Search

Molecular case studies (MCSs) are open educational resources that use a storytelling approach to engage students in biomolecular structure-function explorations, at the interface of biology and chemistry. Although MCSs are developed for a particular target audience with specific learning goals, they are suitable for implementation in multiple disciplinary course contexts. Detailed teaching notes included in the case study help instructors plan and prepare for their implementation in diverse contexts. A newly developed MCS was simultaneously implemented in a biochemistry and a molecular parasitology course at two different institutions. Instructors participating in this cross-institutional and multidisciplinary implementation collaboratively identified the need for quick and effective ways to bridge the gap between the MCS authors' vision and the implementing instructor's interpretation of the case-related molecular structure-function discussions. Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive and engaging experience that has been used effectively in teaching molecular sciences. Its accessibility and ease-of-use with smart devices (e.g., phones and tablets) make it an attractive option for expediting and improving both instructor preparation and classroom implementation of MCSs. In this work, we report the incorporation of ready-to-use AR objects as checkpoints in the MCS. Interacting with these AR objects facilitated instructor preparation, reduced students' cognitive load, and provided clear expectations for their learning. Based on our classroom observations, we propose that the incorporation of AR in MCSs can facilitate its successful implementation, improve the classroom experience for educators and students, and make MCSs more broadly accessible in diverse curricular settings.

Determining the curriculum is the government's authority, in early 2022, the independent curriculum was launched. Implementing an independent curriculum is a challenge in itself for education in North Kalimantan. The reason is educational facilities in this region are not evenly distributed. However, several agencies have made efforts to continue to make the independent curriculum program a success. This research was conducted using the systematic literature review (SLR) method. The results of this research are that the government, teacher groups, and several schools have developed and implemented an independent curriculum. Teaching staff in North Kalimantan experienced various difficulties in implementing the independent curriculum technique, including a lack of resources, such as teaching materials and technology, and confusion due to a lack of understanding. This case is an indication that there is still a need to improve the quality of education, especially in the interior of North Kalimantan.

The main reason for the research significance is misconceptions arising in the field when implementing Sekolah Penggerak Program, which started in 2021. Thus, the objectives of this study are to describe programs for enhancing exceptional human resources, and to explore the Kurikulum Operasional Satuan Pendidikan (Education Unit Operational Curriculum), and the Merdeka Curriculum learning. Four elementary schools in Indonesia's urban and rural areas served as the research unit for analysis, which used a qualitative comparative case study design. The results demonstrate that the programs of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for improving human resources, which includes training and mentoring, have a favourable effect on both rural and urban primary schools. However, only one out of four schools examined the context of the educational unit while creating education unit operational curriculum documents, and every school simply used education unit operational curriculum as a prerequisite for administrative fulfilment. Based on the available components, all teachers developed teaching modules for the Merdeka Curriculum. It was found, nevertheless, that the students were not genuinely exposed to the content of these modules.

To equip students with 21st-century skills, teachers must have both deep STEM content knowledge and the confidence to implement and teach appropriate STEM content. Many elementary teachers have inadequate STEM background knowledge, low confidence, and STEM self-efficacy for implementing STEM in the classroom; as a result, teachers' classroom practices are affected. The study examined how elementary teachers perceive their ability to implement STEM in the classroom. The STEM Efficacy Survey was sent to a randomized pool of 100 elementary educators, and 18 of them agreed to participate in the study. This instrument was designed to elicit responses related to the teachers' previous background in STEM, their beliefs about their ability to implement STEM, and their actual STEM implementation in the elementary classroom. The results revealed that participants were confident in their understanding of the engineering design process and problem-based learning. However, teachers were unwilling to apply the engineering design process in the classroom. From this research, the researchers concluded that higher levels of training in STEM education may influence how teachers perceive their ability to implement STEM in the classroom. Further research should focus on exploring how STEM training affects teachers' self-efficacy in STEM implementation.

This study aimed to explore the top-down or compact accountability relationship for curriculum implementation in rural public primary schools in the East Wollega zone administration, Ethiopia. An exploratory case study type and a multiple case study research design were employed. A purposeful sampling technique was used. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and document reviews. The data were analyzed qualitatively by coding and describing patterns and themes in the raw data. The study utilized triangulation, expert reviews, and member checking to ensure internal validity and reliability. The findings of the study reveal that the compact accountability relationship between the policymakers and the curriculum implementers was loosely exercised and compromised by main determinants such as weak capacity, poor monitoring progress, and politicization of the policymakers' roles and responsibilities. This study also affirms that a compact accountability relationship was seriously operational to collect easily achievable reports, which led policymakers to be unsuccessful in communicating their clear duties and responsibilities for the curriculum implementation to hold implementers accountable as stated in the government proclamation. Hence, it can be concluded that accountability stands for responsibilities outside the classroom by missing the actual curriculum implementation. The study recommends that the regional education bureau, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, establish an autonomous and independent policymakers' office that acts as an overseer and holds curriculum implementers accountable by visiting schools, pointing out mistakes, writing reports, and exercising accountability mechanisms. The study suggests that teachers and school principals ought to be held accountable for their particular duties and responsibilities instead of producing reports for higher-level commands that take them away from effectively implementing the curriculum.

