The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to guide the study of classroom factors that promote student functioning and development within classroom settings. First, we describe a new framework, "Classroom Carrying Capacity," to categorize factors in the classroom as limiting or resource factors across four domains: external,…

This paper describes the process of developing classroom culture that promotes reciprocal intercultural encountering in the primary school. Storycrafting, an oral storytelling method used for democratic encounters between participants, was used to connect classes in Scotland, Finland and Belgium over three cycles of design-based research.…

In higher education, educators establish complex learning outcomes for students to achieve during their collegiate studies. These outcomes, given their complexity, necessitate an advanced approach to studying the teaching and learning process as it unfolds in real time. We brought together extant literature and our own research experience studying…

Innovative learning environments (ILE) with open flexible classroom spaces are designed to support collaboration and emphasise responsibility for self-regulated student learning as a partnership between students and teachers. Recent studies of ILE focus more on teachers than students' experiences, and there is a gap in the theorising of student…

This article shares a paper presented as the keynote for the Terry L. Wood Memorial Conference that was held virtually on May 20, 2022. This paper starts with a reference to the project, The Coordination of a Psychological and Sociological Perspective, that was funded by the Spencer Foundation. The results of the research in this project are…

In this paper, we propose a teaching approach centered on community and care, aimed at fostering a democratic classroom environment. We highlight the communal co-creation of the Rights of the Learner (RoTL) as the foundation for establishing a shared responsibility atmosphere. Our interpretation of the RoTL challenges traditional power dynamics,…

While learning involves the acquisition of skills and the development of repertoires, some educators harbor even more profound learning goals, seeking to enable learning that is transformative. Theorizing about transformative learning posits that it is precipitated by a disorienting dilemma. Disorienting dilemmas may be thought of as times when…

Observations of low student motivation, siloed learning, student loneliness and anxiety, along with a disconnect between classroom learning and life application inspired the authors to explore possible causes. They studied the correlates of classroom-community-life connection and implemented their learning in the revision of a language and culture…

We build on identity-based motivation theory to integrate research on in-person and virtual learning environments so that we can articulate which features of virtual learning environments are likely to support or impede learning and identity exploration. Although students experience their identities as stable anchors for meaning-making and action,…

Education in Spain and Latin America has been experiencing an ever-increasing use of English as a medium of instruction at all levels and across curricula. Bringing the vast research-literature into a reflective dialogue is paramount to advancing the discipline and to refining English teaching practices. As such, this literature review…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to pedagogy, curriculum, and assessment grounded in the learning sciences and neuroscience. In this article, the author proposes a mathematical version of UDL called UDL Math. She describes three classrooms that include students with disabilities in meaningful mathematics and explores how the…

In language teaching, current understanding of complex classroom contexts and post-methods L2 pedagogy encourages us to adopt a situated and dynamic perspective of the language classroom. Exemplary teaching in such contexts is characterized by critical moment to moment decision-making for building L2 classroom environments that are engaging,…

This "Equity Tool" is designed for teachers that want opportunities to think about culture and what it has to do with teaching and learning. In this tool we briefly theorize what culture is, and what it has to do with teaching and learning. Next, we introduce a useful framework for thinking about cultural practices in schools. Finally,…

It is proposed that the purpose of education is to enable people to live happy, healthy and useful lives -- now and in the future. A curriculum and framework for children's education is derived from the above purpose. Using the results of over twenty years of research, the pedagogical and physical environments required that will enable children to…

The issue of class size is a complex and contested topic that has divided opinion for many years. Whilst many teachers believe that smaller class sizes assist in enhancing outcomes, a number of policy influencers, policy makers and researchers argue that it has little influence on success in learning and that decreasing class sizes is not…