Instructors traditionally lecture on new content before providing practice problems, but learning is often superficial. Exploratory learning before instruction deepens conceptual understanding by giving students a novel activity to explore before direct instruction. We examined how increasing the salience of contrasting cases in exploration versus…

Many gifted students fail to be diagnosed, preventing them from receiving an education that is adapted to their characteristics, with activities that challenge their minds. Mathematics is one of the subjects in which they can demonstrate talent, where they often exhibit high skills in solving problems, handling numbers and performing spatial…

In recent years, the emphasis on computational thinking (CT) has intensified as an effect of accelerated digitalisation. While most researchers are concentrating on defining CT and developing tools for its instruction and assessment, we focus on the characteristics of computational thinking problems (CTPs) -- activities requiring CT to be…

Design thinking has become an important process in many fields to encourage innovation toward problem solving skills in various fields. In the field of education, design thinking has been incorporated into curriculums as it contributes both to higher order thinking skills and to the learning process with its flexible and dynamic nature. However,…

Recently, our course team transformed a large-enrollment introductory genetics course from being predominantly lecture based to active learning based. During class sessions, students engaged in problem solving, which occurs when a student attempts to solve a problem without knowing the path to complete it. We designed class activities…

Despite the growing use of the Internet as a source of information for learning, few studies have focused on developing strategies to teach the skills of reflecting on and evaluating the contents and structure of the texts found online. In response to this, we designed and tested a method for teaching reading literacy based on an adaptation of the…

Problem-solving is, by nature, a creative process which, by teaching through the implementation of research and discovery activities, allows students to create their knowledge, revise it and link it to broader systems. The aim of the research was to describe and analyse the process of solving biological problems through activities that are…

Hackathon has been growing and taking various industries by storm thanks to its flexibility and ability to fit into them. It has been proven successful and helpful in solving different IT and non-IT challenges. They also serve as an intriguing educational and networking tool, encouraging people to pursue innovative studies and activities. However,…

Play has been discussed by mathematicians and mathematics educators as essential to mathematical progress and has been widely acknowledged to have a role in learning. Yet, play is rarely acknowledged, leveraged, or studied for mathematics learners beyond early childhood. Moreover, there are theoretical and empirical challenges with designing for…

This study examines the solutions of 34 kindergarten children as they create equal groups from n bottle caps, where n was equal to 8, 9, 22, and 23. For each n, children were asked to find as many different solutions as possible. The number of solutions they found, i.e., children's fluency, as well as the strategies used to create equal groups,…

As computational thinking (CT) is new to teachers, they need support on how CT integration will work. This study examines the use of a hypothetical learning trajectory (HLT) to support teachers in integrating computational thinking into mathematics lessons utilizing GeoGebra. By employing the educational design research (EDR) methodology, the…

Metacognitive strategies play a crucial role in Computer-Based Learning Environments (CBLEs). However, students often struggle to apply these strategies spontaneously during learning. Research demonstrates that metacognitive prompts can effectively guide students' awareness and help them monitor their learning progress, leading to improved…

Rapid technological advancements are reshaping pedagogical expertise development, offering novel pathways to equip educators with 21st-century professional competencies. This study proposes an innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven professional development approach and investigates its impact on student teachers' competence development. In…

Problem-solving ability was one of the competencies that students had to have, but it became more important when learning mathematics. Quite a lot of research has studied this ability, but not much has studied how to optimise it, especially using didactical design research based on lesson study. Participants in this research were 10 students…

Contribution: The proposed operational model offers a detailed framework for understanding the complexities of design thinking. It helps instructors evaluate each stage, promoting the development of high-quality designs. This model emphasizes the link between the various stages and the final design quality, steering students toward achieving…