Related papers: Students' Interdisciplinary Reasoning about "High-…
The concept of chemical bonding is a crucial aspect of chemistry that aids in understanding the complexity and reactivity of molecules and materials. However, the interpretation of chemical bonds can be hindered by the choice of the…
Reform documents advocate for innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance student learning. A key innovation is the integration of science and engineering practices through Engineering Design (ED)-based physics laboratory tasks, where…
We investigate student understanding of energy and momentum concepts at the level of introductory physics by designing and administering a 25-item multiple choice test and conducting individual interviews. We find that most students have…
Researchers have argued against deficit-based explanations of students' troubles with mathematical sense-making, pointing instead to factors such as epistemology: students' beliefs about knowledge and learning can hinder them from…
In the U.S., introductory calculus-based courses often acts as a gatekeeper to STEM degrees. But access to the prerequisite math is far from equal--students from low-income and racially marginalized communities are far less likely to have…
Learning physics requires understanding the applicability of fundamental principles in a variety of contexts that share deep features. One way to help students learn physics is via analogical reasoning. Students can be taught to make an…
We use the Survey of Thermodynamic Processes and First and Second Laws-Long (STPFaSL-Long), a research-based survey instrument with 78 items at the level of introductory physics, to investigate introductory and advanced students'…
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly impacts professional practice, there is a growing need to AI-related competencies into higher education curricula. However, research on the implementation of AI education within study programs…
Due to inter-subunit communication, multisubunit enzymes usually hydrolyze ATP in a concerted fashion. However, so far the principle of this process remains poorly understood. In this study, from the viewpoint of statistical thermodynamics,…
Researchers have argued against deficit-based explanations of students' troubles with mathematical sense-making, pointing instead to factors such as epistemology: students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning can hinder them…
The current conventional approach in teaching STEM seems inadequate; it is failing both the students and the work-force demands in several aspects. Perhaps it is succeeding in equipping students with information and facts but surely falls…
The purpose of this brief note is that of discussing the meaning of the uncertainty relations involving energy and time in quantum mechanics by means of a reading of the classical works on the subject. This was written for undergraduate…
Nanotechnology has emerged as a broad, exciting, yet ill-defined field of scientific research and technological innovation. There are important questions about the technology's potential economic, social, and environmental implications. We…
The number of students with disabilities and specifically students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) entering postsecondary STEM education has been increasing in recent decades. However, many instructors and popular…
Asymptotic analysis provides powerful insights into physical systems by examining their behavior in limiting cases. This paper explores how extending this advanced methodology to high school physics education can deepen conceptual…
The activation of scientific concepts (such as association) is not only an important way for children to organize scientific knowledges, but also an important way for them to learn complex concepts (such as compound concepts composed of…
The traditional approach to studying student understanding presents a question and uses the student answers to make inferences about their knowledge. However, this method does not capture the range of possible alternative ideas available to…
Proteins are large and complex molecular machines. In order to perform their function, most of them need energy, e.g. either in the form of a photon, like in the case of the visual pigment rhodopsin, or through the breaking of a chemical…
A goal of Introductory Physics for Life Sciences (IPLS) curricula is to prepare students to effectively use physical models and quantitative reasoning in biological and medical settings. To assess whether this goal is being met, we…
Learning physics is a context dependent process. I consider a broader interdisciplinary problem of where differences in understanding and reasoning arise. I suggest the long run effects a multiple choice based learning system as well as…