Contribution: This study identifies the types of interaction that contribute to student learning with student-led tutorials (SLTs). The quality of these interactions include peer discussion, student tutor presentation, joint reasoning, and constructive feedback. Background: The introduction of SLTs in an advanced electromagnetics bachelor course…

Supporting students in building well-grounded explanations plays a crucial role in scientific practice. Research in organic chemistry education on students' mechanistic explanations, however, has revealed various challenges. When solving mechanistic tasks, students experience difficulties when (I) deriving implicit properties from structural…

Engineering tertiary courses that reflect professional activity mandate the successful application of theorems and concepts in order to solve technical problems. This graduate skill is typically assessed during student problem-solving activities. Furthermore, both collaborative learning and the interactive study method known as self-explanation…

This paper describes and analyses the implementation of a "flipped classroom" approach, in an undergraduate mathematics course on numerical methods. The approach replaced all the lecture contents by instructor-made videos and was implemented in the consecutive years 2014 and 2015. The sequential case study presented here begins with an…

Analysis of mathematical notations must consider both syntactical aspects of symbols and the underpinning mathematical concept(s) conveyed. We argue that the construct of "syntax template" provides a theoretical framework to analyse undergraduate mathematics students' written solutions, where we have identified several types of…

Increasing availability of digital devices in elementary school classrooms presents exciting new opportunities for teachers to support the teaching and learning of mathematics. Although many of the math applications available for these devices focus on drill and practice of mathematical procedures, screencasting apps can help support effective…

Legal reasoning is a type of problem solving, and is situated within thinking skills, one of the six threshold learning outcomes established under the auspices of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council's Bachelor of Laws Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Statement. The threshold learning outcomes define what law graduates are…

Single photon experiments involving a Mach-Zehnder interferometer can illustrate the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, e.g., the wave-particle duality of a single photon, single photon interference, and the probabilistic nature of quantum measurement involving single photons. These experiments explicitly make the connection between the…

The learning of solving multi-step problems is a relevant aim in chemical education for engineering students. In these questions, after analyzing initial data, a complex reasoning and an elaborated mathematical procedure is needed to achieve the correct numerical answer. However, many students are able to effectively use algorithms even with a…

We report on a project to introduce interactive learning strategies (ILS) to physics classes at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, one of the leading science universities in France. In Spring 2012, instructors in two large introductory classes, first-year, second-semester mechanics, and second-year introductory electricity and magnetism,…

This study attempted to determine the influence of prior knowledge in mathematics of students on learner-interface interactions in a learning-by-teaching intelligent tutoring system. One hundred thirty-nine high school students answered a pretest (i.e., the prior knowledge in mathematics) and a posttest. In between the pretest and posttest, they…

This article describes the development and implementation of an open-access organic chemistry question bank for online tutorials and assessments at University College Cork and Dublin Institute of Technology. SOCOT (structure-based organic chemistry online tutorials) may be used to supplement traditional small-group tutorials, thereby allowing…

This article explores the use of discourse analysis and conversation analysis as an evaluation tool in problem-based learning. The basic principles of the methods are discussed and their application in analysing talk in problem-based learning considered. Findings suggest that these methods could enable an understanding of how effective…

Describes the modeling approach as used in North Carolina State University's tutoring program. Reviews the modeling process, which focuses on teaching the process of problem solving through example. Discusses tutor training and the content of tutorial sessions. Outlines student benefits. (AYC)

A small-group tutorial technique is described that develops creative thinking in students having difficulties in problem solving. (MP)