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In recent years, children and adolescents have spent more time sitting and engaging in less physical activity than recommended by health authorities. Despite widespread efforts to promote physical activity through school-based programs, the impact of specific intervention programs often remains untested. Therefore, in this pilot study, the effects of a national school-based physical activity program were assessed. A sample of 80 first- and second-grade primary school students aged between 7 and 9 years (M = 7.95, SD = 0.44) of eight classes was cluster randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG; classroom-based physical activity breaks) or the control group (CG; conventional school lessons). Primary outcomes included objective measurements of sedentary behaviour, step counts, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the intervention. Secondary outcomes encompassed assessments of aerobic fitness performance, executive functions, academic achievement, and scholastic well-being before and after the 20-week intervention. The results indicate that students of the EG spent less time sedentary and took more steps during school mornings than their counterparts of the CG. The physical activity program resulted in a 630-step increase and a 10-minute reduction in sitting time daily. However, there were no effects on MVPA level, aerobic fitness performance, or cognitive functions (including executive functions and academic achievement). The implications of these findings are discussed in light of comprehensive school physical activity approaches.

To assist preservice elementary teachers in attaining scientific competence, knowledge, and understanding of interdisciplinary concepts, a teacher education model--the combined individual microteaching, modeled teaching, and inquiry-based team-teaching (CIMIT) model--was established, and its effectiveness was evaluated. A quasiexperimental design was adopted, and 57 preservice elementary teachers from 2 classes of a science education preparatory course were included in the analysis (30 in the experimental group and 27 in the control group). The 18-week course comprised 36 h of classes. Before and after the course, all participants completed pretests and posttests, respectively, that measured basic scientific competency and subject matter knowledge. Quantitative and qualitative data were also collected and analyzed. The instruction of the CIMIT group comprised 3 stages: individual microteaching, modeled demonstration inquiry--based teaching by an expert teacher, and inquiry-based team teaching. For the control group, the inquiry-based team-teaching stage was omitted. The results validated the effectiveness of the CIMIT model. First, the experimental group exhibited a significantly greater improvement in scientific competency and knowledge than did the control group. Second, after training, the experimental group's knowledge of interdisciplinary concepts increased for all seven interdisciplinary concepts.

Although most individuals experience expectation violations in their educational years, individuals' coping strategies differ depending on situational and dispositional characteristics with potentially decisive influence on educational outcomes. As a situational characteristic, optimism bias indicates that individuals tend to update their expectations after unexpected positive feedback and to maintain their expectations after unexpected negative feedback. As a dispositional characteristic, a higher need for cognitive closure (NCC) indicates that individuals tend to both update (accommodation) and try to confirm expectations (assimilation) after unexpected negative feedback. To better understand mechanisms behind optimism bias and context-dependent effects of NCC in an educational context, we included controllability (attribution of success/failure to internal or external causes) and self-enhancement (amplifying positive self-relevant aspects) in an experimental case vignettes study. Our sample of n = 249 students was divided into four experimental groups (high/low controllability × positive/negative valence) and read four different case vignettes referring to expectation violations in an educational context. MANCOVA revealed that individuals updated their expectations after unexpected positive feedback only with stronger (vs. weaker) self-enhancement and that individuals maintained their expectations after unexpected negative feedback in controllable (vs. uncontrollable) situations. Furthermore, interindividual differences in NCC interacted with controllability in predicting expectation update. We conclude that considering the influences of controllability and self-enhancement, we can better understand and evaluate the adaptivity of the optimism bias and context-dependent effects of NCC in an educational context.

In this research, a GAmified Mobile Leaning Framework (GAMOLEAF) developed as a new intelligent application designed for mobile devices to ensure learning, assessing, and advancing learners' knowledge in programming complex data structures in Java programming language. GAMOLEAF adopted motivational strategies to solve motivational problems during the COVID-19 pandemic by employing a gamification module, that integrates levels, scores, badges, leaderboard, and feedback. Furthermore, in order to assist learners to find useful and relevant lessons and best solutions for each data structure, GAMOLEAF incorporated personalized recommendations through two intelligent modules: a Lessons Recommendation Module (LRecM) and a problem-solving Solutions Recommender Module (PSSORecM). LrecM aims to provide learners with personalized lessons depending on the ratings collected explicitly from them. Whereas, PSSORecM bases on learners' behaviors and directs them to consult other solutions. Both modules were based on the collaborative filtering method and used Matrix Factorization (MF) applying Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) algorithms, respectively. To explore how the integration of personalized recommendations and gamification impact on students motivation and learning achievements in higher education to learning programming complex data structures course using mobile technologies, especially in difficult times like COVID-19, an experiment was carried out to compare the learning achievement and motivation of 90 students divided into three groups (control group, first experimental group, and second experimental group) using three versions of GAMOLEAF respectively: GAMOLEAF-V1 without gamification and without recommendation, GAMOLEAF-V2 integrating gamification only and GAMOLEAF-V3 integrating both gamification and recommendation. The One-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) test and Post hoc Tukey test were employed to analyze the performances of the three groups before and after the learning activity. The results suggested that the students who learned with GAMOLEAF-V3 using gamification and recommendation achieved significantly better learning achievement than those who learned with GAMOLEAF-V2 and GAMOLEAF-V1. From the experimental results, it was found that the gamification applied in GAMOLEAF-V2 and GAMOLEAF-V3 had significantly better effectiveness in improving only students' motivation without improving their learning achievement. Moreover, the analysis result of the learning achievement indicated that the students in the second experimental group showed significantly higher learning achievement using GAMOLEAF-V3 in comparison with those in both the control group and the first experimental group who used GAMOLEAF-V1 and GAMOLEAF-V2 respectively. Such findings indicate that the personalized recommendations offered by the Lessons Recommendation Module (LRecM) and the problem-solving Solutions Recommender Module (PSSORecM) in GAMOLEAF-V3 may be one of the reasons why the learning achievement of students was increased.

