Heart valves play a vital role in efficient circulation of the blood, and the details of their physical structure are related crucially to their function. However, it can be challenging for the learner to make the mental connection between anatomical structures of valves and the changing pressure gradients that the valves experience and come to an…

This design-based research project investigated the development of functional thinking in algebra for the upper primary years of schooling. Ten teachers and their students were involved in a sequence of five cycles of collaborative planning, team-teaching, evaluating and revising five lessons on functional thinking for their students over one…

Living in learning societies encourages learning outside the classroom. Alongside this reality, higher education institutions have been incorporating policies and procedures that support recognition of prior learning (RPL). This development means establishing adequate RPL assessment practices. Our empirical study at the Aalto University Language…

It is surprising to students to learn that a natural combination of simple functions, the function sin(1/x), exhibits behaviour that is a great challenge to visualize. When x is large the function is relatively easy to draw; as x gets smaller the function begins to behave in an increasingly wild manner. The sin(1/x) function can serve as one of…

Recently, a new cognitive style approach was introduced, which refers to two types of visualizers. This approach is based on neuropsychological evidence and neuroimaging results, which suggest the existence of two distinct imagery subsystems, the object and the spatial imagery subsystems. The goal of the study was twofold: first to examine a…

The present experiment examined whether 9-month-old infants' mental rotation ability was related to their crawling ability. Forty-eight 9-month-old infants were tested; half of them crawled for 7.1 weeks on average. Infants were habituated to a video of a simplified Shepard-Metzler object rotating back and forth through a 240 degree angle around…

For mental rotation, introspection, theories, and interpretations of experimental results imply a certain type of mental representation, namely, visual mental images. Characteristics of the rotated representation can be examined by measuring the influence of stimulus characteristics on rotational speed. If the amount of a given type of information…

This study examined the effects of mental imagery ability (MIA) on the efficacy of two positive psychology interventions (PPIs) to enhance well-being. Participants (N = 210) were randomly assigned to either: Three Good Things (TGT), Best Possible Selves (BPS), or a control group and completed well-being questionnaires pre and post intervention.…

This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the magnitude of gender difference in three-dimensional (3-D) mental rotation ability and to investigate how factors related to test administration conditions play a role in varying gender difference effect sizes and threatening validity. Individuals' 3-D mental rotation ability was measured by the…

This paper describes the development of an educational game, named My-Pet-Shop, to enhance young children's learning of English vocabulary. The educational game is underpinned by an application-driven model, which consists of three components: application scenario, subject learning, and learning regulation. An empirical study is further conducted…

This article explains how research "on" practitioners can be turned into research "for and with" practitioners (Cameron, Frazer, Rampton, & Richardson, 1992, p. 22) by including these practitioners in the research teams. Methodologically, it draws on two decades of multimethod research and knowledge transformation at the…

Self- and co-regulation are central elements in skillful student-teacher learning. Studies have confirmed the interrelation between positive academic emotions and student engagement in self-regulated learning. There are also indicators of student-teachers experiencing co-regulative learning activities as highly significant. Yet, we know…

Database technology affects many disciplines beyond computer science and business. This paper describes two animations developed with images and color that visually and dynamically introduce fundamental relational database concepts and querying to students of many majors. The goal is for educators in diverse academic disciplines to incorporate the…

This article originated in a creative attempt to engage audiences visually, on a poster, with ideas about language(s), teaching and learning which have been informing language education at university language centres. It was originally locally grounded and devised to take soundings with colleagues and with participants at the CercleS 2014…

This article explores the influence of personal and professional experiences on the development of teacher identity. The holistic perspective in this article refers to the language teachers' exploration of their personal and professional experiences with the use of both conscious/rational and intuitive/tacit thought processes. Three language…