Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technological innovation that continues to garner attention for use in education. This self-study of two teacher educators spans immersive head-mounted virtual reality implementation from 2014-2023 with middle-grades students, preservice teachers, and adult learners. Empirical data sources include learner…

Climate change in coastal areas is a complex problem that involves value systems and requires various scientific disciplines. Integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) approach is needed in learning so that it can train students to think holistically, structured and systematically. This research was carried out with…

This study examines how middle school students develop an increasingly coherent understanding of aquatic ecosystems. As part of a broader design research study that used Structure-Behavior-Function (SBF) theory as an organizing conceptual representation, we created two instructional units that focused on pond and aquarium environments. We coded…

This article presents the results of a collective case study exploring how K12 practitioners perceive the interaction of systems thinking, creativity, and learning from failure within their professional practice. In order to identify K12 practitioners who were well-versed in systems thinking, we targeted students within an instructional design and…

Systems thinking is the ability to reason about biological systems in terms of their characteristics and can assist students in developing a coherent understanding of biology. Literature reports about several recommendations regarding teaching systems thinking, while it seems that systems thinking has not reached classroom practice. The main aim…

The Soil Nutrient Relationships course serves juniors and seniors with a major or minor in agronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Pre-pandemic enrollment averaged 65 students. In 2021 and 2022, course enrollment was 42 and 55, respectively. The course was adjusted to a flipped design in 2017. Moving into 2021, the Soil Nutrient…

Purpose: Education is a key institution of modern society, long recognized for its central role in the reproduction of inequities and with the potential to challenge them. Schools behave as their systems are designed. Achieving equity and excellence is not possible through attempts to fix "the school" or educators. Principles of systemic…

This study proposes a local theory called "Inside-Outside" to strengthen a deprived school microsystem. The theory aims to reduce the cycle of ignorance in schools with poor infrastructure facilities, large groups of students, located in high-crime areas, children from low-income families with low levels of schooling, and families unable…

The issues experienced by general teachers (GT) in instruction in an inclusive classroom in primary school are the difficulty of designing effective instructional strategies that can meet all students' needs with various uniqueness. This research investigates GTs' experiences of the brain's natural learning systems-based instructional approach in…

The fundamental challenge of higher education lies in its ability to intentionally design thriving, innovative, educational spaces that nurture and inspire transcendent and transformational outcomes at the individual, group, and institutional levels. One of the most studied high impact practices, a well-crafted learning community that fosters…

Systems thinking is regarded as a key competence in the field of education for sustainable development (ESD), because it helps students to understand the complexity and dynamics of natural, social and economic systems. In our research group, we developed a competence model that distinguishes four dimensions of systems thinking in ESD. Based on…

Whereas blended learning can deliver several benefits to students in higher education, their achievement depends on how exactly it is designed. A participatory design is recommendable to try to meet the needs of all stakeholders. The Persuasive System Design-model can be used to motivate students during the online part of the course. In the design…

The importance of community learning in effecting social change towards ecological sustainability has been recognised for some time. More recently, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to promote socio-ecological sustainability has been shown to have potential in community education for sustainable development (ESD). The…

This study examines studies on instructional design models by applying content analysis. It covers 113 papers published in 44 international Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and Science Citation Index (SCI) journals. Studies on instructional design models are explored in terms of journal of publication, preferred model, country where the study…

As students graduate and enter the workforce, they face the job market's demand for critical thinking (CT) skills. The demand is caused by the market's increasing need for providing professional services that require performing complex tasks. In response to this demand, institutions of higher education are expected to prepare their graduate…