This study examined the impacts of internationalization-at-home efforts on intercultural interactions and outcomes for domestic graduate students through a Cultural Partner Program. Ninety-seven participants were recruited from a public research university in the southeastern part of the U.S. Among them, 68 participated in an experimental group in which each of them was paired up with an incoming graduate-level international student to conduct intercultural activities over one semester. All participants took pre- and post-test surveys including psychosocial measures such as wellbeing, intercultural competency, stress, and perceived support. The regression analyses found a significant conditional difference between experimental and control groups in well-being but not other variables. Standardized mean difference analyses revealed improvements present between the experimental group and control group in perceived support and interaction attentiveness and stress. University campuses need to allocate greater lengths of time and resources for graduate students to be a part of intercultural interactions on campus throughout their study.

The globalization of educational processes has intensified the introduction of interactive learning forms. Education systems around the world have undergone transformation, modernization, and innovation. These processes also implied the implementation of advanced technological tools to improve the quality of teaching various subjects, including further mathematics. Remote nano-learning is one of the current technologies that have the potential to turn the presentation of material into a self-regulating individual process. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to determine the impact of nano-learning technology such as cloud and MatLab app on the academic performance and cognitive load of further mathematics students. Cloud and MatLab apps are the new technologies designed to improve the teaching of and learning of Further Mathematics. The main study method was testing, and 100 students. The students additionally studied mathematics in the field of electronics and automation. The Pearson correlation coefficient (0.88, 0.85, 0.76), Shapiro-Wilk test (0.94), and t-test were utilized for statistical processing. The results showed that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group. According to the result, there was a significant difference between the test results of the two groups, indicating the effectiveness of the experiment. No significant differences were found in the cognitive load of the two groups. The limiting factors of the study were the short study time, sample size, different learning styles, and individual characteristics of students. Based on the evidence presented, it is possible to develop and implement effective teaching methods that contribute to academic progress in further mathematics. This study can help university teachers explain to understand complex mathematical problems to their students and use cloud technology and MATLAB software to solve and reduce the complexity of tasks.

Background: In the modern music industry, AI music generators have gained particular importance. The use of AI greatly simplifies the creation of polyphony. In addition, it can increase student motivation and interest. Aims: This study focuses on the AI-assisted creation of polyphonic music. The purpose of this study is to determine how creating polyphony through the Deep Bach model impacts the academic motivation of music university students. Materials & Methods: Achieving this goal is possible by conducting an experimental training program based on the use of the above-mentioned model. Results: The results show that students in the experimental group have higher motivation than the control group participants. Therefore, AI-based music creation has the potential to become a new trend in music education. Implications: The findings of this study can be useful for music education experts, providing empirical data on the effectiveness of AI in music education. The use of the data can ultimately improve the learning process. Future research can focus on developing alternative AI models as well as investigating their effectiveness in music education.

Today, individuals should adapt themselves to the rapidly changing and developing information age and have learning skills. It is only possible by adopting new approaches and strategies instead of traditional teaching methods and techniques. Different learning and teaching approaches are characterized by various methods and designs, such as differentiated instruction. The primary purpose of differentiated instruction is to employ teaching activities depending on students' learning styles and interests. This study aimed to determine the effect of learning style-based differentiated instructional activities on 4th-grade students' academic achievement and learning retention in the social studies course. This study draws attention to the differences between differentiated teaching activities based on learning style and traditional teaching practices and proposes practical solutions for effective social studies teaching. In this study used a quasi-experimental model with pretest-posttest control group designs. The study group consisted of 62 4th-grade primary school students. The experimental group completed learning style-based differentiated instructional activities in the study, while traditional teaching methods were used in the control group. The data were collected with an academic achievement test and interview forms developed by the researchers. The quantitative data were analyzed using arithmetic means, frequency, independent group t-test, and dependent group t-test, and the qualitative data obtained from interviews were examined using descriptive and content analysis approaches. A significant difference was found in the experimental group students' academic achievement in the social studies course, in which learning style-based differentiated instructional activities were applied. There was a significant difference in the retention scores between the experimental group, in which learning style-based differentiated instructional activities were applied, and the control group, in which the traditional teaching methods were preferred. The difference was in favor of the experimental group. Learning style-based differentiated instructional activities allowed students to participate in the activities actively, facilitated classroom management, and offered an entertaining and well-prepared learning atmosphere where individual differences and learning paces are welcomed. The teacher-centered teaching approach based on traditional methods and the direct transfer of information to students should be replaced with student-centered approaches responsive to learning styles, individual differences, interests, and potentials. Social Studies Course Curriculum and educational materials should be enriched with differentiated instructional activities. Social Studies Course Curriculum and materials (e.g., textbooks, lesson plans, and printed materials) should be enriched with differentiated instructional activities.

