Through analysis of a classroom lesson led by a decorated teacher, we illustrate how instructional practices favor students seeking empirical patterns at the expense of using mechanistic reasoning. In the lesson, when students spontaneously come up with hypothetical mechanisms to explain why a light bulb in an electric circuit does or does not…

Homeostasis is a core concept in systems physiology that future clinicians and biomedical professionals will apply in their careers. Despite this, many students struggle to transfer the principles governing homeostasis to concrete examples. Precourse assessments conducted on 72 undergraduate biology students enrolled in an introductory systems…

Graphs illustrating complex scientific relationships require students to integrate multiple concepts and visual features into a coherent understanding. We investigate ways to support students in integrating their understanding of density concepts through a graph that is linked to a simulation depicting the relationship between mass, volume, and…

This paper explores Computational Thinking (CT) through the experiences and interactions of sixth-grade students as they were engaging in a science lesson utilizing robotics. This robotics unit institutes the shifting from traditional to engaging hands-on activities coupled with CT skills that are exciting, intriguing, and inviting to students.…

In this empirical study, we investigate an early childhood education activity in mathematics on the concept of "pattern". The children participating in the study attend an intermediate form of schooling in Sweden called "the preschool class for six-year-olds", intended to facilitate their transition from preschool to school.…

This study explored the patterning abilities of eight children between the ages of four and five and a half. Task-based interviews were conducted where children were required to produce their own repeat pattern, to copy and extend a given repeat pattern, and complete missing parts of a repeat pattern. The findings show that most children were able…

The present study investigated (a) whether the perceived cognitive load was different when geometry problems with various levels of configuration comprehension were solved and (b) whether eye movements in comprehending geometry problems showed sources of cognitive loads. In the first investigation, three characteristics of geometry configurations…

Early measures of mathematics skill and development have focused on early numeracy skills like counting, number identification, and sequencing of numbers. This study attempted to expand early mathematics assessment. Six new measures of early mathematics skill competence were developed and evaluated. Four existing measures also were examined.…

Despite their longstanding interest in race, American sociologists have conducted little empirical research on sociodemographic patterns or longitudinal trends in "racial conceptualization"--that is, notions of what race is, how races differ, and the origins of race. This article outlines key empirical, methodological and theoretical…

Examines developmental change in 4- 7- and 10-month-old infants' perceptions of correlations among attributes to determine whether relational information plays a role in abilities ranging from the perception and recognition of a simple pattern to the formation of a category. (HOD)

Specific objectives of this study were to (1) obtain information about the pattern of young children's social studies concept attainment, (2) compare basic concept attainment with social studies concept attainment, and (3) compare basic concept development of children from two age/grade levels. A total of 24 kindergarten and 28 first graders of…

A seriation task (assembling a set of nesting cups) was used in this study to examine developmental changes in young children's ability to restructure a situation. Forty young children, eight each at 18, 24, 30, 36, and 40 months of age, participated in the study. Each child was presented with five nesting cups and was told he or she could play…

Implications are discussed for new instrument development by way of a methodological study which used a task allowing one to focus upon: (1) a non-verbal approach; (2) memory functions; (3) a variety of mnemonics that children use in information retrieval; and (4) a non-traditional procedure supported by psychological and developmental research. A…