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Background: Valuable safeguards against fast-spreading conjectures about learning in times of fear and uncertainty are evidence-based approaches to the assessment of the impact of sudden and unforeseen disruptions on learning practices. The present research focused on physics learning in such times because conceptual and computational literacy in physics is critical to the development of a scientifically and technologically literate society. Objectives: The present research aimed (a) to offer an objective assessment of whether performance differences in a physics course of the general education curriculum existed between the face-to-face medium (familiar mode of instruction) and the online medium (unfamiliar mode of instruction) for both male and female students, and then (b) to develop a response to the evidence collected to ensure a quality education for all parties involved. The research intended to fill two critical gaps in the extant literature: mixed findings concerning students' performance in the face-to-face and online mediums as well as scarce coverage of specific domains of knowledge that are critical to STEM learners. Methods: Students' performance was examined as a function of the type of assessment (formative and summative), instructional mode (online and face-to-face), and gender. An understudied student population of STEM students of Middle Eastern descent without prior formal exposure to online instruction was targeted. Results and Conclusions: In both formative and summative assessments, male students performed better online than face-to-face, whereas the performance of female students was either higher online or equivalent between instructional mediums. The evidence collected suggested that consideration be given to remedies that foster academic success in the face-to-face instructional medium, particularly for male students. Takeaways: An evidence-based approach to learning dismantled emotion-driven expectations regarding the impact of the online medium on physics learning, and encouraged new perspectives about instruction.

According to the extant literature, inquiry-based learning instruction can be an effective pedagogical tool as it frames learning as problem-solving activities. However, considerable debate exists about how to implement inquiry-based instruction. The present study compared the academic performance and engagement (as measured by course learning outcomes) of freshmen exposed to one of two inquiry-based learning modes differing in the volume of load-reducing instruction. The context was a writing-intensive, research-oriented course that enrolled second-language speakers with a didactic past. Thus, the study also examined whether the two modes differentiated freshmen's second-language writing anxiety, a key emotive negative reaction likely to emerge in a writing-intensive course. At the end of the semester, the condition that involved greater load-reducing instruction before problem-solving activities yielded superior attainment of learning outcomes encompassing knowledge acquisition and use of problem-solving skills. No differences in engagement, withdrawal rates, or writing anxiety were detected. Writing anxiety was only minimally related to students' performance and engagement as measured by the course learning outcomes. These findings illustrate that ostensibly minimal variations in the implementation of inquiry-based learning can have a selective impact on cognitive rather than emotive processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this action-research study, the inquiry phase aims to examine the extent to which self-evaluations of Math prerequisite competency relate to the past and current Math performance of STEM female students from a society emerging from strict patriarchy. Its ancillary aim is to determine whether attitudes toward Math and its instruction and assessment are related to past and current performance. Undergraduate Engineering and Computer Science students were surveyed at the start of a Calculus course. As per earlier courses, Calculus was taught through an inquiry-based learning model. Findings illustrated that Math prerequisite competency was underestimated relative to past performance but accurate relative to current performance. Positive attitudes towards Math were correlated with past but not current performance. Students' preferences for modes of instruction and assessment suggested areas of improvement. During the pragmatic phase of the study, these findings informed instructional changes to enhance Math learning in Engineering and Computer Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased popularity of inquiry-based instruction, there is a paucity of research that directly compares the impacts of inquiry-based approaches on student learning outcomes.The present field study examined the impact of two types of inquiry-based learning on performance in a research-oriented assignment.In an introductory psychology course, the assignment was presented through either a partially student-directed learning (SDL) approach (serving as the control condition) or a SDL approach (serving as the treatment condition). Students were first-year students with a didactic instructional past.Student-directed learning, which was characterized by a high degree of SDL and a limited contribution by the instructor, was found to yield higher performance. Although there were no prior differences in self-efficacy and assignment performance between the two groups, SDL also yielded higher final test performance.These findings suggest that students can benefit from being challenged, and that initial apprehension may be a motivator for peer cohesiveness and ultimately exerted effort.The SDL approach may be further investigated as a viable instructional method to enrich students’ learning opportunities as well as reinforce their sense of agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research compares the effects of mentally recreating the experience of realizing that a desirable goal had been achieved (outcome simulation exercise) with those of mentally recreating the actions that might lead to the desirable goal (process simulation exercise). It asked whether the performance benefits of process simulations over outcome simulations, which have been reported in students enrolled in face-to-face classes, would generalize to an online environment. The process simulation exercise was expected to foster attention to the antecedents of good grades, thereby improving class performance relative to the outcome simulation exercise which was intended to be merely motivational. College students from the Middle East, who were taking classes online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participated. Type of simulation impacted students' performance on assignments, but differently depending on the timing of the assessment. It did not influence behavioral engagement, midterm test performance, or predictions of performance before or after the test. Instead, process simulation enhanced students' confidence in their predictions. These findings suggest that process simulation exercises may be useful learning props for activities that challenge students' problem-solving skills (e.g., assignments) rather than engage well-practiced study habits (e.g., tests). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]