In professional healthcare training programs, field experience after physical courses is essential for students to become professionals. However, the outbreak of the pandemic has restricted such field experience, and so students' problem-solving awareness when facing clinical emergencies in a professional field after graduation has become a critical issue. In conventional teaching, video-based instruction with case-based learning sheets is usually adopted for healthcare training. In this teaching mode, students generally lack opportunities to experience the process of dealing with authentic cases, and hence might be unable to immediately judge and solve problems when entering the workplace. To enhance students' critical thinking and problem-solving awareness, the present study proposed a reflective cycle-based virtual reality (RC-VR) approach to provide a realistic environment and enable repeated practice. To examine its effectiveness, this study adopted a quasi-experimental design and applied it in a healthcare training program for risk assessment of maternal labor. The results indicated that the proposed RC-VR approach effectively enhanced students' learning achievement, sense of presence, critical thinking, and problem-solving awareness in comparison to the conventional teaching approach.

Artificial intelligence aims to restructure and process re-engineering education and teaching processes and accelerate the evolution of the whole education system from information to intelligence. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) robots learn by observing people at work, analyzing user processes repeatedly, and adjusting or correcting automated processes. By using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), knowledge representation, inference, large-scale parallel computing, and Rapid Domain Adaptation, RPA robots can automatically extract the data needed for decision-making and continuously learn from users' feedback. We have used RPA and predictive analytics to provide distance learning students with the Intelligent Tutoring Robot (ITR), which can provide an automatic response. By optimizing the ITR in the above context, we have examined the feasibility of transforming a prediction model, using a student learning database, into an early-warning system. This article adopts the randomized control-group pretest-posttest design, dividing 123 students into a control group to describe interactions between ITR and students and experimental groups to describe interactions between human teachers and students. The findings present no significant difference between the control and the experimental groups in terms of academic performance, however higher average marks were achieved in the former group.

This study adopted integrated cooperative learning and writing-to-learn activities rather than the traditional approach to having preservice science teachers acquire knowledge about classroom management. The effects of these practices were compared. This research aims to determine the effects of cooperative news articles and story writing, as well as online cooperative writing-to-learn practices, on preservice science teachers' levels of knowledge about classroom management courses. For this purpose, the study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. Do cooperative news articles and cooperative story-writing practices in an online environment affect preservice teachers' academic achievement? 2. Is there a statistically significant difference between the academic achievements of preservice teachers who practiced online cooperative news articles and cooperative story writing?

Despite the widespread use of Learner-Oriented Assessment (LOA) in (English as a Foreign Language EFL classes, concerns persist regarding its suitability for contexts such as Iran. Drawing on Carless's (SHE, 31:219-233, 2006) criteria for LOA, the present study examined the effectiveness of peer and teacher feedback in an academic writing course. To this aim, a total of 124 intermediate language learners who were homogenized in terms of language proficiency, based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. A 12-session writing instruction course with specific writing tasks was developed. One group received feedback from peers, while the other group received feedback from the teacher. Findings revealed that peer feedback resulted in better writing in terms of language, content, and organization. It was also found that the peer feedback group could retain their learning in the long run. These findings underscore the effectiveness of peer feedback within the framework of LOA, particularly in teacher-directed settings.

The rapid rise of information technology has popularized learning diagnostic systems in education, particularly in college English teaching. These systems boost teaching quality and enable precise instruction. This study delves into precision teaching in college English with two English major classes. Teaching experiments used data from the system to set goals, plan courses, choose strategies, assign tasks, and assess progress. SPSS analysis gauged the system's effectiveness. Results reveal enhanced student interest and performance in English with the system. The experimental group displayed heightened engagement and innovative learning methods, outperforming the control group significantly. Conversely, the control group struggled with traditional methods. The precision teaching model, aided by the diagnostic system, enhances English proficiency among college students, lending theoretical backing to its application in college English education.

This research evaluates the efficacy of a basketball-based teaching and training system supported by 5G technology in a wireless network environment. Initially are information about the Chinese basketball students is first gathered and then divided into a Control Group (CG) and an Experimental Group (EG). The control group uses the standard method of collegiate basketball instruction, while the experimental group learns the game under the background of 5G technology. For transmitting the basketball teaching data in the 5G network, we proposed a novel routing protocol named Probability-based Coupling Zone Routing Protocol (PbCZRP). An optimization technique called the Shark optimization approach is used to enhance the performance of the routing protocol. Finally, a comparison of the two groups reveals that the experimental group's basketball players fared better than the control group. The basketball training plan powered by 5G will supply students with adaptive learning services that take into account their individual needs and strengths.

Self-cognition and self-acceptance are essential for mental health development and emotion in college students. The study investigated the efficacy of group drawing therapy in improving Chinese college students' positive self-cognition and self-acceptance. It is worth noting that Chinese college students in a collectivist culture have systematic and fluid conceptualizations of the self, such as "self in relation to others" and "self in background." In this study, the intervention group participated in group drawing therapy, and the control group did not participate in any mental health care. Our results demonstrated promising effects in improving the level of self-cognition and self-acceptance among college students. Group drawing therapy was beneficial to the growth-oriented development of college students. Additionally, it may provide an innovative direction for student development professionals and help mental health educators promote self-growth in psychologically disturbed college students.

