Structural concepts are fundamentals of civil engineering for students to learn, for lecturers to teach and for engineers to use. Many students however find it difficult to understand structural concepts due to their abstract nature. "Seeing and Touching Structural Concepts" has been developed as an approach to help civil engineering…

Introduction: Although studies of peoples' knowledge and beliefs about Human Papillomavirus have provided good information to the medical community, few, if any, have addressed how young people construct an understanding of the virus in realistic contexts. This is problematic because increasingly people are turning to the internet for health…

Purpose: We set out in this study to establish a foundation for a line of inquiry around teacher trust in district administration by (1) describing the role of trust in capacity building, (2) conceptualizing trust in district administration, (3) developing a scale to measure teacher trust in district administration, and (4) testing the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive predictors of calculations and number line estimation with whole numbers and fractions. At-risk 4th-grade students (N = 139) were assessed on 6 domain-general abilities (i.e., working memory, processing speed, concept formation, language, attentive behavior, and nonverbal reasoning) and…

Introduction: With regard to the internal/external frame of reference model of academic self-concept development the present study aimed at testing its theoretical assumptions within the verbal domain--namely to analyze the relations between achievement and self-concept in the native language German (L1) and the foreign language English (L2). Due…

Ontologies have often been recommended for E-learning systems, but few efforts have successfully incorporated student data to represent knowledge conceptualizations. Defining key concepts and their relations between each other establishes the backbone of our E-learning system. The system guides an individual student through his/her course by…

Freshmen with declared life-science majors typically matriculate with a determination to succeed. However, inadequately-prepared students are easily overwhelmed and at risk of abandoning their aspirations for a STEM career. The investigator designed and taught weekly recitations for approximately 850 students during a five-year span, and…

This study examines students' understanding of the normative connections between key concepts of cell division, including both mitosis and meiosis, and underlying biological principles that are critical for an in-depth understanding of genetic inheritance. Using a structural equation modeling method, we examine middle school students'…

A model of conceptual change in physics was tested on introductory-level, college physics students. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to conceptual change in physics including an approach goal orientation, need for cognition, motivation, and course grade. Conceptual change in physics…

This study examined the effects of types of representations, constructivist teaching approaches, and student engagement on middle school algebra students' procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding. Data gathered from 16 video lessons and algebra pretest/posttests were used to run three multilevel structural equation models. Symbolic…

Many models in science education have tried to clarify the causal relationships of affective variables on student performance, by presenting theoretical models, exploratory SEM (structural equation models), and confirmatory SEM. Based on the literature, the recent AS-TI-CU model scrutinised the most robust stimuli of conceptual understanding (CU):…

Regional Australian students were surveyed to explore their understanding and knowledge of the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion and climate change. Results were compared with a parallel study undertaken in 1991 in a regional UK city. The comparison was conducted to investigate whether more awareness and understanding of these issues is…

Recent research has shown interest in studying the relationship between epistemological beliefs and numerous aspects of learning. A new question interests us: Is this kind of relationship homogeneous across cultures? This study focuses on the relationship between epistemological beliefs, learning conceptions, and approaches to study. A sample of…

While much research has outlined the importance of intra-psychic factors in predicting workplace success, it is rare that attention is given to the development of these factors in training for human service professions (e.g. psychology, clergy, nursing). Accordingly, the present study explores differences in self-concept, a key intra-psychic…

Investigates the mediating effect of learner self-concept between conceptions of learning and students' approaches to learning using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that learner self-concept does mediate between conceptions of meaning and approaches to learning. Implications for teachers are discussed, with consideration given to…