This study investigates the performance of GPT-4, an advanced AI model developed by OpenAI, on the force concept inventory (FCI) to evaluate its accuracy, reasoning patterns, and the occurrence of false positives and false negatives. GPT-4 was tasked with answering the FCI questions across multiple sessions. Key findings include GPT-4's…

Central to conceptual understanding of STEM disciplines is visuospatial processing. Despite its acknowledged role in assuring learners' success, less is known about the underlying reasoning students must employ when solving 3-D problems and the ways in which gaining an understanding of this can inform formative assessment and learning in STEM…

Statistical mechanics has received limited attention in physics education research and remains a relatively underrepresented topic even in research on upper-division physics courses. The purpose of this study was to explore potential challenges that physics students encounter when they solve statistical mechanics problems in groups. Adopting a…

In contrast to the determinist and non-discrete structure of classical physical concepts, the probabilistic and discrete/quantised structure of quantum physics embeds certain difficulties in deeper understanding and teaching activities. In this study, in order to understand and to teach the concept of quantization more effectively, a clear analogy…

Identifying students' difficulties in understanding Gauss's and Ampere's laws is important for developing educational strategies that promote an expertlike understanding of the field concept and Maxwell's equations of electromagnetic phenomena. This study aims to analyze and compare students' understanding of symmetry when applying Gauss's and…

In the process of problem solving, intuitive thinking leads to findings that go beyond gaps and plays a decisive role in problem solving. Considering that problems often need to be solved in groups rather than by individuals, it is necessary to examine how intuitive thinking expressed by individuals is shared and elaborated among peers in a group…

Many research results show that students often highlight "mixed-type" reasoning when tackling problematic situations and problems. This reasoning is based on the simultaneous use of common-sense and mere descriptions of facts, perceived as sufficient to build an "explanation" of observed or proposed situations and problems.…

An understanding of acid-base reactions is necessary for success in chemistry courses and relevant to careers outside of chemistry, yet research has demonstrated that students often struggle with learning acid-base reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. One response to this challenge is the development of educational applications to support…

Although students experience friction in their everyday life, they have difficulty understanding the scientific concept of friction. To solve this problem, various instructional suggestions have been made by researchers concerning the teaching of friction. In this study, we conducted a survey to investigate science high school students' reasoning…

We report our qualitative study of twenty-four students enrolled in the second-semester of a second-year undergraduate (sophomore-level) organic chemistry course, Organic Two. We asked the research participants to propose the product and electron-pushing mechanism of elementary mechanistic steps in the absence and presence of the corresponding…

STEM education is a pedagogical philosophy which aims to draw the interrelationship between science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve complex problems in real life situations. In order to use STEM education to foster students' learning, the researchers designed STEM activities for middle school students related to the concept of…

Computational thinking has been popularized in the last decade, particularly with the emphasis on coding education in K-12 schools. The core idea of computational thinking has a close relationship with technology and engineering education (TEE). TEE has emphasized the use of computing skills to solve problems, and integrative STEM education…

As effective methods to foster students' understanding of scientific models in science education are needed, increased reflection on thinking about models is regarded as a relevant competence associated with scientific literacy. Our study focuses on the influence of model-based approaches (modeling vs. model viewing) in an out-of-school laboratory…

Chemical kinetics is a highly quantitative content area that involves the use of multiple mathematical representations to model processes and is a context that is under-investigated in the literature. This qualitative study explored undergraduate student integration of chemistry and mathematics during problem solving in the context of chemical…

If an organic chemistry student explains that she represents a mechanistic step because ''it's a productive part of the mechanism,'' what meaning could the professor teaching the class attribute to this statement, what is actually communicated, and what does it mean for the student? The professor might think that the explanation is based on…