This paper analyzes the use of collaborative concept maps in multimedia learning tasks. Specifically, the effect of a cognitive aid (providing students a list of main concepts to generate a concept map) on the performance of collaborative concept mapping and on the level of collaboration in this task is discussed. The study was carried out with 57…

In this paper I identify the components of "meaningful experiences" for participants on a wilderness river rafting journey. The research is phenomenologically informed, and includes interviews, journals, observations and follow-up emails from 32 participants on eight Franklin River (Tasmania) 10-day trips. It elicits individual…

This collaborative concept-mapping exercise was conducted in a second-year mathematics methods course. Teachers' visual representations of their mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge provided insight into their understanding of how students learn mathematics. We collected 28 preservice student teachers' concept maps and analyzed them by…

Introduction: Disciplinarity and other forms of differentiation in science have long been studied in the fields of science and technology studies, information science and scientometrics. However, it is not obvious whether these fields are building on each other's findings. Methods: An analysis is made of 609 articles on disciplinarity…

To understand genetics, students need to be able to explain and draw connections between a large number of concepts. The purpose of the study reported herein was to explore the way upper secondary science students reason about concepts in molecular genetics in order to understand protein synthesis. Data were collected by group interviews. Concept…

The ability to monitor the status of one's own understanding is important to accomplish academic tasks proficiently. Previous studies have shown that comprehension monitoring (metacomprehension accuracy) is generally poor, but improves when readers engage in activities that access valid cues reflecting their situation model (activities such as…

English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD) can find navigating the content areas quite difficult due to challenges involving limitations in English language proficiency, gaps in English academic vocabulary, difficulties with working memory and long-term memory, and limited background knowledge on content area topics. However,…

Many English as a foreign language (EFL) students fail to be effective readers because they lack knowledge of vocabulary and appropriate reading strategies. We believe that teaching proper reading strategies can help second-language learners overcome their reading problems, especially when the instruction begins in elementary school. Effective…

A study plan is the choice of concepts and the organization and sequencing of the concepts to be covered in an educational course. While a good study plan is essential for the success of any course offering, the design of study plans currently remains largely a manual task. We present a novel data-driven method, which given a list of concepts can…

This paper describes an analysis of mind maps capturing the experiences of the participants in an experiential and outdoor education course. The method of mind mapping is usually limited to a quantitative scoring analysis and comparative content analysis of concepts. As a consequence, the visual elements of the information are usually ignored, but…

The aim of this study is to reveal pre-service science teachers' cognitive structures regarding Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and science education. The study group of the study consisted of 192 pre-service science teachers. A Free Word Association Test (WAT) consisting of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and…

In this work, we present a marine ecology inquiry-based activity, implemented with 164 primary school students. The main goal was to evaluate the activity's impact on students' understanding about biodiversity and scientific procedures. We also aimed to analyse the potential use of personal meaning maps (PMMs) to assess the impact of the activity…

Not only is listening considered as an active skill nowadays, but also different approaches are suggested to incorporate it effectively into language classrooms. Our purpose, here, is to compare two approaches claiming to be effective in enhancing EFL learners' listening capabilities including schema theory and dynamic assessment. Through a…

If known words can be defined psycholinguistically as "form-meaning mappings", the present article investigates whether prompting learners to evaluate whether the form of a new second language (L2) word fits its meaning generates "mapping elaborations" that aid recall. Thirty Dutch-speaking upper-intermediate learners of…

Both literacy and career technical education are believed to be linked to better outcomes for juvenile offenders transitioning back to their communities after release. Therefore, this study employed a single group, pretest-posttest design to investigate the extent to which 13 juvenile offenders improved their understanding and completion of…