Integrating STEM education within the elementary school science curriculum in Ontario, Canada, elevated the expectation for elementary preservice teachers to teach STEM skills such as problem-solving through coding. Research shows that educational robotics can promote STEM knowledge and skills. This mixed methods study investigates the effect of…

This study explores the integration of Design Thinking into the Key Stage 3 Design and Technology (D&T) curriculum at a school in North-West England, focusing on fostering 21st-Century Skills alongside subject-specific knowledge. The research draws on a multiple case study approach derived from the 'Solving Genuine Problems for Authentic Users…

By the end of the 2021-22 school year, CoolThink@JC had scaled successfully to 131 Hong Kong primary schools. This topical report explores the relationship between CoolThink implementation and student learning during the 2021-22 school year in schools in their first or second year of adopting CoolThink@JC. The report draws on data collected for…

Launched in 2016 and led by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (The Trust), CoolThink@JC is scaling the study of computational thinking to primary 4-6 students across the territory. By early 2023, the CoolThink network had enrolled 204 schools in six cohorts, achieving a critical mass of schools that will have adopted the 14-hour curriculum…

The concept of fractions is perceived as one of the most difficult areas in school mathematics to learn and teach. The most frequently mentioned factors contributing to the complexity is fractions having five interrelated constructs: part-whole, ratio, operator, quotient, and measure. In this study, we used this framework to investigate the…

We encounter ratios on a daily basis. They also play an important role as a basic construct of thinking in many areas of school mathematics. For example, a fraction can be interpreted as the ratio of a part to the respective whole. Many children appear to have difficulties with fractions and although the concept of ratios is crucial for this…

The purpose of this study was to understand cultural differences and similarities in children's creative characteristics in Korea and Australia. In this cross-cultural research, the Integrative Creativity Test (K-ICT, [13]) with identified validity and reliability for measuring elementary school students' creative ability and creative personality,…

The relationship between mathematical creativity (MC) and mathematical problem-solving performance (MP) has often been studied but the causal relation between these two constructs has yet to be clearly reported. The main purpose of this study was to define the causal relationship between MC and MP. Data from a representative sample of 480…

As part of a 3-year longitudinal study, 136 sixth-grade students completed an engineering-based problem on earthquakes involving integrated STEM learning. Students employed engineering design processes and STEM disciplinary knowledge to plan, sketch, then construct a building designed to withstand earthquake damage, taking into account a number of…

Complex problem solving (CPS) as a cross-curricular competence has recently attracted more attention in educational psychology as indicated by its implementation in international educational large-scale assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment. However, research on the development of CPS is scarce, and the few…

In the Hypothesis-Experiment-Instruction (HEI) method students are presented with a problem with three or four answer alternatives, which leads them later to recognize the distribution of choices, discuss a variety of ideas among them, and integrate distributed pieces of information. This study examined the effects of presenting a problem with or…

Explores the mathematical problem posing and problem solving of U.S. (N=181) and Chinese (N=223) sixth-grade students. Reports that while Chinese students outperform U.S. students on computational tasks, there are many similarities and differences between U.S. and Chinese students in performing relatively novel tasks. Discusses the direct link…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to test several social decision schemes to obtain plausible explanations of different group processes in solving different disjunctive tasks; and (2) to study both dyads and tetrads solving a eureka and a non-eureka disjunctive task. Social decision schemes theory assumes that a group decision is a joint…

The study investigated the cognitive processes underlying differences in computer competency between 29 intellectually gifted and 14 nongifted children. Findings are analyzed. (Author/MT)

Describes a typical fifth-grade mathematics lesson as taught in a Japanese elementary school, followed by a reflective commentary focused on problem solving, using manipulative aids, and multiple solutions. (ASK)