In this study, we propose an 'Approach to Modeling' (AtM) framework for examining how undergraduates approach tasks that require modelling scientific phenomena. Our framework is adapted from Approach to Learning (AtL) theories and consists of three observable behavioural constructs: metacognition, generative thinking, and causal reasoning. Twenty…

Digital education has recently become a mainstream education model. Despite digital education's increasing popularity, there remain issues when it comes to teacher-student interactions in digital space, which have made it impossible for this model to achieve the same teaching quality as traditional in-person education. Compared with other academic…

Design is a key element of both the teaching and learning of engineering and technology. However, the process of engineering design has yielded limited research results. This study explored the iterative design process by searching for sequential design thinking patterns. The researchers collected nine concurrent think-aloud protocols from…

We review and extend existing frameworks on modeling to develop a new framework that describes model-based reasoning in introductory and upper-division physics laboratories. Constructing and using models are core scientific practices that have gained significant attention within K-12 and higher education. Although modeling is a broadly applicable…

In this paper, we discuss the process of identifying and validating students' abilities to think proportionally. More specifically, we describe the methodology we used to identify these proportional reasoning attributes, beginning with the selection and review of relevant literature on proportional reasoning. We then continue with the…

The purpose of this study is to apply the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) to a subset of SAT critical reading items and illustrate how the method can be used to promote cognitive diagnostic inferences. The AHM is a psychometric procedure for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of attribute mastery patterns associated with…

Developing a cognitive model of task performance is an important and often overlooked phase in assessment design; failing to establish such a model can threaten the validity of the inferences made from the scores produced by an assessment (e.g., Leighton, 2004). Conducting think aloud interviews (TAIs), where students think aloud while completing…

Being able to make claims about what students know and can do in science involves gathering systematic evidence of students' knowledge and abilities. This paper describes an assessment system designed to elicit information from students at many placements along developmental trajectories and demonstrates how this system was used to gather…

The purpose of this study is to apply the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) to a sample of SAT algebra items administered in March 2005. The AHM is a psychometric method for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of structured attribute patterns associated with different components from a cognitive model of task performance. An…

The problem-solving processes and strategies of ten school principals with reputations for high effectiveness were studied. Verbal protocols were gathered through unstructured interviews while principals were working on a set of five cases. Analysis of the data was guided, but not constrained, by a set of processes and strategies for problem…

Presents results of a qualitative study of problem solving in the domain of instructional design. Novice and expert instructional designers worked on a "think aloud" design task, and their instruction protocols were analyzed for problem-solving processes. Analysis revealed that experts and novices used divergent design models and…