The Wisconsin-Minnesota Comprehensive Center (WMCC)--housed at the University of Minnesota's (UMN) Center for Applied Research & Educational Improvement (CAREI), the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative (WEC), and Education Analytics (EA)--works directly with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) on…

Recent advances in technology have created a surge in online educational opportunities, increasing accessibility to education. However, online learning suffers from criticism that these courses are substandard in comparison to traditional classes, despite research that suggests otherwise. We discuss our personal experiences with traditional and…

The flipped classroom has become an increasingly popular pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. In this study, learning gains were assessed in a flipped biochemistry course and compared to gains in a traditional lecture. Although measured learning gains were not significantly different between the two courses, student perception of…

Various concepts have been introduced to improve students' analytical thinking skills based on problem based learning (PBL). This paper introduces a new concept to increase student's analytical thinking skills based on a visual learning strategy. Such a strategy has three fundamental components: a teacher, a student, and a learning process. The…

In an effort to maximizing success in mathematics, our research team implemented an educational video game in fifth grade mathematics classrooms in five schools in the Eastern US. The educational game was developed by our multi-disciplinary research team to achieve a hypothetical learning trajectory of mathematical thinking of 5th grade students.…

Contemplative practices are increasingly utilized in various fields, including medicine, psychology, sociology, and neurology. Enterprising instructional designers are gaining an appreciable interest in pedagogical implications of contemplative practices for education. A review of literature suggests that contemplative pedagogy (as opposed to…

Students in an online statistics course were prone to become increasingly disengaged as the semester progressed. In Spring 2015, we took a proactive measure to retain student engagement by introducing a cyber mentoring session. We describe the framework, operation and effectiveness of cyber mentoring in improving students' learning experience and…

The purpose of this study is to investigate if information and communications technology (ICT) helps to improve first grade and kindergarten students' basic geometry achievement. The author's research compares the level of geometrical competence of the first grade students and kindergarten students taught using an ICT-oriented learning method…

Purpose: This paper aims to show that the use of technological tools such as augmented reality (AR) and its integration in the education system through gamification offers better learning results when compared with traditional education. Design/methodology/approach: Through the implementation of the Leap Motion Controller in English classes of the…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of online and in-person instructional methods for teaching research skills, as well as to determine student preferences for each method. Undergraduate students received librarian-led research skills instruction either through an online course management system or in person at the library.…

In the 'Western' world, dance is generally considered a feminised activity and gender traditionally tends to be drawn along binary lines. Traditional notions of idealised gendered bodies in dance are often valorised. Psychologically, girls are expected to be passive, by unquestioningly accepting the instructions of the dance teacher, whereas boys…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel inquiry-based instructional sequence using interactive simulations for supporting students' development of conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning. The study, conducted in Beijing, involved two teachers and 117 students in four classes. The teachers…

The coupling of the traditional classroom instruction and a virtual learning environment (VLE) in an engineering course is critical to stimulating the learning process and to encouraging students to develop competencies outside of the classroom. This can be achieved through planned activities and the use of information and communication…

This study proposes a computer-assisted system with a design based on Polya's problem-solving model. The system is designed to help average and low-achieving second graders in mathematics with word-based addition and subtraction questions. The emphasis of using the specific model was on dividing the problem-solving procedure into stages and the…

Aim/Purpose: There is growing number of countries embarking on large-scale, government-supported initiatives (e.g., Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Brazil, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates) to distribute tablet devices to students in the K-12 schooling sector. The review of the…