The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze meanings that the term "complexity" assumes in Brazilian theses and dissertations in the field of environmental education, especially when addressing socio-environmental issues. The studies were selected from the database Theses and Dissertations of EArte (http://earte.net/), which is…

This qualitative study aims to investigate novice undergraduate mathematics students' first encounter with the First Isomorphism Theorem, which is, more often than not, the pinnacle of a typical introductory course in Group Theory. Several studies have reported on the challenges that this mathematical result poses to inexperienced mathematicians,…

This research draws on Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to understand the epistemic dimension of the higher education classroom discourse of a professor who is well evaluated by his students. In expository science classroom discourse, concepts are loaded with different meanings, a process that is called "condensation of meanings" in LCT,…

Out of school time (OST) STEM opportunities are often presented as ways to support student achievement, understanding, and identity in STEM. Recent work has begun to explore how OST programs function within the STEM Learning Ecosystem, a holistic view of the various STEM learning opportunities available to youth in a given area. In order to…

This paper analyzes the discursive activity of an upper secondary school teacher on the topic of the derivative. Specifically, we focus on the discursive activity when introducing the three essential concepts related to this topic: the average rate of change, the derivative at a point, and the derivative function. The theoretical framework used is…

This paper presents the findings from a survey used to investigate how mathematicians perceive the genre of mathematical proof writing at the undergraduate level. Mathematicians were asked whether various proof excerpts highlighted in four partial proofs were unconventional in each one of three pedagogical contexts: undergraduate mathematics…

This study addresses how Chinese learners of English as a second language (L2) perceive conversations in English materials as compared to speakers of English as a first language (L1). Data were collected through questionnaires completed by 48 participants (28 L2 English learners in China and 20 L1 English speakers in the UK), eliciting evaluations…

This study works to answer the question: How are pre-service social studies teachers conceptualizing the difficult knowledge of climate change during a pedagogical encounter related to impending and unfolding climate catastrophe? Drawing on small group discussion and using critical discourse analysis, the author theorizes moments of hope, agency,…

As part of the effort to elevate the oral English proficiency of Thai EFL learners, this paper explores university students' target-deviant English use in conversation, which should be systematically tackled in conversation teaching. Data examined included 41 two-three-minute video-recorded role-play dialogues from two English conversation…

Teaching simulations such as scriptwriting tasks offer a novel way to support pre-service teachers in gaining diagnostic competencies and in guiding students to work through difficulties. We first report on the theory-driven development of a scriptwriting task, specifically the theoretically-founded language- and accompanying content-related…

Language in chemistry is highly specialized, and for students, transitions in language complexity from high school to university can be extremely challenging. With an increasingly diverse cohort of students enrolled in UK chemistry degree programs, better understanding the linguistic challenges students face is becoming a greater pedagogical…

In 2015, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) was tasked with developing literacy and numeracy skills testing for pre-service teachers. All undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teachers are now required to pass these literacy and numeracy tests at some stage on their journey to becoming a teacher; for commencing students from…

ESP textbook plays an important role in facilitating students to develop their profession-related language skills. However, ESP textbooks published in China are less developed and often criticized as ignoring the training of language skills. This research aims to reveal the specific problems of China's ESP textbooks by conducting a multiple-case…

This study draws on Sociocultural Theory to explore how 12 adult EFL learners engaged in pair work, how their willingness to engage was demonstrated in pair activities, and what other factors influenced that willingness. Six pairs engaged in seven different activities and were interviewed after all activities were completed. Each pair's type of…

The present study examined the influence of a human or computer "partner" on the production of fillers ("um" and "uh") during a question and answer task. Experiment 1 investigated whether or not responding to a human partner as opposed to a computer partner results in a higher rate of filler production. Participants…