Taking into account the profound impact of technology on modern education, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing academic interest has focused towards the design and application of such tools on different learning contexts. A specific area of Human-Computer Interaction, called affordance theory, focuses on the perception, design and…

In modern society technology is widely used and, with the digitization of many services, this is an upward trend. Therefore, computational thinking (CT) is an increasingly important concept; an aspect that is being reflected on educational policies and the extracurricular offer of different countries. This study aims to look at the efficacy of…

Mathematics is often taught by explaining an idea, then giving students practice in applying it. Tutoring systems can increase the effectiveness of this method by monitoring the students' practice and giving feedback. However, math can also be taught by having students work collaboratively on problems that lead them to discover the idea. Here,…

Mathematical modelling is acknowledged to be one of the major dimensions of mathematical competence, and well-designed modelling activities can provide students with the opportunity to use mathematical concepts and procedures in a meaningful way. Additionally, modelling activities are regarded as suitable contexts for enabling students to use…

Developing the problem-solving abilities of elementary school students has been recognized as an important educational objective. Science curricula, because of their practical and experimental characteristics, are thought to be an important way to develop students' problem-solving ability. The use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in teaching…

In the past decades, collaborative game-based learning has been used to facilitate students' learning in authentic learning contexts. Although several previous studies have reported the potential of this approach for students' learning performance and motivation, unequal participation could negatively influence the learning effectiveness of…

This paper presents findings from a two-year qualitative study examining integration of computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) into elementary mathematics instruction. Integrated units were developed by elementary teachers and CS/CT coaches with support from university faculty with expertise in CS/CT and elementary mathematics.…

It has been argued that developing interactive learning environments that involve learners in integrating contextualized literacy experiences leads to more successful concept formation in young children. This study attempts to revisit Vygotsky's view of the dialectical relations between culture and individual psychological functioning as mutually…

Collaborative learning has long been proved to be a crucial agent for enhancing students' social skills, problem-solving abilities and individual learning performance. Understanding how students move from one phase to another in their collaboration process can inform educators of how best to facilitate such learning. However, this is still an area…

Facilitating students' deep-strategy behaviors and positive learning performances of science inquiry is an important and challenging educational issue. In this study, a contextual science inquiry approach is proposed for developing a 3D experiential game to cope with this problem. To evaluate the impacts of the game on students' science learning…

Collaborative problem-solving in the classroom is a student-centred pedagogical practice that looks to improve learning. However, collaboration does not occur spontaneously; instead it needs to be guided by appropriate scaffolding. In this study we explore whether a script that explicitly incorporates constructing arguments in collaborative…

During recent years, many schools have started to implement information and communication technologies (ICTs)-based learning devices (such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and active boards) in the classroom settings in order to increase learning outcomes. The aim of this study is to find which activities and outcomes are evident in the usages…

This article analyzes the collaborative problem solving activities and learning outcomes of five groups that worked on two different complex cases in a virtual professional training course. In this asynchronous virtual learning environment, all knowledge management content was delivered virtually and collaboration took place through forums. To…

This paper presents the findings from one of the first empirical research studies which has investigated the impact of Inter-Life; a novel three-dimensional immersive virtual learning environment, on learning and development of social and educational life transition skills in a group of looked after and accommodated children. Drawing on social…

A large body of research has shown that for novice learners, instruction that relies more heavily on worked examples than on problem solving, is more effective for learning as shown by higher test performance. Moreover, this beneficial effect is often obtained with less acquisition time and lower cognitive load during acquisition and test phase.…