This literature review examines the implementation of e-Portfolios in higher education, with a focus on the implementation process, potential barriers, and strategies for overcoming challenges. This review seeks to provide instructional designers and higher education instructors with design strategies to effectively implement e-Portfolios. Through an analysis of seventeen studies, we identified six common steps in the implementation process, including identifying a purpose, stakeholders, platform, conducting workshops, creating e-Portfolios, and evaluating the project. The implementation process also raised eight concerns, including concerns related to technology, policy, pedagogy, artifact quality, privacy, student motivation, academic integrity, and teacher workload. To address these concerns, existing strategies suggest that successful implementation requires training and policy support, student-centered pedagogy, criteria for assessing artifacts, privacy and data protection, feedback, anti-plagiarism measures, and shared successful models.

The study aims to describe the success of the collaborative supervision between the head of the madrasah and the teachers at five private madrasah tsanawiyah in Gresik. This research, a qualitative case study design, involved the head of the madrasah and the teachers of five private madrasah tsanawiyah. Instruments used include interviews, observations, and documentation. Data analysis techniques used are data condensation, data presentation, conclusion drawing, and verification. The research findings demonstrate the significant positive impact of collaborative supervision on teachers' creativity and professionalism and its direct correlation with students' improved learning quality and learning outcomes. Collaborative supervision has been successful in enhancing the creativity of teachers in the implementation of a multicultural-based independent curriculum. The implications of the findings provide a strong basis for educational institutions to consider implementing more effective collaborative supervision strategies in the context of a multicultural-based independent curriculum. The importance of considering cultural and multicultural contexts is also highlighted in designing educational supervision programmes and strengthening the inclusive learning environment.

The study reported on here was intended to reveal the existence and direction of education democracy in Indonesia with regard to the regulations, the implementation models, problems, and future prospects. The data were obtained from various written materials of official government policy records, namely, laws, ministerial regulations, curriculum implementation guidebooks, discourses and policy criticisms on the implementation of education democracy in Indonesia published in mass media, articles and research journals. The data were analysed using philosophical-dialogical analysis. The findings indicate that in terms of practice, the regulations related to education democracy in the form of education autonomy still could not be implemented properly because of several constraints such as a lack of teachers' professionalism, poor and less effective management of education and learning systems which are not in line with the administrative prerequisites and principles and spirit of education autonomy. Moreover, through its policies, the government still controlled education nationally resulting in autonomy that should provide maximum freedom to the community to manage education is being eroded, which limits the autonomy of education.

South African teachers experience challenges with the implementation of the national school curriculum -- the "Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement" (CAPS). In this regard, teachers may not feel empowered to effectively deal with the demands of the current educational policy. Concerns have been expressed about learners' poor performance in schools and the school infrastructure coupled with educational capacity emerged to be a possible contributing factor. In the study reported on here we focused on the challenges experienced by South African life sciences teachers in the implementation of CAPS caused by limited resources. The context of the study was secondary schools in 1 sub-district in the Northwest province that offered life sciences (LS) in Grades 10 to 12. A qualitative research approach was followed and 10 teachers from rural public schools who taught LS in Grades 10 to 12 during the period of this study were purposefully selected. For data generation, we used audio recordings from individual and focus-group interviews. The findings indicate that teachers' needs in terms of resources to effectively implement CAPS are often not catered for. It is recommended that adequate teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of CAPS should be provided. The Department of Education's prioritisation of teachers' needs will engender effective curriculum implementation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been gaining ground, particularly since November 2022, with the introduction of generative tools based on natural language processing and neural network algorithms. These kinds of tools have great potential for creators and users of Open Educational Resources (OER) and the Open Movement itself but they also represent risks. The International Council for Open and Distance Education OER Advocacy Committee (OERAC) developed two workshops to present the role of AI in OER at two international conferences in the fall of 2023. The workshops presented the features, benefits, key challenges, and practical issues related to using AI technologies from professional, ethical, sustainable, and equitable perspectives, while also focusing on the five areas of the UNESCO OER Recommendation. Participants were dynamically engaged in discussions, and documented their ideas in formats that could be used as OER in themselves. The OERAC noted and categorized the results, and developed short summaries and drafts for further work. Finally, drawing on the findings from the workshops, we asked ChatPDF for a second opinion on further suggestions for AI in connection with OER, which in turn related to the five areas of the recommendation. We conclude that, while there is great potential for the use of AI in the context of the Open Movement, there is also a need for professional ethics, equity, and sustainable capacity building, access, inclusion, policy, models, and international collaboration.

