Submicrorepresentations (SMRs) are a powerful tool for identifying misconceptions of chemical concepts and for generating proper mental models of chemical phenomena in students' long-term memory during chemical education. The main purpose of the study was to determine which independent variables (gender, formal reasoning abilities, visualization…

When teachers provide students with every opportunity to visually understand a mathematical concept, process, definition, or notation, they allow them to construct and manipulate relevant and useful images in their minds. Visual understanding has a dynamic character that they do not easily develop with alphanumeric symbols alone despite the…

First year Geology students at the University of the Witwatersrand experience problems with both three-dimensional and "four-dimensional" (or time) visualization when attempting to interpret geological maps. These difficulties have been addressed by the introduction of hands-on modeling exercises, which allow students to construct…

Chemists and scientists use spatial abilities as part of the way they understand and communicate their subject areas. A review of the foundational research literature in spatial ability and its connections to chemistry as a field and chemical education research allows for the formulation of implications for teaching in chemistry. (Contains 7…

The study we report here examines parts of what Chevallard calls the "institutional" dimension of the students' learning experience of a relatively under-researched, yet crucial, concept in Analysis, the concept of infinite series. In particular, we examine how the concept is introduced to students in texts and in teaching practice. To…

The teaching of introductory computer programming seems far from successful, with many first-year students performing more poorly than expected. One possible reason for this is that novices hold "non-viable" mental models (internal explanations of how something works) of key programming concepts which then cause misconceptions and difficulties. An…

The Web is now a standard tool for information access and dissemination in higher education. The prospect of Web-based, simulated learning platforms and technologies, however, remains underexplored. We have developed a Web-based tutorial program (ChemVoyage) for a third-year organic chemistry class on the topic of pericyclic reactions to…

This research study provides the finding of a qualitative case study in Technology, Engineering, and Design Education as well as Social Studies Education. The purpose of this study was to describe the role of graphics within a social studies lesson by examining a student's experience when a new lesson is implemented in class. The participants were…

This research contributes to answer the question whether learning/cognitive styles of students serve as a justified starting point for creating target-group appropriate instruction. The study was realized in a self-regulated problem-based learning environment. Data of 56 participants on their individual learning styles, their acquired problem…

Computer science core instruction attempts to provide a detailed understanding of dynamic processes such as the working of an algorithm or the flow of information between computing entities. Such dynamic processes are not well explained by static media such as text and images, and are difficult to convey in lecture. The authors survey the history…

Hemianopic reading and visual exploration impairments are well-known clinical phenomena. Yet, it is unclear whether they are primarily caused by the hemianopic visual field defect itself or by additional brain injury preventing efficient spontaneous oculomotor adaptation. To establish the extent to which these impairments are visually elicited we…

The generation manipulation has been critical in delineating differences between implicit and explicit memory. In contrast to past research, the present experiments indicate that generating from a rhyme cue produces as much perceptual priming as does reading. This is demonstrated for 3 visual priming tasks: perceptual identification, word-fragment…

This study aimed to describe the benefits of memory training for older adults with low education. Twenty-nine healthy older adults with zero to two years of formal education participated. Sixteen participants received training based on categorization (categorization group = CATG) and 13 received training based on mental images (imagery…

Two independent lines of research--mental simulations and thought experiments--provide strong arguments about the importance of perceptual modalities for the instructional practices in science education. By situating the use of mental simulations in the framework of thought experiments, this study investigated the nature and the role of mental…

In this study, we examine how subjects set up, transform, and reason with models that they establish on the basis of known facts as they seek to explain a familiar everyday phenomenon--the phases of the moon. An interview schedule was designed to elicit subjects' reasoning, and in the case where explanations were mistaken, to induce a change in…