A Concept Inventory (CI) is an assessment to measure student conceptual understanding of a particular topic. This article presents the results of a CI for basic data structures (BDSI) that has been previously shown to have strong evidence for validity. The goal of this work is to help researchers or instructors who administer the BDSI in their own…

The aim of the study is to teach the concept of function using cryptology and to investigate whether it provides support to students who have difficulty integrating this topic into everyday life. The study's research group consisted of 50 elementary school teachers in the department of mathematics education at a public college in Ankara. Since the…

We present an algorithm for a matrix-based Enigma-type encoder based on a variation of the Hill Cipher as an application of 2 × 2 matrices. In particular, students will use vector addition and 2 × 2 matrix multiplication by column vectors to simulate a matrix version of the German Enigma Encoding Machine as a basic example of cryptography. The…

In the Winter semester of 2020 during a multimedia design and production class for pre-service teachers, the students were introduced to basic computer coding concepts such as variables, conditional statements, various expressions, logic, and syntax. For their final project, the students were asked to create an interactive instructional app using…

This investigation is focused on possible links between the development of critical attitude and conceptual understanding. We conducted a fine grained analysis of five student teachers' critical and conceptual development during a one hour and a half interaction with an expert. This investigation completes a series of three previous studies…

Science education reform documents call for students to learn science by engaging in inquiry and using science practices. One such science practice is constructing evidence-based explanations. Few students enter community college science classrooms having experience with, or being proficient in, using evidence to explain scientific phenomena.…

Design is a powerful weapon for modern companies so it is important to have excellent designers in the industry. The purpose of this study is to explore the learning problems and the resources that students use to overcome problems in undergraduate industrial design studio courses. A survey with open-type questions was conducted to collect data.…

Researchers examined how an inquiry-based instructional treatment emphasizing interrelated plant processes influenced 210 elementary pre-service teachers' (PTs) conceptions of three plant processes, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and transpiration, and the interrelated nature of these processes. The instructional treatment required PTs to…

The development of college students' cultural competence is important in an increasingly diverse world. This exploratory, qualitative, action research study examined how 158 first-year students understood and applied core concepts after participating in a standardized diversity and social justice lesson plan designed using transformative education…

Over a three-year period, chemistry and engineering students participating in six Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs were surveyed before and after participating in a research ethics training workshop. The goal was to learn what undergraduate students already knew about key concepts in research ethics at the start of their…

This research documents the aims and the impact of a teaching experiment on how the absorption of light depends on the thickness of the absorbing medium. This teaching experiment is more specifically characterized as bringing to bear a "concept-driven interactive pathway". It is designed to make students analyse the absorption of light…

Research with preschool children has shown that explanations are important to them in that they actively seek explanations in their conversations with adults. But what sorts of explanations do they prefer, and what, if anything, do young children learn from the explanations they receive? Following a preliminary study with adults (N = 67) to…

The purpose of this study is to explore students' understanding of loops and nested loops concepts. Sixty-three mechanical engineering students attending an introductory programming course participated in the study. APOS (Action, Process, Object, Schema) is a constructivist theory developed originally for mathematics education. This study is the…

Experts are more proficient in manipulating and translating between multiple representations (MRs) of a given concept than novices. Studies have shown that instruction using MR can increase student understanding of MR, and one model for MR instruction in chemistry is the chemistry triplet proposed by Johnstone. Concreteness fading theory suggests…

Previous work has shown that students have persistent difficulties in understanding how central dogma processes can be affected by a stop codon mutation. To explore these difficulties, we modified two multiple-choice questions from the Genetics Concept Assessment into three open-ended questions that asked students to write about how a stop codon…