As well as knowledge structures can be complex and coherent, they might be small and disconnected. This study focuses on knowledge elements of pre-service teachers using diSessa's phenomenological primitives (p-prims) framework. Based on group interviews, a test was developed regarding the knowledge fragments used for explaining free fall in three…

One of the main limitations of natural language-based approaches to meaning is that they do not incorporate multimodal representations the way humans do. In this study, we evaluate how well different kinds of models account for people's representations of both concrete and abstract concepts. The models we compare include unimodal distributional…

Grade 8 students were given a task that had pairs of shapes that had been transformed (i.e., preimages and images). Students were to identify which of the three rigid transformations--reflections, rotations, or translations--were used to map the preimage to the image. Students were also asked to give a justification for their choice of…

This paper focuses on determining the opinions of primary school third-grade pupils about the conceptual meaning and use of the numbers "0" and "1". The current study employed the case study design, which is one of the qualitative research methods. In the selection of the sample, the criterion sampling method, one of the…

Higher professional education aims to prepare students for professional practice, for which students will need to develop conceptual understanding. Conceptual understanding requires a synthesis of relevant facts, theories and practices. This research explores what types of change take place in students' conceptual understanding during a bachelor…

This study explores the dynamic, interactive nature of digital drawings and writing in a knowledge building community in which students used a multimedia online environment--Knowledge Forum--to represent and advance ideas in the field of optics. The research employs a mixed-methods case study to collect and analyze multimedia notes created by 22…

Mechanical engineering students often find the formulation and analysis of dynamical systems difficult. The response of some mechanical engineering undergraduates is that as much as possible courses on mechanics are best avoided. The aim of this paper is to produce some interesting dynamical systems that may help to change the opinions of the…

The aim of this paper is to narrate a significant part of the experience of a professor over several semesters teaching fundamental ideas of the "Theory of Calculus." The narrative explains how his didactic and mathematical mentality evolved as he witnessed students' conceptual difficulties, as they were confronted with situations that…

The present study investigates how emerging/young and established/expert artists create artwork, paying special attention to modifications in the art-making process. Here, "process modification" is the means by which artists generate new artistic concepts by modifying elements of their previous artwork. To examine whether emerging…

The conception of racial categories from a biological perspective is unconsciously embedded in the individual's cognition. This is true even among university students majoring in biology and medicine. Even though students have never learned about "race" explicitly in formal biology class, they are highly likely to implicitly construct,…

Kinematics is an important but challenging area in physics. In previously published works of the current research project, it was revealed that there is a significant relationship between facial microexpression states (FMES) changes and conceptual conflict-induced conceptual change. Consequently, the current study integrated FMES into a kinematics…

The aim of this study is to identify the basic components of the mathematical proof process in abstract algebra and to organize the proof process into phases with the help of these basic components. A basic component form was prepared by arranging a draft basic component form, which was created as a result of a document analysis in accordance with…

Since the viscous behaviour of liquids is evident in many everyday situations, it is plausible to assume that students have (pre-)conceptions about the physics behind these phenomena. As yet, no reliable studies exist on this topic. Therefore, the present study aims to address this research gap by exploring secondary school students' conceptions…

We analyzed the written answers and explanations by 26 Brazilian high-school students who attempted to solve double and multiple proportionality problems using the cross-product algorithm. We focused on students' awareness of the scalar and functional relations among the quantities described in verbal problems, an aspect that has been part of…

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of problem-based learning on misconceptions and conceptual understanding regarding simple electric circuits. Participants are 54 pre-service primary school teachers enrolled on the "Basic Science in Elementary School" course at a state university. The research employs a nonequivalent…