Strategy interventions have been found to support students' text comprehension, but little is known about the sustainability of these effects. This study examined short- and long-term effects of a strategy intervention on students' vocabulary and text comprehension at the literal, inferential and evaluative levels. A pretest, posttest, and retention test design with experimental and control conditions was used. Ninety-nine six-graders from six Estonian schools were examined while using vocabulary and text comprehension tests. Comprehension strategies were taught in an experimental condition by Estonian-language teachers during a three-month intervention. The group-level analysis indicated short-term improvements in all skills when strategies were taught. The long-term effect was found in literal and inferential comprehension with continual improvements in literal comprehension. For the students in the control condition, short- and long-term improvements were detected in literal text comprehension. The individual-level analysis revealed three vocabulary and text comprehension profile groups: Average High, Average Low, and Low Combined. In the experimental condition, students from every profile group benefited from the intervention. In the control condition, enhancements were seen in the students in the Average High profile group. Thus, the explicit teaching of comprehension strategies supports students in becoming aware of using multiple comprehension strategies, despite individual differences.

Searching for trials is a key task in systematic reviews and a focus of automation. Previous approaches required knowing examples of relevant trials in advance, and most methods are focused on published trial articles. To complement existing tools, we compared methods for finding relevant trial registrations given a International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) entry and where no relevant trials have been screened for inclusion in advance. We compared SciBERT-based (extension of Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) PICO extraction, MetaMap, and term-based representations using an imperfect dataset mined from 3632 PROSPERO entries connected to a subset of 65,662 trial registrations and 65,834 trial articles known to be included in systematic reviews. Performance was measured by the median rank and recall by rank of trials that were eventually included in the published systematic reviews. When ranking trial registrations relative to PROSPERO entries, 296 trial registrations needed to be screened to identify half of the relevant trials, and the best performing approach used a basic term-based representation. When ranking trial articles relative to PROSPERO entries, 162 trial articles needed to be screened to identify half of the relevant trials, and the best-performing approach used a term-based representation. The results show that MetaMap and term-based representations outperformed approaches that included PICO extraction for this use case. The results suggest that when starting with a PROSPERO entry and where no trials have been screened for inclusion, automated methods can reduce workload, but additional processes are still needed to efficiently identify trial registrations or trial articles that meet the inclusion criteria of a systematic review.

Several branches of the potential outcome causal inference literature have discussed the merits of blocking versus complete randomization. Some have concluded it can never hurt the precision of estimates, and some have concluded it can hurt. In this article, we reconcile these apparently conflicting views, give a more thorough discussion of what guarantees no harm, and discuss how other aspects of a blocked design can cost, all in terms of estimator precision. We discuss how the different findings are due to different sampling models and assumptions of how the blocks were formed. We also connect these ideas to common misconceptions; for instance, we show that analyzing a blocked experiment as if it were completely randomized, a seemingly conservative method, can actually backfire in some cases. Overall, we find that blocking can have a price but that this price is usually small and the potential for gain can be large. It is hard to go too far wrong with blocking.

Developmental disabilities (DD) research has depended on volunteer and clinical samples, with limited racial/ethnic diversity. This study focused on improving diversity and retention in DD research. The sample included 225 parents with a child with DD and 4,002 parents without children with DD from diverse racial/ethnic groups, drawn from Midlife in the United States, a national longitudinal study. Unexpectedly, parents of children with DD from diverse racial/ethnic groups were "more likely" to participate longitudinally than other groups. Relative participant payment was a factor that enhanced their likelihood of retention. This research illustrates how large national studies can be leveraged to increase representativeness and ongoing participation of diverse racial/ethnic groups, especially in combination with other factors, such as parenting a child with DD.

This quasi-experimental study aimed to examine students' community of inquiry perceptions through online learning activities designed based on the community of inquiry model. The participants of the study consisted of 81 freshmen enrolled in two different departments of a Turkish state university. The process for the experimental procedure was carried out as part of the Information Technologies course. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the research process was carried out with synchronous distance education. While the control group received instruction through direct instruction and question/answer technique, the experimental group received instruction based on the community of inquiry model. For data collection, a demographic information form and the community of inquiry scale were administered. According to the results, students in the experimental group had significantly higher scores in terms of cognitive and teaching presence compared with the students in the control group. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of their social presence scores. Overall, the students in the experimental group had higher community of inquiry score than the students in the control group.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of flipped classroom model on fifth grade students' 21st century skills and scientific epistemological beliefs. The sample of the study was consisted of 54 fifth grade students from a rural elementary school in Turkey. Quasi-experimental design with pre-test and posttest control group was used. As a data collection tool, "Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Scale" and "21st Century Learning Skills Scale" was used. For data analysis, independent t-test and dependent t-test were used. As a result of the study it was found that; at the beginning, there was no significant difference between the experimental and control group students' pre-test scientific epistemological beliefs. After the implementation, there was no significant difference between the experimental and control group students' posttest scientific epistemological beliefs mean scores. In addition, at the beginning of the study, there was no significant difference was found between experimental and control group students' 21st century skills. After the implementation, there was no significant difference was found between experimental and control group students' 21st century skills after the implementation.

