While commercially available mixed-reality (MR) head-mounted devices are also increasingly used in education the impact of MR learning environments is mostly being evaluated with respect to learning outcomes and learning gains alongside a number of affective variables. Here we aim at a deeper understanding of the influence of MR on experimental…

The instructional effect of worked examples has been investigated in many research studies. However, most of them evaluated the overall performance of the participants in solving post-intervention problems, rather than individual step performance in multi-step problems. The two experiments reported in this article investigated the relations…

Aim/Purpose: Multi-threaded software design is considered to be difficult, especially to novice programmers. In this study, we explored how students cope with a task that its solution requires a multi-threaded architecture to achieve optimal runtime. Background: An efficient exploit of multicore processors architecture requires computer programs…

This study investigated performance variability when graduate students critically appraised original studies from a systematic review. Fourteen doctoral students from different academic programs, with no systematic review experience, received training on the Methodological Quality Questionnaire (MQQ) rating scale. Participants were mostly male…

This article delves into moments of affect, puncturing the exchanges between an early career 2SLGBTQ+ researcher and a group of Canadian adolescents, mostly composed of girls, who developed a ClayMation video to take the pulse of emerging vibrancies in maker literacies. Among these dynamisms came the matter of gender in the research project.…

Introductory programming courses (CS1) are difficult for novices. Inspired by "Problem solving followed by instruction" and "Productive Failure" approaches, we define an original "necessity-driven" learning design. Students are put in an apparently well-known situation, but this time they miss an essential ingredient…

Students completing undergraduate majors in chemistry are not typically required to undergo formal training in computer programming or coding. As a result, many chemistry students are graduating without skills in understanding, writing, or manipulating computer code. This skills gap places students at a disadvantage, considering the widespread and…

Problem-solving categorization tasks have been well studied and used as an effective tool for assessment of student knowledge structure. In this study, a traditional free-response categorization test has been modified into a multiple-choice format, and the effectiveness of this new assessment is evaluated. Through randomized testing with Chinese…

The notion of algorithm may be perceived in different levels of abstraction. In the lower levels it is an operational set of instructions. In higher levels it may be viewed as an object with properties, solving a problem with characteristics. Novices mostly relate to the lower levels. Yet, higher levels are very relevant for them as well. We…

This study investigated the effectiveness of using a sequence of worked examples as part of the feedback cycle. Worked examples were either presented as full worked examples or partial worked examples (single-step and completion formats). In two experiments, grade 8 students completed a learning phase on a mathematics topic, which was immediately…

Information literacy describes expertise in information problem-solving. This expertise includes facility in several endeavors addressed by the information behavior literature, including information needs, seeking, and use. Definitions and descriptions of information literacy suggest that this expertise is broadly applicable to a variety of…

This study used CodeMonkey, an online learning platform through which elementary teachers can learn programming while playing games and experience how to integrate STEM into their courses. The study analyzed and examined their experiences using a qualitative research method. According to the research results, learning programming while playing…

Viewing worked examples before problem solving has been shown to improve learning efficiency in novice programming. Example-based feedback seeks to present smaller, adaptive worked example steps during problem solving. We present a method for automatically generating and selecting adaptive, example-based programming feedback using historical…

Systems thinking is the ability to see the big picture and the related elements when designing, and how these relationships form the big picture. In engineering design, systems thinking is valuable to both industry, as well as engineering education. As such, it creates opportunities for researchers to better understand systems thinking of both…

Instruction in most STEM domains uses visuals to illustrate complex problems. During problem solving, students often manipulate and construct visuals. Traditionally, students draw visuals on paper and receive delayed feedback from an instructor. Educational technologies have the advantage that they can provide immediate feedback on students'…