One of the crucial 21st-century digital skills, in the context of digital transformation, is problem solving--equally so in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In the context of kindergarten, learning through play is central; therefore, pretend play, and particularly guided pretend play, is suggested as an…

This article discusses a pedagogical technique for utilizing breakout rooms for small group discussions and synchronous drawing features in Zoom to create crowdsourced solutions to mathematical problems that involve graphing or visualization. Students begin with specific examples and then move quickly to the development of a more general…

In this Perspectives article, the author grapples with the personal challenges of attempting to do ethical and high-quality research in the post world of the maturing 21st century. Among the challenges addressed are matters of purported relevance of research, equity research conducted by nonmembers of equity-seeking groups, the impact of rankings…

The article describes a methodology for studying Fresnel diffraction with the active involvement of students in discussing the results of a demonstration experiment. To create a clearly visible model of Fresnel zones, a centimeter radio wave range was chosen, in which the first zone is about 10 cm in size. This makes visible the created…

Purpose: Problem solving skills (PSS), an important component of learning outcomes, is one of the desirable skills in engineering graduates as stated by many employers, researchers and government bodies in India for a strong foothold in professional world. There is a need to develop comprehensive understanding and integration of theory (concept)…

The use of the flipped classroom (FC) model in higher education is becoming increasingly common. Although the FC model has many benefits, there are some limitations using this model for learners who do not have self-directed learning skills and do not have a developed learner autonomy. One of these limitations is that students with low academic…

The research presented is of an investigation into the critical thinking (CT) and problem solving (PS) abilities used by high school technology and engineering (T/E) students when attempting to achieve a viable solution for an authentic engineering design-no-make challenge presented outside the context of the classroom in which their STEM content…

The presence of research regarding specific student populations demonstrates their importance to the field given the importance of research and knowledge creation in shaping higher education. A growing number of higher education scholar-practitioners have engaged in work addressing college sport but an overwhelming dearth of college sport and…

Visual representations, such as diagrams, are known to be valuable tools in problem solving and proof construction. However, previous studies have shown that simply having access to a diagram is not sufficient to improve students' performance on mathematical tasks. Rather, students must actively extract information about the problem scenario from…

Diagrams are ubiquitous in physics, especially in physics education and physics problem solving. Physics problem solvers may generate diagrams to orient to a scenario, to organize information, to directly obtain an answer, or as a tool of communication. In this study, we asked 19 undergraduate and graduate physics majors to answer 18…

This study aimed to investigate the effects of feedback types and opportunities to change answers on the learners' achievement and their ability to solve physics problems. We compared three feedback types, namely (1) static feedback with hints, (2) reducing feedback with hints, and (3) knowledge of response, and two types of opportunities to…

The "School Strike 4 Climate" is a timely opportunity for education and research sectors to support youth stories in climate change policy, and foster impactful relationships between researchers, teachers and students. But much research in this space has inherent selection biases where youth representation in research is limited by place…

Background: Unaided communication behaviours may provide communication support for persons with severe cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), as these individuals often experience severe communication difficulties, regardless of the aetiology. Though often subtle, these behaviours are present during all stages of recovery, and therefore communication…

Most of humanity's important and difficult problems such as pandemics, environmental health, and social unrest require recognizing and understanding complex systems. Students often have difficulty understanding complex systems concepts and previous research indicates that scaffolded computer simulations may facilitate learning. Few studies,…

Background: Engineering programs have increasingly incorporated design challenges into courses. These design challenges vary in the degree to which they present complex, ill-structured, and relevant problems, and therefore may vary in the degree to which they support students to learn to frame design problems. Purpose/Hypothesis: We characterized…