Although hypothetical learning trajectories (HLTs) are often viewed as a valuable instructional tool, little research has directly evaluated their value. A basic assumption of HLTs is that ordering instructional activities by developmental difficulty enhances learning. A randomized control trial (RCT) served to evaluate this assumption with a…

This study investigates the capacity of elementary-level Chinese second language learners to memorize serial verb sentences based on the results of a questionnaire. Our findings show that adult second language learners employ the concept of temporal sequence in language learning, consciously or unconsciously, whether or not the chronological…

Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a "LT approach"--that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child's present level of thinking. The present report serves to address…

This study aims to examine the changes in students' mental constructions of function transformation based on the designed activities, classroom discussions, exercises (ACE) teaching cycle in the light of the action, process, object, schema (APOS) theoretical framework. The study was conducted by seven volunteer students who were enrolled in…

This paper discusses the significance of model-based teaching on the topic of ionic and metallic bonding in Year 12 Chemistry in a New Zealand secondary school. Based on the conceptualization of the sub-macro level understanding of the bonding structure and properties of ionic and metallic compounds, models and drawings were used as an effective…

Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a "LT approach"--that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child's present level of thinking. The present report serves to address…

According to Geary's evolutionary approach, humans are able to easily acquire primary knowledge and, with more efforts, secondary knowledge. The present study investigates how primary knowledge contents can facilitate the learning of formal logical rules, i.e., secondary knowledge. Framing formal logical problems in evolutionary salient contexts…

Design research studies provide significant opportunities to study new innovations and approaches and how they affect the forms of learning in complex classroom ecologies. This paper reports on a two-week long design research study with twelve 2nd through 4th graders using curricular materials and a tablet-based diagnostic assessment system, both…

In this paper, we describe our learning progressions approach to early algebra research that involves the coordination of a curricular framework, an instructional sequence, written assessments, and levels of sophistication describing the development of students' thinking. We focus in particular on what we have learning through this approach about…

As learning trajectories gain traction in mathematics education, we seek to understand the ways in which teachers may use them in interactions with students. This paper reports on one group of elementary teachers' use of their emerging knowledge of a learning trajectory to examine key pedagogical practices. Findings suggest that a learning…

Sequential control over routine action is widely assumed to be controlled by stable, highly practiced representations. Our findings demonstrate that the processes controlling routine actions in the domain of skilled typing can be flexibly manipulated by memory processes coding recent experience with typing particular words and letters. In two…

Teaching and learning are time-dependant processes. It can be hypothesised that the content coherence during a teaching sequence is an important factor of learning. In this perspective, it is of great interest to follow the occurrences of a notion and the development of its meanings in the classroom discourse, all along the various sessions of a…

Traditional education, employing lectures or telecommunicative instruction methods, has been very effective in providing topical facts. However, the development of student skills and thinking ability require higher levels of instruction and more opportunity to practice and apply acquired knowledge. As students progress through a particular…

An experiment on sequence procedures for presenting text materials to pupils demonstrated that web sequencing (presenting concepts as related parts of a network) resulted in better test performance than linear sequencing. Information processing strategies used by pupils did not influence either the sequence of information presentation or test…

Students learn important concepts and ways of thinking by building on their own actions and experiences. In much of higher education, the primacy of textbooks and the lectures that accompany them are inconsistent with the nature of student learning. Some students manage to learn despite the problems from this emphasis, but educators can do much…