Formative assessment (FA) is considered a powerful tool to enhance learning. However, there have been few studies addressing how the implementation of FA influences the development of inquiry skills so far. This research intends to determine the efficacy of teaching using FA in the development of students' inquiry skills. A test of inquiry skills was used as the main research instrument to identify the level of the selected inquiry skills before and after a period of teaching with or without FA in the experimental and control group respectively. In the experimental group (n=73), FA was implemented across five subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and informatics, while the control group (n=48) was taught without any external intervention. In both groups, mostly teacher-centred methods of teaching were applied. The research findings confirmed a low initial level of inquiry skills. Teaching using FA showed higher efficacy than teaching without FA, even without a special focus on the inquiry methods. The experimental group achieved significantly better results compared to the control group. In addition, the results confirmed higher efficacy of FA in lower performing students. Gender did not prove as a determining factor in the effective implementation of FA.

This study aims to investigate the effect of Toulmin argumentation model (TAM), epistemologically enriched Toulmin argumentation model (EETAM), and method suggested in Turkish Science Curricula on the epistemological beliefs of 7th grade students and their views on this effect. In this context, while the students in TAM group learned seventh grade structure and properties of matter unit through TAM; the students in EETAM group learned seventh grade structure and properties of matter unit through TAM and then had explicit discussions about epistemological belief dimensions. In the comparison group, students followed national science curriculum and learned the same science topic through the method suggested in curriculum. Students' epistemological beliefs were determined with epistemological belief scale. Also, students' opinions about the effect of TAM and EETAM were determined by semi-structured interviews. Therefore, embedded design of mixed method researches was used. Two experimental and one comparison groups were included. The sample of the study consisted of 98 students studying in a public school in Kayseri, Turkey. As a result of the study, there was a significant difference only between the EEAM group and the comparison group in terms of epistemological beliefs. The same results were reached in the qualitative findings. Therefore, it can be said that explicit discussions on epistemological beliefs is more effective than inquiry-based teaching and method suggested in Turkish national science curriculum. Thus, results expose that explicit teaching of epistemological beliefs helps students better understand epistemic nature of scientific knowledge and learning.

In this study, it was aimed to show the effect of computer assisted learning on the academic achievement, performance levels and computer attitudes of 8th grade students in "Transformation Geometry" subject and determine students' opinions about this learning environment. The study was conducted with embedded design, one of the mixed method designs. As a result of the analysis, no statistically significant difference was found between the academic achievement of control and experimental groups. Experimental group students stated that the Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) software was useful, they expressed that they learnt the subjects better and easier, learning by applying increased their self-confidence and sense of curiosity. It was determined that students were able to establish relationships between the concepts they learnt about real life and the subject of transformation geometry and realized that they could experience mathematical concepts in many areas in daily life.

Pregnancy is a frequently applied exclusion criteria for many forms of research. Common justifications for this exclusion include the potential for teratogenicity, as well as the potential for physiologic changes in pregnancy to impact the research itself. The systematic exclusion of pregnant persons from clinical studies has created a significant gap in knowledge regarding medication safety and efficacy in pregnancy, which continues to cause significant harm to pregnant persons in need of medical therapy. To produce meaningful data and facilitate effective knowledge translation to the clinical setting, special consideration to the pharmacology of pregnancy, as well as to outcomes of concern for this population is essential. The exclusion of pregnant participants from research is not ethically justifiable, as it violates the principles of autonomy, justice and nonmaleficence. While the inclusion of pregnant patients in research presents it's own challenges, with appropriate methodological, ethical, and clinical considerations, we may be able to narrow the knowledge gap and improve drug availability and safety for pregnant patients and their children.

Systematic reviewers are advised to search trials registers to minimise risk of reporting biases. However, there has been little research on the impact of searching trials registers on the results of meta-analyses. We aimed to evaluate the impact of searching clinical trials registers for systematic reviews of pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical interventions. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, and Education Collection for systematic reviews with meta-analyses indexed from 2 November to 2 December 2020. A random sample of systematic reviews was initially drawn, and for reviews which considered randomised trials eligible for inclusion, which had not searched a trials register, we searched ClinicalTrials.gov, EudraCT, ANZCTR, and the WHO ICTRP search portal for eligible trials. We compared meta-analytic effect estimates before and after including results from additional trials identified. We found additional trials for 63% (63/101) of eligible reviews; however, trials with results that could contribute to a meta-analysis were identified for only 20% (20/101) of the reviews. On average, there was no difference in the meta-analytic effect estimates before versus after adding the new trials. In summary, searching clinical trial registers led to identification of additional trials for many reviews; however, very few trials had results available for inclusion in meta-analyses. Including results from the new trials led to no change in the meta-analytic estimates, on average. Trials registers would be even more valuable to systematic reviewers if more trialists made use of them (i.e., registered their trials and posted results in a timely manner).

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component communication intervention on social communication for young children with autism. As many as half of children with autism are not yet talking by age 3, and up to a third of children with autism will remain minimally verbal past age 5. Spoken language outcomes are greatest when parents and clinicians are delivering language interventions to children with autism as compared to parents or clinicians alone. This study incorporates caregiver training, Discrete Trial Teaching, and JASP+EMT+SGD. A total of 68 children between ages 3 and 5 with autism, and their caregivers, participated in this study. Children were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Children in the treatment group received 36 sessions of the multi-component intervention in the clinic and at home. Children in both groups received a speech-generating device and the caregivers received an individualized training on how to program the speech-generating device. All participants were evaluated prior to intervention, immediately following intervention, and 4months following intervention. Children in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater joint attention than those in the control group immediately following intervention. Children in the intervention group, additionally, demonstrated greater social communication with their caregivers 4months following intervention. This brief, multi-component intervention may be effective for improving social communication in young children with autism who are at risk for remaining minimally verbal. Future research is needed to understand for whom and under what conditions this intervention is most effective.

