Generic sentences such as "Birds lay eggs" are used frequently and effortlessly, but there is no simple quantitative rule that determines whether they are true or false. For instance, while "Birds lay eggs" is considered true, "Birds are female" is considered false, even though there are necessarily fewer birds that…

The Brønsted-Lowry acid-base model is fundamental when discussing acid and base strength in organic chemistry as many of the reactions include a competing proton transfer reaction. This model requires evaluating chemical stability "via" a consideration of electronic granularity. The purpose of this study is to identify students' mental…

Although we cannot see or touch time, across many cultures, we use spatial representations to think about this abstract concept. Spatial representations of time are thought to support temporal concepts that might otherwise be difficult to represent and reason about, such as the temporal component of episodic memory. One common form of spatially…

This paper discusses findings from an ongoing study investigating mental mechanisms involved in the conceptualisation of linear transformations from the perspective of Action (A), Process (P), Object (O), and Schema (S) (APOS) theory. Data reported in this paper came from 44 first-year linear algebra students' responses on a task regarding the…

The concept of fractions given in learning is the concept of part of whole and part of unit. The development of student's concepts of fractions can be built through fraction schemes. A partitive fraction scheme is a scheme that estimates the size of the fraction in the form of non-units to the whole that is not partitioned. The concept of…

The recent proliferation of research on children's supernatural concepts is noteworthy, as this work is necessary for a full account of human cognition. Despite this advancement in our field, there is a lingering tendency for scholars to exotify supernatural concepts; to treat them as distinct or special. Arguments have been raised that these…

This study focuses on the concept of pairability as a fundamental metaphorical concept in the Cantorian set theory regarding comparison of infinite sets. In this theory, pairability appears in a hierarchical manner of generating and developing as a one-to-one correspondence by arrows in finite, and then in infinite states, a bijection map through…

The purpose of this study is to analyze the mental model of improvement and changes on light wave concepts with Conceptual Change based on Virtual Media (CC-VM) x POE strategy. The method used is mixed methods with embedded design. The sample consisted of 30 students (with an age range of 16-17 years) in one of the schools in Subang, Indonesia.…

Recent studies have identified an incomplete student understanding of how elastic rebound causes earthquakes. We hypothesized that realistic imaging of spatial patterns in ground motions over the course of the earthquake cycle would improve student understanding. Incorporating spatial change information in the form of both motion vectors and…

Financial literacy is crucial for making sound financial decisions and living a better life. However, the field of finance is full of abstract concepts, such as inflation, liquidity, asset allocation and credit. Abstract concepts may be harder to comprehend than concrete concepts due to their lack of tangible referents in the physical world. In…

We investigated to what extent secondary school students have insight in the apparent motion of the Sun and stars (AMoSS). We used the AMoSS test instrument, which focuses on distinctions between different aspects of the apparent motion of the Sun and stars. It consists of 12 multiple-choice questions accompanied by explanations. We administered…

Electricity, especially the flow of current, is a challenging topic for students of all ages. This study conceptualizes students' explanation of electric current as a cluster of knowledge elements. These clusters, in turn, represent students' mental models of electric circuits. Thus, this study aims to identify and characterize students' mental…

This dissertation investigates the interaction of developing extralinguistic cognitive systems with early language learning and processing through the case study of verb argument structure. The interaction of these systems with the linguistic system underpins fundamental theories of language learning and use: language does not exist in isolation.…

Dual-process theories of reasoning suggest that humans reason using two processes often referred to as process 1 (heuristic) and process 2 (analytic). When presented with a situation requiring any sort of reasoning or decision making, process 1 automatically engages and generates an initial mental model to address the situation. Process 2 may or…

This study developed a phenomenographic argument regarding science teacher educators' (STEs) question-asking conceptions. Question-asking in teaching how to teach science concepts to prospective science teachers is a fundamental strategy. However, STEs' conceptual understanding of the question-asking phenomenon is uncharted territory. The present…