Estimating astronomical scales requires multiple complex mental processes, such as spatial thinking and interpreting large numbers. As such, it is a nontrivial question how these estimates can be most efficiently assessed. There is reason to believe that results from previous studies probing astronomical scale estimates are possibly susceptible to…

A systematic review of Threshold Concepts provides a thorough and structured analysis of the existing literature related to these essential and transforming concepts in education. Threshold Concepts represent ideas or knowledge that, once understood, allow the student to access deeper levels of understanding of a discipline. These concepts are…

Load reduction instruction (LRI) is an instructional approach designed to manage the cognitive load on students as they learn complex learning materials. According to Cognitive Load Theory, complex learning is associated with high cognitive load and when not effectively managed, could impede learning. Inquiry-based learning with hands-on…

Introductory mechanics is an obligatory course for many disciplines outside of physics and the failure rate is often high. Even the students who pass the course often fail to achieve the main learning goal: The conceptual knowledge required for modeling situations with physics principles. In many cases, this is due to inefficient learning…

With the release of Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) and Next Generation Science Standards (2013) documents, engineering was integrated into science teaching. With that emphasis, teachers require to incorporate engineering practices and nature of engineering into their practice. Most of the attention has been…

Educators cannot overlook the affect's potential for students' educational success. In this study, affective analogies are proposed as a didactic resource to foster students' affect for chemistry learning and positive attitudes towards the physics-chemistry subject. To examine the influence of the affective analogies on it, we grouped contents of…

This case study examined teachers' on-the-fly formative assessment conversations, that is, how teachers collect information from students' thinking and use that information to support their learning during teacher-student interactions. Previous studies have typically analysed whole-class discussions on the level of speaking turns, and have…

Background: This research explores thinking and teaching strategy in sciences teaching by analyzing 2027 research articles from the Web of Science. It is anticipated that groups of keywords, writers, and universities will highlight patterns, offer advice to scholars and teachers, and add to the body of literature already available on the topic.…

Grappling with uncertainty is an essential element of students' science learning and sense-making processes, yet literature is limited regarding how teachers can facilitate and use student scientific uncertainty as a pedagogical resource in their classrooms. Furthermore, progress on pedagogical practice depends on both the ability to notice one's…

The field of anatomy is often seen by nonanatomists as concerned primarily with the tasks of locating, naming, and describing structures; these tasks, in turn, are often assumed to require only lower-order cognitive skills (LOCSs), i.e., the Knowledge or Comprehension levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Many nonanatomists may thus believe that studying…

Advances in embodied learning and the use of gesture has gained greater interest amongst educators and researchers in recent years. The emerging evidence supporting the use of physical enactment rather than just auditory modes of instruction remains unresolved. This paper investigates the pedagogical methods used by a science teacher instructing a…

This study investigates the correlation between learning styles (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic [VARK]) and information processing patterns (Parallel, Sequential, Top-down, and Bottom-up) among Senior High School Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learners, specifically in the context of Biology. The…

Mechanistic explanations, aiming to disclose details of entities and their activities, employ the act of unpacking which, inherently and paradoxically, produces explanatory gaps--pieces of undisclosed, undetailed mechanistic information. These gaps, termed explanatory black boxes, are often perceived as counterproductive to the teaching of…

Despite the challenges posed by expository instruction materials, including unfamiliar text structure and abstracted and isolated representation of the contents, they constitute a primary means of studying scientific concepts in higher education. Conversely, utilizing narratives to present the to-be-learned content was conjectured to mitigate some…

Peer Instruction gives practice in the abstract language of physics, addresses common misconceptions among students, and is more effective than traditional lecturing. However, it is not clear what makes Peer Instruction effective nor how we might improve the method. An emerging perspective is that what makes Peer Instruction effective is how it…