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Objectives: Overweight and obesity among school-aged children pose a threat to both their academic performance and public health. The Healthy Primary School of the Future (HPSF) initiative was established to address this issue. Our objective was to explore the conditions that make HPSF sustainable based on the perspectives of relevant stakeholders. Design: The study utilised Group Concept Mapping, a structured methodology for conducting mixed-methods participative research, combining qualitative data collection with quantitative data analysis measures. Method: Participants included parents, teachers, school directors, politicians, labour unions, educational, nutrition and health scientists and policymakers. They were asked to respond to the prompt, 'A necessary condition to make the HPSF sustainable is...'. The statements generated were then assessed for their importance and feasibility. Using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses, we identified the shared vision among the stakeholders. Results: A total of 106 unique statements were generated and grouped statistically into 10 clusters. The most significant clusters were identified as Financing; Accessibility for everyone; and Content/Lifestyle/School Programme. The clusters that were deemed most feasible included Content/Lifestyle/School Programme; Accessibility for everyone; and Evaluation. Conclusion: Achieving sustainability for the HPSF requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the conditions outlined in all 10 clusters. Based on the ratings of feasibility and importance, our recommendation is to prioritise implementation of Content/Lifestyle/School Programme and Accessibility for everyone. Subsequently, efforts should be directed towards realising the less feasible but crucial conditions, such as Financing and Evaluation, followed by the remaining six clusters of conditions as identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supporting scholarship as it is practiced by scholars depends on having tools which match the workflows of those scholars as they conduct research. Collaboration is an essential part of research and can occur through the stages of the research process. For early career scholars, work tends to be solo as they work on their dissertation. However, there is some evidence that their work does not occur in isolation. This is a qualitative study of early career scholars' collaborative scholarly research workflows. It examines the role of collaboration in early career scholarly workflows, the types of tools used for collaboration, whether these tools support or hinder, and how collaborative tools support information practices and scholarly knowledge. Collaborative technology practices are seen throughout workflows and in some cases enable or hinder collaboration. There is not a strong interconnection between tools to support the scholarly workflow. This study identifies which tools are used for scholarly collaboration and the gap in functionality of tools for scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, on education. While some believe that GenAI will solve all educational problems, others fear that it will destroy education as we know it. GenAI's ability to generate human-like text poses challenges for education, particularly in areas like plagiarism detection. The article suggests various strategies for educators to adapt to the presence of GenAI, including emphasizing process over product, incorporating oral assessments, using AI detection tools, modifying assignment design, encouraging critical thinking and creativity, and developing digital literacy and ethics curriculum. The article concludes that disabling or banning GenAI tools is not feasible or productive, and instead, the focus should be on designing instruction to ensure that students actually learn. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Collaborative learning is a widely used approach where students gather in small groups to solve problems and develop skills. However, grouping students is not always effective, and it may be necessary to provide task‐specific collaborative experiences to optimize their interactions for subsequent learning tasks. Aims: To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment with 90 Ecuadorian students in their mathematics class. Sample: Participants were 90 Ecuadorian students (average age = 13.80 years, SD =.70; 48.89% female) from a private school in Sangolquí, who participated as part of their mathematics class. Method: The experiment consisted of four phases: preparation, learning, retention one‐day testing, and delayed seven‐day testing. In the preparation phase, 15 triads received guidance on working collaboratively with quadratic equations (i.e., experienced groups), while 45 other individual learners worked independently. In the learning phase, 15 experienced triads and 45 individual learners (who were later divided into 15 non‐experienced triads) received a new learning task in the domain of economics, precisely the break‐even point. Results: The experienced group outperformed the non‐experienced group in the retention one‐day test, investing less mental effort and demonstrating greater efficiency. However, there was no significant difference in the delayed one‐week test. We analysed the interactions of the groups and found that experienced groups exhibited more cognitive, fewer regulatory, an equal number of emotional interactions, and fewer task‐unrelated interactions than the non‐experienced groups. Conclusions: Providing task‐specific collaborative experiences can reduce the cognitive load associated with transactional activities and increase learning in new tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Writing is an important and complex skill, which could be enhanced by teaching students effective writing strategies such as outlining. Electronic outlining ‐ integrated feature in Microsoft® Word – has been shown to enhance students' writing performance. However, little is known about the optimal didactic approach for electronic outlining. Objective: This study examined the effects of learning to use electronic outlining either via observational learning or via learning‐by‐doing on students' argumentative writing performance. Methods: Students (N = 129, 10th‐grade) were assigned with their complete class to one of three conditions: a control (traditional pen and paper outlines via learning‐by‐doing), outline (electronic outlines via learning‐by‐doing) or observation (electronic outlines via observational learning) condition. Students followed an argumentative writing lesson‐series that differed across conditions in terms of planning strategies and didactic approaches used. To examine the influence of the different conditions on students' writing, argumentative texts were used as pre‐ and post‐tests, and the quality was evaluated with an analytic assessment protocol. In addition, data regarding students' perceived mental effort and the organisation of the writing process were collected. Finally, students' attitudes towards electronic outlining were assessed. Results and Conclusion: Although the overall text structure had improved after the lesson series, no significant differences were found between conditions. Electronic outlining increased the total amount of time dedicated to the texts as well as the revision ratio. Students in the observation condition showed a higher pause ratio and a lower fluency on the post‐test as compared to students who learned by doing (both control and outline conditions). With regard to perceived mental effort, students in the outline and control conditions perceived significant decreases over tasks, as opposed to those in the observation condition. In conclusion, the self‐reports indicate that students in the outline condition appropriated electronic outlining significantly better than those in the observation condition, suggesting that practice enhanced students' appropriation of electronic outlining. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Planning as a writing strategy helps students organise their writing and reduce mental effort.Electronic outlining is an effective and efficient tool to support a planning strategy.Observational learning is an effective didactic approach in writing education. What this paper adds: Traditional planning and electronic outlining via either observational learning or learning‐by‐doing affect writing products equally.Tool appropriation is greater for students who learned‐by‐doing. Implications for practice: Importance of elaborated and explicit (strategy) instruction.Advantage of video‐based modelling for teacher efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Learning analytics (LA) collects, analyses, and reports data from the learning environment, to provide evidence of the effects of a particular learning design. Learning design (LD) outlines the conceptual framework for a meaningful interpretation of Learning analytics data. Objectives: The study aims to identify the most relevant concepts at the intersection of learning design and learning analytics, how these concepts are integrated into more general thematic areas, and the implications for the research and practice of the learning design and learning analytics synergy. Methods: To this end, the study employs a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) of the selected papers, and complements it with elements of systematic literature review as well as qualitative content analysis and text analytics that employ machine learning and language technology. Results and conclusions: The most important themes identified are 'analytics', 'learning', 'data', 'tools', 'research', 'framework', 'informed', 'model‐driven', 'participatory', 'technique', 'impact', insight', and 'findings'. The text analytics detected two topic rarely explicitly discussed in the literature: 'evidence‐informed instructional design approaches' and 'design‐based research'. Future research should attempt a holistic perspective towards the LD and LA synergy considering evidence‐informed instructional design approaches as part of a design‐based research methodology that implements evidence‐based teachers' practice and research‐based findings. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter?: The number of studies exploring different aspects of the relationship between learning design (LD) and learning analytics (LA) has significantly increased.LD provides the context of LA and outlines the conceptual framework for a meaningful interpretation of LA data.LA collect, analyse and report data from the learning environment to improve learning design.LD and instructional design (ID) are closely related concepts and practices, although misinterpretation remains of their nature and relationship. What this paper adds to this?: Critical interpretative synthesis (CIS) approach for literature review is introduced.Text analytics to analyse the literature linking LD and LA is applied.The text analytics shows the most relevant concepts, their relationships, and how are they grouped into broader themes.The text analytics identifies 'design‐based research'(DBR) and 'evidence‐informed instructional design approaches' as important concepts that could be used in the future for improving research investigating the relationship between LD and LA. Implications of study findings for practitioners: Integrate the principles and guidelines of evidence‐informed instructional design approaches into a design‐based research process to promote effective, efficient and enjoyable learning implementing process and content types LA indicators.DBR is a natural way of integrating teachers' evidence‐based practice (LD) and research‐based findings (ID). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second and foreign language (SL/FL) teachers' informal problem-solving has received little explicit research attention while it is widely acknowledged that problem-solving is crucial to expertise development in any complex knowledge domain. To develop a clearer understanding of the role of informal problem-solving in SL/FL teachers' expertise development, this study investigated how experience (i.e. time on the job) affects the level of problem-solving schemata development. This situational analysis of teaching practices was conducted with 15 SL/FL teachers divided into three experience groups. Through qualitative coding of verbal reflections on teachers' own lessons, the structural components of problem-solving schemata development were explored at two levels. The first or basic level represents the broader knowledge base which problem-solving utilizes in understanding and recognizing classroom situations. The second is the expert-level problem-solving knowledge level. Qualitative