Although the written physical education curriculum is the same throughout the country, the implementation phase in schools differs from each other. Hence the purpose of this study is to examine the implementation process of the 5th-grade physical education and sports curriculum (2018) in different school contexts. Case study pattern was used. The participants of the study are two physical education teachers in Eskisehir. The data collection process consisting of observations, interviews, and field notes was completed in the fall semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. As a result of the analysis, the implementation process of the curriculum sub-theme which is related to the main theme of "taught curriculum", was reached. In conclusion, it can be said that the implementation process in schools is mostly teacher-centred, including the teaching of sports techniques and evaluating the psychomotor domain. It was observed that the game-based and student-centred structure of the updated curriculum was not sufficiently implemented by the teachers in the study. Also, it can be stated that the sufficiency of physical education course materials and the suitability of the areas used in physical education lessons are important factors in the implementation process of the curriculum.

This contribution explores the teaching of graph theory in the context of engineering education. We examine how teachers use collectively designed resources in terms of their backgrounds. After a literature review, we justify the choice to develop an analytical framework for studying the materials in terms of connections to be established in the resources. We suggest developments around the theoretical concept of connectivity, which allows us to analyze the potential connectivity, characterized by the connections enabled by the resources for teaching; and the effective connectivity that develops in teachers' practices and during the implementation of resources. We study the effective connectivity in terms of each teacher's personal relationship with graph theory. Graph theory evolves at the interface of mathematics and computer science research. We consider the case of two teachers, a computer scientist and a mathematician in a French Engineering School in France. The data collected consists of resources for teaching graph theory in engineering courses and interviews with teachers. As for results, we characterize how forms of connectivity developed in the use of resources for teaching graph theory are largely determined by the teachers' backgrounds.

A culturally and linguistically responsive teaching force is a critical element in the pursuit of educational justice (Levinson, 2022). Culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy (CLRP) can disrupt patterns of marginalization and strengthen students' ability to thrive in schools (Akiba et al., 2010). In this study, the researchers examine how preservice and in-service teachers understand and enact CLRP when teaching multilingual learners (MLs). Drawing on post-observation reflection data with six preservice teacher residents and post-observation interviews with 11 in-service teachers across multiple classroom contexts and grade levels, the authors demonstrate how teachers enact responsive pedagogies by (1) implementing culturally relevant curricula, (2) embracing students' full communicative repertoires, (3) dismantling deficit-based perspectives of MLs, and (4) practicing critical consciousness in teaching and learning.

This paper analyses the current situation of English as a foreign language (EFL) writing in basic education in mainland China with a focus on the English curriculum standards, instruction and assessment. The National English Curriculum Standards launched by China's Ministry of Education ratified a general framework for EFL writing instruction and assessment in schools while the municipal curriculum guides, such as the one of Shanghai, include more specific writing performance descriptors. Comparisons of EFL curricula with other countries and regions suggest diverse examples and updated resources be added to China's current curriculum standards to improve feasibility and modernity. Moreover, there are discrepancies between the Curriculum Standards and the implementation in the classroom. Sociocultural factors, such as teachers' beliefs, instructional materials and the exam culture, have led to the tension between new pedagogies advocated in the Curriculum Standards and conventional instructional practices. This study further explores the writing section in the large-scale high-stake exams, that is, "Zhongkao" and "Gaokao," which have long exerted strong influence on teachers' instruction and assessment practices. Regularising professional training in writing instruction and improving teachers' assessment literacy are thus suggested. Local practitioners' attempts to integrate the process approach into traditional teaching methods and scholars' efforts to develop the writing scales for assessment are discussed to offer policy and pedagogical implications for other education contexts that are faced with similar challenges.

