The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of coding and observation manuals in classroom studies. While observation manuals have been a part of the methodological toolkit for measuring various aspects of instruction for decades, the field has also been suffering from "paradigm wars," fragmentation and local production of instruments.…

Background: This study aimed to examine whether verbal responsiveness in special education teachers varied among subgroups of children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 112) who differed in cognitive and language abilities. Methods: Participants were divided into clusters using cluster analysis based on standardised cognitive and language tests…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate narrative (i.e. storytelling) difficulties which can significantly impact their ability to form and maintain social relationships. However, existing research has not comprehensively documented these impairments in more open-ended, emotionally evocative situations common to daily interactions.…

International students, often a noteworthy group, constitute about 10 per cent of the student population on many campuses throughout the world (OECD, 2009). At any time, there are likely to be over a million students and scholars attending institutions of higher learning abroad, and recent estimates have set the figure at about 4.5 million…

This explorative case study longitudinally examines teacher orchestration of an inquiry learning process in a technology-enhanced elementary classroom. A 13-month investigative study on cultural artifacts was conducted on 32 fourth grade students who progressed to the fifth grade during the project. The activities were mediated and documented…

Psychological distress is prevalent in doctoral degree training and affects students' completion time. It is crucial to monitor the amount of distress experienced and understand the causes for it to inform the type of support most needed. This mixed method study explored challenges related to candidature, self-reported progress and measures of…

Research indicates that understanding levels of abstraction (LOA) and being able to move between the levels is essential to programming success. For K-5 contexts we rename the LOA levels: problem, design, code and running the code. In our qualitative exploratory study, we interviewed five K-5 teachers on their uses of LOA, particularly the design…

Given the centrality of prosociality in everyday social functioning, understanding the factors and mechanisms underlying the origins of prosocial development is of critical importance. This experiment investigated whether experience with reciprocal object exchanges can drive the developmental onset of sharing behavior. Seven-month-old infants took…

Research comparing the predictive power of parents' control and autonomy support in the United States and China has relied almost exclusively on children's reports. Such reports may lead to inaccurate conclusions if they do not reflect parents' practices to the same extent in the two countries. A total of 394 American and Chinese children…

This paper investigates young children's exploratory play and inquiry on playscapes: playgrounds specifically designed to connect children with natural environments. Our theoretical framework posits that playscapes combine the benefits of nature and play to promote informal science exploration of natural materials. This, in turn, is expected to…

Researchers examined how an inquiry-based instructional treatment emphasizing interrelated plant processes influenced 210 elementary pre-service teachers' (PTs) conceptions of three plant processes, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and transpiration, and the interrelated nature of these processes. The instructional treatment required PTs to…

Purpose of the study is to investigate views of pre-service teachers about creative drama used as a method in elementary education. In line with this purpose, researchers examine the pre-service teachers' views about the importance of creative drama used as a method in course and kinds of activities that can be used in these courses. This study is…

Communication is shaped both by what we are trying to say and by whom we are saying it to. We examined whether and how shared information influences the gestures speakers produce along with their speech. Unlike prior work examining effects of common ground on speech and gesture, we examined a situation in which some speakers have the same amount…

In this paper, I examine the role of human and digital actants in various material and spatial configurations during the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) e-assessment events. It reports on an investigation into how data are produced and subsequently fed into statistical models that in turn produce analyses…

Despite their significant contributions to research on self-regulated learning, those favoring online and trace approaches have questioned the use of self-report to assess learners' use of learning strategies. An important rejoinder to such criticisms consists of examining the validity of self-report items. The present study was designed to assess…