Large language models (LLMs) are now widely accessible, reaching learners across all educational levels. This development has raised concerns that their use may circumvent essential learning processes and compromise the integrity of established assessment formats. In physics education, where problem solving plays a central role in both instruction…

In research practice, it is common to measure cognitive load after learning using self-report scales. This approach can be considered risky because it is unclear on what basis learners assess cognitive load, particularly when the learning material contains varying levels of complexity. This raises questions that have yet to be answered by…

Intelligent tutoring system (ITS) provides learners with step-by-step problem-solving support through scaffolding. Most ITSs have been developed in the USA and incorporate American instructional strategies. How do non-American students perceive and use ITS with different native problem-solving strategies? The present study compares Stoich Tutor,…

Resonance is a crucial concept in Organic Chemistry that enables both deriving chemical properties from molecular structures and predicting reactions by considering electron density distribution. Despite its importance for problem-solving and learning success, learners encounter various difficulties with this concept. Although prior research…

Background: Problem-solving competences have evolved into key skills for professionals. Computer-based business simulations enable the analysis of problem-solving processes beyond end results. An important aspect of successful problem-solving is to systematically use built-in tools and process the provided information efficiently. Objectives: This…

Interleaved practice combined with comparison prompts can better foster students' adaptive use of subtraction strategies compared to blocked practice. It has not been previously investigated whether all students benefit equally from these teaching approaches. While interleaving subtraction tasks prompts students' attention to the different task…

Vector fields are a highly abstract physical concept that is often taught using visualizations. Although vector representations are particularly suitable for visualizing quantitative data, they are often confusing, especially when describing real fields such as magnetic and electric fields, as the vector arrows can overlap. The present study…

The Survey of Adult Skills is a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) led by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Survey of Adult Skills aims to measure the skills needed by adults to participate in society and for economies to prosper. The 2023 survey assessed…

Many teaching strategies exist to develop critical thinking with students. Art students engage with critical thinking in a "Connected Art" workshop, implemented in three diverse Higher Education (HE) learning environments. Participants are interdisciplinary adult learners in the UK, Germany and Spain. Using joint practice development,…

We investigated the role of children's conflict monitoring skills in revising an intuitive scientific theory. Children aged 5 to 9 (N = 177; 53% girls, data collected in Germany from 2019-2023) completed computer-based tasks on water displacement, a concept prone to misconceptions. Children predicted which of two objects would displace more water…

Quantitative reasoning is considered a crucial prerequisite for acquiring domain-specific expertise in higher education. To ascertain whether students are developing quantitative reasoning, validly assessing its development over the course of their studies is required. However, when measuring quantitative reasoning in an academic study program, it…

Do children consider how others learned when seeking help? Across three experiments, German children (N = 536 3-to-8 year olds, 49% female, majority White, tested 2017-2019) preferred to learn from successful active learners selectively by context: They sought help solving a problem from a learner who had independently discovered the solution to a…

Pedigree problems are typical genetics tasks in schools. They are well suited to help students learn scientific reasoning, representing realistic genetic problems. However, pedigree problems also pose complex requirements, especially for secondary students. They require a suitable solution strategy and technical knowledge. In this study, we…

Expertise is featured by continued high performance in a particular domain. Expertise research has primarily focused on absolute expertise in structured domains such as chess and emphasized the significance of deliberate practice for expertise development. We investigated the development of relative expertise in commercial domains as part of…

Future students are confronted with a complex world that demands the ability to solve problems in unstructured, undefined, and unfamiliar situations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the development of problem-solving skills through the implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL). While previous research has primarily focused on…