This research was a quasi-pretest-posttest design experimental study with experimental and control classes. The experimental class applied the VAK model and the control class applied the guided inquiry model. The research was conducted on fifth-grade students of primary schools in Surakarta in the academic year 2018/2019 with a sample of 114 students selected by random sampling technique. The research data was obtained by a narrative writing test instrument that had been validated by linguists and evaluation experts before tested. The results showed the mean score of narrative writing skills gained in the experimental class was 0.44 compared to the control class of -0.30. The results of the independent sample t-test showed a significant difference between the experimental class and the control class with a t-value of 25.155 and a sig. (2- tailed) value of 0.000<0.05. The effect-size calculation showed that the VAK model had a high effectiveness in learning narrative writing skills, with a value of d=7.58. Based on the theory, related to learning style (visualization, auditory, kinesthetic) could enhance the increase in linguistic intelligence as an internal factor affecting narrative writing skills. Based on research findings and theories, it can be synthesized that in terms of linguistic intelligence, the VAK model is effective in improving narrative writing skills.

Science learning video integrated with local potentials was developed and tested to improve students' science process skills (SPS) and concept mastery. The learning video was developed for the topic of micro-hydro power (MHP) plant. This study was aimed to determine the effectiveness of the video integrated with the local potential of MHP plant in science learning. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used. The population was first-year students of State Junior High School in Bantul Yogyakarta. The cluster random sampling was used to determine the sample. The aspects of SPS measured were observing and communicating, while the aspects of concept mastery measured were memorizing, understanding, and applying. The data of students' SPS and concept mastery were analyzed using multivariate test. The findings revealed that the use of video integrated with local potential of MHP plant was effective to improve students' SPS and concept mastery. This was statistically supported by the average normalized gain for the experimental group (medium category), which was higher than the control group (low category).

The study examined motivation and learning outcomes of the use of multimedia instructional message during the introductory part of 18 lessons of school subject Nature and Society in 4th grade. Learning outcomes were measured by immediate knowledge tests and global exams. The multimedia model was developed containing activities used either through multimedia presentations, or in a traditional manner, such as using printed text and picture. Multimedia presentations, created according to the multimedia learning principles, represented multimedia instructional and motivational messages. They consisted of six groups of activities: association games, videos, interactive stories, interactive maps, visual stimuli, and crossword puzzles and quizzes. Field quasi-experiment was conducted with the experimental group exposed to instructional and motivational message on computer, and the control groups exposed to the message by traditional teaching aids. The participants were 170 pupils from four Croatian schools. The experimental group consisted of 97 and the control group of 73 students. Using multimedia instructional messages gave better learning outcomes, measured by immediate knowledge tests, while the effect was partially visible in the more global exams. The experimental group rated the activities more fun, interesting and instructional than the control group. The higher motivation was positively correlated to better learning outcomes.

The objective of this study is to explore the effect of the Big Math for Little Kids Program (BMKL) on the mathematical development of bilingual preschool children. For this purpose, an experimental design with pre-test/post-test with control group was employed. A total of 60 children from Diyarbakir were included in the research sample. Of these, 30 were assigned to the experimental group and 30 to the control group. In the study pretest-posttest with control group experimental model was used. The data of the study were collected through the Tests of Early Language Development Test (TELD-3) to determine children with adequate language skills of their own age group, and Test of Early Mathematical Ability (TEMA-3) to assess early mathematical development of children. BMLK program were applied to the experimental group for 12 weeks by the researcher. The main themes of the four units are numbers, shapes, patterns and measurement skills. After the experiment, TEMA-3 test and TELD test were applied to the experimental and control groups as post-test. The obtained data were analyzed by using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. As a result of the study, it was identified that the Big Math for Little Kids Program has a statistically significant effect on early mathematical skills of children in favor of the experimental group when compared to the control group.

Posing high-quality problems is a critical skill to be possessed by students in learning mathematics. However, it is still limited in literature in answering whether problem posing learning model effective in improving students' learning achievement and motivation. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of problem posing learning model in the topics of cube and cuboid on students' learning achievement and motivation. This study employs quasi experimental design with 20 students in experimental group and 24 students in control group. The study found that the problem posing learning model has insignificant effect on the students' learning achievement but has a positive and significant effect of the learning model on the students' learning motivation. Further analysis showed that the learning model also has a significant and positive effect on every aspect of students learning motivation, namely students' interests, enthusiasm, diligence, collaboration, and self-control.