There are many approaches used to deliver social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools. These include both explicit skills-based curricula and more micro strategies, such as behavioral modeling by teachers, incorporating concepts into academic lessons, and creating opportunities for students to apply skills throughout the school day. However, in most SEL studies, implementation "dosage" is measured only as the number of lessons delivered from a curriculum, failing to account for the various approaches to SEL delivery. Currently, there is a lack of measurement approaches that capture SEL implementation dosage across diverse "dose forms." To fill this gap, this study proposes a measure of "Multiform Dosage," which captures four different dose forms: delivering lessons, modeling, incorporating, and applying intervention concepts. We tested a measurement model of Multiform Dosage with data collected during the implementation of TOOLBOX, a school-based SEL program. Multiple forms of implementation dosage were measured through self-report surveys of K-5 classroom teachers (n = 94) in October, December, and May. The four-factor measurement model with one cross-loading showed a good fit to the data with acceptable loadings at each occasion. Measurement weights were equivalent between K-2 and 3-5 grade subgroups except one loading of the Incorporation factor in October. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Background: Community mental health is growing discipline in psychology that recognizes the importance of creating a community that fosters wellness. Although universities provide many individuals a sense of community, little research has examined how community mental health interventions can be implemented into a classroom setting. Purpose: This paper provides a proof of concept of a university course that was created to give students the opportunity to interact with their campus community while receiving course credit over two semesters. Approach: In the first semester, the course provided students with content and theory as it relates to community mental health, well-being, and health promotion. The second semester implemented experiential learning, where students applied knowledge and skills to a placement related to mental health and well-being within their university. Conclusions: This university course can provide benefits to the university (e.g., cost-efficiency), the students (e.g., networking), and the community (e.g., accessible mental health services). This research presents a course framework that other post-secondary institutions can build upon and implement into their own programs. Implications: Future research should focus on implementing experiential learning courses that provide opportunities in the mental health field for undergraduate psychology students to facilitate post-graduate student success.

This study explored a middle school science teacher's curricular sensemaking in interaction with their use of an educative storyline curriculum, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, that was intentionally designed for more opportunities for students' scientific sensemaking. Using a phenomenological case study methodology, we examined how the focal teacher perceived and resolved (un)certainties in their understanding that emerged in their interaction with the curriculum (i.e., their curricular sensemaking), and how the teachers' curricular sensemaking impacted opportunities for students' scientific sensemaking. Findings served to expand our notions of how teachers engage in curricular sensemaking, when this sensemaking occurs, and what teachers make sense of as they experience a new, reform-oriented curriculum for the first time. In particular, the focal teacher found two types of (un)certainty to be salient at various time points during his curriculum use: (un)certainty around students' scientific sensemaking through particular science practices and (un)certainty about how to navigate the storyline curriculum using students' ideas to drive learning forward. Cutting across these types of (un)certainty, our findings suggest the need to (1) support teachers in problematizing their own understandings about particular science practices and the extent to which their previous instruction aligns with reform-oriented conceptualizations of those practices, (2) build teachers' capacity to differentiate between various causes of student discomfort and uncertainty so that students' needs and scientific sensemaking goals can be attended to simultaneously, and (3) provide teachers with opportunities to consider how they might use a variety of participation structures to move learning forward while preserving students' rights and responsibilities for the scientific sensemaking.

This study presents an inclusive K-12 AI curriculum for elementary schools, focusing on six design principles to address gender disparities. The curriculum, designed by the researchers and an elementary teacher, uses tangible tools, and emphasizes collaboration in solving daily problems. The MANOVA results revealed initial gender differences in AI knowledge. Following MANCOVA analysis showed significant improvements in AI knowledge, as well as perceptions and behavioral intentions toward AI, effectively bridging the observed knowledge gaps without any significant differences attributed to gender or initial knowledge levels. This evidence underscores the success of tangible and collaborative AI interventions in uniformly enhancing AI knowledge and positively changing perceptions and behavioral intentions among all participants, regardless of gender. Both female and non-binary students felt increased engagement and reduced anxiety toward AI, with improved comprehension and a preference for collaborative learning. This study contributes to the design of inclusive AI interventions, highlighting gender differences and including non-binary students as an essential part of the analysis.

Differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior is a technique in which students can escape a portion of a task they perceive to be unpleasant by reaching a predetermined criterion. In this article, we define the negative reinforcement trap and review research on differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior. We then describe procedural steps for teachers to effectively prevent students from escaping tasks or activities they find unpleasant as well as increase work accuracy and productivity.

In this qualitative case study, we investigated the role of an advanced math curriculum with language scaffolding on the development of geometric and visual-spatial reasoning skills in young mathematically promising English learners (MPELs). Specifically, we examined the effects of providing MPELs with challenging and supportive math curriculum to facilitate the development of mathematical potential through a geometry unit. Twenty-one MPELs were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a comparison class. The data sources included audio recordings of class sessions, documents of math tasks, field notes, and test scores. Findings revealed that in the intervention class, tasks required more cognitive demands, and students were encouraged to contribute to classroom discourse more than in the comparison class. MPELs in the intervention class demonstrated greater gains in geometric reasoning compared to their peers in the comparison class. These findings underscore the point that challenging and supportive curricula can effectively nurture the mathematical potential of underrepresented gifted students.

