Informal learning supports formal education by facilitating students' learning and helping them to expand their knowledge outside the classroom. This paper explores the impact of informal learning environments on learning outcomes. This study aims to answer the question 'How does the use of informal learning environments within the scope of formal…

Purpose: We investigated the effect of a content knowledge workshop on a teacher's content development in terms of selected task types, task adaptations, and in turn children's task performance during a six-lesson crawl swimming unit in elementary school. Methods: One physical education teacher taught two 6-lesson units of the front crawl before…

Many social, cognitive, emotional, and motivational aspects intervene in promoting children's well-being at school, or, conversely, in affecting their distress. It is, therefore, paramount to implement interventions addressing them in the classrooms. A workshop based on Social Theatre activities is proposed, with the aim of improving relational…

It is noted that insects (insecta), which constitute an important group of invertebrate animals, can be used in the field of environmental education. It is also thought that the use of insects in the classroom in the field of environmental education will have a positive effect on the insect intrinsic motivations (BIM) of the students. In the…

Accumulating research points to the effectiveness of clinical simulations as a means for improving pre-service educators' social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies. However, no available research addresses in-service educators. The present study attempts to add to the research literature by exploring the differential effect of clinical…

Inclusive education offers accessibility to school settings for all children, regardless of background or disability. This retrospective mixed-methods study examined the attitudes of teacher candidates regarding inclusive education, after participating in a unique year-long program on this topic. The study included 42 teacher candidates and 38…

In all education settings, the challenge of enhancing teaching capability to achieve better learning outcomes is complex and multifaceted. In the context of early grade education in Cambodian schools, this is especially the case. Cambodian education is like the "perfect storm" of challenges. This research addresses the question of…

This article reports on findings from the first year of a professional learning partnership aimed at supporting elementary teachers in improving their writing instruction for emergent bilingual students. Specifically, we present a case study of one fourth grade teacher's writing instruction, exploring how an introduction to a functional approach…

The purpose of this research project was to design, deliver, and informally assess the content and methodology of an introductory online course for the educators of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students (N=20) that focused on the block-based coding language, Scratch. Prior work by The Playful Learning Lab examined various STEM resources and their…

Nation-wide, the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in our classrooms continues to increase. Twenty percent of students enrolled in California public schools are ELLs, the highest percentage in the nation. With the continuously growing number of ELLs in our classrooms, our mainstream teachers must be prepared to teach content and meet the…

Early mathematics achievement is a strong predictor of later mathematics achievement, and student competence in fractions and division may be the strongest predictor of success in secondary-level algebra. We used a multisite cluster-randomized trial to estimate the impact of a mathematics teacher professional development (PD) program on student…

In a rural Georgia school district, the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework has been formally implemented and facilitated by system-level coordinators for a 4-year period. As the 2021-2022 school year started, the district began the process of transitioning the leadership of the MTSS process to individual school-level teams and…

Families play an essential role in their children's academic, social, and emotional development. Many families want to support their children's learning but are unsure of how to do so. It is an important task of schools to find ways to engage students' families and help them support their children's learning at home. This study explored the…

The purpose of this study was to provide an online astronomy activity using the Stellarium program as a virtual planetarium. The implementation was conducted with 30 preservice primary school teachers (PPTs) who participated in a non-formal workshop that included interactive, technology-based astronomy practices embedded with the…

Environmental Education (EE) has an overall goal of fostering eco-literate citizens who are capable of building a more sustainable planet (North American Association for Environmental Education, 2019). While EE is associated with a plethora of benefits, it is still not widely implemented in the field of education due to the many types of barriers…