Load reduction instruction (LRI) is an instructional approach designed to manage the cognitive load on students as they learn complex learning materials. According to Cognitive Load Theory, complex learning is associated with high cognitive load and when not effectively managed, could impede learning. Inquiry-based learning with hands-on…

We discuss how research on student difficulties was used as a guide to develop, validate, and evaluate a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) to help students learn how to determine the completely symmetric bosonic or completely antisymmetric fermionic wave function and be able to compare and contrast them from the case when the particles…

Despite increased research interest in improving students' scientific inquiry abilities, how to conduct scientific inquiry using science textbooks that are easily accessible to primary school students remains understudied. This study developed and verified an inquiry activity model (IAM) to improve the performance of primary school students in…

Advances in embodied learning and the use of gesture has gained greater interest amongst educators and researchers in recent years. The emerging evidence supporting the use of physical enactment rather than just auditory modes of instruction remains unresolved. This paper investigates the pedagogical methods used by a science teacher instructing a…

Recent instructional reforms in science education aim to change the way students engage in learning in the discipline, as they describe that students are to engage with disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and the practices of science to make sense of phenomena (NRC, 2012). For such sensemaking to become a reality, there is a need to…

We use the Survey of Thermodynamic Processes and First and Second Laws-Long, a research-based survey instrument with 78 items at the level of introductory physics, to investigate introductory and advanced students' difficulties with internal energy, work, and heat transfer. We present analysis of data from 12 different introductory and advanced…

Difficulties presented by students on the concept of instantaneous velocity are well known. This is in part due to instantaneous speed being often defined in terms of the notion of mathematical limit, which may not be clear to many students in introductory physics courses. In this work we present a complementary teaching proposal that can help…

Although there has been extensive research on students' understanding of the particulate nature of matter (PNM), there is still a lack of research on contexts that can be used to teach this challenging topic. In a previous design-based research study, the authors developed a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) on the PNM in the context of crystal…

Australia-wide consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology. The "movement of substances" core concept with the descriptor "the movement of substances (ions or molecules) is a fundamental process that occurs at all levels of organization in the organism" was unpacked by a team of three Australian physiology…

The flipped classroom teaching model has been widely used in anatomy education to embrace a blended learning strategy. However, the impact that a continuous flipped classroom teaching model exerts on student learning of human topographic anatomy remains unclear. To address this question, student learning experience and performance were compared…

Complex subjects such as physiology can be challenging for students to learn. These challenges are not uncommon in implementing the learning process in physiology and affect learning outcomes. Dramatization is an interactive and effective method to improve learning outcomes. In a project designed by senior medical students, junior medical students…

Of the three main subdivisions in chemistry, physical chemistry often presents a challenge when delivered to those not majoring in chemistry or its cognate disciplines. This is, at least in part, due to the seemingly unrelatedness of the subject to students' anticipated career. We describe the redesign of a nested physical chemistry course for…

Inquiry is one integral part of science learning. Understanding the underlining meaning and the complete procedures of inquiry-based laboratories would be beneficial to student teachers' future work. Therefore, it is necessary for student teachers to perform inquiry-based laboratories and know how to demonstrate them to school students. However,…

Organic chemistry is notorious for being difficult to learn. Herein we describe a two-pronged approach to engage students in the ability to afford successful knowledge building. We have drawn on focus group interviews with students to show that the approach is appreciated by the students. The two prongs comprise peer learning in small groups and…

Analogies are used to make abstract topics meaningful and more easily comprehensible to learners. Incorporating simple analogies into STEM classrooms is a fairly common practice, but the analogies are typically generated and explained by the instructor for the learners. We hypothesize that challenging learners to create complex, extended analogies…