In this paper we present a qualitative analysis based on data collected by means of an eye-tracker tool, concerning the outcome of a mathematical analysis question administered to a group of candidates of university level or higher. One of the research aims is to highlight similarities and differences in the visual observation of the question…

The aim of this study was to characterise thoroughly the differences between Physics Olympiad competitors' and regular students' successes and approaches in relation to counterintuitive dynamics problems (CDPs) in order to discover some of the differences between skilled problem-solvers and those with fewer such skills. A total of 23 Physics…

Despite the emerging discussions about the growing role of engineers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a lack of agreement on which competences should be prioritised to prepare engineering students to resolve future sustainability challenges. This study examined and compared the views of key stakeholders of…

The focus of Design and Technology (D&T) education (Wilson & Harris, 2004) has been on designing and making activities and in developing technological capabilities amongst students. Innovation is an important aspect of D&T that helps in creating new products and artefacts to overcome the limitations of existing ones. Problem solving…

Design activities typically involve and culminate in the creation of models representative of new ideas and conceptions. The format is often dictated by the specific discipline, with ideas in design and technology education regularly being externalised through the use of computer aided design (CAD). This paper focusses on the realisation stage of…

Students' categorization of physics problems reflects their expertise in problem solving. We conducted a pseudolongitudinal study to investigate the development of students' categorization ability. Over 250 Chinese students from grade 10 to grade 12 were asked to categorize 20 problems of kinematics and mechanics into suitable categories based on…

The ability to categorize problems based upon underlying principles, rather than contexts, is considered a hallmark of expertise in physics problem solving. With inspiration from a classic study by Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser, we compared the categorization of 25 introductory mechanics problems based upon similarity of solution by students in large…

Robust knowledge serves as a common instructional target in academic settings. Past research identifying characteristics of experts' knowledge across many domains can help clarify the features of robust knowledge as well as ways of assessing it. We review the expertise literature and identify three key features of robust knowledge (deep,…

The authors investigated the differences in using problem decomposition and problem recomposition between dyads of engineering experts, engineering seniors, and engineering freshmen. Participants worked in dyads to complete an engineering design challenge within 1 hour. The entire design process was video and audio recorded. After the design…

The aim of this study is to reveal differences between attitudes and approaches of students from different types of high school and the first grade of university towards problem solving in chemistry. For this purpose, the scale originally developed by Mason and Singh (2010) to measure students' attitude and approaches towards problem solving in…

This paper describes the results of a qualitative study using ground theory to investigate the different approaches used by chemists when answering open-ended problems. The study involved undergraduate, industrialist and academic participants who individually answered three open-ended problems using a think aloud protocol. Open-ended problems are…

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) plays a key role in introductory organic chemistry, spanning theory, concepts, and experimentation. Therefore, it is imperative that the instruction methods for NMR are both efficient and effective. By utilizing eye tracking equipment, the researchers were able to monitor how second-semester organic…

Many studies have previously focused on how people with different levels of expertise solve physics problems. In early work, focus was on characterising differences between experts and novices and a key finding was the central role that propositionally expressed principles and laws play in expert, but not novice, problem-solving. A more recent…

Much research in engineering and physics education has focused on improving students' problem-solving skills. This research has led to the development of step-by-step problem-solving strategies and grading rubrics to assess a student's expertise in solving problems using these strategies. These rubrics value "communication" between the…

This dissertation examines the problem-solving processes of seven graduate student novices enrolled in a course in educational assessment and ten educational assessment experts. Using Jonassen's (1997) ill- and well-structured problem-solving frameworks, I analyze think-aloud protocols of experts and novices as they examine ill-structured…