Knowing the temporal direction of causal relations is critical for producing desired outcomes and explaining events. Existing evidence suggests that children start to grasp that causes must precede their effects (the temporal priority principle) by age 3; however, whether younger children also understand this has, to our knowledge, not previously…

In a world facing complex global challenges, citizens around the world need to be able to engage in scientific reasoning and argumentation supported by evidence. Chemistry educators can support students in developing these skills by providing opportunities to justify how and why phenomena occur, including on assessments. However, little is known…

This article examines the mathematics learning experiences in proportional reasoning I created for pre-service teachers in my teacher education course in Canada. The approach aimed to enable pre-service teachers to work on and with their prior mathematics understandings, make connections that were particular to what emerged during group work, and…

In this study, a research team made up of Métis artists and knowledge keepers, Anishinaabe and non-Indigenous educators, and a non-Indigenous university mathematics education researcher co-designed and delivered an Indigenous cultural mathematical inquiry in a Grade 5 classroom. We explored the connections between loom bead designs and…

Explaining appears to dominate primary teachers' understanding of mathematical reasoning when it is not confused with problem solving. Drawing on previous literature of mathematical reasoning, we generate a view of the critical aspects of reasoning that may assist primary teachers when designing and enacting tasks to elicit and develop…

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to make inferences about mental states. Thus far, little research has examined ToM development in middle childhood. Importantly, recent studies have distinguished between making inferences about beliefs (cognitive ToM) and emotions (affective ToM). ToM has also been associated with executive functioning,…

Mathematical reasoning is one of the four proficiencies in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics (AC:M) where it is described as: "[the] capacity for logical thought and actions, such as analysing, proving, evaluating, explaining, inferring, justifying and generalising" (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA],…

Students often struggle with concepts from abstract algebra. Typical classes incorporate few ways to make the concepts concrete. Using a set of woven paper artifacts, this paper proposes a way to visualize and explore concepts (symmetries, groups, permutations, subgroups, etc.). The set of artifacts used to illustrate these concepts is derived…

Primary objective: This study represents the first large-scale research on high school philosophy in a public education curriculum in North America. Our objective was to identify the impacts of high school philosophy, as well as the challenges of teaching it in its current format in Ontario high schools. Research design: The qualitative research…

In our work in environmental education (EE) as part of formal schooling we partnered with local schools to explore the practice of embedding, or integrating EE within formal school curriculum using inquiry-based pedagogies. In this paper we report on and discuss our growing understanding of the practice of pedagogical documentation and the…

In this study, we follow students' modeling and covariational reasoning in the context of learning about big data. A three-week unit was designed to allow 12th grade students in a mathematics course to explore big and mid-size data using concepts such as trend and scatter to describe the relationships between variables in multivariate settings.…

Research on young children's reasoning show the complex relationships of knowledge, theories, and evidence in their decision-making and problem solving. Most of the research on children's reasoning skills has been done in individualized and formal research settings, not collective classroom environments where children often engage in learning and…

We followed established best practices in concept inventory design and developed a 12-item inventory to assess student ability in statistical reasoning in biology (Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory [SRBCI]). It is important to assess student thinking in this conceptual area, because it is a fundamental requirement of being…

This paper reports on an analyis of data from a novel "Peer Instruction" application, named DALITE. The Peer Instruction paradigm is well suited to take advantage of peer-input in web-based learning environments. DALITE implements an asynchronous instantiation of peer instruction: after submitting their answer to a multiple-choice…

Teachers are tasked with supporting students' learning of abstract mathematical concepts. Students can represent their mathematical understanding in a variety of modes, for example: manipulatives, pictures, diagrams, spoken languages, and written symbols. Although most students easily pick up rudimentary knowledge through the use of concrete…