Background: There is substantial evidence indicating that various psychological processes are affected by cultural context, but such research is comparatively nascent within New Zealand. As there are four large cultural groups in New Zealand, representing an intersection of individualist, collectivist, indigenous, colonial, and immigrant cultures,…

Few studies have investigated the effects of the instructions provided in educational computer games on cognitive processing and learning outcomes. In our experiment, we sought to compare the effects on learning outcomes of two different types of goal-oriented instructions: "mastery-goal" instructions, which prompt learners to develop…

Re-engaging young adults who have "dropped out" of school is an important and challenging task for educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching practices that encourage young people to re-engage in further learning. Through interviews with teachers and students, the study identified five major interrelated teaching…

Child Trends is pleased to assist the Tauck Family Foundation as it sharpens its focus on programs that help children build the skills they need to succeed in the elementary school years and beyond. Through the course of our work together, four particular skills have emerged as potential areas of focus for the Foundation: self-control,…

This study investigated the challenges students face when learning chemical reactions in a first-year chemistry course and the effectiveness of a curriculum and software implementation that was used to teach and assess student understanding of chemical reactions and equations. This study took place over a two year period in a public suburban…

The present paper investigates differences in the process of mastering the four basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) between Flemish and Chinese children from Grade 3 till Grade 6 (i.e. from 8 to 11 years old). The results showed, firstly, that Chinese students outperformed Flemish students in each grade…

Children are social beings who rely on interactions with others to survive and thrive. Since the human brain is wired to connect, cultures in schools and youth organizations must be designed so youth can bond to supportive peers and adults. Children learn through observation, modeling, and responding to people in their environments. Bronfenbrenner…

Two studies were conducted to examine the relationship between motivational variables and satisfaction and success in online learning. College students enrolled in face-to-face psychology classes and who had taken at least one online course were surveyed. In Study 1, two hypotheses were tested: (1) that high need-for-affiliation students would be…

Ill-structured problems abound that require sophisticated problem-solving skills, knowledge across multiple domains and the abilities to think critically and communicate effectively. Despite the abundance of rhetoric supporting the need to build these skills in our students, the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge is still the primary focus…

What drives decisions about what gets taught, how, and to whom? In some districts, teachers base these decisions on the organization of textbooks, the timing of pacing charts, or lesson plans from prior years. Often, they base curricular decisions on content that needs to be "covered." In contrast, in many of the United States'…

Students' perceptions influence their expectations and values. According to Expectations and Values Theory of Achievement Motivation (EVT-AM), students' expectations and values impact their behaviors (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). This study seeks to find students' perceptions of developmental mathematics in a mastery learning computer-based…

This study sought to determine if there is a relationship between students' scores on the eighth-grade Indiana State Test of Education Progress Plus (ISTEP+) exam and success on Indiana's Algebra End-of-Course Assessment (ECA). Additionally, it sought to determine if algebra success could be significantly predicted by the achievement in one or…

Flipped learning is not about how to use videos in lessons. It's about how to best use in-class time with students. That insight is causing educators in classrooms from kindergarten to college to reevaluate how they teach. Flipped learning helps teachers move away from direct instruction as their primary teaching tool toward a more…

The paper presents a microethnographic examination of an operatic masterclass, based on a transcribed video recording of just one such class. It is a companion piece to a more generalised ethnographic account of such masterclasses as pedagogic events. The detailed analysis demonstrates the close relationship between spoken and unspoken actions in…

Although feedback is a popular topic in educational research, the question of how and on what conditions feedback in mathematics affects learning seldom has been addressed. In this study, we investigated: (1) whether process-oriented feedback in mathematics leads to greater interest and higher achievement development compared to social-comparative…