Drawing on Kolb's experiential learning theory, this article offers practical and ready-to-use ideas that can be implemented into trainings to transform them into interactive experiences for students. By blending practical exercises with the power of theory, trainers can harness their creative ideas to craft dynamic training sessions that not only…

In science education, students need to work with laboratory elements that create conditions for them to learn to do science and experience the value of making meaning in this process. However, students rarely get to carry out investigations that resemble actual scientific practices. More often, they are encouraged to follow an already given…

This paper addresses a call for submissions to provide greater clarity on the defining features of experiential learning. This is accomplished with a critical review of literature relevant to experiential learning and a qualitative-leading, mixed-method investigation exploring the defining features, canonical works, and theoretical foundations of…

From the experiential learning perspective, this study investigates middle and high school students (n = 1009) who used an online module to learn about wildfire hazards, risks, and impacts through computational simulations of wildfire phenomena. These students were taught by 18 teachers in urban, rural, and suburban schools across the United…

This study examines the influence of design-based learning on 25 eighth-grade students' design-thinking mindsets, that is, on the mental outlook that they adopt habitually when they engage in design thinking. It also compares changes in design-thinking mindsets across individuals of different genders and different levels of experience in design.…

As experiential learning becomes more central to undergraduate education, we must find ways to use it in large classes and to teach students how to learn from experiences. This article uses a 2-year study of student perceptions of learning from short, in-class games and simulations to show that these active learning activities can be used to…

Conceptual approaches to contemporary physics topics pose many learning challenges. One factor influencing knowledge integration is a student's epistemic framing. Epistemic frames provide a context within which a particular situation is perceived, interpreted, and judged. The objective of this study is to explore secondary students' framings…

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of designing effective methods for remote teaching. At the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, instructors adapted to the necessity of remote laboratory instruction by creating choose-your-own-adventure-style video-based online experiments introduced…

We present a quantitative study of responses to voluntary and anonymous surveys of undergraduate geology students enrolled at an English-medium, research university in South Africa. This research captured student interest in geology, their perceived level of understanding of key geological concepts, and the extent to which in-class and in-field…

Background: In countries that endorse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education as an educational movement, design-based learning is deemed a pedagogical approach. Purpose: Because the integration of the engineering design process and scientific investigation has been an issue in science education, this study examined the…

Professional identity development of students is an often discussed but never resolved issue in higher education. To facilitate a shift toward developing students' professional identity, we propose a pedagogical model where students are tasked with developing and providing instruction to their classmates during a 75-minute teaching session.…

Non-formal STEM education programs can expose youth to STEM concepts outside the formal school environment. These programs employ education techniques such as hands-on learning, problem-solving, and connection to authentic science experiences. Youth participating in non-formal STEM programs are more likely to consider themselves science people and…

The inquiry-based approach in museum education often takes the form of an educator asking open-ended questions to facilitate discussions around artworks, while encouraging students in careful observation and interpretive processes. However, although art museums are emphasizing learners' experiences and their interpretative processes, adult…

Prior knowledge has long been recognized as an important predictor of learning, yet the term prior knowledge is often applied to related but distinct constructs. We define a specific form of prior knowledge, ancillary knowledge, as knowledge of concepts and skills that enable learners to gain the most from a target lesson. Ancillary knowledge is…

Learning about neural communication can be a dry and challenging undertaking, particularly for students without a background in biology. To enhance learning of this and other STEM material, there has been a call for science educators to embrace the use of active learning techniques. The aim of this Brief Communication is to encourage the use of…