The current study investigated the effectiveness of self-regulatory instruction developed based on guided inquiry on 11th grade students' use of learning strategies and achievement in chemistry, compared to traditionally designed chemistry instruction. Additionally, the self-regulatory processes in which students engaged and the development of…

First-year courses have been used to bolster college student success, but empirical evidence on their efficacy is mixed. We investigated whether a first-year science of learning course, focused on self-regulated learning, would benefit first-generation college students. We randomly assigned students to a treatment condition involving enrollment in…

In this study, a spreadsheet-based visualized Mindtool was developed for improving students' learning performance when finding relationships between numerical variables by engaging them in reasoning and decision-making activities. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted on the "phenomena of climate…

The problem-solving strategies of students enrolled in general chemistry courses have been the subject of numerous research investigations. In most cases, the investigators were interested in the specific areas or concepts that posed the greatest difficulty to a student's success in achieving the correct answer. However, the investigation reported…

Relations were examined between epistemic profiles, metacognition, problem solving, and achievement in the context of learning in an educational psychology course. Two hundred thirty-one university students completed self-report inventories reflecting their epistemic profiles and use of metacognitive strategies, and were epistemically profiled as…

The need to cultivate students' use of metacognitive strategies in critical thinking has been emphasized in the related literature. The present study aimed at examining the role of metacognitive strategies in critical thinking. Ten university students with comparable cognitive ability, thinking disposition and academic achievement but with…

What is the connection between student success and their approaches to learning? Do learning approaches develop with university experience? We explored these questions by constructing profiles using a specially developed fixed response instrument and administering this to students at two similar South African universities. Groups consisted of…

Reported is a study designed to improve problem-solving skills of high school chemistry students. Interpretations of the data are presented. Recommendations for improvement in teaching problem solving in chemistry are proposed. (CW)

Compared in this research was the performance of students on numerical versus conceptual chemistry problems at the introductory college level. Separate analyses were done to compare high and low achievers. It was shown that even the upper group of achievers had difficulty with concept questions. (CW)

Analyzed was the performance of students on numerical versus conceptual chemistry problems in their freshman general chemistry course and their sophomore organic chemistry course. Data indicated that the ability to solve a problem did not necessarily imply an understanding of the concepts involved. (CW)