There is growing recognition in the education community that the problem-solving practices that comprise computational thinking (CT) are a fundamental component of both life and work in the twenty-first century. Historically, opportunities to learn CT have been confined to computer science (CS) and elective courses that lack racial, ethnic, and…

Fostering students' spatial thinking skills holds great promise for improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Recent efforts have focused on the development of classroom interventions to build students' spatial skills, yet these interventions will be implemented by teachers, and their beliefs and perceptions…

Computational thinking (CT) is a way of making sense of the natural world and problem solving with computer science concepts and skills. Although CT and science integrations have been called for in the literature, empirical investigations of such integrations are lacking. Prior work in natural selection education indicates students struggle to…

Previous research has demonstrated the potential of examining log-file data from computer-based assessments to understand student interactions with complex inquiry tasks. Rather than solely providing information about what has been achieved or the accuracy of student responses ("product data"), students' log files offer additional…

Reports on a study conducted to identify cognitive factors associated with differences in predicting problem-solving success among high school biology students. Results indicate that successful prediction depends on several factors, including a subject's procedural and declarative knowledge, stage of cognitive development, and experience in…

Explores relationships among school students' (n=189) meaningful learning orientation, reasoning ability and acquisition of meaningful understandings of genetics topics, and ability to solve genetics problems. Results indicate that meaningful learning orientation best predicted students' understanding of genetics interrelationships while reasoning…

One of the challenges of science education is for students to develop scientific knowledge that is personally meaningful and applicable to real-life issues. This article describes a middle-school science intervention fostering adolescents' critical reasoning in the context of HIV by strengthening their conceptual understanding of HIV biology. The…

Describes the problem-solving behaviors of six novice subjects attempting to solve an electrostatics problem in calculus-based college physics. The level of qualitative thinking exhibited by these novices was determined. Sound procedural knowledge and problem representation were suggested as an integral part of skilled problem solving in physics.…

Investigated was the level of cognitive development of Afro-American students enrolled in general chemistry courses to determine the strategies used by both successful and unsuccessful problem solvers in solving stoichiometry problems. Results indicated that a higher level of cognitive development may be crucial in solving more sophisticated…

Measured children's (n=182) competence at syllogistic reasoning and in solving a series of problems requiring inductive reasoning. Reports that syllogistic reasoning and inductive reasoning were significantly correlated with both simultaneous and successive synthesis. Provides a basis for understanding the roles of spatial and verbal-logical…

Applies a theory of analogical thinking as satisfaction of multiple constraints to the use of analogies in instruction. It shows how the strengths of particularly good analogies and the weaknesses of particularly bad ones can be understood in terms of pragmatic, semantic, and structural constraints. The constraints suggest lessons for how…

Investigated the extent to which differences in problem-solving performance of stronger and weaker novices in physics arise from differences in amount of domain knowledge, in how domain knowledge is organized, and in the strategic application of domain knowledge. Differences were observed in how 10 university physics students solved easy and…

Analyzes group discourse (n=24) during laboratory investigations in order to understand how students solve scientific problems and the ways social roles shape the development and articulation of arguments. Results indicate that knowledge building depends on students learning to use tools of the scientific community and the social context in which…

Investigates the effect that manipulation of the extent of formal reasoning required for solving chemistry problems has upon student performance, and presents a cognitive model for the qualitative analysis of that effect. Concludes that the developmental level of students is the most important predictor of problem-solving success given significant…

Focuses on the enhancement of chemistry students' skill in problem solving utilizing problem categorization techniques. Indicates that explicit training in categorization skills can lead to higher achievement in complex problem-solving situations but that such achievement may be limited by the lack of linkages between students' conceptual…