Large language models (LLMs) have significantly advanced smart education in the artificial general intelligence era. A promising application lies in the automatic generalization of instructional design for curriculum and learning activities, focusing on two key aspects: 1) customized generation: generating niche-targeted teaching content based on…

Recently, our course team transformed a large-enrollment introductory genetics course from being predominantly lecture based to active learning based. During class sessions, students engaged in problem solving, which occurs when a student attempts to solve a problem without knowing the path to complete it. We designed class activities…

Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) presents challenges and opportunities for higher education. The challenge is to incorporate the benefits of AI while minimizing its potential for misuse and undermining of learning. The opportunity is that AI allows instructors to assess learning authentically by fostering creative, engaging, realistic,…

In this classroom activity, students consider geographic context--features like mountains, rainforest, and rivers--in order to assess their influence on transport mode selection, speed, weight limit, and cost. Cost of transport, in turn, has significant effects on the local economy. Students will learn that people in a place must import anything…

In this classroom activity, students read about the storage and movement of plant nutrients in the hot and rainy climate near the equator. Then they use that information to evaluate six statements about forestry and farming in the Amazon rainforest. The purpose is to show that the rules that govern the movement and storage of nutrient elements are…

Although the "eye-mind link" hypothesis posits that eye movements provide a direct window into cognitive processing, linking eye movements to specific cognitions in real-world settings remains challenging. This challenge may arise because gaze metrics such as fixation duration, pupil size, and saccade amplitude are often aggregated…

The frequency of home spatial activities (e.g., puzzles and blocks) correlates with young children's spatial skills, but causal evidence is limited. We addressed this issue by comparing the effects of a parent-led intervention aimed at increasing spatial activities to an active control targeting narrative activities (preregistered:…

Can you learn better by doing something yourself (DIY) or by watching somebody else do it? We present a new approach to examine this perennial question in research on learning and instruction. In a science learning task, children aged 5 to 7 years (N = 95) either generated predictions themselves (active condition) or observed the predictions of a…

This activity aims to assist students with persuasive tactics for argumentative speeches. The activity involves students creating an argumentative speech to defend a hot-take assertion chosen from a list provided by the instructor. In small groups, students will craft an argument supporting their hot-take assertion and present it to the class.…

The purpose of this study is to explore a theoretical idea in relation to a body of empirical material from a reading activity involving a picturebook on shadow. The theoretical idea, sprung from variation theory, entails children's discernment through synchronic simultaneity as a key to their ability to imagine. To explore this idea, an analysis…

The earth is drowning in plastic waste. Yet, as the plastic waste crisis grows exponentially, responses to excess waste remain stuck around containment and management processes. These approaches fail to notice that plastics know no boundaries. We now encounter plastic rocks, plastic water, plastic bodies, plastic worlds spilling into oceans and…

Even before the inception of the term "learning analytics," researchers globally had been investigating the use of various feedback systems to support the self-regulation of participation and promote equitable contributions during collaborative learning activities. While some studies indicate positive effects for distinct subgroups of…

The author of this article describes an exercise for introductory economics courses in which students are exposed to the breadth of economic study using JEL codes. JEL codes have historically been used to classify economic subject matter and ultimately document the ever-evolving scope of economics. This discussion assignment provides an…

Digital technologies can lead to the provision of innovative opportunities for academic entrepreneurship. However, investigations on the rationale for the adoption of digital technologies for academic entrepreneurship, particularly in emerging economies, remain limited. As a result, the determinants of digital technology adoption for academic…

This article presents an empirical study on a new training program for the professional development of school inspectors and principals. The international literature reviews show that training based on the learning of managerial skills has limits. Another approach to training based on professional difficulties experienced and on authentic practice…