Critical thinking is a combination of complex cognitive skills. It is important for the successful acquisition of disciplinary skills in higher education and thus, it is a valuable competency for a new student. The complex nature of critical thinking leads to challenges for its assessment even in performance assessments such as CLA + International…

Teachers' conceptions of teaching play a key role in the pedagogical practices they apply in their teaching. Previous studies of conceptions of teaching generic skills have been mainly qualitative with small samples, and thus there is a need for a more extensive quantitative study. This study investigates the associations between higher education…

This work addresses the importance of innovation in entrepreneurial and business education to ensure that students develop the ability to make complex decisions and solve complex challenges. The intention was to incorporate the complexity theory in decision-making and problem-solving in business and entrepreneurship. To achieve this, we present…

Understanding chemical models can be challenging for many university students studying chemistry. This study analysed students' understanding of molecular structures using the Lewis structure as a model, and examined what hinders their understanding. We conducted pre- and post-tests to analyse students' conceptions and changes in them. The…

Despite the emerging discussions about the growing role of engineers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a lack of agreement on which competences should be prioritised to prepare engineering students to resolve future sustainability challenges. This study examined and compared the views of key stakeholders of…

The high dependence on technology for economic activities in developed countries stresses the importance of lifelong learning in order to equip adult workers with the skills required to perform work related tasks, and also increase labor force participation. We use data from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult…

This article concerns mathematical project work in the context of Finnish StarT project competition. The focus is on how well pupils achieve the learning objective of their project work: learning mathematics and practicing 21st century skills. Development of the learning objectives is considered from the viewpoint of Finnish national core…

The Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S™) project undertook a research and development plan that included conceptualization of 21st century skills and assessment task development. Conceptualization focused on the definition of 21st century skills. This article outlines the particular case of one of these skills, collaborative…

Purpose: While the number of entrepreneurship education programmes offered around the world is on the rise, research into the assessment of entrepreneurship education programmes is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to take the stance that entrepreneurship education has to focus on a set of transversal competences aimed at teaching…

With regard to the growing interest in developing teacher education to match the twenty-first-century skills, while many assumptions have been made, there has been less theoretical elaboration and empirical research on this topic. The aim of this article is to present our pedagogical framework for the twenty-first-century learning practices in…

There has been a major shift in educational learning goals--as seen most recently by Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals--focused on global citizenship education and education for sustainable development. The shift concerns recognition of the need for education systems to equip learners with competencies such as problem solving,…

In this research we present how a group of Finnish adult preservice teachers (n=21) incorporated 21st CS through their methods of working instructional methods in the final practicum in autumn 2013. The research material consists of pre-service teacher's practicum plans, taped lessons and written practicum synthesis. The nature of teaching has…

The study utilized a multi-method approach to explore the connection between critical thinking and epistemological beliefs in a specific problem-solving situation. Data drawn from a sample of ten third-year bioscience students were collected using a combination of a cognitive lab and a performance task from the Collegiate Learning Assessment…

This article presents the authors' critique of lessons proposed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). The authors initiate a discussion about content that they hope will play out in schoolhouses and statehouses across the country. They take on a different task: they present a handful of lesson ideas from P21 that could enhance studies…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2019, organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Modern psychology offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and…