Solving organic chemistry reactions requires reasoning with multiple concepts and data (i.e., multivariate reasoning). However, studies have reported that organic chemistry students typically demonstrate univariate reasoning. Case comparisons, where students compare two or more tasks, have been reported to support students' multivariate reasoning.…

Electricity and magnetism are fundamentally interconnected, as represented by the symmetry in Maxwell's equations. Much of the research on Gauss's and Ampere's laws has focused on their application in calculating electric or magnetic fields. However, there remains a significant gap in the literature in exploring these laws in a broader…

We use a validated conceptual multiple-choice survey instrument focusing on thermodynamic processes and the first and second laws of thermodynamics at the level of introductory physics to investigate the problem-property dependence of introductory and advanced student responses to introductory thermodynamics problems after traditional…

Problem solving is a key component of authentic scientific research and practice in organic chemistry. One factor that has been shown to have a major role in successful problem solving in a variety of disciplines is metacognitive regulation, defined as the control of one's thought processes through the use of planning, monitoring, and evaluation…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the results of measuring a sample of engineering students' perceived achievement of complex thinking at different stages of their professional training. This study intended to analyze and predict the differences in the self-perception of achieved complex thinking competency by gender, semester,…

Physics experts and students commonly use a variety of representations when working with partial derivatives, including symbols, graphs, and words. One especially powerful representation is the contour graph. In open-ended problem-solving interviews with nine upper-division physics students, we asked students to determine derivatives from contour…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] One of the greatest weaknesses of physics education research is the paucity of research on graduate education. While there are a growing number of investigations of graduate student degree progress and admissions, there are very few…

Colleges are becoming increasingly diverse, including strengthening representation of students with disabilities in STEM (Science, Teaching, Engineering, and Math) fields; however, representation still lags behind national trends. To adapt to this changing demographic and improve representation, STEM college professors must be prepared to grant…

Productive problem solving, concept construction, and sense making occur through the core process of abstraction. Although the capacity for domain-general abstraction is developed at a young age, the role of abstraction in increasingly complex and disciplinary environments, such as those encountered in undergraduate STEM education, is not well…

Our study investigates the effect of hybrid courses and reading scientific articles on scientific literacy of biomedical engineering students. Participants included about 100 undergraduate and graduate students who participated in one or two hybrid courses. Our research goal was to study the effect of reading scientific articles and participating…

A new perspective on chemistry learning could be the optimal learning moment of view based on flow theory. Optimal learning moments (OLMs) that occur when students experience high levels of interest, challenge, and skill at the same time were investigated in this study. Participants of the study were 47 pre-service science teachers. Data were…

The COVID-19 outbreak represented a remarkable challenge in universities and colleges since it forced the transition from a face-to-face model in classrooms and laboratories to a remote, online model using computers, tablets, and cell phones. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the return to educational activities was a slow-paced…

In case-based learning, students develop and apply course knowledge to solve tangible and "real life" problems. This practice can enhance student motivation and engagement in the analytical laboratory. In this application of case-based learning students analyze commercially available oils for CBD content. In the state of Texas anyone can…

Inspired by a theoretical view of knowledge as a resource, this study explored in detail how a student used knowledge as a resource when she engaged in problem-solving about rocks and what she learned as a result of the practice of solving scientific problems. The context of the study was an inquiry project conducted in an earth science course for…

Scientific/chemical literacy is currently the goal of science education in many countries. Students' chemical literacy can be developed through an innovative learning strategy that explicitly direct student learning to aspects of chemical literacy. This research aimed to examine the effectiveness of SOIE (Strengthening, Orientation, Investigation,…