Previous research on students' difficulties in learning chemical equilibrium has shown that students hold misconceptions about this topic, and this often results in unintended learning. However, recent developments in human learning from the behavioural sciences perspective indicate that students' difficulties in learning are much more than…

Children in a first-grade class who were taking their first steps in formal mathematical knowledge were given a sequence of five modelling tasks during their regular mathematics lessons. These tasks were different in nature from the problems they encountered in their textbooks. They are more complex and challenging, requiring analysis of the…

Mathematical literacy (ML) is a compulsory subject in South Africa for those learners who choose not to do mathematics to Grade 12 level. ML is designed to enable a learner to become a self-managing person by providing opportunities to analyse and solve real-life problems through the mathematisation of contextual situations. The subject thus lends…

In support of efforts to foreground functions as central objects of study in algebra, this study provides evidence of how secondary students use trigonometric functions in contextual tasks. I examined secondary students' work on a problem involving modeling the periodic motion of a Ferris wheel through the use of a visual programming environment.…

Pencasts are videos of problem solving with narration by the problem solver. Pedagogically, students can create pencasts to illustrate their own problem solving to the instructor or to their peers. Pencasts have implications for teaching at multiple levels from elementary grades through university courses. In this article, we describe the use of…

A geometrical task is presented with multiple solutions using different methods, in order to show the connection between various branches of mathematics and to highlight the importance of providing the students with an extensive 'mathematical toolbox'. Investigation of the property that appears in the task was carried out using a computerized tool.

According to humanistic psychology, human beings have the potential to shape and change their lives. People are self-determining creatures capable of making decisions about what their existence will be like and who they will become. We interpret this specifically human feature as an empowerment to design one's life and also to influence…

New Hampshire is a place of both traditions and contradictions. Though historically New Hampshire's demographics have been primarily white, the state is becoming increasingly diverse with respect to racial and ethnic identities. There are communities with significant wealth adjacent to towns with widespread poverty and devastating rates of…

This article concerns mathematical project work in the context of Finnish StarT project competition. The focus is on how well pupils achieve the learning objective of their project work: learning mathematics and practicing 21st century skills. Development of the learning objectives is considered from the viewpoint of Finnish national core…

Problem solving and critical thinking are buzzwords used in defining general chemistry learning goals. Assessments including well-structured homework, quizzes, and exams are designed and incorporated to build these skills. Our research expanded upon the types of assessments and analyzed the effect of writing assignments for promoting problem…

Movement creativity is a key factor in motor development in children, yet very few exercise programs promote the development of motor creativity in children. To address this gap in the literature, this study tested the effectiveness of a creative exercise program on children's motor and cognitive creativity, and their probability of adaptation to…

rowth mindset is an important belief for students to be successful in mathematics and in their current and future lives. Solving open-ended problems also has many positive benefits for students. Little research has been conducted though on growth mindset and mathematics at the middle school level and particularly growth mindset with open-ended…

Paper folding studies are quite effective in the development of students' visual and spatial skills. The "paper" used in these studies is a genuine tool that can support the development of geometric habits of mind as well as the visual-spatial skills. This is an action research aimed to investigate the potential of paper folding to…

Design activities typically involve and culminate in the creation of models representative of new ideas and conceptions. The format is often dictated by the specific discipline, with ideas in design and technology education regularly being externalised through the use of computer aided design (CAD). This paper focusses on the realisation stage of…

Time on task has been recognized as an important variable in academic learning, but self-report measures of study time are problematic. Therefore, this study employs an automated system for recording time spent reading a course textbook. College students in an introductory engineering course accessed their textbook online. The book contained pages…