This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on evaluation and program planning strategies for technology integration in education. The aim of the review was to examine the evidence on different types of strategies that can be used to design, implement, assess, and improve technology integration in educational settings, as well as the factors that influence their success. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and searched four databases for relevant studies published between 2010 to May 2023. A total of 124 studies met the inclusion criteria and were appraised for quality using multiple quality assessment tools. The findings were synthesized using a narrative synthesis approach. The review identified and compared various models and approaches for technology integration, such as design-based research, logic model, backward design, Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model, and Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model. It also explored how organizational, technological, pedagogical, teacher, and student factors interact with the evaluation and program planning strategies and affect the outcomes of technology integration. Furthermore, the review has highlighted the importance of evidence-based practice in technology integration and the need for continuous improvement based on data from multiple sources and methods. Moreover, this review also discussed the limitations and challenges of the review and suggested directions for future research and policy development. Besides, the review contributes to the existing literature on technology integration in education by providing a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the evaluation and program planning strategies and their interaction with various factors that influence their success.

Background: Over 8 million children with disabilities live in Africa and are candidates for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), yet formal training for team members, such as speech-language therapists and special education teachers, is extremely limited. Only one university on the continent provides postgraduate degrees in AAC, and other institutions provide only short modules at an undergraduate level. The need for an introductory training course on AAC that is accessible by university students continent-wide was identified. An online programme, namely an intelligent tutoring system (ITS), was identified as a possible option to facilitate interactive learning without the need for synchronous teaching. The use of an ITS is shown to be effective in developing knowledge and clinical reasoning in the health and rehabilitation fields. However, it has not yet been applied to student teaching in the field of AAC. Aim: To determine both the feasibility of an ITS to implement an AAC curriculum for students in four African countries, and the usability and effectiveness of such a system as a mechanism for learning about AAC. Method & Procedures: The study included two components: the development of a valid AAC curriculum; and using the ITS to test the effectiveness of implementation in a pre- and post-test design with 98 speech-language therapy and special education students from five universities. Outcomes & Results: Statistically significant differences were obtained between pre- and post-test assessments. Students perceived the learning experience as practical, with rich content. Conclusions & Implications: The findings suggest that the ITS-based AAC curriculum was positively perceived by the students and potentially offers an effective means of providing supplementary AAC training to students, although modifications to the system are still required.

Affective and cognitive processes may be jointly researched to better understand mathematics learning, paying special interest to emotions related to knowledge acquisition. However, it remains necessary to explore these processes in studies linked to the education of pre-service mathematics teachers. This study aims to characterize epistemic emotions in different practices linked to the practice of mathematics teaching: problem-solving, anticipating what would happen with the students and reflecting on classroom implementation. It considers the theory of Mathematical Working Spaces to describe the mathematical and cognitive dimensions generated by epistemic emotions, paying special attention to the cognition-affect interaction and the workspace created. The results indicate that the epistemic emotions of the pre-service mathematics teachers associated with the distinct practices were different. Differences are observed in the interaction between emotions and cognitive epistemic actions, depending on whether the pre-service mathematics teachers analyze them within the framework of their own solving or anticipate them in their students. This reveals how personal work relates to what is considered to be suitable for students. Specifically, certain antecedents and consequences have been specified for the emotions of surprise and boredom in relation to the characteristics of the optimization problems and the cognitive activity of the subject when solving them. These results highlight the need to enhance the education of pre-service mathematics teachers through training that helps regulate their epistemic emotions and model effective strategies for regulating their own emotions and those of their students.

This article analyzes teachers' perceptions and experiences using an educative curriculum designed to promote high levels of mathematical discourse. After participating in 2 days of professional learning, grade 3 teachers implemented a predifferentiated and enriched mathematics unit in their classroom. The curriculum was designed to be educative, meaning that teaching it served as professional learning. During implementation, researchers conducted an observation of each treatment teacher and after implementation was complete teachers participated in a post interview about their experiences. Findings from this qualitative study indicate that after teaching the curriculum teachers understood the value of oral discourse and how to implement it in their classroom and could identify student benefits from participating in this type of curriculum. This study illuminates promising practices that may support teachers in implementing research-based best practices.

