In the first part, we investigate Birman, Ko, and Lee's left canonical form of a braid and give a new diagrammatic approach. We use the left canonical form to characterize almost strongly quasipositive braids. In the second part, we investigate students' confidence in mathematics and problem solving skills. Every math instructor has heard students…

The relationship between computational thinking (CT) and academic self-efficacy for building students' academic resilience--a trait crucial for problem-solving, peer relationships, and confidence development--was investigated. A mixed-methods approach was employed in a study involving 60 participants; half were given CT instruction and half were…

This study explores the self-efficacy and problem-solving skills of middle school mathematics students. The students -- 111 9th graders who were studying a unit for the analysis of function -- were given mathematics instruction that was based on either dynamic or static visualization. Findings revealed a positive impact of instruction that was…

When Daisy Han first encountered a Montessori classroom, she actually felt free. Free to move, free to create, free to explore, free to try, free to fail, free to be. This freedom is essential to becoming an innovator. Innovators possess an irreverence almost as big as their self-efficacy, both of which have been nurtured in an environment where…

Flipped learning has attracted increasing attention in all grade levels in recent years and becomes an alternative to the traditional model. Even though there is a large body of research on flipped classrooms, they usually ignore the learning theories that were used to construct the curriculum and instead concentrate on the degree to which using…

The common problems faced by most students in learning mathematics include their inability to answer problem-solving questions and low mathematical self-efficacy. Search, Solve, Create and Share (SSCS) is a teaching model that provides opportunities for students to enhance their problem-solving skills and self-efficacy. This quasi-experimental…

Science and art are intrinsically linked. Science requires curiosity, along with skills in observation, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Art is no different; however, the two disciplines are typically presented as opposites to children at a young age and the emphasis on differences lead to a false dichotomy of career paths and even…

Despite the call for instructional designers to employ design thinking as a means to foster creativity in problem-solving, many students struggle with enacting creative risk. While several studies have been conducted studying how instructional designers engage in problem-solving to contend with project constraints, few have addressed whether this…

Despite problem posing's prominence in mathematics education research, its implementation in classrooms is limited. Therefore, teacher educators should incorporate problem posing tasks into preparation programs to help prospective teachers gain confidence in their abilities. One approach to teaching problem posing includes providing examples. The…

Previous research suggests that teachers' adoption of inquiry-based teaching is influenced by school culture's openness to creative solutions, with teachers' self-efficacy in inquiry-based teaching acting as a mediator. However, considering the potential impact of local educational and socio-cultural context on teachers' behavior, findings from…

While inquiry-based pedagogy is expected to prepare students well for their future life and work in the modern world, research indicates that teachers still prefer the more traditional lecture-based teaching practices. To explore better the issues underpinning the adoption of inquiry-based teaching, this study hypothesized that inquiry-based…

Solving a novel problem has recently garnered some attention as a viable alternative to traditional explicit instruction in the preparation of students for learning. This study investigated the effectiveness of introducing problem-solving tasks and worked examples prior to explicit instruction, along with the use of contrast, for gifted and…

The development of multiple solutions for a given problem is important for learning mathematics. In the present intervention study, we analyzed whether prompting students to construct multiple solutions (more precisely: prompting them to apply multiple mathematical procedures to real-world problems) and prior self-efficacy influenced students'…

The concept of Action Competence (AC) has been interpreted in different ways in various domains of the educational sciences. Given the rising scholarly attention to AC, these diverse interpretations are problematic because they hinder a common understanding of the concept among scholars. We unravel the interpretation of AC as a competence of…

Anatomy is one of the leading subjects in health science, and students need a strong anatomy background in these fields. Traditional lecturer-oriented anatomy education is based predominantly on passive learning methods. In recent years, alternative educational methods like hands-on art and 3D atlas-based education methods have become more popular…