codes were quantified to enable descriptive statistics and t-tests for the analysis regarding the basic level. A descriptive analysis was performed to uncover expert-level knowledge. The results show that experience affects problem-solving schemata development in qualitatively different ways at different levels. At the first or basic level, most teachers develop extensive and numerous domain-specific problem-solving schemata with experience. Few experienced teachers develop expert-level schemata. At this level, experience mostly affects the type of domain-specific knowledge and quality of feedback on effective strategies incorporated in these schemata. The findings suggest that future studies need to adopt a multi-level analysis of problem-solving schemata development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper is a qualitative study of how social sciences faculty construct their research workflows with the help of technological tools. The purpose of this study is to examine faculty scholarly workflows and how both tools and practices support the research process. This paper could inform academic libraries on how to support scholars throughout the research process. Design/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative study case study of ten faculty members from six research universities from the United States and Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded. Atlas.ti was used to code and analyze the transcripts; each participant was a separate case. Descriptive coding was used to identify digital tools used for collaboration; process and descriptive coding was utilized to examine practices in scholarly workflows. Findings: Through case study analysis the results of this study include the role of technology in faculty research workflows. Each workflow was grouped into four categories: information literacy, information management, knowledge management, and scholarly communication. The findings included scholars creating simple workflows for efficiency and collaboration and utilizing workarounds. Research limitations/implications: The study did not observe faculty in the process of doing research and, thus, only reports on what the researchers say that they do. Originality/value: The research is unique in that there is almost no research on how social scientists conduct their research workflows and the affordances/impasses of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines how research has informed classroom practice and its potential impact on learning outcomes. Topics discussed include why researchers often try to study something in an optimally controlled environment, definition of research-informed teaching or practice, and reasons for considering research rather than evidence.

Academic self-efficacy, self-esteem, and grit (i.e., perseverance of effort and consistency of interests) have all separately shown to predict academic success within traditional education. In higher online education, information on these relationships is lacking, while this group of learners is growing in size and importance. We therefore investigated the total as well as the unique predictive value of academic self-efficacy, self-esteem, and grit on academic success in higher online education. Moreover, mediation effects were investigated. Students of a higher online education university in the Netherlands participated (N = 2027, age 18–80 years) in this observational study. Participants filled out online questionnaires on the variables of interest and potential confounding variables at baseline. Academic success was measured objectively through information provided by the exam registration office and operationalized in three variables: exam attempt, study progress, and academic performance. Logistic regression analyses showed that consistency of interests significantly predicted exam attempt (B =.43, p <.001). Generalized multiple linear regression analyses with negative binomial distribution showed that consistency of interests was a significant predictor of study progress (B =.16, p <.001). Mixed model analyses revealed no significant predictors for academic performance (ps >.06). The fact that of our three predictors solely consistency of interests was found to be predictive for academic success indicates that online educational institutes should pay attention to consistency of interests of their students to improve the academic success rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemistry educator Alex H. Johnstone is perhaps best known for his insight that chemistry is best explained using macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic perspectives. But in his writings, he stressed a broader thesis, namely that teaching should be guided by scientific research on how the brain learns: cognitive science. Since Johnstone's retirement, science's understanding of learning has progressed rapidly. A surprising discovery has been when solving chemistry problems of any complexity, reasoning does not work: students must apply very-well-memorized facts and algorithms. Following Johnstone's advice, we review recent discoveries of cognitive science research. Instructional strategies are recommended that cognitive studies have shown help students learn chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a considerable gap between many of the findings from educational psychology research and educational practice. This gap is especially notable in the field of science education. In this article, the implications of three categories of research and their findings for science educational policy in the USA and other jurisdictions were reviewed. We indicate that a particular category of research that we call "Program-Based Studies," has dominated the formulation of educational standards while a large number of critical findings from randomized, controlled studies and correlational studies that overwhelmingly show minimal support for the suggested policy have been marked as irrelevant and excluded. The current blanket-emphasis on program-based studies at the expense of the other types of research is misplaced. Educational standards should represent a balanced view of the available data including findings from controlled and correlational studies. Finally, we indicate how these different forms of research might inform each other and provide coherent and consistent implications for educational procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date very few studies have explored how second and foreign language (SL/FL) teachers' attitudes affect their grammar teaching expertise acquisition. To shed light on this question, this study looked at what teachers' grammar teaching attitudes are and how these attitudes impact the frequency of explicit goals which are an integral component of expertise development through informal problem-solving. The effect of experience on explicit goal-setting was also investigated. Teachers' attitudes were explored through behavioral aggregation in a sample of 15 Bulgarian public school and university SL/FL teachers, who were divided into three experience groups. The behavioral aggregation was conducted on the basis of grammar teaching activities which the teachers performed, and then post-actively reported and elaborated upon. Explicit goals were uncovered through a planning task. Both descriptive and statistical analyses were conducted for an exhaustive picture. Two attitudes dubbed wholesale grammar teaching referring to a holistic approach to grammar teaching and high complexity task attitude involving student assignments of higher difficulty tasks significantly predicted the teachers' explicit goal frequencies. The others did not. In contrast to previous findings, experience was not a significant factor which determined explicit goal frequencies, underscoring the fact that the grammar teaching attitude orientation played a key role in the effectiveness of grammar teaching knowledge acquisition. Although further studies with larger samples need to be conducted, these results provide direct evidence of the relationships between some groups of SL/FL teachers' beliefs and expertise development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses the topics within the issue, including emergency remote teaching (ERT), the motivation of new students versus advanced students, and the structural equation modelling method.

While executive functions (EFs) and self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy use have been found to be related in several populations, this relationship has not been studied in adult online distance education (ODE). This is surprising as self-regulation, and thus using such strategies, is very important here. In this setting, we studied the relation between basic executive functions (i.e., working memory and shifting, measured with cognitive tests) and reported SRL-strategy use (i.e., management of time and effort, complex and simple cognitive strategy use, contacts with others, and academic thinking) within a correlational design with 889 adult online distance students. In this study, we performed regression analyses and took age and processing speed into consideration, as processing speed and EFs decrease with age, whereas self-regulation is reported to increase with age. Cognitively measured working memory was not related to reported SRL-strategy use in adult ODE students. Thus, even though the SRL-components within the strategies seem to elicit working memory, reported SRL-strategy use is not related to the functioning of this basic EF (measured with cognitive tests). This means that if SRL-strategy use needs to be increased in adult ODE students, training of working memory might not be an effective manner for achieving that goal. Better shifting and processing speed were related to less reported SRL-strategy use, which might suggest that SRL-strategies might be used to compensate for lower shifting (in academic thinking) and lower processing speed (in simple cognitive strategy use and contacts with others). With increasing age, the number of contacts with peers or teachers decreases. This latter finding might be of relevance during the pandemic since contacts with others is importance during lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this study was to investigate the association between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement in adolescents. Students in Grades 7 and 9 (N = 255) were included. Overall, we found no significant dose-response association between physical activity and academic achievement. However, in Grade 7 total physical activity volume (Total PA) was negatively associated with academic achievement, while moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was negatively associated with both academic achievement and mathematics performance. In contrast, in Grade 9 both Total PA and MVPA were positively associated with mathematics performance. In addition, the overall association between MVPA and academic achievement followed an inverted U-shaped curve. Finally, Total PA was positively associated with executive functioning, while executive functioning in turn mediated the associations between Total PA and both academic achievement and mathematics performance. These results indicate that the association between physical activity and academic achievement in adolescents is complex and might be affected by academic year, physical activity volume and intensity, and school grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In computer‐supported collaborative learning research, studies examining the combined effects of individual level, group level and within‐group differences level measures on individual achievement are scarce. The current study addressed this by examining whether individual, group and within‐group differences regarding engagement and prior knowledge predict individual achievement. Engagement was operationalised as group members' exhibited activities in the task space (i.e., discussing domain‐content) and social space (i.e., regulating ideas, actions and socioemotional processes). Prior knowledge and achievement were operationalised as group members' performance on a domain‐related pre‐test and post‐test, respectively. Data was collected for 95 triads of secondary education students collaborating on a complex business‐economics problem. Subsequently, three different multilevel models were tested to examine the combined effect. First a model with the individual level measures (model 1) was tested and in subsequent models the group level measures (model 2) and within‐group levels measures (model 3) were added. Findings indicate model 2 showed the best fit; group members' individual engagement in the social space activities as well as the groups' average prior knowledge positively predicts individual achievement. No