The objective of the current study was to assess how a LEGO intervention, implemented by a grandparent and a parent at home, affected social interactions for four children (two girls, two boys; ages 6-7 years) on the autism spectrum in China. A multiple probe design across four families was used. Grandparents and parents were trained to use…

Following the increasing impacts on the value of Western play-based pedagogy, early childhood (EC) teachers in China face developmental challenges related to understanding and implementing play-based mathematical education. The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese EC teachers' perspectives on play-based mathematics teaching. In this…

Measurement concepts are an essential foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts. To address the challenges of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in learning measurement concepts, this study investigated the effects of using a combination of explicit instruction and virtual manipulatives (VMs) to teach measurement concepts to…

Given the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on children's schooling and learning, evidence for interventions implemented by parents is urgently needed. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a parent-mediated LEGO intervention on the social interactions of four children on the autism spectrum in China. The intervention involved four sets…

Integrating science learning with game experience and physical manipulatives not only overcomes the rigidity of traditional teaching, but also makes the learning experience pleasant for students and improves their science inquiry ability. Today, with the popularization of mobile devices and technology, both the value and feasibility of gamified…

With the ever-diversifying digital landscape of the 21st century, terms such as 'information and communication technologies' (ICT), 'digital media' and 'technologies' are often used to refer to a broad set of digital devices and applications. However, the use of these umbrella-concepts in educational contexts has caused issues when used in…

In China, a shift in early math teaching from a teacher-directed approach to a child-centered approach has been recommended. This study explored Chinese teachers' beliefs about early math teaching and learning, math teaching efficacy, and math-related practices in the context of unit block play. Early childhood teachers (N = 391) from Ningbo,…

This article notes the convergence of recent thinking in neuroscience and grounded cognition regarding the way we understand mental representation and recollection: ideas are dynamic and multi-modal, actively created at the point of recall. Also, neurophysiologically, re-entrant signalling among cortical circuits allows non-conscious processing to…

Children's understandings of the shape and relative sizes of the Earth, Sun and Moon have been extensively researched and in a variety of ways. Much is known about the confusions which arise as young people try to grasp ideas about the world and our neighbouring celestial bodies. Despite this, there remain uncertainties about the conceptual models…

Cross-cultural studies on mathematical cognition and education have suggested that curriculum and teaching have contributed to U.S. versus Asian differences in student performance; however, previous discussions of curriculum and teaching practices have been very general and have not focused on a detailed analysis of how mathematics concepts are…

The development of children's cosmologies was investigated over a 13-year period, using multi-modal, in-depth interviews with 686 children (217 boys, 227 girls from New Zealand and 129 boys, 113 girls from China), aged 2-18. Children were interviewed while they "observed" the apparent motion of the Sun and Moon, and other features of the…