Exploring the minds of STEM beginners

This research project investigated individual differences in basic cognitive abilities of undergraduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among students at ETH Zürich.

Additionally, the study examined which working memory components are related to performance on different ability tests, and whether this has implications on achievement prediction. Finally, the study also examined the interplay between cognitive factors and prior knowledge in mathematics in predicting STEM achievements. The study examined which working memory components are related to performance on different ability tests, and whether this has implications on achievement prediction. Finally, the study also examined the interplay between cognitive factors and prior knowledge in mathematics in predicting STEM achievements. Mathematics was best predicted by numerical, verbal and general reasoning abilities, and was weakly related to spatial abilities. Publications:

externe Seite Berkowitz, M., Edelsbrunner, P., Stern, E. (2022). The relation between working memory and mathematics performance among students in math-intensive STEM programs. Intelligence, 92, 101649

externe Seite Berkowitz M, Stern E. (2018). Which Cognitive Abilities Make the Difference? Predicting Academic Achievements in Advanced STEM Studies. 6(4):48. doi: 10.3390/jintelligence6040048. PMID: 31162475; PMCID: PMC6480791.

Investigator: Michal Berkowitz