Teasing is a type of bullying which is seen in children at very early ages and considered as devastating for the victim. The skill of coping with this behavior is considered as important in terms of learning peer relations of children and being adapted to in-group relations. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of Accepting Diversity Psychoeducation Program on teasing.The study was conducted with a pretest, posttest, and follow-up test model with experimental and control groups. The study was carried out with primary school students in grades 1-5 in Kayseri, in accordance with the project no: 118B525 in TUBITAK 4004 program. The data were collected using "Child-Adolescent Teasing Scale". While experimental group was given instruction through Accepting Diversity Psychosocial Education Program, control group was not given instruction. Follow-up data were collected one month after posttest. Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used to analyze the data.The results of the study revealed that there was a significant difference (p <0.05) between the posttest scores of the experimental and control groups. The applied program decreased discomfort felt by children in experimental group. The effects diminished but continued in following month.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of 5 days (25 hours) of ski training on balance performance for individuals who have never had ski training before. A total of 84 volunteers participated in the study, 42 of them men and 42 of them women without any health problems. After the pre-test balance measurements of the control and experimental group, ski training was given to the experimental group for 5 days in Erciyes Ski Center. One day after ski training was completed, the post-test measurements of the control and experimental groups were made and the results were noted. Biodex Balance System was used for balance measurement in the study. According to the results obtained, static APSI values of the experimental group after ski training were better than before and this difference was significant (p < 0.05), dynamic OSI, APSI and MLSI values were better than before and these differences were significant (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, respectively). These results show that skiing activity can be recommended especially for the development of dynamic balance performance. On the other hand, it seems that ski training contributes more to the static balance performance in the direction of A-P.

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of digital writing workshop activities on fourth grade primary students' story writing skills and writing motivation. The study was carried out in Ankara province during the 2017-2018 academic year. A true experimental design, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 30 students (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group) studying in the fourth grade of primary school. The Motivation to Write Scale, the Story Elements Evaluation Scale, and the 6+1 Analytical Writing and Evaluation Scale were used as data collection tools for the study. The experimental implementation process lasted 14 weeks. During the implementation, students were asked to write stories using a different digital platform at each stage of the writing process. In the study, t-test for independent groups and ANOVA test were used for the data analysis. The SPSS software program was used for analysis of the data. The findings obtained in the study reveal that with regard to the use of story elements by students who participated in the digital writing workshop implementation and in the dimensions of ideas, organisation, word choice, sentence fluency and spelling in their stories, there was a significant difference in favour of the experimental group. This situation reveals that the digital writing workshop implementation was effective for the improvement of the students' story writing skills. However, it was determined that there was a significant decrease in the writing motivation scores of the experimental group students who participated in the digital writing workshop, whereas there was no significant change in the writing motivation scores of the students in the control group. This situation reveals that, contrary to expectations, the digital writing workshop activities decreased the students' writing motivation.

The study was undertaken to find out the effect of simplified Kundalini yoga and pranayama on academic performance and selected psychological variables among schoolboys on aggression. To achieve the purpose of the study, 45 students studying various Higher Secondary Schools at Erode District were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects ranged from 14 to 16 years. The subjects were divided into three groups of fifteen each (n=15) randomly. Experimental Group I underwent simplified Kundalini yoga, Experimental Group II underwent Pranayama, and Group III is Control group were kept under active rest. The training period is for three days per week for eight weeks, in addition to the school curriculum. All the subjects were tested on selected criterion variables prior and immediately after the training period. The result of the study that there is a significant difference in the adjusted post-test means of the simplified Kundalini yoga group and the pranayama practice group and control group. It was identified that the simplified yoga group is better than the pranayama group and control group in improving explosive strength.

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of science-fiction books on arousing secondary school students' curiosity about science. The research was conducted with 60 students attending 5th and 6th grades in a secondary school in Giresun, Guce district, during 2015-2016 academic year. The students were divided into two groups as one control group and one experimental group. In the control group, 2013 Science Curriculum was followed. In the experimental group, 12 different science-fiction books were added to the exact same curriculum. In this research, quantitative data were collected via Science Curiosity Scale and qualitative data were collected via semi structured diaries. After the application process, the quantitative data were analysed with SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) 16 software and the qualitative data were analysed with content analysis method. As a result of the research, a significant difference was found in favour of the experimental group in terms of science curiosity, compared to the control group who had not read the books. In addition to this, the semi-structured diaries revealed some remarks which state that science-fiction books pique their curiosity about science.

The aim of this study is to improve and regain the interest of Grade 8 students of Alexis G. Santos National High School, a public school in Bustos, Bulacan, Central Luzon, Philippines in studying literature especially in dealing with poetry and narratives. This research utilized the descriptive type of design, particularly, the quasi-experimental method. 108 Grade 8 students participated in the study, serving as the control and experimental group with equal number and characteristics. After a seven-week exposure to songs as springboard to literature lessons of the experimental group, the difference between the means of the pre-test and post-test was measured to determine significance of the study. The researcher computed for the F-Test Two-Sample for Variance of Post Test for Control and Experimental Group, and t-Test of Paired Two-Sample for Mean of Post Test. There is a significant difference between the mean scores of the two groups, and the finding implied that the intervention material is effective for improving learner performance in English 8, specifically, in their understanding of basic figurative language and literature. The researcher recommended that teachers, curriculum planners and school heads consider motivation as an important aspect in the teaching and learning process.

In connection to studying the physical activity and psycho-physical achievements of the students from 7th grade, tests for physical capacity of boys were conducted at "Hristo Botev" Secondary School, Ruse. The tests are mandatory for all 7th grade boys. 102 students participated in two groups -- "A" and "C" classes--experimental ones and "B" and "D" classes--control ones. These tests improve the motion activity, physical qualities, knowledge and skills of students.