effects were found for either group members' or groups' engagement in the task space and for the within‐group differences. Lay Description: Effects of groups, within‐group differences and individuals are often studied separately.Engagement and prior knowledge were related to individual achievement (post‐test).Individual regulatory engagement (shared understanding) positively predicts achievement.Group average prior knowledge (pre‐test score) positively predicts achievement.The effects of within‐group differences remain a topic for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review on data modalities synthesises the research findings in terms of how to optimally use and combine such modalities when investigating cognitive, motivational, and emotional learning processes. ERIC, WoS, and ScienceDirect databases were searched with specific keywords and inclusion criteria for research on data modalities, resulting in 207 relevant publications. We provide findings in terms of target journal, country, subject, participant characteristics, educational level, foci, type of data modality, research method, type of learning, learning setting, and modalities used to study the different foci. In total, 18 data modalities were classified. For the 207 multimodal publications, 721 occurrences of modalities were observed. The most popular modality was interview followed by survey and observation. The least common modalities were heart rate variability, facial expression recognition, and screen recording. From the 207 publications, 98 focused exclusively on the cognitive aspects of learning, followed by 27 publications that only focused on motivation, while only five publications exclusively focused on emotional aspects. Only 10 publications focused on a combination of cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning. Our results plea for the increased use of objective measures, highlight the need for triangulation of objective and subjective data, and demand for more research on combining various aspects of learning. Further, rather than researching cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning separately, we encourage scholars to tap into multiple learning processes with multimodal data to derive a more comprehensive view on the phenomenon of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on instructional and learning design is 'booming' in Europe, although there has been a move from a focus on content and the way to present it in a formal educational context (i.e., instruction), to a focus on complex learning, learning environments including the workplace, and access to learner data available in these environments. We even see the term 'learning experience design' (Neelen and Kirschner 2020) to describe the field. Furthermore, there is an effort to empower teachers (and even students) as designers of learning (including environments and new pedagogies), and to support their reflection on their own practice as part of their professional development (Hansen and Wasson 2016; Luckin et al. 2016; Wasson et al. 2016). While instructional design is an often heard term in the United States and refers to "translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials, activities, information resources, and evaluation" (Smith and Ragan 1999), Europe tends to lean more towards learning design as the key for providing efficient, effective, and enjoyable learning experiences. This is not a switch from an instructivist to a constructivist view nor from a teacher-centred to a student-centred paradigm. It is, rather, a different mind-set where the emphasis is on the goal (i.e., learning) rather than the approach (i.e., instruction). Designing learning opportunities in a technology enhanced world builds on theories of human learning and cognition, opportunities provided by technology, and principles of instructional design. New technology both expands and challenges some instructional design principles by opening up new opportunities for distance collaboration, intelligent tutoring and support, seamless and ubiquitous learning and assessment technologies, and tools for thinking and thought. In this article, the authors give an account of their own and other research related to instructional and learning design, highlight related European research, and point to future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative learning (CL) can be a powerful method for sharing understanding between learners. To this end, strategic regulation of processes, such as cognition and affect (including metacognition, emotion and motivation) is key. Decades of research on self‐regulated learning has advanced our understanding about the need for and complexity of those mediating processes in learning. Recent research has shown that it is not only the individual's but also the group's shared processes that matter and, thus, that regulation at the group level is critical for learning success. A problem here is that the "shared" processes in CL are invisible, which makes it almost impossible for researchers to study and understand them, for learners to recognize them and for teachers to support them. Traditionally, research has not been able to make these processes visible nor has it been able to collect data about them. With the aid of advanced technologies, signal processing and machine learning, we are on the verge of "seeing" these complex phenomena and understanding how they interact. We posit that technological solutions and digital tools available today and in the future will help advance the theory underlying the cognitive, metacognitive, emotional and social components of individual, peer and group learning when seen through a multidisciplinary lens. The aim of this paper is to discuss and demonstrate how multidisciplinary collaboration among the learning sciences, affective computing and machine learning is applied for understanding and facilitating CL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about on the issue of Impact on evidence-informed pedagogy. Topics include pedagogy includes instruction has broader and embraces the interplay between factors that influence teaching and learning; and fundamental techniques from cognitive and educational research have derived from substantial base of empirical research.

