TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a long-standing international assessment of mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades, collecting trend data every four years since 1995. Over 70 countries rely on TIMSS to monitor their education systems in a global context, benchmarking national curricula and…

The individual problem-solving (IPS) and collaborative problem-solving (CPS) have received a lot of attention, yet little research has been conducted to investigate whether CPS and IPS are equally effective in improving students' understanding of physics concepts, problem-solving abilities, and minimizing achievement gaps. Therefore, the present…

Reflective thinking skills are thought to be an important factor affecting the success of problem solving both routine and non-routine science problems. This research aimed to determine the relationship between eighth-grade students' reflective thinking skills toward problem-solving and their level of solving routine and non-routine science…

Modelling ability is one of the essential elements of the latest educational reforms, and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a curriculum-based assessment which allows educational systems worldwide to inspect the curricular influences. The aims of this study were to examine the role of modelling ability in the…

This study explores the use of the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), a neuro-fuzzy approach, to analyze the log data of technology-based assessments to extract relevant features of student problem-solving processes, and develop and refine a set of fuzzy logic rules that could be used to interpret student performance. The log data that…

The present study examined to what extent inquiry-based investigation as an instructional approach associated with students' overall science achievement and achievement in cognitive domains, including knowing science facts, applying scientific principles, and reasoning with scientific concepts to solve problems. Using TIMSS 2007 science…

Research studies that deal with student ability to investigate and carry out inquiry oriented investigations often call for educational practitioners to pay particular attention to incorporating the skills of scientific inquiry in the process of teaching and learning. This has the aim of helping learners acquire the skills needed to become problem…

South Africa participated in TIMSS from 1995 to 2015. Over these two decades, some positive changes have been reported on the aggregated mathematics performance patterns of South African learners. This paper focuses on the achievement patterns of South Africa's high-performing Grade 9 learners (n = 3378) in comparison with similar subsamples of…

The U.S. educational system is undergoing rapid and substantial changes with many states grappling with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM). Important research questions remain unanswered regarding the potential efficacy of the CCSSM to improve student math performance compared with students around the globe.…

Effort to determine teachers' effects on students has been continuously made with national data. However, paucity of research has been conducted on how teachers' instructional strategies impact on student learning with national data, although instructional theories suggest a direct relationship between instructional strategies and learning…

Deictic linking gestures, hand and arm motions that physically embody links being communicated between two or more objects in the shared communicative environment, are explored in a cross-cultural sample of mathematics instruction. Linking gestures are specifically examined here when they occur in the context of communicative analogies designed to…

Students' frequent exposure to inquiry-based science teaching is presumed more effective than their exposure to traditional didactic instruction in helping improve competence in content knowledge and problem solving. Framed through theoretical perspectives of inquiry-based instruction and culturally relevant pedagogy, this study examines this…

There is continuing interest in the identification of student and instructional factors associated with the mathematics achievement of students in Japan. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments have provided opportunities to examine factors associated with mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study was…

The aim of this study is to evaluate the reasoning skills in geometry-related subjects of six 8th Grade students. The study data were obtained at the end of the 2011-2012 spring period in a public elementary school. The study uses a case study with qualitative research techniques to investigate how students use reasoning skills. In this study, six…

The "Comparative Indicators of Education" report series has been published on a biennial basis since it began in 2002, although this year's is the first to expand its focus to the G-20 countries, having previously been focused on the G-8 countries. "Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-20 Countries:…