A context-based approach to education aims to improve students' meaningful learning and uses authentic situations in which scientific concepts are applied. The use of contexts may contribute to the learning of abstract concepts such as algorithms. The selection of appropriate contexts, however, is challenging for teachers. It is therefore…

In secondary science education, students often do not feel engaged with the scientific concepts that are taught, which hinders conceptual learning. This lack of engagement can be overcome by fictional placemaking. Therefore, the purpose of our design-based research is to explore how the creation and use of fictional places lead to meaningful…

The aim of this study was to describe how teacher educators design and implement group learning activities (GLAs). We used the Group Learning Activities Instructional Design (GLAID) framework to analyse their descriptions. The GLAID framework includes eight components: (1) interaction, (2) learning objectives and outcomes, (3) assessment, (4) task…

This study reports on a way to address twenty-first-century skills in mathematics education by organizing one-day mathematics challenges in the Netherlands. During such a day, students work in teams in school on an open-ended problem which aims to elicit skills like problem-solving, modeling, collaboration, and communication. The framework and the…

The paradigm of design is changing. Designers now need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to participate in the global move towards a sustainable future. The challenges arise as Design for Sustainability deals with very complex and often contradictory issues. Collaborative learning experiences recognise that these…

The present volume collects papers from InnoConf19, which took place at the University of Southampton on the 28th of June 2019. The theme of the conference was 'Treasuring languages: innovative and creative approaches in HE'. The contributions collected in this peer-reviewed volume aim to reflect on best practice in higher education. They showcase…

Boys show a stronger preference for digital entertainment games than girls. For this reason, it may be that game-based learning is more acceptable to boys than to girls. Yet game-based learning might improve the performance of both boys and girls, depending upon the instructional design. In a quasi-experimental study with a secret-trail game,…

Collaborative learning can, if designed and implemented properly, contribute to student learning outcomes and prepare them for teamwork. However, the design and implementation of collaborative learning in practice depend on beliefs of lecturers about teaching and learning in general, and collaborative learning in particular. One hundred and…

Cooperative learning and team-based learning have been widely recognized as beneficial strategies to improve all levels of education, including higher education. Just forming groups, however, does not automatically lead to better learning and motivation; cooperation flourishes only under appropriate conditions (Fink; Gillies; Parmelee et al.).…

This study examined the effects of guided elaboration on students' learning outcomes in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The programme provided students with feedback on their elaborations, and students reflected on this feedback. It was expected that students in the experimental (elaboration) programme would show…

This study reports a case study in which a pedagogical model, namely the Global Virtual Education (GloVEd) model, which is based on the teaching-studying-learning process (TSL process) and the characteristics of meaningful learning, is developed and used to evaluate students' meaningful learning experiences during the Global Virtual Collaboration…

There is a growing interest in the use of simulations and games in Dutch higher education. This development is based on the perception that students belong to the "gamer generation" or "net generation": a generation that has grown up with computer games and other technology affecting their preferred learning styles, social…

This article describes and reflects our experiences as researchers in a design-based research project on a curriculum innovation focused on meaningful, co-operative learning in vocational education in the Netherlands. The project was successful in gaining insights in possible practices for workplace learning but did only partly realize the…

We study project-based, technology-enhanced learning environments in higher education, which should produce, by means of specific mechanisms, learning outcomes in terms of transferable knowledge and learning-, thinking-, collaboration- and regulation-skills. Our focus is on the role of objects from professional practice serving as boundary objects…

In this study, the implementation effects of a staff development program on cooperative learning (CL) for Dutch elementary school teachers were studied. A pre-test-post-test non-equivalent control group design was used to investigate program effects on the instructional behaviours of teachers. Based on observations of teacher behaviour during…