Practice problems and worked examples are both well-established teaching techniques. Research in math and physics suggests that having students study worked examples during their first contact with new material, instead of solving practice problems, can be beneficial to their subsequent performance, possibly due to the reduced cognitive load…

Blended learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in engineering education due to its flexibility and enhanced learning outcomes, however it can face challenges in maintaining student engagement and satisfaction. This study investigates the impact of worked example videos (WEVs) as a blended learning approach within undergraduate engineering,…

Most mathematics assignments consist of a group of problems requiring the same strategy. For example, a lesson on the quadratic formula is typically followed by a block of problems requiring students to use the quadratic formula, which means that students know the appropriate strategy before they read each problem. In an alternative approach,…

One of the most fundamental math skills for students to learn is basic computational skills. Students who have difficulty learning math skills may benefit from representational approaches, such as TouchMath. A multiprobe, multiple baseline, across-participants design was used in this study to investigate the use of TouchMath with students with…

Complex multistep problem exercises are one way to enhance engineering students' learning of electromagnetics (EM). This study investigates whether exposure to complex problem exercises during an introductory EM course improves students' conceptual and procedural knowledge. The performance in complex problem exercises is compared to prior success…

How does early feedback change the programming problem solving in an online environment and help students choose correct approaches? This study was conducted in a sample of students learning programming in an online course entitled Introduction to C++ and OOP (Object Oriented Programming) using the ANGEL learning management system platform. My…

A quasi-experiment was conducted at an elementary school to investigate if guided collaboration would facilitate programming learning of 6 graders. Sixty-six students of two intact classes learned to program in KPL (kid's programming language) for 18 weeks during the experiment. One class was randomly assigned to the control group (i.e.,…

A large body of research has shown that for novice learners, instruction that relies more heavily on worked examples than on problem solving, is more effective for learning as shown by higher test performance. Moreover, this beneficial effect is often obtained with less acquisition time and lower cognitive load during acquisition and test phase.…

The "Cognitive Tutor[R] Algebra I" curriculum, published by Carnegie Learning, is an approach that combines algebra textbooks with interactive software. The software is developed around an artificial intelligence model that identifies strengths and weaknesses in each individual student's mastery of mathematical concepts. It then…

The problem-of-the-week (POW) and problem-solving class openers are exemplified as methods for the integration of course-relevant problem solving into a first-year algebra classroom without sacrificing time spent on developing skills and learning concepts. Illustrated examples, as well as problem sources, are included. (JJK)