Integrating agent-based models (ABMs) has been a popular approach for teaching emergent science concepts. However, students continue to find it difficult to explain the emergent process of natural selection. This study adopted an ontological framework--the Pattern, Agents, Interactions, Relations, and Causality (PAIR-C)--to guide the design of…

Organic chemistry is accepted as a crucial part of science higher education funneling students into many career opportunities such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical industries. Students attempting organic chemistry courses in higher education are among a plethora of majors including biology, chemistry, health science, and engineering.…

This study investigated the stability and persistence of prospective elementary teachers' conceptual understanding of average speed. A questionnaire containing two questions about average speed was administered to the prospective teachers prior to their admission to an elementary science methods course (pretest) and at the end of the course…

College students lack fact-checking skills, which may lead them to accept information at face value. We report findings from an institution participating in the Digital Polarization Initiative (DPI), a national effort to teach students lateral reading strategies used by expert fact-checkers to verify online information. Lateral reading requires…

The present study aimed to remediate pre-service teachers' misconceptions about sampling distributions and to develop their conceptual understanding through the use of conceptual change texts (CCTs). The participants consisted of 84 pre-service teachers. To determine the pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding of sampling distributions, an…

In this study, which aims to help grade nine students overcome the misconceptions about electric current, we identified their misconceptions about this concept and then designed and implemented a playground activity as an analogy of electric current. Through the conceptual change texts approach, which we have enhanced with experience, we use this…

Refutation texts, rhetorical tools designed to reduce misconceptions, have garnered attention across four decades and many studies. Yet, the ability of a refutation text to change a learner's mind on a topic needs to be qualified and modulated. In this critical review, we bring attention to sources of constraints often overlooked by refutation…

This experimental study examined the effects of conceptual change-oriented refutation text (RT) on declarative knowledge and conceptual knowledge. Information Science undergraduates (N = 66) enrolled in two sections of a course with different instructors but the same syllabus were randomly assigned to one of four RT treatments that included read…

Teachers' conceptual subject matter knowledge of stoichiometry is a global concern. Such knowledge is contextually dependent, as is the feasibility of attaining particular outcomes during in-service teacher education workshops. In an attempt to understand what is feasible in various contexts, I explore the relationships between South African…

The concept of air-having pressure needs to be understood by students so that they can understand natural phenomena related to the air concept. The characteristic of the abstract concept of air having pressure leads students to misconceptions. The purpose of this study is to analyze changes in students' conceptions of the air-having pressure…

The Rasch model is a probabilistic model which describes the interaction of persons (test takers or survey respondents) with test or survey items and is governed by two parameters: item difficulty and person ability. Rasch measurement parallels physical measurement processes by constructing and using linear person and item measures that are…

The purpose of this study is to develop the students' skills of change and continuity through activities based on the objects in fourth-grade social studies. In alignment with the scope, an action research design was used in which the researcher is also the executor. A criterion sampling was used for recruitment which resulted in 17 fourth-grade…

In the study, it was aimed to determine the misconceptions of 8th grade students about the concepts of "solid, fluid and gas pressure", to correct these misconceptions by using STEM supported Science activities, and to improve their attitudes towards Science and STEM. The study group consisted of 46 8th grade students at a public school…

The use of non-academic sources of health information is popular among both the public and exercise professionals. However, the quality of this information varies and without the application of critical thinking skills, may lead to misconceptions forming. This research aimed to compare the knowledge, presence of misconceptions, and critical…

When the risk factors causing infertility are examined in detail, most appear preventable. Primary prevention studies are considered among the most effective ways of reducing risk factors. This study aimed to determine the effects of an infertility prevention psycho-education programme on university students' infertility knowledge and attitudes.…