Integrating genetic engineering and molecular biology lab activities into open inquiry-based teaching is an innovative, unique process that has taken place in Israeli high schools since 2018, becoming part of biology studies for 11th- and 12th-grade students. Engaging these students in lab techniques and practices in this field enables them to…

Inquiry practices can be integrated into various settings that differ in terms of their constraints and hence in the scope and depth of the practices that students experience. Key policy papers suggest implementing a gradual learning sequence for inquiry practices so that students' learning experiences in more constrained settings can serve them…

In recent years teachers' education programs encourage preservice teachers to practice a variety of assessment methods to prepare them to be highly qualified practitioners who are capable in enhancing students' scientific understanding. Formative assessment (FA) -- also known as assessment for learning -- involves the process of seeking and…

The instructional lab setting has been found to be dominated by prescribed tasks and pre-prepared lab kits. This was explained by teachers' need to guide students to simultaneously progress through a lab curriculum, which prompts them to standardize the lab experience. Nevertheless, prominent professional associations have persistently called to…

In high-school teaching of mechanics, we deal, among other things, with the nature of static and kinetic friction, forces that are proportional to the normal force. Under the influence of frictional forces, a body moves down a rough sloped decline at a fixed rate of acceleration that is independent of its mass. This situation does not apply to…

In light of extensive research demonstrating widespread misconceptions about electricity, this paper describes a learning study that targeted the most likely source of difficulty--failure of middle school pupils to develop a mental model that serves as a bridge between static and current electricity. During the intervention, pupils first envision…

The current study focused on scaffolding programmes, including cognitive and meta-cognitive components, for science problem solving in a computerised learning environment to identify their unique effects on aspects of student motivation. Using expectancy-value theory as a conceptual framework, the current study focused on two motivational aspects:…

In this paper we describe an experiment in a linear algebra course. The aim of the experiment was to promote the students' understanding of the studied concepts focusing on their definitions. It seems to be a given that students should understand concepts' definitions before working substantially with them. Unfortunately, in many cases they do…

The current empirical study examines relationships between network measures and learning performance from a social network analysis perspective. We collected computerized, networking data to analyze how 401 junior high students connected to classroom peers using text- and video-based material on iPads. Following a period of computerized…

Computerized training systems offer a promising new direction in the training of executive functions, in part because they can easily be designed to offer feedback to learners. Yet, feedback is a double-edged sword, serving a positive motivational role while at the same time carrying the risk that learners may become dependent on the feedback they…

Background: The importance of knowledge and skills in mathematics for electrical engineering students is well known. Engineers and engineering educators agree that any engineering curriculum must include plenty of mathematics studies to enrich the engineer's toolbox. Nevertheless, little attention has been given to the possible contribution of…

Updating and maintenance of information are 2 conflicting demands on working memory (WM). We examined the time required to update WM (updating latency) as a function of the sequence of updated and not-updated items within a list. Participants held a list of items in WM and updated a variable subset of them in each trial. Four experiments that vary…

Self-efficacy is essential to learning but what happens when learning is done as a result of a collective process? What is the role of individual self-efficacy in collective problem solving? This research examines the manifestation of self-efficacy in prediction markets that are configured as collective problem-solving platforms and whether…

Mastery goals are generally considered the most adaptive achievement goals. In 2 studies, we tested whether, in line with self-determination theory, participants' experiences of autonomy support and autonomy would affect the relations between mastery goals and psychological outcomes. In Study 1 (an experiment), 117 college students, randomly…

This paper argues that all research should be based on humanistic pedagogies with educational functions. While conducting research associated with issues of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL), researchers should pay attention to whether the samples have also been well educated. This study emphasizes that when focusing on significances of…