National Foundation for Educational Research is leading a five-year research programme, The Skills Imperative 2035. The project is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and is designed to identify what the labour market will look like by 2035, what 'Essential Employment Skills' (EES) will be most needed to do these jobs and who is most and least…

While the lion's share of mathematics education research in linear algebra has been concerned with the conceptual aspects of students' learning, this study focuses on procedural knowledge that undergraduates can develop in a typical first-year course. The study analyzes the methods that a large cohort of second-semester students applied in a final…

Past research shows that time and money, although both scarce resources indispensable in modern societies, tend to exert distinct impacts on interpersonal behaviors. Yet, little is known about the effects of these two resources on intrapersonal cognitive processes, including creative thinking. In the present research, we explored whether and how…

Although people attempt many creative problem solutions, in general, most creative problem-solving efforts, at least real-world efforts, fail. In the present effort, we examine the reasons creative problem-solving efforts typically fail. We argue that creative problem-solving efforts fail, in part, due to the fundamental nature of the kinds of…

In this paper, we investigate an interesting question that came up when reading a problem in a school textbook: What happens to the variance of a dataset in the case of changing one single data point, and why? Some of the answers are not surprising but here we find the full answer and demonstrate the understanding of it suitable for school…

Engineering is developing extensive leadership education, supporting future professional engineers to engage with others in solving complex sociotechnical problems. A contemporary challenge is to integrate leadership learning into foundational coursework requirements.

Mastering mathematics is often challenging for many students; however, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) offers numerous advantages, including enhanced data analysis, automated feedback, and the potential for creating more interactive and engaging learning environments. Despite these benefits, there is a need for comprehensive reviews that…

Educators and researchers are becoming interested in cultivating computational thinking (CT). However, in the Hong Kong context, CT-related studies regarding young children are rarely found. The present study aimed to use an unplugged digital arts activity to examine the CT concepts that children performed and document their CT developmental…

This research is a comprehensive mixed-methods study that aims to examine in depth the correlations between science teachers' research literacy, socio-scientific reasoning, and problem-solving skills. The quantitative phase of the research was conducted using a descriptive survey method, while the qualitative phase employed a case study design.…

Many students persistently misinterpret histograms. This calls for closer inspection of students' strategies when interpreting histograms and case-value plots (which look similar but are different). Using students' gaze data, we ask: "How and how well do upper secondary pre-university school students estimate and compare arithmetic means of…

The ability to properly evaluate one's own academic progress has long been considered a predictor of academic success. However, its distinctive role in the context of computational mathematics remains underexplored. Grounded in social cognitive theory, this study investigates the critical role of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in…

In this exploratory study, we designed and validated game-based performance tasks to assess the development of representational flexibility in autistic adolescents through virtual reality (VR)-based training. Representational flexibility, a critical cognitive ability, involves attention switching, generating representations, and recognizing…

Algebra has been identified as a gatekeeper to careers in STEM, but little research exists on how algebra appears for practitioners in the workplace. Surveys and interviews were conducted with 77 STEM practitioners from a variety of fields, examining how they reported using algebraic functions in their work. Survey and interview reports suggest…

This study investigated the impact of computer-aided assessment on the enhancement of critical thinking skills in non-routine problem-solving across three distinct learning delivery modalities: fully online, balanced blended, and predominantly face-to-face (F2F) blended. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-aided assessment in…

Social problem solving (SPS) represents a social cognitive reasoning process that gives way to behavior when individuals are navigating challenging social situations. Autistic individuals have been shown to struggle with specific aspects of SPS, which, in turn, has been related to social difficulties in children. However, no previous work has…