The complex processes of collaborative knowledge construction require a multimodal approach to capture the interplay between learners, tools, and the environment. While existing studies have recognized the importance of considering multiple modalities, there remains a need for a comprehensive framework that explicitly models the dynamics of…

Spatial ability predicts success in STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics) fields, particularly chemistry. This paper reports two studies investigating the unique contribution of mental rotation ability to spatial thinking in a STEM discipline. Using authentic disciplinary tasks from chemistry, we show that the difficulty of a…

Abstract electronics concepts are difficult to develop because the phenomena of interest cannot be readily observed. Visualisation skills support learning about electronics and can be applied at different levels of representation and understanding (observable, symbolic and abstract). Providing learners with opportunities to make transitions…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the web-based scaffold dynamic simulation system (PRES-on) designed for pre-service teachers. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes the initial design of a web-based scaffold dynamic simulation system (PRES-on) as a cognitive tool for learners to represent problems. For the widespread use of the…

The author discusses the theoretical lens, origins, and environment of his work on computerized business simulations. Key ideas that inform his work include the two dimensions (control and interaction) of computerized simulation, the two ways of representing a natural process (phenotypical and genotypical) in a simulation, which he defines as a…

The authors examined the relative criterion-related validity of knowledge structure coherence and two accuracy-based indices (closeness and correlation) as well as the utility of using a combination of knowledge structure indices in the prediction of skill acquisition and transfer. Findings from an aggregation of 5 independent samples (N = 958)…

The author advocates that humanities scholars should seek and study programming languages. He believes that, increasingly, an appreciation of how complex ideas can be imagined and expressed as a set of formal procedures--rules, models, algorithms--in the virtual space of a computer will be an essential element of a humanities education. Students…

Advances in computers and multimedia technology have changed traditional methods for learning and skills training. Online learning continues to play a major success of any academic program. Such learning can personalize learning needs for students, it can provide an environment where virtual reality techniques are used to create interactive…