Chinese character learning requires various reading subskills, such as radical awareness and character knowledge. Radical awareness refers to learners' ability to identify, analyze, and apply semantic radicals in compound characters. Previous studies have shown that radical awareness and character knowledge facilitate learning semantically…

The views that early childhood teachers have of children and childhood are informed by the rhetoric and theories of early childhood, their cultures, life stories, philosophies, and ongoing practices as teachers. In Aotearoa New Zealand, "Te Whariki," the legislated national curriculum for early childhood education, further guides early…

The present research verified the role motivational factors play in the learning process, using an undergraduate Natural Sciences course. The overall aim was to evaluate the motivation of these students, determine if motivation varied with the number of years of university attended and identify which motivational factors influence the learning of…

In this paper, the role and nature of language and language development will be discussed. Research and theory in second language acquisition has demonstrated that (i) language is an abstract, implicit and complex system. Input (ii) plays a key role in language development; despite the fact that some knowledge of language is innate (iii). Overall,…

Infants attune to their native language during the first two years of life, as attested by decreases in the processing of nonnative phonological sounds and reductions in the range of possible sounds accepted as labels for native words. The present study shows that French-learning infants aged 1;8 can learn new words in an unfamiliar language,…

The approaches of "problem-based learning" and "writing to learn" are known for facilitating the apprehension of concepts and better retaining of knowledge. In educational research, concept maps are sometimes used to assess the learners' level of knowledge. In this paper, the main aim is to investigate the validity of concept…

Despite voluminous studies into teachers' cognition and the role of teachers' beliefs in their practices, not many studies have addressed the impact of teachers' epistemological beliefs (EB, beliefs about the source of knowledge) on their teaching styles. In this study, a mixed design research method was adopted to show English language teachers'…

In this paper I review three models of language that have dominated language learning and teaching in the last 40 years: the textual model, the information exchange model, and the multilingual model. I analyze each one and consider how it stacks up to instances of language use in a globalized world. I then propose moving beyond the metaphors of…

Classroom discussions represent a common learning activity for students in schools. The prevailing discourse has focused on how to encourage as many students as possible to participate actively in classroom discussions with the assumption that only vocal students are engaged learners. The present essay critically challenges this position by…

Use of online learning systems, such as learner dashboards, is increasing in university chemistry courses. Learning analytics can support student learning by providing feedback on concept mastery. This paper investigated how student use of a chemistry learner dashboard might be increased through class structure, instructor practice, and dashboard…

We investigated the impact of assistance on learning and affect during problem-solving activities with a computer tutor we built using the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools framework. The tutor delivered its primary form of assistance in the form of worked-out examples. We manipulated the level of assistance the examples in the tutor provided, by…

Students today spend more time writing on social media than they do in formal classrooms and have developed distinct and complex literacies separate from traditional writing curricula. Although several studies have explored teens' informal literacy practices online, research investigating how these spaces may inform or be effectively utilized in…

Mobile learning is considered a new phase of e-learning which gives the opportunity to learn more effectively and efficiently. In addition, the use of mobile devices for leaning is more sophisticated and more useful. The m-learning has become available anywhere and anytime for all students and professors. Moreover, the features of these mobile…

The research field of Learning Design (LD) has been active for some time now, but several questions remain open for the scientific community. In particular, the article tackles issues that have been core concerns in LD over the years: (1) how to support the different phases of the LD process; (2) what representations should be used in the various…

Background: Within STEM education, research on instructional practices has focused on ways to increase student engagement and thereby reap the associated benefits of increased learning, persistence, and academic success. These meaningful-learning goals have been tied most specifically to cognitive engagement, a construct that is often difficult…