Literacy scholars have called for writing instruction to promote civic engagement, student agency, and multimodal composing. This study addressed this call by describing a research-practice partnership to reimagine writing instruction in a high school English course by incorporating human-centered design challenges. Using case study methods, we describe the process to negotiate curriculum, the divergent ways teachers implemented it, and the positive impact it had on students' attitudes toward writing. Through a transliteracies lens, we found that negotiating a (re)designed curriculum means working through tensions that can lead to new ways of thinking about writing. The (re)designed instruction centered 21st century composing practices that were inherently multimodal and resonated with students' out-of-school composing practices. This led to a positive shift in students' attitudes toward writing. The study suggests that incorporating "wicked problem" design challenges has the potential to reimagine how we teach writing in secondary education.

The emphasis on language and literacy in science education research has urged science teachers to include reading as an integral part of learning science. However, in US secondary schools, the percentage of students reading under grade level is high, and emergent bilinguals (EBs) are significantly represented among this group. While researchers across disciplines have proposed a number of prescriptive reading practices in science classrooms tightly aligned with instructional standards, few scholars have closely examined the starting point of reading instruction in science classrooms, and even fewer have focused on actual instruction for EBs in these classrooms. This study examines the nature of existing reading practices in science classrooms, with a particular focus on EBs. Using a qualitative multiple case study method, this study found significant mismatches between actual classroom practices and the ideal prescriptions about science reading instruction portrayed in educational standards and research. This study also found that teachers were battling numerous obstacles to implementing research/standards-based prescriptions. With the implications of science reading instruction for EBs' language and science content learning, this article will contribute to developing reading instruction and practices grounded in real classrooms and improving the instructional environment for reading-inclusive science classrooms.

Seeking to make upper secondary school physics more relevant and engaging, an online collaborative learning curriculum was designed. Each of the curriculum's lessons was structured as a goal-based scenario about human scientists on Mars. Video and audio data from the curriculum's implementation in Denmark was collected. This study utilized the theoretical lenses intersectionality, repertoires of practice, and epistemic agency. The use of comics as an analytical tool provided a novel and accessible way to depict the complex dynamics within the physics classroom. It allowed for a multimodal representation of the data and enabled a nuanced examination of the students' interactions. Findings suggest that interactions were shaped by the students' identities and these dynamics shaped their repertoires of practice. Moreover, the interactions had a profound impact on students' epistemic agency in physics. Collaborative learning with a goal-based scenario can include and empower diverse gender, racial, and language identities. It can also, however, work to disempower and exclude when the hegemonically white and masculine culture of physics is left unproblematized. This leads to the conclusion that if reform-based science education is untethered from a critical stance on socioscientific issues, students and teachers may reproduce social problems as much as they also may challenge them.

This qualitative study examines definitions of school gardening used by preschool educators and examines their views on the value of school gardening in their curriculum. The participants consisted of school principals and teachers working in two different types of preschools as traditional and nature-based. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and content analysis technique was used. Findings showed that the educators routinely implemented school gardening, both outdoors and in greenhouse. School gardening was integrated with other curriculum activities. Its positive effects on children's development were expressed with emphasizing the need for additional space, time, financial support, and collaboration with experts.

There is a wide gap between what research evidence identifies as effective reading intervention and what is currently offered in schools. This effectiveness study reports the results of a long-term research/school system partnership that is implementing reading intervention for children with reading difficulties in Canadian community schools. In Study 1, growth-curve analyses revealed significant long-term shifts in the reading trajectories of children (n = 731) from Kindergarten to Grade 5 as a function of receiving the Empower™ Reading: Decoding and Spelling intervention. Long-term outcomes were higher in children who received intervention in Grade 2 than in Grade 3, supporting the benefit of earlier intervention. In Study 2, we compare reading outcomes before and after children participated in school system-led intervention (Empower™ Reading, n = 341) to results from previously reported researcher-led intervention and business-as-usual controls. Children in both school system-led and researcher-led interventions showed greater improvement than controls on standardized measures of decoding and reading comprehension. Among school system participants, greater gains were seen for those with stronger reading skills at pre-test. Findings demonstrate successful school system implementation of research-originated and validated reading intervention. Researcher/school system partnerships may be integral in closing the research-practice gap.

This article describes the implementation of a digital case-exploration tool and its use in teacher education. The cases were constructed according to empirically based psychological theories and represent school-related scenarios in which the students could choose among options for action. After selecting an action, its psychological consequences are presented in text or video including theoretical explanations how and why the selected action would lead to the presented consequences. We present first quasi-experimental evaluation data demonstrating the tool's usefulness regarding learning outcomes, students' active participation, and motivation.

