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Digital simulators have an interesting potential to explain the relationships between two or more variables in a system, facilitating the activation of learning processes and favoring the occurrence of meaningful learning with positive impact on academic performance. To study the impact of the use of digital simulation on learning and academic performance of 9th graders in Spatial Geometry a quasi-experimental study was carried out, with a control group and pre-test/post-test design. The analysis of covariance of the post-test results controlled by the pre-test results revealed a significant improvement in the general academic performance of the experimental group, with a significant improvement of skills related to measurement and associations between nets and solids. Students' positive opinions suggest the experience promoted the occurrence of meaningful learning. Implications for practice point to the pedagogical adoption of such digital resources and special attention to the educational context.

Coding is increasingly recognized as a new literacy that should be encouraged at a young age. This understanding has recontextualized computer science as a compulsory school subject and has informed several developmentally appropriate approaches to computation, including for preschool children. This study focuses on the introduction of three approaches to computation in preschool (3-6 years), specifically computational thinking, programming, and robotics, from a cross-curricular perspective. This paper presents preliminary findings from one of the case studies currently being developed as part of project KML II-Laboratory of Technologies and Learning of Programming and Robotics for Preschool and Elementary School. The purpose of the KML II project is to characterize how approaches to computation can be integrated into preschool and elementary education, across different knowledge domains. The conclusions point to "expression and communication" as an initial framework for computational approaches in preschool, but also to multidisciplinary and more creative methodological activities that offer greater scope for the development of digital and computational competences, as well as for personal and social development.

Long have we known that reasoning abilities are linked to learning, and specifically to learning mathematics. Even intelligence, considered a controversial construct, plays a significant role in the research on the explanation of academic performance. This article intends to highlight some important cognitive abilities or dimensions relevant to learning mathematics, synthesizing some research that defines such constructs and relates them to mathematical learning and achievement. General considerations about designing and implementing meaningful learning experiences are presented.

Research groups spend time and resources in the process of applying for funding. This issue raises important questions regarding inefficiency and whether the currently used funding mechanisms are adequate. This article aims to identify ways of reducing the inefficiency and the waste of resources when making research funding calls. We look at four ways of reducing inefficiency. Inefficiency decreases when: (1) the most productive research groups are favoured over the less productive ones, (2) the call is restricted to a small number of research groups actively working on the subject of the call, (3) the funding process is less dependent on the amount of effort spent on fund-seeking activities by the research groups, and (4) the number of research groups competing in the same call is small. However, not all these mechanisms are equally powerful or easy to implement. Our results suggest that: (1) reducing the dependence of the funding process on funding activities' efforts; or (2) reducing the number of research groups by narrowing the subject of the call to groups that are very active in the call's subject might be particularly effective in reducing inefficiency.

Over the last years, educators have been forced to rethink about the whole education system. In 2005, Connectivism, a new learning theory, was emerged. Consequently, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been presented as an alternative powerful educational system. Money was invested and tens of for-profit and non-profit companies involved in producing MOOC. However, integrating and adopting MOOC in educational institutions worldwide is still questionable. This literature review paper addressed and discussed the issues that higher education institutions should consider before adopting MOOC. The findings showed eight considerable, interrelated and controllable MOOC issues: high dropout rate, accreditation, business model, reputation, pedagogy, research ethics, student assessment and language barrier. Policy makers in higher education institutions should be aware of these issues before including MOOC in their development plans. In addition, the paper presented a number of possible future studies.

Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism and other growing theories such as Actor-Network and Connectivism are circulating in the educational field. For each, there are allies who stand behind research evidence and consistency of observation. Meantime, those existing theories dominate the field until the background is changed or new concrete evidence proves their insufficiencies. Connectivists claim that the background or the general climate has recently changed: a new generation of researchers, connectivists propose a new way of conceiving knowledge. According to them, knowledge is a network and learning is a process of exploring this network. Other researchers find this notion either not clear or not new and probably, with no effect in the education field. This paper addresses a foggy understanding of knowledge defined as a network and the lack of resources talking about this topic. Therefore, it tries to clarify what it means to define knowledge as a network and in what way it can affect teaching and learning.

With three years having elapsed since the pandemic onset, a comprehensive assessment of the adaptation process and its extent becomes crucial. In this research note, we provide evidence in this regard by analyzing the tourism resilience determinants of the Spanish provinces throughout the entire 2020–2022 period. The results show that some determinants have played a time-varying role during shock absorption in 2020, adaptation in 2021, and market recovery in 2022. Although the previous equilibrium has been partially reached, there are still persistent effects that remain in 2022. These include the tourist preferences for natural tourism in front of the urban product or the incomplete recovery of distant markets. These insights provide valuable perspectives on the dynamics of the tourism industry and inform strategies to achieve a complete rebound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]