The paper introduces a set of formative assessment tasks and rubrics that were developed for use in an introductory physics instruction to help students acquire and self-assess various scientific process abilities. We will describe the rubrics, tasks, and the student outcomes in courses where the tasks and rubrics were used.

In the context of the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) of the Hubbard model, we study the behavior of the compressibility near the density driven Mott transition at finite temperatures. We demonstrate this divergence using DMFT and quantum Monte Carlo simulations in the one-band and the two-band Hubbard model. We supplement this result with considerations based on the Landau theory framework, and discuss the relevance of our results to the alpha-gamma end point in cerium.

The Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) engages students in processes mirroring the practice of science. Laboratories play a central role in this learning environment. Students in ISLE laboratories design their own experiments to investigate new phenomena, test hypotheses, and solve realistic problems. We discuss various issues associated with implementing these labs in large enrollment introductory physics courses. We present examples of experiments that students design, include a sample of student work, and discuss issues related to the choice of experiments for design and practical implementation. We also review assessment techniques and show results of students’ acquisition and transfer of some laboratory-related abilities.

Asian education is known for its examination-driven orientation, with the downsides of distorting the processes of learning and teaching, diminishing students' interest in learning, and failing to nurture twenty-first century competencies among students. As a group of Asian researchers, we have been developing Interest-Driven Creator (IDC) Theory, a design theory based on three anchored concepts, namely interest, creation, and habit. Each of these anchored concepts is represented by a loop composed of three components. In the interest loop, the three components are triggering, immersing, and extending. The components of the creation loop are imitating, combining, and staging. The habit loop consists of cuing environment, routine, and harmony. These three loops are interconnected in various ways, with their characteristics revealed by the design process. We hypothesize that technologysupported learning activities that are designed with reference to IDC Theory will enable students to develop interest in learning, be immersed in the creation process, and, by repeating this process in their daily routines, strengthen habits of creation. Furthermore, students will excel in learning performance, develop twenty-first century competencies, and become lifelong interest-driven creators. To sharpen our understanding and further the development of the theory, we need more discussion and collaborative efforts in the community. Hypotheses arising from this theory can be tested, revised, or refined by setting up and investigating IDC Theory-based experimental sites. By disseminating the framework, foundations, and practices to the various countries and regions of Asia, we hope that it will bring about compelling examples and hence a form of quality education for the twenty-first century, which is an alternative to the examination-driven education system. In this paper, we present an overall introduction to IDC Theory and its history, and discuss some of the steps for advancing it in the future.

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The original version of this article omitted two citations. These papers provide a seminal description of retinal waves (Meister et al., 1991) and their effects on retinogeniculate patterning (Penn et al., 1998). These citations have been added, and the article has now been corrected online.

Interest-driven creator (IDC) theory is a design theory that intends to inform the design of future education in Asia. It consists of three anchored concepts, namely, interest, creation, and habit. This paper presents the third anchored concept habit as well as the habit loop. IDC theory assumes that learners, when driven by interest, can be engaged in knowledge creation. Furthermore, by repeating such process in their daily learning routines, learners will form interest-driven creation habits. The habit loop, the process of building such a habit, consists of three component concepts—cuing environment, routine, and harmony. The cuing environment is a habit trigger that tells the students’ brain to get prepared and go into an automatic mode, letting a learning behavior unfold. Routine refers to the behavioral patterns the students repeat most often, literally etched into their neural pathways. Harmony refers to the affective outcome of the routine activity as well as the integration or stabilization of habits; that is, through the routine behavior and action, students may feel that their needs get fulfilled, feel satisfied, and experience inner peace. It is our hope that such habitual behavior of creating knowledge can be sustained so long that students ultimately become lifelong interest-driven creators. This paper focuses on the description of the three components of the habit loop and discusses how these components are related to the interest loop and the creation loop in supporting learners in developing their interest-driven creation capability.

“Is this solution pink enough?” is a persistent question when it comes to phenolphthalein-based titration experiments, one that budding, novice scientists often ask their instructors. Lab instructors usually answer the inquiry with remarks like, “Looks like you have overshot the end point”, “Perhaps you should check the amount of the indicator and redo”, and “The pink can be fainter.” However, in a large classroom setting, it often becomes tedious for teachers to provide personalized remarks to students on their titration conduct at frequent intervals. In an effort to get the learners to become independent in evaluating their titration experiments, in this paper, the design, development, and implementation of a new smartphone tutor application named Titration ColorDarts (TCD) has been presented. TCD uses the camera function to analyze the pink color of the titration solution to provide learners with a feedback report on their experimental conduct. TCD maps the gradient of pink (from light to dark) to a corresponding performance score (on a scale of 1 to 10) and presents it in a gamified manner on a dartboard. It generates a report that includes question prompts and hints to elicit a learner’s reasoning for independently identifying potential sources of error in their experiment and for figuring out how they can be resolved. The results from the initial pilot exercise conducted with undergraduate students corroborate the effectiveness of TCD as a lab tutor.