STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has become a global focus to foster learners' Twenty first-century skills and achieve the sustainable development of society. Design challenges present children with a real-world design problem to solve, as design challenges inspire children to think creatively and apply…

This case study was undertaken to characterise the interventions made by a kindergarten teacher during a multiplicative structure problem-solving lesson. The study findings show that when she realised the children were having difficulty, she provided assistance to enable them to find the right answer. When the children gave an incorrect response,…

This theoretical article examines the crucial role of play-based learning (PBL) in enhancing the mathematical skills of children in the Early Childhood Phase, referred to as Foundation Phase (Grade R-3) learners, within a South African context. The article argues that the traditional approach to teaching early childhood mathematics, where teachers…

This paper examines constructive play in the context of Waldorf and normative kindergartens in Israel. In conceptualizing the output of children's construction, the current research relies upon the fields of problem-solving and technological thinking, using the design process model. The research results were based on a sample of 39 construction…

Preschool teachers' questioning is an important part of the teaching and learning process as questions can drive children's thinking (Nappi 2017). As one of the most common pedagogical tasks in preschool, storytelling has the potential to bring the world to the classroom using imagined or real stories. However, to date, there is limited knowledge…

This meta-analysis study aimed to comprehensively examine the effect size of STEM practices on the development of students' problem-solving skills. By combining the results of 25 individual studies, the researchers can gain a holistic understanding of the overall impact of STEM approaches. Consequently, these studies were categorized according to…

This research, conducted between 2020 and 2024 in Romania, investigates the challenges and strategies related to teaching and solving mathematical word problems, based on insights from 163 teachers of grades 0 to 8. The study found that students often experience anxiety when solving word problems, especially during exams, due to difficulties with…

Preschool environments offer an abundance of opportunities for exploring the physical world where children can learn "engineering concepts" and "principles" (theories or laws). Yet how teachers design motivating conditions for engineering thinking has not been fully investigated. The study reported in this paper examined how…

This meta-analysis study aimed to comprehensively examine the effect size of STEM practices on the development of students' problem-solving skills. By combining the results of 25 individual studies, the researchers can gain a holistic understanding of the overall impact of STEM approaches. Consequently, these studies were categorized according to…

When thinking of early childhood STEM, images of active, play-based design challenges, experiences with robotics/coding, or hands-on experiences with open-ended materials (e.g., balls, ramps, loose parts) often come to mind. While these are certainly images that align with developmentally appropriate early childhood STEM practices, some of the…

The paper proposes in the first part a brief overview of teaching strategies, as flexible and operational approaches to action (which can be modified, reformed, changed). Among modern teaching strategies, an important place is occupied by interactive strategies which act beneficially in pedagogical processes, offering the possibility of…

Young children encounter uncertainty and challenges on a daily basis; through their intuitions, experiences and experimentation they construct knowledge, skills and dispositions towards probabilistic concepts. The aim of this exploratory ethnographic study is to identify how young children engage with probabilistic thinking and reasoning while…

Research Findings: This study explores how Chinese preschool teachers' enactment of Concept Development (CD) strategies, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), might effectively elicit children's higher-order thinking during whole-group science teaching. Participants included 25 Chinese preschool teachers and 800 young…

This article aims to provide a systematic review of existing research on the use of digital game-based learning (DGBL) technology for foreign language (English) in preschool and elementary schools. Digital game-based technology enables learning to become more interactive and inspirational, thereby enhancing language acquisition. The authors…

Non-digital games are a tool that can help children to build and improve problem solving skills in early mathematics learning. Teachers need to design a learning activity using non-digital games taken account problem solving skills in the learning activities. However, the application of problemsolving skills in early mathematics learning…