False alarming, or detecting an error when there is not one, is a pervasive problem across numerous industries. The present study investigated the role of elaboration, or additional information about non-error differences in complex visual displays, for mitigating false error responding. In Experiment 1, learners studied errors and non-error…

A major question for the study of learning and memory is how to tailor learning experiences to promote knowledge that generalizes to new situations. In two experiments, we used category learning as a representative domain to test two factors thought to influence the acquisition of conceptual knowledge: the number of training examples (set size)…

Object-oriented programming distinguishes between instance attributes and methods and class attributes and methods, annotated by the "static" modifier. Novices encounter difficulty understanding the means and implications of "static" attributes and methods. The paper has two outcomes: (a) a detailed classification of aspects of…

There is a growing interest in conducting research in educational mathematics in the area of the didactics of probability, where the main difficulties that students have in understanding the concepts related to statistical inference have been revealed. For this research, the concept of the empirical rule and a practical application created by…

As part of a research study on student reasoning in quantum mechanics, we examine students' use of ontologies, or the way students' categorically organize entities they are reasoning about. In analyzing three episodes of focus group discussions with modern physics students, we present evidence of the dynamic nature of ontologies, and refine prior…

Concepts change into mental images through individuals' experiences. Therefore, mental images can differ from culture to culture. This study aims to analyse students' mental images of cigarette through metaphors. This research uses phenomenology, one of qualitative research designs. The study group was composed of 986 secondary school, high school…

Student transition into higher education has increased in importance in recent times, with the growing trend in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development nations towards universal higher education provision and the concomitant widening of participation to include previously under-represented groups. However, "transition" as a…

In order to test the effect of exam-question level on fostering student conceptual understanding, low-level and high-level quizzes and exams were administered in two sections of an introductory biology course. Each section was taught in a high-level inquiry based style but was assigned either low-level questions (memory oriented) on the quizzes…

Compared with introductory physics, relatively little is known about the development of expertise in advanced physics courses, especially in the case of quantum mechanics. Here, we describe a framework for understanding the patterns of student reasoning difficulties and how students develop expertise in quantum mechanics. The framework posits that…

A study of how Swedish students understand the concept of complex numbers was performed. A questionnaire was issued reflecting the student view of own perception. Obtained answers show a variety of concept images describing how students adopt the concept of complex numbers. These concept images are classified into four categories in order to…

Identifying learning problems of students has been recognized as an important issue for assisting teachers in improving their instructional skills or learning design strategies. The accumulated assessment data provide an excellent resource for achieving this objective. However, most of conventional testing systems only record students' test…

We investigate the hypothesis that our conceptual systems provide two formally distinct ways of representing categories by investigating the manner in which lexical nominals (e.g., "tree," "picnic table") and phrasal nominals (e.g., "black bird," "birds that like rice") are interpreted. Four experiments found that lexical nominals may be mapped…

In the preparation and education of civil engineers it is essential to both increase student knowledge of the world (conceptual understanding), but also to establish and develop new ways of thinking (epistemology). Both of these processes of change can be considered learning, but they are vastly different in the time, energy and resources they…

Meiosis is a biological concept that is both complex and important for students to learn. This study aims to explore first-year biology students' explanations of the process of meiosis, using an explicit theoretical framework provided by the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) model. The research was based on responses of 334…

Building up messages as a cognitive activity within the linguistic multi-level system is the result of the interaction between the various components of this system. Yet, this interactive process occurring in the language user's mind while encoding can vary from person to person. Likewise, it also differs in different recipients while decoding.…