. Here we explore an observation by a middle school student concerning the production of what appears to be water-like "ripples" produced in aluminum foil when placed…

Although algebraic reasoning has been considered as an important factor influencing students' mathematical performance, many students struggle to build concrete algebraic reasoning. Metacognitive training has been regarded as one effective method to develop students' algebraic reasoning; however, there are no published meta-analyses that include…

In this article, the author shares the Menu Writing project, designed to promote a meaningful, real-world connection to mathematics with the lives of students. The rationale for developing this project was two-fold: (1) to connect school mathematics to students' lived experiences to encourage and sustain students' interest, motivation, and…

The education system evolves and transforms towards interactive and immersive learning tools in this digital age. Augmented reality has also evolved as a ubiquitous, robust, and effective technology for providing innovative educational tools. In engineering education, many abstract concepts require technological intervention for conceptual…

Previous studies have found that students' concept-building approaches, identified a priori with a cognitive psychology laboratory task, are associated with student exam performances in chemistry classes. Abstraction learners (those who extract the principles underlying related examples) performed better than exemplar learners (those who focus on…

Abstraction is one of the most fundamental ideas in computer science (CS), and as such, according to Bruner, it should be taught spirally, starting as early as possible and revisited at every level of education. However, teaching CS abstraction to novices is a very challenging task, and CS educational research has often demonstrated students'…

There is an extensive body of philosophical, educational, and popular literature explaining Socratic pedagogy's epistemological and educational ambitions. However, there is virtually no literature clarifying the relationship between Socratic method and doxastic responsibility. This article fills that gap in the literature by arguing that the…

Computational thinking requires high cognitive load as students work to manage multiple tasks in their problem-solving environment. Through research in K-2 classrooms on computational thinking, we noticed that students lack the representational fluency needed to move from one form to another--such as moving from physical to more abstract…