Recognition of the complexity of the world raises questions about new theories, methods, and capabilities for evaluation practice. Approaches originating in the systems sciences show promise; however, many require specialized expertise and resources. This article explores rich pictures as an accessible, low-resource method for facilitating…

In this essay, we address the multilingual challenge that is faced by both the "science of reading" and the field of educational psychology. We describe some significant contributions made by educational psychology to the field's understanding of the "science of reading" as well as multilingual reading, more specifically. While…

Although the focus in the early grades is often on teaching young children how to read, the ultimate goal of reading is to understand the text--whether to learn new information or simply enjoy a story. Building the groundwork needed for this understanding starts right from the beginning of life--and it's essential from the beginning of school.…

Young children's meaning-focused skills are foundational for reading comprehension and begin to develop prior to formal reading instruction. In this article, we argue for the importance of supporting meaning-focused skills in early childhood classrooms. We describe authentic, real-life examples of engaging preschool children in activities that…

In this paper, the aim is to make a theoretical contribution by focusing on the origin, characteristics, and potential values of the concepts of instrumental and relational understanding. Five characteristics are identified to make it easier to operationalise the concepts and use them as an analytical framework. There is also a focus on how the…

As one of the most literary and transdisciplinary cultural practices, speculative design has become one of the best mediums for discussing emerging technologies, the Anthropocene and the ecological crisis. When design history is merely perceived as established knowledge about the past and fails to engage in dialogue with reality or individual…

Data is ubiquitous and inseparable from the human experience. It constantly informs and transforms interactions, decisions, and understanding. If the total amount of all the data created daily was printed on paper, it would fill a library the size of 110 Libraries of Congress. As a senior research consultant for an education market research and…

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses aggregate research findings across studies and populations, making them a valuable form of research evidence. Over the past decade, studies in medical education using these methods have increased by 630%. However, many manuscripts are not publication-ready due to inadequate planning and insufficient analyses.…

In this article, I outline the evolution of my research in the domain of narrative comprehension. I cover three phases: (1) the event-indexing model, which explores connecting events in narratives; (2) the immersed experiencer framework, which focuses on event representations and mental simulations; and (3) a preliminary exploration of conspiracy…

How do learners make sense of what they are learning? In this article, I present a new framework of sense-making based on research investigating the benefits and boundaries of generative learning activities (GLAs). The generative sense-making framework distinguishes among three primary sense-making modes--explaining, visualizing, and…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Qualitative Methods in PER: A Critical Examination.] Identifying student ideas about particular physics topics is one of the earliest and longest-standing foci of physics education research. This paper presents a method for identifying common conceptual resources for understanding physics, using…

Typically, vocabulary instruction is associated as part of reading instruction. However, vocabulary instruction is also a necessary component of mathematics instruction. In fact, state and national standards (e.g., Common Core State Standards) require elementary students to communicate about mathematics to provide clear explanations, construct…

An essential aspect of scientific practice involves grappling with the generation of predictions, representations, interpretations, investigations, and communications related to scientific phenomena, all of which are inherently permeated with uncertainty. Transferring this practice from expert settings to the classroom is invaluable yet…

Students, even as young as kindergarten, are natural problem solvers (Carpenter et al., 2017). Even before they learn to count, they can make sense of mathematical problems and real- world situations (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2022). Kindergartners can make sense of complex story problems, including Separate Start Unknown…

This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of linguistic comprehension instruction on generalized measures of language and reading comprehension skills. The review summarizes evidence from 43 studies, including samples of both pre-school and school-aged participants. This review considers whether language-supportive programs are…