This paper is the fourth in a series exploring the issue of curriculum coherence in the development and implementation of the three iterations of Maori-medium Technology curriculum from the 1990s to the present. For Indigenous schools, curriculum coherence is not just a structural design issue but also involves the place of their Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural values, and educational philosophies. This paper investigates the challenges and opportunities to develop a Maori-medium Technology curriculum based on an Indigenous philosophy of Hangarau. Data is drawn from Ministry of Education archival files and interviews with developers of curriculum and curriculum support materials. It utilises document analysis and interviews with curriculum experts (referred to as matanga in this paper). This study reviews literature around curriculum design in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly metaanalyses, and reviews, in the context of curriculum coherence. Curriculum coherence affects student learning across various levels: national, subject, school/classroom, and systems. It examines how curriculum coherence relates to the challenge of alignment between curriculum and curriculum support materials for teachers implementing the Hangarau curriculum, and the challenges in teaching of interpreting the learning outcomes. The paper concludes with recommendations to align national curriculum design, content, and implementation for more effective support of developers, teachers, students, and communities in Indigenous language learning contexts, enhancing student learning outcomes.

This paper explores the course design and implementation of a first-year discovery seminar on "Living in the Metaverse" offered at a business university. Integrated with standardized college-readiness topics, the course combines hands-on activities with collaborative assignments and class discussions to present a multidisciplinary exploration of the metaverse from business, technology, and societal perspectives. The authors describe how they utilized the TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) model in designing the course, and how this model can be applied when considering how to incorporate new technologies into courses. To assess the effectiveness of this approach, the authors surveyed students in three sections of the course taught during two consecutive semesters to determine their attitude toward relevant technologies and the course topics. We found that hands-on activities with virtual reality headsets helped make metaverse concepts easier to grasp, while students still had concerns about widespread use of the metaverse, including privacy and security.

Educational games, prevalent in contemporary settings, leverage game-based learning (GBL) to actively engage and enhance learners' knowledge and skill acquisition through captivating in-game learning activities. To assess the effectiveness of GBL, game-based assessment (GBA) has emerged. GBA employs gameplay for learners to attain educational objectives while capturing data for analyzing their in-game competencies. The integration of gameplay in assessments has garnered increasing attention to GBA. This review of 21 studies provides an overview of the application of GBA in the field of education, covering aspects of the publication nature, theoretical frameworks, game types, in-game assessment details, and the assessed subjects and knowledge. Key findings include: (1) the annual number of publications fluctuates; a majority of studies originate from the USA; (2) the supporting theory tends to be unitary, with the evidence-centered design model cited the most; (3) simulation, immersive, and video games with rich game elements are applied most as assessment tools, and in-game assessment details are associated with game features; and (4) GBA is predominantly used in physics education. These findings indicate that applying GBA in education is promising with solid theoretical support, and practitioners are suggested to design GBA according to their educational needs and game features.

The success of a school centers on teachers' ability to create well-aligned educational tools. The Merdeka Belajar curriculum requires adapting assessments, including Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) questions for real-world problem-solving scenarios. This study explored contexts proposed by teachers in Papua for developing Mathematics HOTS questions. A phenomenological approach within a qualitative framework was employed involving 24 mathematics teachers from public and private schools in focus group discussions. Participants included twenty teachers from Papua, two from Central Indonesia and two from Western Indonesia. Additionally, five teachers from Papua participated in in-depth interviews. Data was analyzed using Creswell's model with Atlas.ti software. Teachers developed HOTS assessment instruments based on daily life, scientific and social contexts. However, no cultural contexts were incorporated into these instruments by the interviewed teachers. This study highlights the importance of teacher preparedness in aligning contextual learning with the Merdeka Belajar curriculum and reveals a significant gap in using cultural contexts for HOTS assessments among teachers in Papua. These insights contribute to the discourse on math education in Indonesia advocating for the integration of cultural elements into the freedom to learn initiative.

Understanding why teachers teach the way they do is important especially in a time of curriculum reforms. Hence, the aim of this research is to unpack the secondary school physical science teachers' beliefs on the purposes and goals of science teaching (PGST) and to check the alignment of their beliefs on PGST with constructivism. A convergent parallel mixed method design was employed. Scale and checklist were used to collect data on the teachers' beliefs. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews was used to explore the teachers' implementation of the science curriculum. Results revealed that while teachers agree with the basic tenet of constructivism, their beliefs on the PGST were traditional. Difficulties of implementing their constructivist ideas on teaching and learning reinforced the cultural myths. Length of teaching experience and actual classroom teaching hours were seen as significant factors in the development of beliefs, whereas familiarity of curriculum intentions correlate negatively with the development of constructivist beliefs.

