There is broad agreement in the literature (e.g. Furtak et al., 2012; Harlen and Qualter, 2018) that the purpose of primary science is for children to develop: (1) scientific skills; (2) knowledge and understanding of some scientific concepts; (3) positive attitudes to science; an understanding of the nature of science; and (4) an appreciation of…

The vast majority of research involving active learning pedagogies uses passive lecture methods as a baseline. We propose to move beyond such comparisons to understand the mechanisms that make different active learning styles unique. Here, we use COPUS observations to record student and instructor activities in six known styles of active learning…

Problem-solving abilities, creative and critical thinking, communication skills, and teamwork are now recognized as fundamental determinants of professional success, especially in vocational professions, such as veterinary science. Tertiary education is now obliged to provide opportunities for students to become proficient in these qualities. With…

This paper explores Erich Fromm's contribution to Deweyan democratic education by referring to his psychoanalytic interpretation of John Dewey's pragmatic theory. First, it employs the work by Gert Biesta to secure a space between critical pedagogy and Deweyan democratic education, from which Fromm's theory can be discussed. Furthermore, it argues…

In the ever-changing world based on the needs, curiosity and entrepreneurial drive of the humankind, interest in socio-scientific issues has been increasing every day with the discussion and different approaches in society. It could be suggested that the increase in this interest has been due to both the contribution and damages of these issues to…

At present, there are relatively few international studies that reflect research in religious didactics from a metatheoretical perspective. Against this background, the fundamental question of this contribution is whether there are research designs that are typical for research in religious didactics. For this purpose, research was conducted for a…

Musical creativity is represented through the activity of "creation" in the curricula for music education in both Montenegrin and Slovenian primary schools. Starting from the assumption that this activity is insufficiently realised, a survey of the teaching practice of the specialist music teachers in the two countries was conducted (N =…

In meta-analysis, effect sizes often need to be converted into a common metric. For this purpose conversion formulas have been constructed; some are exact, others are approximations whose accuracy has not yet been systematically tested. We performed Monte Carlo simulations where samples with pre-specified population correlations between the…

Research on instructional quality has been of great interest for several decades, leading to an immense and diverse body of literature. However, due to different definitions and operationalisations, the picture of what characteristics are important for instructional quality is not entirely clear. Therefore, in this paper, a scoping review was…

Children's literature (KidLit) is an effective strategy for fostering a classroom culture which embraces cultural diversity and builds understanding amongst students; professional learning (PL) communities can use KidLit as the basis for their discussion. A common read provides an opportunity to enrich PL communities and allow teachers to build on…

Windmill images and shapes have a long history in geometry and can be found in problems in different mathematical contexts. In this paper, we share and discuss various problems involving windmill shapes and solutions from geometry, algebra, to elementary number theory. These problems can be used, separately or together, for students to explore…

Practitioner inquiry methodology, applied in primary and secondary schools worldwide, provides a structure for systematic study of an instructor's own teaching practice in order to address a self-identified instructional dilemma. This methodology holds promise for improving teaching in higher education as well. In this dialogue, two faculty…

There is increasing international focus on system-wide schemes of teaching excellence in higher education. In this article, I explore national policy instruments intended to promote and measure teaching excellence. There appears to be very limited knowledge about what underpins the effective design of policy instruments for teaching excellence.…

This article presents a simple, fast, and equally accurate technique for measuring the area of a circle and of an ellipse without using geometric formulas. This therefore, together with the known radius of the circle and the semi-major and semi-minor axes of the ellipse, allows for the calculation of [pi]. The experiment is easy, thrilling, and…

This article describes the development of an instrument for examining schools as institutions where teaching practices and school structures provide opportunities and support for student imagination, creativity, and innovation, as well as initial comparisons using the instrument, using a sample of n = 5020 students and n = 268 teachers (n = 161…