This research aimed to develop an assessment tool for students' Positive Experiences about Science (PES). A preliminary version of PSE was developed through literature review, consisting of academic emotion, self-concept, learning motivation, career aspiration, and attitude in science. A pilot test was conducted with 198 students and a main test…

An investigation was designed to reveal, describe, and assess the rote-level and meaningful-level understandings students attained as they progressed through the learning of new concepts. This study used an assessment technique used in previous research called "mental modeling" to ascertain the nature (meaningful, rote) of the…

This 1-week study explored the extent to which high school students (n=140) acquired meaningful understanding of selected biological topics (meiosis and the Punnett square method) and the relationship between these topics. This study: (1) examined "mental modeling" as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the…

This study investigated the retention of meaningful understanding of the biological topics of meiosis, the Punnett square method and the relations between these two topics. This study also explored the predictive influence of students' general tendency to learn meaningfully or by rote (meaningful learning orientation), prior knowledge of meiosis,…

The learning approaches of secondary students were studied for 495 eighth-, tenth- and twelfth-grade students in Singapore. The focus was on determining: (1) the dominant approach used by students in learning different academic subjects (English, Chinese, mathematics, and science); (2) the motive-strategy consequence in learning these different…