The work presented in the following chapters was undertaken with the goal of understanding and improving education in organic chemistry. Initial work, described in Chapters 1 and 2, focuses on students' ability to explain and rationalize the outcomes of organic chemistry reactions. Chapter 1 explores the relationship between assessment emphasis…

Given the connection between problem-solving and computational thinking (CT), studying the connections between these two constructs is critical. This study focused on students' computational problem-solving strategies, specifically how they applied conditional logic to solve CT-related puzzles within a game-based learning environment called…

Students struggling with reading in secondary school are between "learning to read" and "reading to learn." Struggling readers require metacognitive and cognitive reading skills to tackle the complexities of reading. Combining the research of worked-examples and think-aloud shaped the instructional intervention in this study.…

Higher education institutions are to teach advanced thinking skills that help students process information, make judgments, and justify associated beliefs. Such skills are necessary for reflective judgment according to the reflective judgment model (RJM). The purpose of this study was to explore whether engaging undergraduate students in classroom…

In the complex world of the workplace, change becomes a constant. This requires that adults can regularly adapt to this change, particularly as technology encroaches on the definition of work and alters the description of their work and, ultimately, their jobs. This adaptation also alters how employed adults learn about their jobs and develop…

The persistent work-readiness gap between accounting education and practice highlights the urgent need to develop stronger critical-thinking skills in graduates. This qualitative study was conducted to explore how a cocurricular online program at a South African, private, higher education provider contributed to the development of…

A plethora of literature exists concerning teaching English Language Learners (ELLs); however, there is limited research that seeks to address teaching strategies, teacher preparation, and professional development and their effects on the achievement of ELLs at the local level. The focus of this case study was to analyze faculty choices pertaining…

Physician Assistant (PA) students need to assimilate and integrate voluminous information quickly and effectively to promote critical thinking skills needed to deliver competent care. Mind mapping is an innovative strategy used to facilitate students' recognition and recall of key information and ensure depth in their understanding via making…

This qualitative case study explored the experiences of college-age learners using visual notetaking to aid learning. The following research questions guided this descriptive case study: How do college-age learners perceive visual notetaking as a means of retaining and understanding information? How do college-age learners believe that visual…

The overarching purpose of this study was to improve upon critical thinking through the use of scenario-based design challenge interventions. The study was conducted within an introductory graphic arts course in higher education that focused upon Adobe Photoshop and image manipulation tools, techniques, and terminology. Twelve introductory level…

The study is about exploring the influence of basic and secondary education on selected learning skills from the perspectives of post-secondary students in Sri Lanka. The learning skills selected were: critical thinking, reflective judgment, higher-order thinking, and self-directed learning. This study explored the ways in which Sri Lankan…

The ability to function effectively in a dynamic, culturally diverse healthcare environment requires both critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2008) recognizes the importance of humanities in the baccalaureate nursing curriculum. This quasi-experimental, nonrandomized…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to develop descriptions of how teenage students remain engaged in learning while using mobile technology. Developments in technology have expanded learning contexts and provided learners with improved capacities to connect with others to exchange, gain, and construct knowledge. Developments in…

Students who actively engage in metacognitive thinking and self-regulation and are self-motivating appear to be more successful than those who take a more passive role in learning. This causal comparative research study explored whether increasing metacognitive awareness through participating in metacognitive surveys outside of class improved…

Self-regulated learning is an elaborate metacognitive process consisting of an individual's awareness of the thought process, flexibility in one's approach to problem solving, and motivation to persist through obstacles until a goal has been met. Strategies and instructional practices used to develop mathematically proficient thinkers also develop…