Students must actively engage in problem solving to effectively learn in introductory physics courses. However, students often get stuck and are not able to make progress when solving problems outside of their current ability, particularly when one-on-one tutoring and instructor office hours are a limited resource. One effective technique consists…

This article reports on a study that was carried out to explore the factors that contribute to a negative washback effect on English language teaching (ELT) in secondary schools in Bangladesh. Twelve secondary school teachers were interviewed to understand their perspectives on which factors influenced their pedagogical choices. The interview data…

Gifted adolescents may identify as "gamers" who create avatars to navigate video games and cell phone apps. Avatars provide a unique venue through which gifted teens can explore the issues of self and identity in a critical time of their development. The purpose of this article is to (a) provide an overview of what avatars are, (b)…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in secondary school settings often have deficient reading skills. Secondary school teachers who serve this population of students may need additional training, support, and resources to maximize the effectiveness of the time they spend teaching reading. This article focuses on two…

Many studies have shown that visual representations can enhance student understanding of STEM concepts. However, prior research suggests that visual representations alone are not necessarily effective across a broad range of students. To address this problem, we created a novel, scaffolded form of diagrammatic self-explanation in which students…

This book explores the extent to which populism and the populist agenda is influencing curriculum content and learning methods in higher education. Against a background of increasing inequalities and a rising tide of nationalism and populism, this book raises concerns that populism -- and its various manifestations -- represents a grave challenge…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe, explain and evaluate a graduate education program that provides international project experiences and builds competencies related to collaborative problem-solving, cultural capacity to work globally and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative analysis of survey data from 28 students…

This mixed methods study examines whether engaging in a problem-solving project to create Math-eos (digital videos) increases pre-service teachers' understanding of the relationship between visual, auditory, and verbal representation and critical thinking in mathematics. Additionally, the study looks at what aspects of a digital problem solving…

The study of solutions to polynomial equations over finite fields has a long history in mathematics and is an interesting area of contemporary research. In recent years, the subject has found important applications in the modelling of problems from applied mathematical fields such as signal analysis, system theory, coding theory and cryptology. In…

This investigation presents students with the challenge of determining the total number of eggs in a photograph of a stack of egg trays. The perspective of the photograph does not allow students to count all the individual eggs in the top tray but does allow them to see the number of eggs in one row and one column of the top tray. During this…

Between 10% and 15% of people with a learning disability have behaviour that challenges others, and half of these people live within the family home (Emerson et al., "Research in Developmental Disabilities," 2001; 22, 77). Current best practice in managing challenging behaviour combines person-centred planning, functional analysis, and…

Ill-structured problems can be regarded as one of the measures that meet recent social needs emphasizing students' abilities to solve real-life problems. This study aimed to analyze the mathematical abstraction process in solving such problems, and to identify the mathematical abstraction level ([I] Recognition of mathematical structure through…

Teacher education programs typically teach novices about one part of teaching at a time. We might offer courses on different topics--cultural foundations, learning theory, or classroom management--or we may parse teaching practice itself into a set of discrete techniques, such as core teaching practices, that can be taught individually. Missing…

Screen inferiority in performance and metacognitive processes has been repeatedly found with text learning. Common explanations for screen inferiority relate to technological and physiological disadvantages associated with extensive reading on screen. However, recent studies point to lesser recruitment of mental effort on screen than on paper.…

Introducing challenging tasks in such a way that makes them accessible, rather than daunting, to students is a challenge for teachers. Solving challenging tasks involves students having to grapple with the problem. The role of the teacher is to motivate and clarify the problem rather than showing students how to solve the problem.