Decades of scholarly work continue to document the marginalization of children from nondominant backgrounds in mathematics classrooms. Learning to equitably teach children from linguistically, ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse backgrounds remains a priority. This dissertation approaches this broader problem in society by understanding…

When presented with a problem in mathematics class, students often function as problem performers rather than problem solvers (Rigelman 2007). That is, rather than understanding the problem, students focus on using an operation to complete it. Students' tendencies to act as problem performers can prevent them from suggesting problem-solving…

Making and maker spaces have attracted increasing attention as potential sites for supporting K-12 student learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and as a means of competency development for computational and design thinking as well as technological literacy. While interest in making and maker spaces is high, little…

Psychologists and mathematics educators have long viewed flexibility as critical to students' mathematical development. In this paper, we focused on the multidimensional nature of flexibility to better understand how preference, knowledge, and use of effective methods for solving algebra problems are related. In Study 1, we identified…

Introduction: The goal of this paper is to show how the undergraduate students are able to differentiate among learning-centered, learner-centered, feedback-centered and community-centered knowledge acquisitions. We wanted them to recognize which method is used by the teacher and how each method influences the primary school pupils' knowledge…

In chemistry, novices and experts use mental models to simulate and reason about sub-microscopic processes. Animations are thus important tools for learning in chemistry to convey reaction dynamics and molecular motion. While there are many animations available and studies showing the benefit of learning from animations, there are also limitations…

Adults, unlike children, have a wide variety of prior experiences and knowledge which they bring to the processes of learning they engage in at later stages of life. This difference between teaching children (pedagogy) and teaching adults was identified by Malcolm Knowles in the 1980s. He coined the term "andragogy" to describe the art…

Past studies on the differential effects of active learning based on students' prior preparation and knowledge have been mixed. The purpose of the present study was to ask whether students with different levels of prior preparation responded differently to laboratory courses in which a guided-inquiry module was implemented. In the first study, we…

This article addresses well-known and difficult problems involving reading comprehension and compliance in college courses, using a lower-level philosophy course as a case study. It draws upon both general and discipline-specific research in three promising areas for reading instruction: metacognition, modeling via "think-alouds," and…

Many large-scale, school-based interventions have attempted to improve academic performance through promoting students' growth mindset, defined as the belief that one's intellectual ability can increase with practice and time. However, most have shown weak to no effects. Thus, it is important to examine how growth mindset might affect retention…

Given growing interest in K-12 data and data science education, new approaches are needed to help students develop robust understandings of and familiarity with data. The model of the "quantified self"--in which data about one's own activities are collected and made into objects of study--provides inspiration for one such approach. By…

A number of papers in this journal have dealt with the idea of using hooks in physics instruction. A hook, as the name suggests, engages students in learning by triggering their attention and interest. Hooks can be any type of pedagogical approach--a question, a demonstration, a puzzle or video. They are generally short and center on the most…

This study was conducted to investigate how to teach velocity and speed effectively, with which activities and examples. Although they are different quantities, they are generally used in the same meaning. Study data and the quantities discussed were obtained from the examination of documents such as scientific articles and books about the…

The reading comprehension levels of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) are low compared to those of their hearing peers. One possible reason for this low reading levels is related to the students' prior knowledge. This study investigated the potential factors that might affected DHH students' prior knowledge, including their degree of…

The current study investigated the effects of interactive picture-book read-alouds on middle school EFL students' word inference ability and attitudes toward reading in English. To this end, two classes of seventh-grade students from a public middle school in Taiwan participated and were randomly divided into two groups: an interactive…