Insights on students' own authentic design practices--nascent design practices without much adult guidance--are crucial to informing responsive facilitation of engineering design tasks. This study unpacks how elementary students interpret teacher given information about a design task, and interact with each other and given resources, to traverse a…

The aim of this study is to investigate Norwegian primary school students' multimodal mathematical reasoning when solving combinatorial problems. The data collection took place in four small groups of altogether thirteen 8-9 years old third-graders. Our study shows a variety of approaches used to solve the given combinatorial problems, such as…

We explored the role of three math instructional practices by teachers (explicit instruction, guided practice, peer interaction) in predicting current Spanish and English reading comprehension and later Spanish and English math problem-solving performance of English learners (ELs). In this study, math was taught in Spanish. We had 26 teachers and…

Problem-based learning (PBL) offers a powerful approach to engage students in meaningful learning experiences by connecting classroom content to real-world challenges. This Spotlight explores how PBL can be implemented across K-12 to foster critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. From preparing students for the workforce…

Determining the most effective ways to support student-to-student talk requires some negotiating from a responsive teacher. This paper reports on a case study of two emergent multilingual students in Grade 3 (seven to eight-year-olds) who explained their strategies to each other. The transcript of their conversation was analysed using Chan and…

This article explores the usefulness of detective role-play as a research method to facilitate young children's critical thinking. The study examines four specifically designed detective play experiences, adopting an ethical rights-based approach to research with children. This qualitative multiple-case study is grounded in play-based pedagogy…

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…

Argumentation is an important aspect in the field of education because of its impact on learning processes. At the same time, argumentation is a complex activity in terms of cognitive, relational, emotional and social dynamics. In this paper, I investigate and I describe possible difficulties encountered by children during the argumentative…

"Nature-based learning" is learning through exposure to nature and nature-based activities (Jordan and Chawla 2019). Nature and mathematics can be connected through teaching and learning with natural materials (objects from nature) or teaching and learning in outside spaces. In this article, the authors elaborate on the rationale for…

This study investigated children's cooperative problem solving (CPS) behaviors during play in classrooms and associated influencing factors (school, age, and gender) in a Chinese kindergarten and U.S. early learning center. Four- and five-year-old participants (n = 39) were from one Chinese kindergarten and one U.S. center. They were video…

Background and Context: Various coding initiatives and materials exist such as those on Code.org site to promote students' computational thinking (CT). However, little is known as to: (a) whether such materials, in fact, promote CT and (b) how CT skills are related to each other. Objective: As a preliminary step to identify CT skills addressed in…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and assess collaborative problem solving (CPS) behaviors in elementary students in science, technology, engineering, arts/humanities and mathematics (STEAM)- related making and to garner students perspectives. We offer a valid way for researchers to understand collaborative processes and for…

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of teachers in kindergarten through first grade utilizing digital technologies to engage elementary students during mathematics instruction. This phenomenological study was guided by the following research questions. (1) How do elementary…

Compelling research evidence shows benefits for student learning from explaining one's ideas and engaging with the ideas of others. However, whether certain patterns of group interaction may engender this productive student participation is unknown. Using data from two third grade mathematics classrooms, and over the course of six days during a…

This paper reports on a project that sought to enhance problem-solving practices within a cluster of primary schools. In-service teachers' description of their approach to problem-solving suggested it was treated as an isolated practice that occurred after concepts had been taught; often focusing on teaching particular problem-solving strategies…