This study investigated the interplay of temporal changes in self-regulated learning processes (i.e., behavioral, cognitive, motivational and emotional) and their relationship with academic achievement in computer-supported collaborative learning. The study employed electrodermal activity and self-report data to capture the dynamicity of self-regulated learning processes during 15 sessions of collaborative learning activities. Our findings revealed that the changes in motivational regulation was related to academic achievement. However, academic achievement was not related to behavioral regulation, cognitive regulation or emotional regulation. Physiological synchrony among the collaborating students was found to be related only to cognitive regulation. The results also showed that the concordance of self-report data among the collaborating students was related to higher physiological synchrony among them in the behavioral, cognitive, and motivational dimensions of self-regulated learning. The findings reflect the complexity of the relationships between self-regulated learning constructs and demonstrates the potential value of physiological measures in self-regulated learning research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's and tomorrow's world, people will be required to work longer. At the same time, their employment future will become increasingly insecure due to technological advances and obsolescence of acquired knowledge and skills. This means that something needs to happen in the education and training of our youth. Using a group concept mapping (GCM) procedure, experts in different fields (educators, educational researchers, human resource professionals, etc.) from primarily Europe and North America generated 239 ideas with regard to the trigger statement: "One specific way to prepare youth to make effective and efficient use of information skills to optimally function in tomorrow's labour market is...." The generated ideas were sorted into 15 thematic clusters (i.e., Critical Thinking, Skills Transfer, High-Level Thinking, Competences, Metacognition and Reflection, Efficacy [Self-Image] Building, Learn in Authentic Situations, Integrate School and Profession, Collaboration, Teacher Professionalization, Information Literacy, Redesign the School, Literacy, and Numeracy, Information Skills, and Learn for the Future) and then rated with respect to their importance and ease/difficulty of implementation. The results showed a disconnect between what was important and ease of implementation with highly important clusters judged to be difficult to implement and vice versa. This led to the definition of a 3-stage approach to adapting education to prepare youth for shortly nonexistent/not yet existing professions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has traditionally investigated how student-, group-, task-, and technological characteristics affect the processes and outcomes of collaboration. On the other hand, cognitive load theory has traditionally been used to study individual learning processes and to investigate instructional effects that are present during individual learning (e.g., expertise reversal effect). In this contribution we will argue that cognitive load theory can be applied to CSCL. By incorporating concepts such as collective working memory (i.e., individuals share the burden of information processing), mutual cognitive interdependence (i.e., individuals learn about each other's expertise and become dependent on their partners' expertise), and transaction costs (i.e., the burden placed on individuals working memory capacity when communicating and coordinating collaborative activities), collaborative cognitive load theory (CCLT) can be used to formulate testable hypotheses for pressing issues in CSCL research. The aim of this paper is to develop a research agenda to guide future CSCL research from a CCLT perspective. We highlight how variables associated with student-, group-, task-, and technological characteristics may be investigated using CCLT. We also address important steps CSCL research needs to make with respect to the measurement of variables and the methodologies used to analyze data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives-based instructional design approaches break down tasks into specific learning objectives and prescribe that instructors should choose the optimal instructional method for teaching each respective objective until all objectives have been taught. This approach is appropriate for many tasks where there is little relation between the objectives, but less effective for teaching complex professional tasks that require the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes and the coordination of different skills. For the latter, a task-centred approach that starts designing instruction from whole, real-life tasks, is more appropriate. This article describes one task-centred instructional design model, namely the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model and illustrates its application by reflecting on three educational programs in higher education designed with 4C/ID. The first case presents a design for a course that focuses on the development of mobile apps at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The second case illustrates the integration of information problem-solving skills at Iselinge University of Professional Teacher Education, a teacher training institute in the Netherlands. The third case is an example from general practice education at the KU Leuven, Belgium. Future developments and issues concerning the implementation of taskcentred educational programmes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative learning is a widely used instructional technique, but factors determining its effectiveness still are unclear. Cognitive load theory was used to examine the effects of prior collaborative experience and density of distribution of information amongst learners on short-term retention and delayed retention tests, as well as cognitive efficiency of collaborative learning and its outcomes. Data obtained with 240 secondary school students showed that groups with experience in collaboration outperformed and were more cognitively efficient than inexperienced groups, and low information density increased performance during the learning process. Also, when tasks required processing high information density, experienced groups were more cognitively efficient than inexperienced groups. For tasks with low information density