Proponents of dynamic testing have advocated its use as a replacement or addition to conventional tests. This research aimed to investigate the effects of using versus not using a pretest on both the outcome on the posttest and the processes used in solving inductive reasoning tasks in dynamic testing using a graduated prompts training.…

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is an approach to learning in which learners can actively and collaboratively construct knowledge by means of interaction and joint problem solving. Regulation of learning is especially important in the domain of CSCL. Next to the regulation of task performance, the interaction between learners who…

This study was undertaken to investigate the progress in operational scientific literacy skills through demonstrating cognition associated with undertaking scientific processes. Scientific literacy is taken here to mean utilising science knowledge and skills, particularly with relevance to creative problem solving and making reasoned decisions in…

This study examines how students solve problems that involve the concept of absolute value. One hundred seventeen students participated in the first (written) part of the study, 24 students participated in the second part (interview). Particular attention was paid to the actual process of problem solving and to the students' ability to establish…

This research examined the role of mothers' mindsets about the malleability of children's ability in the quality of their involvement in children's learning. Mothers (N = 79) of early elementary school children (mean age = 7.65 years) were induced to hold either an entity mindset, in which children's ability is seen as unchangeable, or an…

This study looks into the reading practice in a Grade 4 knowledge building community that involved 22 students and a veteran teacher. The students investigated light over a three-month period supported by Knowledge Forum, a networked collaborative knowledge-building environment. The classroom designs encouraged the students to take on high-level…

Understanding key foundational principles is vital to learning chemistry across different contexts. One such foundational principle is the acid/base behavior of molecules. In the general chemistry sequence, the Bronsted-Lowry theory is stressed, because it lends itself well to studying equilibrium and kinetics. However, the Lewis theory of…

This dissertation was comprised of three exploratory studies investigating the effects of metacognitive instructional strategies on secondary career and technical education students' problem solving performance. Recommendations for future research are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of…

The authors' primary aim was to investigate a potential causal relationship between spatial ability and math ability. To do so, they used a pretest-training-posttest experimental design in which children received short-term spatial training and were tested on problem solving in math. They focused on first and second graders because earlier studies…

\The purpose of this study was to investigate population invariance of the true-score linking functions with respect to the ability subgroups (i.e., average-achieving students, low-achieving students, and students with learning disabilities). The mean/mean linking functions for five alternate forms of a curriculum-based math problem solving…

Since teachers always teach area and perimeter together--and they are both introduced soon after the definition of a rectangle--it is not surprising that students mix up the notions of area and perimeter. Changing the investigation on maximising the area of a fixed perimeter from the traditional, but boring, "Sheep pens" to the much more…

This study investigates the effects of prior experience, task instruction, and choice on creative performance. Although extant research suggests that giving people choice in how they approach a task could enhance creative performance, we propose that this view needs to be circumscribed. Specifically, we argue that when choice is administered…

Offers a progressive series of eight lessons designed to guide students in generating questions, creating investigations, and finding answers. (AIM)

A new model for problem solving is broken down into four overlapping and interactive processes: Problem Posing, Problem Approach, Problem Solutions, and Communication. Figures illustrate the skills used in this new image of science problem solving, and a ninth-grade science investigation employing the processes is described. (LZ)

This is a record of the proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of the conference is "Mathematics: Essential research, essential practice." The theme draws attention to the importance of developing and maintaining links between research and practice and…