Embodied cognition posits that physical interactions with the environment play a crucial role in learning, including complex, abstract concepts in STEM disciplines. This is relevant for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) learners who often utilize sign language, which is a naturally embodied, visuospatial mode of communication. My dissertation…

The alternative conceptions that students hold put a brake on subsequent meaningful learning, and therefore, the identification of these wrong ideas is crucial for effective teaching and academic success. Undergraduate STEM students often perceive Chemical Thermodynamics as a difficult subject, in which entropy has been pointed out as a threshold…

Argumentation is vital in the development of scientific knowledge, and students who can argue from evidence and support their claims develop a deeper understanding of science. In this study, the Argument-Driven Inquiry instruction model was implemented in a two-semester sequence of introductory biology laboratories. Student's scientific…

As a result of the worldwide dissemination of COVID-19, educational institutions across the globe, particularly those that serve students in the field of science, have been mandated to close their doors. Consequently, educators and students have increasingly relied on educational technology to obtain a diverse array of resources. This research…

Over the past decades, researchers have investigated the effects of multimedia design principles to enhance learning. These evidence-based principles are known to enable students to learn from multimedia resources and support cognitive processing. However, it is unclear if and which of these multimedia design principles are implemented in…

Although the chemical literature contains many studies of multimedia-based learning and teacher enthusiasm, there is a paucity of research on whether and to what extent teacher enthusiasm in video lectures affects students' learning, especially in chemistry. In this context, this mixed-method study used eye tracking and quantitative analysis to…

Background: Video lectures which include the teachers' presence have become increasingly common. As teacher enthusiasm is a nonverbal cue in video lectures, more and more studies are focusing on this topic. However, little research has been carried out on the interactions between teacher enthusiasm and prior knowledge when learning from video…

A number of studies on single instructional quality features have been reported for mathematics and science instruction. For summarizing single instructional quality features, researchers have created a model of three basic dimensions ("classroom management," "supportive climate," and "cognitive activation") of…

The study of students' use of representations is one of the main topics of physics education research and is guided by the overarching field of semiotics. In this paper we compare two semiotic frameworks, one coming from didactics of mathematics and one from physics education research; "the theory of registers of semiotic…

In this qualitative case study, we purposively selected a passive student in elementary science class from a small group and examined what factors contributed to her socially and momentarily construction of epistemic emotions. We used various data such as emotion diaries, transcripts of the video recordings, postlesson interviews, and field notes…

Studies have shown the potential of explainer videos. An alternative is a written explanation, as found in science textbooks. Prior research suggests that instructional explanations sometimes lead to the belief that a topic has been fully understood, even though that is, not the case. This 'illusion of understanding' may be affected by the medium…

The purpose of this study was to understand how the use of multiple representations (MR), during a sequence of lessons on the saponification reaction, can help students develop their cognitive structures. We examined (i) the effect of the teaching sequence with MR on the development of the students' cognitive structures and (ii) how, according to…

In the current debate on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the term is used to refer to the context-specific knowledge that teachers activate when reflecting on practice. Against the background of this debate, we conducted an empirical study and sought to answer the question of which knowledge experts and novices activated in assessing a…

This study examines the effectiveness of pre-laboratory presentations in an undergraduate general chemistry laboratory using two different modes of delivery: a traditional lecture versus an in-class video presentation. It was anticipated that implementation of videos could result in improved laboratory efficiency, safety, and necessary technical…

We recently shared our design of a two semester flipped organic chemistry course in which we gave students in-class quizzes to incentivize attendance and watching the lecture videos in advance. With a second iteration, we planned to make the video-watching experience more engaging. We accordingly hypothesized that if students completed short…