The purpose of this study is to examine students' perceptions of instructional practices in the classroom, and to further investigate the relationships among instructional practices, motivational beliefs and science achievement. Hierarchical linear modelling was utilised to examine the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007…

Background: Researchers have indicated that assessment practices and methods should support learners' construction of meaningful understanding of knowledge. Understanding students' conceptions of assessment will enable us to construct more realistic, valid and fair assessments. Learners' conceptualization of assessment would be imperative to serve…

This study applied environmental behavioural theories to develop a personal carbon footprint management system and used persuasive technology to implement it. The system serves as an educational system to improve the determinants of students' low-carbon behaviours, to promote low-carbon concepts and to facilitate their carbon management. To assess…

Two investigations were conducted in this study. In the first experiment, the effects of two types of interactivity with a computer simulation were compared: experimentation versus observation interactivity. Experimentation interactivity allows students to use simulations to conduct virtual experiments, whereas observation interactivity allows…

The purpose of this study is to examine the issues of students' motivational beliefs in science learning and their relations with science achievement. Data of Taiwanese fourth and eighth graders from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011 were examined. Students' self-concept and intrinsic interest as motivational beliefs,…

Previous studies of multimedia presentations have determined the effects of the combination of text and pictures on vocabulary learning, but not those of the sound of new words. This study was intended to confirm those previous findings from the integration of mobile technologies and the approach of cognitive load. It adopted a within-subjects…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student self-concept and achievement in science in Taiwan based on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 and 2007 databases. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the effects of the…

The scientific competencies advocated by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) focus on the abilities needed in students' adult lives. This study investigated how such scientific competencies could be improved by using online argumentation. One hundred and thirty-eight 8th grade high school students took part in the study, with…

The present study aims to investigate the effects of Aesthetics English comic books on EFL junior high school students' vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and English learning motivation. The participants in this study were 28 eighth graders from one class in a public junior high school in Pingtung in Taiwan. After ten weeks…

Hands-on making (e.g., "Maker") has become prevalent in current educational settings. To understand the role that students' epistemic curiosity plays in hands-on making contests, this study explored its correlation to students' positive affect and continuance intention to participate in a hands-on making contest called…

A purpose of this study was to explore the inter-relations among eighth grade mathematics student achievements in the content domains of "Number, Algebra, Geometry, and Data & Chance" and the cognitive domains of "Knowing, Applying, and Reasoning," in the context of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study…

Although academic pressures are regarded as a primary source of stress among students in Asian countries, there has been paucity of research on the effects of classroom settings providing structure and peer support on Asian adolescents' use of coping strategies and academic burnout. The present study was intended to address this issue. Three…

The intention of this study was to improve the learning deficiency in algebraic learning and to enhance Taiwanese middle students' learning achievement and interest in algebra. By using a grade skipping experimental design, the research team intended to find out an effective way to benefit these students' leaning in abstract algebraic concepts.…

The focus of this study was to investigate the effects of student-question generation with online prompts on student academic achievement, question-generation performance, learning satisfaction and learning anxiety. This study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. Two classes of eighth grade students (N = 64) from one middle school…

Background: To effectively respond to the need for greater CT (critical thinking) in the classroom, this study examines the effects of cultivating CT skills within civic education to maximize its potential. Despite realizing the importance of CT in education, schools do not tend to apply it. Furthermore, since students frequently do not raise…