In this paper, we report the results of a 3-year, quasi-experimental study comparing students' engagement and deep learning of course materials between students who took an undergraduate engineering course that used a video game approach to a control group. The video game, EduTorcs, provided challenges in which students devised control algorithms…

Play is considered an important aspect of Early Childhood Education and Care. However, the relationship between play and learning is often taken for granted both in research and praxis. In this article, we study our own research group's empirical work over a 40-year period, and how we have used the concepts of play and learning. We observed that…

Through a series of four papers, this dissertation investigates developmental mathematics students' experiences with relearning, or the experience of learning about content one has already tried to learn in a previous mathematics course. Developmental math courses typically focus on K-12 algebra, and are required for graduation but notorious for…

The phenomenon of misconception and poor conceptual understanding is a problem that often occurs in science learning, not least in physics learning. Learning models that specifically aim to improve conceptual understanding and remediate misconceptions are not widely available. This study aims to determine the effect of the CCBL model in improving…

This qualitative research study explored levels of social presence in Second Life (virtual world) associated with phases of knowledge construction. The study explored images and data collected from users at two discussion-based activities. The findings revealed the three levels of social presence, according to the Interactional Process Model of…

Scientific misconceptions are ubiquitous, and in our era of near-instant information exchange, this can be problematic for both public health and the public understanding of scientific topics. Refutation text is one instructional tool for addressing misconceptions and is simple to implement at little cost. We conducted a random-effects…

Understanding the intricate quantifier relations in the formal definitions of both convergence and continuity is highly relevant for students to use these definitions for mathematical reasoning. However, there has been limited research about how students relearn previous school mathematics for understanding multiply quantified statements. This…

A quasi-experimental treatment control group design was used to investigate the effect of a conceptual change curriculum, Multi-Step Inquiry approach, on students' perception of their learning in a science classroom. This started with the development of a workbook that explicitly focused on conceptual understanding, followed by the development and…

Investigating the nature of our conceptualizations of learning is a crucial step towards reducing the research-to-practice gap and developing strategies toward adoption of powerful practices in teaching and learning based on educational and Learning Sciences research. The purpose of this study was to develop robust characterizations of the…

Global climate change (GCC) is one of the greatest challenges of our age and a highly significant socio-scientific issue (SSI). Developing secondary students' understanding about the Earth's climate and GCC is critical for empowering future citizens and a key focus of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States, 2013). In…

Learners' efficacy beliefs are an important determinant of their performance and future study in an academic domain, and recent work has highlighted the complexities associated with promoting learners' statistics efficacy. The current study tested the effectiveness of a course-embedded, activity-driven intervention, grounded in principles of…

An alternative to insert history of science (HS) in teacher formation programs is the use of concept maps (CM), which may be very useful to represent the historical elaboration dimension of science concepts, laws, and principles. This paper presents the results of a study that identifies the conceptions of pre-service physics teachers about the…

Inhibition is thought to help suppress interference from misconceptions in science learning. Using a pre-, post-, and delayed posttest design, we examined the influence on learning from science texts of three inhibitory-related functions--prepotent response inhibition, resistance to distractor interference, and resistance to proactive…

This article proposes an interconnected framework, "Ways of thinking in STEM-based Problem Solving," which addresses cognitive processes that facilitate learning, problem solving, and interdisciplinary concept development. The framework comprises critical thinking, incorporating critical mathematical modelling and philosophical inquiry,…

Empirical data on learners' conceptual progression is required to design curricula and guide students. In this paper, we present the Reference Map Change Coding (RMCC) method for revealing students' progression at a fine-grained level. The method has been developed and tested through the analysis of successive versions of the productions of eight…