Professional trainers are responsible for teaching novice employees. However, the conventional approach to training professional trainers is generally a lecture-based mode, implying that they often lack the opportunity to learn to make use of practical cases encountered by novice employees, to explore problem-solving methods, to objectively…

This reflection provides an introduction to, and reflection on, the new text "Rethinking Problem-based Learning for the Digital Age" (Savin-Baden and Fraser, 2024). It begins by telling the story and rationale for the creation of the book and then provides an overview of the text of the whole. The next section discusses the purpose of…

This systematic literature review explored the importance of professional development (PD) for educators working with gifted students. Findings highlighted the need for PD to improve teacher knowledge, skills, efficacy, and student outcomes, especially considering the heterogeneously grouped classrooms, unique student needs, and lack of…

METRICS was a 5-year grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Education designed to immerse elementary school students in computer science. METRICS components included 1) creation and implementation of rigorous computer science curriculum units and assessments to support STEM coursework connected across all subjects through problem-based…

This open access volume explores the transformative role of Research Cognitive Theory (RCT) in education, emphasizing its application in fostering curiosity, creativity, innovation, problem-solving skills, and cognitive development across all educational levels in students and professional development in teachers. Through detailed discussions on…

Active learning is centered on students and encourages them to participate in various classroom activities, with the teacher as a facilitator. Students are expected to develop multiple 21st-century skills through an active learning process, including digital and scientific literacies. Numerous studies demonstrate that students lack digital and…

Increasing numbers of studies in STEM fields indicate that there are higher gains in student outcomes in classroom environments implementing evidence-based teaching approaches focused on learners and their learning when compared to traditional lecture-based classrooms. However, despite the compelling results, studies show that lecture is still the…

Many universities throughout the world apply student-centered approaches. Common to these is that projects, problems, challenges etc. stem from "real life". Mathematics is an effective tool to solve problems, but in this paper, we discuss how we reconcile the fact that mathematics is both a pure and an applied discipline with…

Design-based Research (DBR) focuses on real-world problems, emphasizes studying an educational intervention in its supposed context, uses a cyclical process of design, implementation, evaluation, and improvement, utilizes mixed research methods, stresses reciprocal relationships between theories and practice, and involves a close collaborative…

Background: Educational robotics (ER) is a means of teaching technology and engineering to students that offers an active learning environment by encouraging them to create meaningful and unique products. ER also gives students the opportunity to work collaboratively. Objectives: In this study, elementary school students' behavioral patterns were…

The educational benefits of challenge- or problem-based approaches to learning are now well established. Action Research (AR) and Action Learning (AL) together provide educators with an ethic, a research methodology and a pedagogical strategy for harnessing and developing the motive power of purposeful activity for reflective enquiry in teaching…

To integrate digital technologies into the curriculum, teachers must support learners to use digital tools in authentic contexts. Physical computing, which involves the use of small portable electronic devices, provides an opportunity to achieve these goals. This article reports on the initial stages of a design-based research (DBR) project that…

This paper presents how a ninth semester teaching programme created employability skills among students. During the semester, students were expected to collaborate with a company or an organization to solve a task set by the external partner. The students used their academic and analytical skills and competences as a part of working with the…

A problem-based immersive virtual environment (IVE) about bushfire safety was developed as a learning tool for children aged 10-12. Its effectiveness was assessed in relation to children's ability to determine how to be safer in a bushfire incident. A series of experiential activities were developed in the IVE with digital storytelling and…

Failure and low completion rates are a general concern at universities. We investigated the relationship between students' admission profiles, undergraduate academic outcomes and completion rates in a four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) programme in South Africa. The programme uses a unique student selection method and problem-based learning…