National Writing Project (NWP) sites work within an established framework of summer institutes, teacher-led professional development, and continuity to cultivate teacher leaders and empower them by applying these principles. Invitational Summer Institutes traditionally serve as the gateway by which teachers become involved with NWP sites and start…

Across education, certification and licensure, there are repeated calls for the development of assessments that target "higher-order thinking," as opposed to mere recall of facts. A common assumption is that this necessitates the use of constructed response or essay-style test questions; however, empirical evidence suggests that this may…

The investigations described in the ten fascinating research studies contained in the current volume of "ZDM Mathematics Education" evoke some perspectives in response. I consider the articles thematically in relation to a suggested set of important or pressing questions about creativity and giftedness in mathematics education, grouped…

Sensemaking theory suggests that sensemaking may collapse when perception fails to detect weak signals of changes in the environment, cognition fails to appropriately categorize the new data coming from perception, and action fails to test the applicability of new concepts and schemas. Mindfulness-mindlessness theory warns us that routine…

Confucian education is often associated with rote-memorisation that is characterised by sheer repetition of facts with no or little understanding of the content learnt. But does Confucian education necessarily promote rote-memorisation? What does Confucius himself have to say about education? This article aims to answer the above questions by…

In order to maintain the United States' global competitiveness and create new and innovative solutions to solve global challenges, more and diverse numbers of STEM graduates need to be attracted and retained in technical disciplines (Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: An Agenda for American Science and Technology,…

The degree of element interactivity determines the complexity and therefore the intrinsic cognitive load of linear equations. The unpacking of linear equations at the level of operational and relational lines allows the classification of linear equations in a hierarchical level of complexity. Mapping similar operational and relational lines across…

Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) has been referenced in the larger field of the SLA literature for over two and a half decades. Currently, there are several theoretical underpinnings accounting for processes assumed to play a role in ISLA and quite an impressive number of studies have empirically addressed some aspect(s) of ISLA.…

The paper argues that mathematical modeling is the essence of computational thinking. Learning a computer language is a valuable assistance in learning logical thinking but of less assistance when learning problem-solving skills. The paper is third in a series and presents some examples of mathematical modeling using spreadsheets at an advanced…

Mathematical discussions in which students compare alternative solutions to a problem can be powerful modes for students to engage and refine their misconceptions into conceptual understanding, as well as to develop understanding of the mathematics underlying common algorithms. At the same time, these discussions are challenging to lead…

There is emerging evidence that suggests emotions as a discrete factor in academic online contexts that significantly contribute to student engagement and higher order learning (Cleveland-Innes & Campbell, 2012; You, 2012, You & Kang, 2014; Zembylas, 2008; Liaw, 2008). Pekrun (2000) and Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel, Barchfeld, and Perry (2011)…

The focus of the current proposal is to examine the effect of two dynamic simulations on the participants' conceptions of rate of change. Conceptions of rate of change were measured according to Carlson et al.'s (2002) Mental Actions framework and how the participants related the physical simulations to the graphical representations (Heid, et al.,…

Circadian variations have been found in cognitive processes, such as attention, working memory, and executive functions, which may explain oscillations in the performance of many tasks. These cognitive processes improve during the day and decrease during the night and early hours of the morning. Sleep deprivation further decreases these cognitive…

This article seeks to open up a re-examination of the relationship between thought and language by reference to two philosophers: John Austin and Jacques Derrida. While in traditional philosophical terms these thinkers stand far apart, recent work in the philosophy of education has highlighted the importance of Austin's work in a way that has…

The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of mind games played by secondary school sixth grade students as classroom activities in math and grammar courses on their perceived problem-solving skills and achievements. In the quantitative part of the study, the nonequivalent groups pre-test--post-test control group design from…