Helping students to construct robust understanding of physics concepts and develop good solving skills is a central goal in many physics classrooms. This thesis examine students' problem solving abilities from different perspectives and explores strategies to scaffold students' learning. In studies involving analogical problem solving…

Prior research of rough-and-tumble play (RTP) has shown mixed results--different definitions, varying functions, and positive and negative outcomes. Few researchers have studied interventions to address RTP in school settings. With unclear evidence of RTP outcomes and the extent school interventions are addressing RTP in school settings, this…

Registered professional school nurses (hereinafter referred to as school nurses) advance safe school environments by promoting the prevention and reduction of school violence. School nurses collaborate with school personnel, healthcare providers, parents, and community members to identify and implement evidence-based educational programs. The…

At the heart of competency education is the assumption that by maintaining a laser focus on learning, allowing time to be a variable, and powerful competencies to set the bar, an education system can be created that produces high achievement for students from all income levels and across all racial and ethnic communities. However, the transition…

This article describes an after-school program at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf (HMS), the oldest public day school for deaf students in the United States, where almost half of the student body imagined and created bridge and robotic machines. The Deaf Robotics Engineering and Math Team, or the DREAM Team club, included HMS students in…

This paper presents the findings from one of the first empirical research studies which has investigated the impact of Inter-Life; a novel three-dimensional immersive virtual learning environment, on learning and development of social and educational life transition skills in a group of looked after and accommodated children. Drawing on social…

Fieldwork is a critical component in geographic education. This study examines the impact on the development of skills across six field courses, over five years, and among students from three institutions. A survey instrument comprised of 46 questions in eight categories serves as the vehicle for primary data collection. Student perceptions are…

Pedagogic approaches to TVET offer a limited range of teaching strategies which make use of experimental learning. Thus experiments were developed for teachers of structural engineering and timber processing technologies and were subject to empirical evaluation by a researcher at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg and Kassel University.…

The introductory computer programming (CP) course has been taught for three decades in the faculty. Besides pursuing CP technology, one major goal has been enhancing learners' problem-solving (PS) skills. However, the current situation has implied that this might not be the case. Therefore, a research was conducted to investigate the effects of a…

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Problem-Solving Strategy Steps (PSSS) on students' achievement, skill, and confidence. The study was conducted in a two-year college classroom with 70 students from two different groups enrolled in a physics course. One of them was randomly selected as an experimental group (EG) and the…

The impact of touch-screen technology on spatial cognitive skills as related to molecular geometries was assessed through 102 one-on-one interviews with undergraduate students. Participants were provided with either printed 2D ball-and-stick images of molecules or manipulable projections of 3D molecular structures on an iPad. Following a brief…

This Info Brief introduces families, including families of youth with disabilities, to a new way of looking at career development for youth. This brief discusses the three phases of career development, highlights Individualized Learning Plans as a tool for facilitating the career development process, and offers strategies on how families can be…

This paper is conceptualized to examine ways by which higher education in our own country (Nigeria) could be re-organized in such a manner that critical thinking skills could be imbued in the young learners, in order to make them problem solvers, thereby become assets rather than liabilities to the Nigerian society. In specific terms, the paper…

Learning theory from the "behaviorist" camp suggests that quick feedback on a stimulus (problem) followed by repetition (resubmission) will increase student learning. To test this assumption an experiment was conducted. In an introductory management information system class students were given the opportunity to submit several…

This article presents the findings of an exploratory investigation involving the direct assessment of the quality of abstract thinking of two cohorts of South African university entrants who had very good school leaving qualifications. The investigation was prompted by the observation of difficulties these students seemed to have had in a first…