While light microscopy (LM) and virtual microscopy (VM) are valuable pedagogical approaches in histology education, studies comparing their effectiveness have primarily emanated from North America. This research aimed to compare the performance, satisfaction, and perception of Chinese undergraduate dental students enrolled in a histology…

First-year courses have been used to bolster college student success, but empirical evidence on their efficacy is mixed. We investigated whether a first-year science of learning course, focused on self-regulated learning, would benefit first-generation college students. We randomly assigned students to a treatment condition involving enrollment in…

Many science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) majors fail to complete their degrees, and those who leave report they lack learning skills required for STEM coursework. In 2 studies, we examined the effects on students' exam performances when they were assigned to complete a brief digital learning skills training program we embedded into…

Research suggests that a significant reason that a large number of students earn low grades in the fundamental engineering science course Statics is that they may be entering the course with incorrect conceptual knowledge of mathematics and physics. The self-explanation learning approach called collective argumentation helps k-12 students to…

Adaptive Learning, as a new online learning environment, intends to individualize the learning experience for each individual learner. Adaptive Learning suffers many shortcomings, as the date of the publication of this dissertation, however, it is considered the next generation of the learning environment for at least the next twenty years;…

Introductory courses in mathematics and physical sciences are challenging for students and often have lower success rates than other comparable courses. In online courses, this is compounded by students employing surface learning strategies. Furthermore, it has been shown that students often do not utilize learning materials that are provided in…

The problem-solving strategies of students enrolled in general chemistry courses have been the subject of numerous research investigations. In most cases, the investigators were interested in the specific areas or concepts that posed the greatest difficulty to a student's success in achieving the correct answer. However, the investigation reported…

This investigation tested in a university setting a laboratory teaching approach found to be productive in high school settings. The extended discretion approach (ED) gives the student a task, from two to five brief procedural steps, and a list of resources from which to choose. The student must exercise discretion in the use of available…

Sought to determine first-year physics students' approaches to learning, the intellectual demands of their exams (using Bloom's taxonomy), and correlations between the approach to learning, assessment demands, and student performance. Found that most students approached physics with the intention of memorizing formulae rather than understanding…

Reported is a study designed to improve problem-solving skills of high school chemistry students. Interpretations of the data are presented. Recommendations for improvement in teaching problem solving in chemistry are proposed. (CW)

Compared in this research was the performance of students on numerical versus conceptual chemistry problems at the introductory college level. Separate analyses were done to compare high and low achievers. It was shown that even the upper group of achievers had difficulty with concept questions. (CW)

Reviews a study that examined the effects of laboratories on the grade performance of undergraduates in an introductory crop science course. Results indicated that students enrolled in lecture and laboratory concurrently did not receive higher lecture grades than students enrolled solely in lecture, but did have higher laboratory grades. (ML)

Discusses a study which examined if inadequate study approaches contributed to the high attrition rate in tertiary science courses in Papua New Guinea. Test results of undergraduate students (N=118) indicated that their test scores for study motives and strategies were higher than Australian norms but did not correlate with academic achievement.…

Analyzed was the performance of students on numerical versus conceptual chemistry problems in their freshman general chemistry course and their sophomore organic chemistry course. Data indicated that the ability to solve a problem did not necessarily imply an understanding of the concepts involved. (CW)

Students' attitudes, expectations, and opinions about a desirable preparatory preacademic program were investigated before and after 1 year of science studies in the Preacademic School (PAS) of the Hebrew University. A questionnaire was pre- and post-administered to 150 PAS students (70 percent of whom were classified as academically disadvantaged…