Although identifying the referents of single words is often cited as a key challenge for getting word learning off the ground, it overlooks the fact that young learners consistently encounter words in the context of other words. How does this company help or hinder word learning? Prior investigations into early word learning from children's…

People often rely on the covariation between events to infer causality. However, covariation between cues and outcomes may change over time. In the associative learning literature, extinction provides a model to study updating of causal beliefs when a previously established relationship no longer holds. Prediction error theories can explain both…

The paradoxical effects of contextual interference (CI) assume that high CI practices hinder performances during the acquisition phase of learning, while providing more permanent enhancement during the retention phase. This meta-analysis evaluates the possible generalizability of the CI phenomenon in physical education (PE) and sports contexts,…

Comparative education research is complicated by the difficulty of identifying comparable units across contexts. This paper considers the advantages and limitations of a functional equivalence approach to comparative education. The functional equivalence approach allows us to meaningfully compare the operations that serve each function in the full…

"Context matters" has been an adage and a mantra in the field of comparative and international education since its earliest days. However, knowing which things matter, how and to whom, and also how they affect each other places challenging demands on comparative researchers. In this article, we outline different ways that comparativists…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a context-based learning (CBL) management plan on the scientific reasoning abilities of Grade 6 students in Thailand. The participants consisted of 13 students from a public school in the northeastern region. The research instruments included a two-tier multiple-choice test to assess…

Recommendations for achieving generalized instructional outcomes often overlook the capacity for generative learning. We sought to demonstrate how decontextualized and logically organized instruction would lead to derived and contextually appropriate recombinative generalization and arbitrarily applicable relational responding (AARRing) in…

In this paper we consider the issue of formality in learning. Both formal and informal learning appear to be well-defined in educational discourse, in contrast with non-formal learning which is less clearly articulated. This lack of clarity around non-formal learning has consequences for its recognition by teachers and learners. To contribute to…

Health sciences students face many challenges in regard to clinical practical learning. A better understanding of student learning is required to address student needs in this crucial phase. The theory of self-regulated learning provides a comprehensive view of learning and could serve as a basis for further research. There are instruments to…

Self-directed learning is a core theoretical construct of adult learning. Importantly, self-directed learning represents a fundamental meta-competence for living and working in our increasingly complex and unpredictable world. Nonetheless, the construct of self-directed learning has become obfuscated. In order to redress this concern, this…

Over 10 years of the new college entrance examination reform, the flexible subject selection model has posed challenges to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors education in Chinese universities. The relaxation of subject requirements has led to diverse knowledge backgrounds among students, resulting in some lacking a solid…

Researchers across many fields have called for greater attention to heterogeneity of treatment effects--shifting focus from the average effect to variation in effects between different treatments, studies, or subgroups. True heterogeneity is important, but many reports of heterogeneity have proved to be false, non-replicable, or exaggerated. In…

Our preferences and evaluations are often affected by contextual factors. One unavoidable context is language. We used an evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigm (pairing neutral stimuli with emotional or neutral stimuli) to investigate whether our evaluations are equally conditioned in a first (L1) and a second language (L2). An EC effect was…

Background: The learning assistant (LA) model supports student success in undergraduate science courses; however, variation in outcomes has led to a call for more work investigating how the LA model is implemented. In this research, we used cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to characterize how three different instructors set up…

Teacher-student interactions are considered to influence student engagement. As such, building on the teaching through interaction framework, this study presents an investigation of specific features of teacher-student interactions (regard for adolescent perspectives, productivity, and instructional learning formats) and their association with…