When computer scientists discuss the computational complexity of, for example, finding the shortest path from building A to building B in some town or city, their starting point typically is a formal description of the problem at hand, e.g., a graph with weights on every edge where buildings correspond to vertices, routes between buildings to…

Following collaboration between two chemistry lecturers and an academic developer an attempt was made to enhance the learning of students within a chemistry module through the adaptation of the delivery of content material. This paper reports a piece of practitioner led research which considered how effective the approach developed was upon the…

For collaboration in learning situations, it is important to know what the collaborators know. However, developing such knowledge is difficult, especially for newly formed groups participating in a computer-supported collaboration. The solution for this problem described in this paper is to provide to group members access to the knowledge…

Solving new problems can be made easier if one can build on experiences with other problems one has already successfully solved. The ability to exploit earlier problem-solving experiences in solving new problems seems to require several cognitive sub-abilities. Minimally, one needs to be able to retrieve relevant knowledge of earlier solved…

As technologies have become an integral part of our lives, the way we read and understand text has changed drastically. In this paper, we discuss how various technologies support learners' reading and writing skills within the context of meaningful learning. Next, using elaborated cases, we argue that situating learners in problem solving…

This article critically reviews the extant literature on scientific creativity and metaphorical thinking. Metaphorical thinking is based on a conceptual transfer of relationships or mapping, from a well-known source domain to a poorly known target domain, which could result in creative outcomes in sciences. Creativity leads to products that are…

Cognitive scientists have studied internal cognitive structures, processes, and systems for decades in order to understand how they function in human learning. In order to solve challenging tasks in problem situations, learners not only have to perform cognitive activities, e.g., activating existing cognitive structures or organizing new…

This phenomenographic study documented changes in student-held electrical concepts the development of meaningful learning among students with both low and high prior knowledge within a problem-based learning (PBL) undergraduate electrical engineering course. This paper reports on four subjects: two with high prior knowledge and two with low prior…

Over three days, 180 junior and senior high school English teachers, postsecondary (university and college) writing instructors, workplace (corporate and small business) writing instructors, and government officials who are responsible for portfolios related to workforce training and literacy met to understand from a broad systems-level…

The capability of solving fundamental mathematical problems is essential to elementary school students; however instruction based on ordinary narration usually perplexes students. Concept mapping is well known for its effectiveness on assimilating and organizing knowledge, which is essential to meaningful learning. A variety of concept map-based…

Problem solving has been increasingly used as an important approach to learning especially in ill-structured domains. It is assumed that knowledge can be better consolidated and extended through problem-solving experience. However, many learners do not have the ability to separate general knowledge from specific cases, which inhibits successful…

The purpose of the study was to explore that using creative problem solving can promote students' performance of concept mapping (CMPING). Students were encouraged to use creative problem solving (CPS) in constructing nanometer knowledge structure, and then to promote the performance of CMPING. The knowledge structure was visualized through…

Problem solving is a highly valued skill in chemistry. Courses within this discipline place a substantial emphasis on problem-solving performance and tend to weigh such performance heavily in assessments of learning. Researchers have dedicated considerable effort investigating individual factors that influence problem-solving performance. The…

The term "restriction endonuclease mapping" covers a number of related techniques used to identify specific restriction enzyme recognition sites on small DNA molecules. A method for restriction endonuclease mapping of a 1,000-basepair (bp)-long DNA molecule is described in the fictitious experiment of this test. The most important fact needed to…

The purpose of this study was to determine the metaphors used by students to describe mathematical problem solving. This study focused on identifying how students interpret and perceive mathematical problem solving via conceptual metaphors (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003). These perceptions and interpretations were coded and analyzed qualitatively and…