The transition from kindergarten to the first grade of elementary school is a crucial developmental period that can significantly influence pupils' academic trajectories. This study aimed to examine whether adaptation to the school environment moderates the relationship between skill-specific performance and academic achievement in two core…

This study focuses on the relationship between an autonomy-supportive classroom climate and changes in attitudes towards social participation in mixed-grade classes. The research field involved the learning activities conducted in a Japanese elementary school. Learning activities were carried out in mixed-grade classes, and the children engaged in…

This study explored the relationship between 4th-grade students' functional literacy levels and their problem-solving skills and the effect level of students' functional literacy experiences on their problem-solving ability. Employing the quantitative research approach, relational survey design, one of the general survey designs, was used in the…

This study aims to investigate the effect of using Minecraft on Year 5 pupils' higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in fractional problems-solving. A quasi-experimental pretest and posttest non-equivalent groups design was used. The study sample involved 65 Year 5 pupils from two intact classes which consists of 31 pupils as the treatment group and…

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the inquiry-based learning method supported by metacognitive strategies on students' problem-solving and problem-posing skills. The research was conducted in two stages using an exploratory sequential design, which is one of the mixed methods research. The case study design was used in the first…

The current knowledge of the effects of the physical environment on learners' behaviour in collaborative problem-solving tasks is underexplored. This paper aims to critically examine the potential of multimodal learning analytics, using new data sets, in studying how the shapes of shared tables affect the learners' behaviour when collaborating in…

Scholars have suggested that flipped learning can be enhanced by designing effective in-class learning activities to improve students' higher order thinking skills. Problem posing has been recognized as such a learning strategy that has great potential for improving students' higher order thinking skills. However, it has been reported as a…

The curricular perspective based on teaching processes which takes formal mathematical knowledge as a starting point has been severely criticized. This traditional perspective considers that the formal mathematical knowledge has to be taught prior to the application so, once taught, it can be used to solve problems. Along with this criticism,…

In this article we show how students' productive struggle on a mathematical task can lead to collective mathematical creativity. We use observable (co)actions and interactions from a video record that features three Grade 6 students in a problem-solving session to document the emergence of collective creativity leading to a solution. We discuss…

Affect and mathematical competence are each multifaceted constructs. Accordingly, the studies in this Special Issue address multiple pathways between the two in young children. This commentary highlights the variability of these pathways and asks how affective variables are specifically related to core mathematical activities such as problem…

Literature that investigates the factors underlying arithmetic problem-solving achievement extensively evaluates the cognitive components, such as working memory (WM) and processing speed, at the basis of this acquisition. Recently, studies have shown that also the emotional factors, such as math anxiety (MA), could play a crucial role in the…

With recent increased attention to engaging students in written mathematical communication, the Elementary Mathematical Writing Task Force has recommended specific types of and purposes for mathematical writing with the ultimate goals of communicating and reasoning: Exploratory, Informative/Explanatory, Argumentative, and Mathematically Creative.…

This small-scale study was carried out in the elementary department of an international school considered successful in removing barriers to learning for a wide diversity of learners. A qualitative approach sought to gather data in order to understand the organisational context through a case study of how the school had removed barriers to…

We report here the type of problems and solutions that 38 school teams reported during a randomized wait-list controlled trial of one problem-solving approach (Team Initiated Problem Solving [TIPS]). The experimental results from that analysis are reported elsewhere. The purpose of this article is to summarize companion descriptive data from this…

In recent decades, research and practice have shown that investing in a positive school-wide social culture is a key component of effective education. Evidence demonstrates that educators and students succeed when students are present, engaged, socially secure, and academically successful. Developed by 2M Research in conjunction with an expert…