no difference was found. These results provide instructional implications for designing effective collaborative learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Although there is a large body of evidence for the utility of particular study strategies such as retrieval practice and distributed practice as memory‐enhancing instruments, they are seldom used by learners in educational practice. Thus far, the research on the use of these study strategies has focused only on undergraduate university students, oftentimes only investigating a set of predefined strategies. The question, thus, remains whether these results are generalisable to secondary school students. The present study is the first to explore the use of different study strategies by secondary school students. With the use of an open question, 316 secondary school students from three different secondary school levels were asked how they prepare for an exam when they are studying by themselves. The results show that secondary school students use study strategies considered to be suboptimal. In the discussion, we compare our findings with results of previous studies among undergraduate university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the socio-cognitive dynamics of collaborative online knowledge-building discourse among Dutch Master of Education students from the perspective of openness. A socio-cognitive openness framework consisting of four social and four cognitive components was used to analyze contributions to online collective knowledge building processes in two Knowledge Forum® databases. Analysis revealed that the contributions express a moderate level of openness, with higher social than cognitive openness. Three cognitive indicators of openness were positively associated with follow-up, while the social indicators of openness appeared to have no bearings on follow-up. Findings also suggested that teachers' contributions were more social in nature and had less follow-up compared to students' contributions. From the perspective of openness, the discourse acts of building knowledge and expressing uncertainty appear to be key in keeping knowledge building discourse going, in particular through linking new knowledge claims to previous claims and simultaneously inviting others to refine the contributed claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A characteristic of being a professional is the internalisation of the collective professional theory (CPT)—the shared insights of professionals. Problems arise when different opinions stemming from professionals' personal professional theories (PPTs) obscure a CPT's content. This study argues that cooperating professionals' CPTs form a so-called field and can be represented by concept maps. The relations between PPTs, CPTs, and fields are examined for the fields of accountancy and teaching. The results indicate that CPTs are more complex than PPTs, and that the teachers' field is more diverse than the accountants' field. These insights are important because socialisation in a field may be fostered if one is aware of CPTs and the surrounding field in relation to one's PPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis synthesizes research findings on the effects of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) based on its three main elements: (1) the collaboration per se, (2) the use of computers, and (3) the use of extra learning environments or tools, or supporting strategies in CSCL. In this analysis, 425 empirical studies published between 2000 and 2016 were extracted and coded, and these generated the following findings. First, the collaboration had significant positive effects on knowledge gain (ES [effect size] = 0.42), skill acquisition (ES = 0.64), and student perceptions (ES = 0.38) in computer-based learning conditions. Second, computer use led to positive effects on knowledge gain (ES = 0.45), skill acquisition (ES = 0.53), student perceptions (ES = 0.51), group task performance (ES = 0.89), and social interaction (ES = 0.57) in collaborative learning contexts. Third, the use of extra learning environments or tools produced a medium effect for knowledge gain (ES = 0.55), and supporting strategies resulted in an ES of 0.38 for knowledge gain. Several study features were analyzed as potential moderators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive load theory has traditionally been associated with individual learning. Based on evolutionary educational psychology and our knowledge of human cognition, particularly the relations between working memory and long-term memory, the theory has been used to generate a variety of instructional effects. Though these instructional effects also influence the efficiency and effectiveness of collaborative learning, be it computer supported or face-to-face, they are often not considered either when designing collaborative learning situations/environments or researching collaborative learning. One reason for this omission is that cognitive load theory has only sporadically concerned itself with certain particulars of collaborative learning such as the concept of a collective working memory when collaborating along with issues associated with transactive activities and their concomitant costs which are inherent to collaboration. We illustrate how and why cognitive load theory, by adding these concepts, can throw light on collaborative learning and generate principles specific to the design and study of collaborative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how personal professional theories (PPTs) develop. PPT development of nine junior accountants and nine novice teachers was monitored by repeated measurements over a period of 1.5 years, from the last year of vocational education until the second year of their professional careers. Computer-supported construction of PPT concept maps was used at three moments to test hypotheses derived from theories on expertise development. It could be concluded that on average PPTs became more complex. The PPTs of teachers also became richer, but the generality of PPTs did not significantly increase. Appearance and disappearance of concepts and changes in their importance were observed and appeared dependent on the professional environment of the participants. The findings indicate that: PPT development is an important manifestation of expertise development which could be used to