In this study, the role of science and computational thinking (CT) in teaching self-efficacy and design thinking variables were examined to explain the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) knowledge forms needed by science teachers for integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) within the framework of the…

Studies over the last 30 years have considered various factors related to student success in introductory biology courses. While much of the available literature suggests that the best predictors of success in a college course are prior college grade point average (GPA) and class attendance, faculty often require a valuable predictor of success in…

Problem Statement: Based on information presented in previous literature, that the characteristics of learning environments foster metacognition and thinking, it is believed that metacognitive oriented classrooms can contribute to the formation of environments needed to teach thinking, and when metacognitive oriented learning environment…

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of…

Students tend to learn genetics by rote and may not realise the interrelationships in daily life. Because reasoning abilities are necessary to construct relationships between concepts and rote learning impedes the students' sound understanding, it was predicted that having high level of formal reasoning and adopting meaningful learning orientation…

In this study, students' understanding of chemical changes was investigated in relation to four individual differences, related to logical thinking, field dependence/independence, convergence and divergence thinking. The study took place in Greece with the participation of students (n = 374) from three grades (8th, 10th and 12th grades) of…

Logical reasoning skills of students enrolled in a general chemistry course at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras were measured using the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) test. The results were used to determine the students' cognitive level (concrete, transitional, formal) as well as their level of performance by logical…

This mixed-method research attempted to clarify the role of visuospatial abilities in learning about mineralogy. Various sources of data--including quantitative pre- and postmeasures of spatial visualization and spatial orientation tests and achievement scores on six measures and qualitative unstructured observations, interviews, and field trip…

This study investigated the connection between the use of video cases within a multimedia learning environment and students' inquiry into a socio-scientific problem. The software program was designed based on principles from the Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT) and incorporated video cases of experts with differing perspectives. Seventy-nine…

Analogous thinking has been commonly discussed as being an inherent and distinguishing characteristic of human cognition (e.g., Gentner, 2010; Goldstone, Day, & Son, 2010; Holyoak, in press; Rittle-Johnson & Star, in press). Gentner (2003) has argued that as part of the human cognitive toolbox, comparison accompanied by the relational language to…

Studies whether Piagetian reasoning, general intelligence and achievement motive tap different mental structures, and the relative importance of these measures for concept attainment in physics. Concepts chosen for the study were force, couple, total internal reflection and atom. Results indicate that proportional reasoning, combinatorial…

States that constructive thinking about variables seems to be a key to accelerated learning in science and that computer modeling can enable this. A taped sequence of a group in the exploratory use of a model reveals the potential of such activity. (Author/ASK)

The 12th iteration of the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2019) is organized under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society in Montreal, Canada. The theme of this year's conference is EDM in Open-Ended Domains. As EDM has matured it has increasingly been applied to open-ended and ill-defined tasks…