We share a case study on our use of three reflective questions to demonstrate ways in which simple questions can be coded to reveal rich evidence of impact and engagement. At the end of a three-hour inclusive teaching practices workshop for 23 faculty and administrators from a single science department, 22 participants completed an anonymous three-question survey. Simple coding techniques facilitated a thorough evaluation of knowledge acquisition, the integration of new content with current knowledge, the robustness of individual plans for implementing changes, and the identification of potential departmental future actions.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative effectiveness of cooperative learning (CL) strategies on learners' peer relatedness, academic support (AS), and learning gains in Biology. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent group pre-test post-test design was employed, involving a sample of 81 students. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, and analyses were conducted using t-tests, one-way MANOVA, bivariate correlation, and regression analysis. As anticipated, the t-test and MANOVA results revealed that participation in CL strategies had a moderate to substantial effect on the measured variables, with Partial [eta-squared] values ranging from 0.471 to 0.722. In addition, regression analysis indicated that peer relationships and AS together accounted for 43.2% of the variance in overall learning gains. Qualitative findings highlighted significant challenges to the effective implementation of CL, including students' unfamiliarity with the method, resource constraints, and teacher resistance. The findings provide preliminary evidence that shifting classroom instruction from a content-centric approach to a learner-centered approach can enhance not only the quality of teaching but also the quality of learning and key indicators of student success.

This study aimed at exploring how English as a foreign language (hereafter, EFL) preservice teacher (hereafter, PSTs) who had no teaching experience perceived Informal Digital Learning of English (hereafter, IDLE) and their IDLE implementation ideas for their future students' out-of-class activities to support formal classroom instruction. The researchers employed a basic qualitative design to understand the participants' perceptions and implementation ideas. The data were gathered through interviews and document analysis, and subsequently, 14 EFL PSTs with no prior teaching experience were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy. The data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings give new insights that the participants had positive perceptions towards IDLE and had various implementation ideas of IDLE for their future students, mostly through disrupting Web 2.0 technology tools, even though they had no teaching experience using technology. Two implications for English educators and teacher education programs are highlighted in this article: changing teachers' mindsets towards EFL learning and the insertion of IDLE as a topic into pedagogy courses.

Brightpoint's HyFlex Pilot Program was a year-long project funded by the Online Virginia Network (OVN) to support faculty in the design and delivery of an actual HyFlex course. The cohort consisted of faculty who teach in the biology, architecture, early childhood, and web design disciplines. Participants worked in collaboration with one another and the Center for Teaching and Learning. In the following essay, members of the 2021-22 pilot cohort will reflect on their experiences learning and implementing a HyFlex approach in their courses. Each author will share challenges and successes as well as conclusions with implications for practice by colleagues statewide.

Each schools have the autonomous right to manage and develop an independent curriculum according to its potential. However, the implementation of the independent learning curriculum is dependent on proper management at the school level, so there may be obstacles faced by schools in managing the independent learning curriculum. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concept and problems, as well as school strategies in managing an independent learning curriculum in laboratory schools. This research was studied qualitatively with a multi-site study design. Data collection was conducted through focus group discussions (FGDs) with semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentation studies. Data validity was checked using source triangulation, discussion among fellow researchers, and adequacy of reference materials. Data analysis techniques used constant comparative analysis. The results show that learning activities in the independent curriculum emphasize character education and the achievement of students' happiness in learning, and schools implement differentiated learning and simplify the values contained in P5 through projects and fun learning. This research contributes theoretically and practically, by complementing previous literature and can be a guide for school managers in order to ideally manage an independent curriculum.

The rapid advancement of information technology has significantly facilitated modern human life. However, despite the swift progress in digital technology, there has been limited headway in leveraging technology to support mathematics education, particularly in the domain of problem-solving. Mobile learning (M-learning) platforms offer promising avenues to address this gap, providing accessible and interactive tools that can enhance problem-solving skills in mathematics through engaging activities, real-time feedback, and personalized learning experiences. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the implementation of a combination of M-learning and problem-based learning (M-PBL) teaching activities among mathematics teachers. The MPBL teaching activities were developed based on the M-learning model, Problem-Based Learning model, and Social Constructivism theory, resulting in 17 pertinent activities eligible for execution by mathematics teachers. The evaluation phase was conducted through interviews with three mathematics teachers. Data collection involved interview transcripts and document analysis, with subsequent content analysis based on the TUP Usability Evaluation Model's three facets: technology, usability, and pedagogy. Overall, the participating teachers expressed positive perspectives on the technological, usability, and pedagogical aspects of the M-PBL teaching activities. These activities provide teachers with a valuable resource to creatively teach problem-solving in mathematics using mobile technology, fostering the development of creative and innovative students aligned with the aspirations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.