Multiple external representations (MERs) are useful for teaching complex content in science education. An open question is whether there is an especially effective way to sequence MERs. On the one hand, the so-called concreteness fading approach suggests starting instruction with more concrete representations and proceeding stepwise to more…

We investigate students' eye movements when they solve sequential and simultaneous synthesis physics problems. In sequential synthesis problems, multiple events occur chronologically, whereas in simultaneous synthesis problems, multiple events take place concurrently. We captured students' eye fixations on each problem diagram and recorded their…

This study examines students' visual behaviors when they tackle two types of synthesis problems, sequential and simultaneous problems. Sequential synthesis tasks can be solved by applying pertinent concepts consecutively, whereas simultaneous synthesis tasks require concurrent application of multiple concepts. Twenty-two students from an…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of students' construction of scientific explanations through drawing explanatory diagrams. For this, we observed fifth and sixth graders' drawing processes in a gifted science class involving learning physics concepts in mechanics. The analysis was carried out on three pictorial…

STEM education is a pedagogical philosophy which aims to draw the interrelationship between science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve complex problems in real life situations. In order to use STEM education to foster students' learning, the researchers designed STEM activities for middle school students related to the concept of…

This study investigated students' modeling progress and strategies in a problem-solving simulation game through content analysis, and through supervised and unsupervised lag sequential analysis (LSA). Multiple data sources, including self-report models and activity logs, were collected from 25 senior high school students. The results of the…

Against a backdrop of advocacy for interdisciplinary STEM curricula, this paper explores the design principles underpinning a three-year longitudinal research project that develops and evaluates interdisciplinary mathematics and science learning sequences involving multiple teachers and student cohorts across the primary school years. The research…

The present study explores reasoning and argumentation in Greek mathematics and physics texts in specific topics related to the notion of periodicity. In our study, argumentation is taken as the sequence of the modes of reasoning (MsoR) that an author develops in a text when organizing and presenting new knowledge. Inductive content analysis was…

Game-based Learning (GBL) environments make instruction flexible and interactive. Positive experiences depend on personalization. Student modelling has focused on affect. Three methods are used: (1) recognizing the physiological effects of emotion, (2) reasoning about emotion from its origin and (3) an approach combining 1 and 2. These have proven…

Students in 4 Canadian high school physics classes completed instructional sequences in two key physics topics related to motion--Straight Line Motion and Newton's First Law. Different sequences of laboratory investigation, teacher explanation (lecture) and the use of computer-based scientific visualizations (animations and simulations) were…

Two approaches to the content of thermodynamics were used in an introductory college physics course: traditional organization and organization based on Ausubel's learning theory. The influence of these organizations on engineering student's (N=58) cognitive structure was investigated using a word association test analyzed through hierarchical…

Examines two instructional strategies, the traditional and learning cycle approaches, and compares them with regard to the variables of sequence, format, and necessity. Concludes that students exposed to the laboratory and discussion type had higher test scores than those in the lecture or reading groups. (Author/RT)

This investigation focuses upon the question of: (1) how naive subjects organize and represent knowledge when solving problems; (2) how previous experience of a novice is used in solving a problem; (3) what kinds of information and knowledge are sought as well as overlooked by novices when solving problems; (4) what kinds of strategies novices…