support the professional development of students and beginning workers; and the concept map method can be used to reveal this development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argumentation is fundamental for many learning assignments, ranging from primary school to university and beyond. Computer-supported argument scaffolds can facilitate argumentative discourse along with concomitant interactive discussions among learners in a group (i.e., first-order argument scaffolding). However, there is no evidence, and hence no knowledge, of whether such argument scaffolds can help students acquire argumentation competence that can be transferred by the students themselves to various similar learning tasks (i.e., second-order argument scaffolding). Therefore, this conceptual article argues that the focus of argument scaffold design and research should be expanded: from the study of first-order scaffolding alone to including the study of second-order scaffolding as well. On the basis of the Script Theory of Guidance (SToG), this paper presents a guideline for second-order argument scaffolding using diagnosis of the student’s internal argumentative script and offering adaptive external support and various fading mechanisms. It also explains how to complement adaptive fading support with peer assessment, automatic response tools, and adaptable self-assessment to ensure that learners actually understand, learn, and apply targeted argumentation activities in similar situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In complex cognitive domains such as air traffic control, professionals must be able to adapt to and act upon continuing changes in a highly advanced technological work environment. To function optimally in such an environment, the controllers must be able to regulate their learning. Although these regulation skills should be part of their training, this is not usually the case. This study evaluates a training program that integrates air traffic control skills with regulation skills. The participants were 29 air traffic control students who followed either the original training program (n = 12) or a new program (n = 17) in which the development of regulation skills was embedded in the training of domain specific skills. Compared to students in the original program, the students in the new program showed increased self-efficacy in the use of self-regulated learning skills with improved performance in domain specific competences. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to the daily training practice of complex cognitive skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to investigate whether single executive function (EF) tests were predictive for learning performance in mainly young and middle-aged adults. The tests measured shifting and updating. Processing speed was also measured. In an observational study, cognitive performance and learning performance were measured objectively in 851 adult students and analyzed using multiple linear regression. EFs and processing speed were measured via cognitive tests. Learning performance was evaluated after 14 months. The results show that updating performance is predictive for learning performance, with a small effect size, while shifting performance was not. This means that a single updating test has predictive value for learning performance acquired over a longer period of time. However, as the effect size is rather small, the test on its own does not serve as a proper selection tool for determining whether a student will be successful or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Knowledge about the beneficial role of physical activity (PA) for health and school performance is growing. Studies investigating the link between PA and school absenteeism due to illness are lacking. Therefore, we investigated associations between habitual PA and school absenteeism due to illness in adolescents and explored whether mental health and cardiovascular fitness mediated this association. METHODS We studied 328 students in grades 7 and 9 (mean age 13.8 years; 49% boys). The PA was measured objectively by an ActivPAL3™ accelerometer attached on the thigh during 1 full week (24 hours/day). Depressive symptoms and self-esteem were self-reported by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, respectively, and included as a proxy for mental health in the analyses. Cardiovascular fitness was measured by the 20-m shuttle-run test. School absenteeism due to illness data was provided by the school administration. RESULTS The PA was not significantly associated with school absenteeism, though there was an indirect association between PA and school absenteeism by cardiovascular fitness. CONCLUSIONS Cardiovascular fitness mediates the association between PA and school absenteeism due to illness. Thus, cardiovascular fitness of students should be improved to reduce school absenteeism due to illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this interview we asked Paul A. Kirschner about his comments and reflections regarding the idea to apply cognitive psychology-based instructional design principles to mathematics education and some related issues. With a main focus on cognitive psychology, educational psychology, educational technology and instructional design, this internationally well-known scholar reflects on the work conducted within the mathematics education community. This paper presents a summary of the comments and reflections that he expressed during the interview. A first main theme relates to the general idea behind the special issue, i.e. the feasibility of applying cognitive theory-based instructional design principles in the field of mathematics education. Second, the interview related to the set of instructional design principles that were included in the special issue and those that were omitted. Third, reflections are made on the differences between the application of instructional design principles in mathematics education research and in instructional design research more generally. One main idea running through this interview is that, according to Kirschner, mathematics education research is not necessarily a special field in its own, as the variation of instructional goals and of research foci within mathematics education is at least as large as the variation across different content domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]