This research investigated the effect of modeling activities on grade 5 students' informal reasoning about a real-life issue. An instrumental case study was conducted with 17 students (7 female and 10 male) at a public middle school in Turkey. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and student worksheets. The students' informal…

Some of the key challenges for STEM education in Turkey include the problems encountered by teachers when integrating diverse disciplines and technologies into STEM activities, the need for teachers to acquire the skills necessary to prepare and implement appropriate STEM activities for the educational level of their students and their school…

How does the act of explaining influence learning? Prior work has studied effects of explaining through a predominantly proximal lens, measuring short-term outcomes or manipulations within lab settings. Here, we ask whether the benefits of explaining extend to academic performance over time. Specifically, does the quality and frequency of student…

In order to expand previous intraindividual studies of student engagement we investigated students' observed engagement (i.e., on- and off-task behaviour), instructional activities (i.e., teacher-led whole class, individual work, pair-work, student-teacher interaction, assessment, and "other"), and self-reported learning experiences…

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) aim to engage students in complex mathematical practices, including modeling, reasoning, and argumentation. Currently, little is known about how teachers' daily instruction supports these practices. This study draws upon data from daily logs completed by third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade…

Background: Fractions continue to pose a critical challenge for students and their teachers alike. Mathematics education research indicates that the challenge with fractions may stem from the limitations of part-whole concepts of fractions, which is the central focus of fractions curriculum and instruction in the USA. Students' development of more…

Digital literacies have fast become indispensable for productive engagement, competency, and citizenship in a rapidly changing world. After-school programs represent an important venue where many young people can develop a mastery of digital literacies, encompassing both the creative and responsible use of a broad range of new media. This paper…

This study presents a mobile exploration activity that guides elementary students to learn during a social science activity with digital support from mobile devices and wireless communications. The students are situated in both the real world and the virtual world to extend their learning experiences. The learning activities between the field and…