The U.S. defense industry spends billions of dollars each year developing defense systems to keep the nation and allies secure. However, the failure rate of system development is notoriously high. Even when development efforts do succeed, they often do so with cost overruns and compromises in system performance. As a result, large amounts of money…

Teaching introductory statistics using curricula focused on modeling and simulation is becoming increasingly common in introductory statistics courses and touted as a more beneficial approach for fostering students' statistical thinking. Yet, surprisingly little research has been conducted to study the impact of modeling and simulation curricula…

By its nature, the learning of certain complex contents has always been a focus of attention and a challenge in the study of mathematics. This fact acquires greater importance if it is about the learning of children, because the psycho-cognitive skills of this type of user, especially when they attend the first levels of Basic General Education…

The emergence of block-based environments aims to facilitate the problems caused by the abstractness of text-based languages. Recent studies generally focus on the effect of having block-based experience on programming education. This study is an attempt to observe the transfer of previous programming experiences (block-based vs. text-based) into…

Two 20-h modelling-based workshops focused on the explanation of thermally activated phenomena were held at the University of Palermo, Italy, during the Academic Year 2014-2015. One of them was conducted by applying an inquiry-based approach, while the other, still based on laboratory and modelling activities, was not focused on inquiry.…

This paper presents an approach to the initial programming learning using the four components instructional model and the Alice software. The quasi-experimental design was developed with two groups of students that attended two schools with very different socioeconomic status and school retention levels. The differences obtained in the mean of the…

Spatial reasoning is defined as the ability to generate, retain, and manipulate abstract visual images. In chemistry, spatial reasoning skills are typically taught using 2-D paper-based models, 3-D handheld models, and computerized models. These models are designed to aid student learning by integrating information from the macroscopic,…

This paper attempts to quantify the accuracy limit of "nextitem-correct" prediction by using numerical optimization to estimate the student's probability of getting each question correct given a complete sequence of item responses. This optimization is performed without an explicit parameterized model of student behavior, but with the…

Students often find astronomy and astrophysics to be most interesting and exciting, but the Universe is difficult to access using only one's eyes or simple equipment available at different educational settings. To open up the Universe and enhance learning astronomy and astrophysics different planetarium software can be used. In this article we…

Since being introduced by Connor and Simberloff in response to Diamond's assembly rules, null model analysis has been a controversial tool in community ecology. Despite being commonly used in the primary literature, null model analysis has not featured prominently in general textbooks. Complexity of approaches along with difficulty in interpreting…

Virtual social networks nowadays play a very important role in getting and receiving daily news. Therefore, it is necessary to know the extent and reasons for users to use this tool and compare it with other media. Therefore, it is essential to know the extent and reasons for users to utilize this tool and compare it with other media. This study…

Modernization of the military system and its content has enhanced the value of the foreign language as a subject aimed at the formation of communicative competence of future officers. It mainly concerns a professional language, which is an obligatory part of the cadets' professional training. One of the main tasks of foreign language training of…

The 3D visualization program paves the way for the development of virtual reality. This study produces a 3D visualization program in virtual reality to increase high school students' critical thinking skills and scientific attitude. The Research and Development (R&D) method was based on the ADDIE model - analysis, design, develop, implement,…

As BIM (Building information modeling) comprehensive advantages in the field of engineering, it develops rapidly in the international building industry including China. In the face of new technology and new methods of innovation, architecture teaching also needs to adjust. BIM as new design tool is very necessary. But how to perfectly combine BIM…

An important question regards how we use environmental boundaries to anchor spatial representations during navigation. Behavioral and neurophysiological models appear to provide conflicting predictions, and this question has been difficult to answer because of technical challenges with testing navigation in novel, large-scale, realistic spatial…