The purpose of this study is (1) examining the effectiveness of worksheets based the three levels of inquiry in improving the critical and creative thinking skills of biology education students, (2) analyze implementation worksheets are based on the three levels of inquiry. The research was quasi-experimental: pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design. The sample of this research consists of 80 students of biology education from Pattimura University, Indonesia. The data were collected by using critical thinking and creative tests an observation sheet. The data were analyzed by using hypothesis testing by using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The research results indicate that there is a significant difference in the effectiveness between the three levels of inquiry based worksheets and the conventional strategy in improving the critical and creative thinking skills of biology education students. The results of the analysis showed that the experimental class had a significantly higher difference in the average critical and creative thinking skills compared to the control class. The implementation of the worksheets based on three levels of inquiry is very good.

Teachers sometimes fail to give varied teaching instructions that are suitable for a mixed-ability classroom because these instructions do not match students' proficiency levels. The current quasi-experimental quantitative study investigated the effectiveness of differentiated instruction strategies on students' overall English achievement. 60 grade 8 students from 2 different randomly selected schools from Irbid, in Jordan participated in this study. The experimental group (N=30) were taught English following differentiated instruction of homogeneous grouping, tiered assignments and tiered instruction in the areas of content, process and product of the Grade 8 text books with supplementary materials and differentiated reading texts. However, the control group (N=30) were taught english from grade 8 Jordanian English text book, Action Pack following the one size-fits-all method. Following the pre-test/post-test quantitative design, t-test results indicated that there was a statistical significant difference between the experimental and the control group in favour of the experimental group. Moreover, the results showed that differentiated instruction had a sizable effect size in reduction classroom diversity. The researcher recommended implementing differentiated instruction over a longer period and on a larger sample.

Computer-Based Problem Solving is a combination of problem-based learning and computer-assisted learning. The method facilitates students to use computer programs as cognitive tools to solve problems. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Computer Based Problem Solving on High Level Thinking Skills (HOTS) of prospective teachers. The study was conducted in the 5th semester of the 2018/2019 academic year. This is a quasi-experiment with pre-test and post-test control group design consist. In the process of learning, the experimental group used computer-based problem solving as treatment whereas the control group used traditional methods. HOTS data was collected by conducting essay tests and the data was analyzed by using t-test and ANOVA. The findings of this study revealed that using computer-based problem solving approach improved HOTS of the prospective teachers as well as enhance their collaboration and motivation. It was found out that there was a moderate improvement on HOTS aspects in communication. The study also showed very slight improvement on the prospective teacher's problem solving abilities.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of critical thinking aspects on the module to enhance students' academic achievement of human circulatory system. Research participants were 8th grade of junior high school students, which assigned into experimental and control groups (each group consists of 27 students) based on One-Way ANOVA result (0.255; p-value > 0.05). This quasi-experimental study applied a pre-test and post-test non-equivalent control group design. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse pre-test and post-test data, with pre-test as a covariate. Analysis result showed that: (1) students' academic achievement in the experimental group is significantly different with the control group (F=90.562; p-value < 0.05); (2) students' academic achievement gap in the experimental group is lower than the control group; and (3) applying critical thinking aspects on the module have an effective contribution of 64% in students' academic achievement enhancement of the experimental group. Therefore, the use of critical thinking aspects on the module has a good impact on students' academic achievement.

This study aims to determine the effect of prediction, observation, explanation supported project based environmental education (POESPBEE) on the attitudes and behaviors levels of eighth grade students compared to teacher-centered environmental education. The study used a quasi-experimental research design including pre-test, post-test and control group. The application step of the study was carried out by the researchers in a ten-week period in 2018-2019 academic year. The study group included 62 students, 34 of whom were in the experimental group and 28 of whom were in the control group. The experimental group was applied the POESPBEE and the control group was applied teacher-centered environmental education. Attitude Scale toward Environment and Behavior Scale toward Environment were administrated as pre-test, post-test and follow-up test to evaluate the attitude and behavior levels of the students in the experimental and control groups toward the environment. Data were analyzed using the Independent Samples t-test and Repeated Measures ANOVA. The study found that the POESPBEE provided a significant development on students' attitude and behavior; however, teacher-centered environmental education could not provide a significant development on the students. Based on this result, it can be claimed that the methods like the POESPBEE, which can change individuals' attitudes and behaviors toward the environment in positive way, should be used in environmental education.

Regarding the large amount of vocabulary that learners should learn and the limited amount of time available in the EFL classes, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is considered as an attractive option for learning. One specific benefit of using CALL vocabulary instruction is to provide systematic repetition of words, ensuring that learned words are not forgotten. The objective of current investigation is to examine the effect of CALL on Iranian intermediate learners' vocabulary learning. The researchers used Tell Me More (TEM) software for this objective. This investigation used Preliminary English Test (PET) as a standardized measurement to seek the level of the subjects in terms of language proficiency. Then, the researchers assigned the participants into two groups: experimental group and control group. Experimental group included 31 EFL students and control group involved 30 EFL students. 80 items were administered as pre-test to evaluate the participants' previous knowledge of English in respect to the vocabularies. The researchers taught the students of both groups for 12 sessions. The TEM software was used as treatment in experimental group and the control group received no treatment. The taught words were the same in both groups. After 12 sessions, the 65 items were administered as post-test in order to compare the results of the scores of two groups and decide about the effectiveness of the treatment. The data were analyzed through running the Independent sample t-test. The results of post-test showed that the participants of experimental group outperformed the control group and had positive attitudes towards CALL. The results of this study may be useful for EFL teachers, EFL learners, and syllabus designers.