Montessori is a highly individualized pedagogy that prioritizes following each child's individual interests over standardized test scores. This quasi-experimental study compares groups of Montessori students (treatment groups, N = 535-710) with control groups of non-Montessori students, matched through the simple matching method, which controls…

We present the validation of a questionnaire for compulsory secondary school students (seventh to tenth grade), designated "Educational learning environments for ESO pupils" (CEApA_ESO), for the purpose of evaluating learning environments. Although many instruments have been developed in this area, our work attempts to comprehensively…

The current study was designed to examine the effect of metacognitive instruction strategies on the development of metacognition in grade 8 students and study variation in the development of metacognition in students with varying academic abilities. The study involved 80 grade 8 students from a public high school as a sample. A quasi-experimental…

Background: While the concept of translanguaging has gained significant traction in education in multilingual contexts, it is also debated and contested. Claims are made about what translanguaging can and cannot do, how different it might be from code-switching, whether it arises from a single repertoire of language resources or from use of…

The materials and artefacts utilized by teachers and students play a crucial role in education. In a subject like technology, where many teachers feel they do not have sufficient competence, curriculum materials such as textbooks and teacher guides provide important support for teachers. Teacher guides, in particular, have the potential to support…

This study contributes to the call for influencing practice by increasing attention to how learning environments can be designed to support learning in statistical inference. We report on a design experiment in secondary school (students 14-16 years old), that resulted in a set of lessons with the learning goal of teaching students how to apply…

This study explores lower secondary school teachers' arguments and perceptions for using a 26-point grading scale (26-PGS), and gender differences in assessment practice. An explanatory sequential design was conducted. First, teachers (n = 6) assessment of students' text (n = 182) was analysed. In the subsequent phase, an open-ended questionnaire…

This case study investigated how grade 8-12 teachers utilized the novel EdTech tool Equity Maps in their dialogic lesson designs. Grounded in theoretical framework of social constructivism and the conceptual framework of the triple E, this case study engaged a purposive sample of 13 highly qualified practitioners in semi-structured interviews with…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has the potential to enhance both cognitive and affective engagement but has been criticised for being unsuitable for learners with low levels of knowledge and skills, such as South African learners from poor backgrounds. In such cases, guided problem-based learning (GPBL), which includes direct instruction and teacher…

Background: Our article argues that the role of translingual instruction in mathematics classrooms is under-recognised in South Africa, as policymakers, teacher educators, teachers, learners, and parents assume that mathematics is just about numbers and calculations and not language. This is despite findings on the value of using children's…

This article queries how learning analytics systems can support content-specific group formation to develop students' thinking about a specific mathematical concept. Automated group formation requires identifying personal characteristics, designing tasks to probe students' perceptions, and grouping them to increase individual learning chances.…

In this research, we have explored the possible differences in students' performance in grade nine chemistry exams that could have been influenced by a different instructional approach in grade eight. We compared two groups of students: one group had received a transmissive propaedeutic approach in grade eight (especially related to the memorising…

Well-being commonly refers to the concept that equates to a good life. What constitutes a good life at school for students has emerged as an important education agenda over time due to its wide-reaching benefits. However, there is a limited understanding of the well-being experiences of children from diverse cultures and countries, particularly…

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…

Productive learning of algebra is supported when students reflect on multiple strategies, compare them and discuss the rationale behind and relative merits of particular strategies. Comparison and Discussion of Multiple Strategies (CDMS) is an instructional approach designed to support these processes in math classrooms. In the current study, 16…