This study investigates the effect of programming courses on the computational thinking (CT) skills of elementary school students and the learning effectiveness of students from different backgrounds who are studying programming. We designed a OwlSpace programming course into an elementary school curriculum. Students in fourth and fifth grades…

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is now widespread, and the use of robots in education has demonstrated a positive influence on students' behavior and development. However, the use of emerging technologies usually results in cognitive load, especially for elementary school students whose learning capacity has not yet…

This study investigated whether students' motivational beliefs about learning science (i.e., self-concept in science and intrinsic value of science) varied significantly across grade levels and genders. The study also examined the relations between students' motivational beliefs about learning science and their science achievement by grade level…

Well-designed game-based learning can provide students with an innovative environment that may enhance students' motivation and engagement in learning and thus improve their learning performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among elementary school students' flow experience and learning performances. We also…

Categorization is one of the main mental processes by which perception and conception develop. Nevertheless, categorization receives little attention with the development of critical thinking in Taiwan elementary schools. Thus, the present study investigates the effect that individual differences have on performing categorization tasks.…

Unlike most research, which has primarily examined the players' interest in or attitude toward game-based learning through questionnaires, the purpose of this empirical study is to explore students' engagement patterns by qualitative observation and sequential analysis to visualize and better understand their game-based learning process. We…

Many researchers have studied the effects of game-based learning (GBL) (eg, Annetta, Minogu, Holmes & Cheng, 2009; Kiili, 2007). However, empirical process analyses of long-term applications of GBL in a school setting are much less common. A process analysis of GBL in a school setting allows us to better understand the role of games in…

This study examined the structural relations of preadolescents' inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and peer functioning. There were 739 fourth (n = 239) and fifth (n = 500) graders (52.23% boys) in Taiwan who participated in this study. Preadolescents' inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity were…

In recent years, many Taiwanese elementary schools have implemented extensive reading activities in their respective campuses. In order to motivate pupils to read, teachers and parents would offer pupils contingent rewards. As we know, the use of rewards in educational settings as a way to improve motivation is a controversial issue. Previous…

Background: While higher smoking prevalences have been better described for adults and adolescents in the mountainous areas than in the plain area in Taiwan, no studies have previously examined whether this disparity begins with children in elementary schools. The purpose of this study was thus designed to explore clustering in smoking behavior…

The activities and self-direction allowed after school provide children in different countries with distinct developmental opportunities that promote culturally valued orientations and outcomes. Fourth-grade children in Bulgaria, Taiwan, and the United States (countries with contrasting social values and expectations) reported their usual…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…