Research on automated affect detection in educational software using play log data has shown promising results. Yet most studies use classroom-based software designed for adolescents or adults. In this paper, we aim to detect affection in an online educational platform primarily aimed at home use by young children. This presents two challenges: we…

In the present study we investigated to what extent workshops aimed at improving teachers' use of classroom assessment techniques had an effect on students' achievement in mathematics. Ten primary school teachers participated in two consecutive small-scale studies, aimed at using and improving different classroom assessment techniques in…

The TeCoLa project promotes telecollaboration to foster meaningful foreign language learning particularly in secondary schools throughout Europe. In 2018, a number of pilot experiences are being conducted. This paper focusses on one of these pilot experiences, where learners from a Dutch secondary school and a Spanish primary school…

Election simulations are considered a viable tool to instigate democratic learning in schools. This paper reports an explorative qualitative inquiry into one type of simulation project: mock-elections (ME). Main objective was to gain an insight into the organization of ME-practices in eight schools in the Netherlands in 2012. Thematic analysis of…

This paper explores written calculation methods for solving division problems used by students in England and the Netherlands at two points in the same school year. It analyzes informal strategies and identifies progression toward more structured procedures that result from different teaching approaches. Comparison of the methods used by fifth…

Eight language curricula that are widely used in the Netherlands for children up to grade 8 were evaluated. Questions examined were: (1) whether the use of a particular curriculum results in greater achievement in specific language areas; (2) what differences and similarities exist among these curricula; (3) do differences exist in the ways in…

A person-centered approach was followed for the study of patterns in personality development in middle childhood through early adolescence. In a longitudinal study of 100 children, the "big five" personality factors--extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness--were assessed in person descriptions by…

Several factors have been identified that influence a teachers' use of curriculum materials. This paper focuses on the development of materials as a key factor in this process. Clarification is given on how a sophisticated design of curriculum materials can improve curricular implementation processes and outcomes. An overview of the implementation…

This study describes the effects of a program designed to train Dutch primary school teachers in skills needed to coach and act as mentors for beginning teachers. The study investigated whether mentors who participated in the training program would implement the target coaching skills and whether the beginning teachers coached by the mentors would…

This paper reports on a study carried out in the Netherlands which is aimed at finding an explanation for the curious evidence that the reformed approach to mathematics education appears to have a less positive influence on girls' results. Over and over it turns out that girls' achievement scores in primary mathematics are lower than those of…

A study determined the effectiveness of strategy instruction for children with reading problems. Subjects, 24 Dutch children in grades 4 to 6 from 2 schools for special education associated with a clinic for intensive child care, were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The experimental program consisted of 13-14 lessons, each…

Noting that a child's peer competence and sociometric status not only are important indices of the child's current social functioning, but may also predict adolescent adaptation, this study examined the antecedents in peer competence and sociometric status in early and late elementary school years of five peer reputation dimensions. These five…

This paper presents a framework for understanding conditions of discovery learning in computer-based microworlds. It begins with a short discussion of problems related to a traditional type of microworld--i.e., learning tools for mathematics--using the Dienes Multibase Arithmetic blocks as an example. In this discussion, hypotheses are developed…

In this study, the implementation effects of a program for teaching coaching skills to Dutch primary school teachers acting as supervising or cooperating teachers for teachers-in-training are described. Coaching is a form of in-class support intended to provide teachers-in-training with feedback on their functioning and, thereby, stimulate…

This study investigated the changes in teacher evaluation of students after having participated with them in a scholastic task, and showed the relationship between evaluation and teacher behavior towards the students in regular and special education, and towards children in preschool in the Netherlands. Subjects evaluated by their teachers were…