Measurement concepts are an essential foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts. To address the challenges of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in learning measurement concepts, this study investigated the effects of using a combination of explicit instruction and virtual manipulatives (VMs) to teach measurement concepts to…

Purpose: This article presents an alternative interpretation of "basic principles" in moral education by reconsidering Dewey's moral education theory, which has had profound influence on Chinese educational theory and practice. Design/Approach/Methods: Through a close analysis of "Moral Principles in Education" (1909), this…

The current study compares the effects of two types of pronunciation instruction (segmental- and suprasegmental-based) on the development of second-year Chinese undergraduate students' English pronunciation as against a group with no specific pronunciation (NSP) instruction. The participants were 90 university-level students in the Chinese…

Globally, universities are increasingly seeking to equip their graduates with specific "soft" skills to complement traditional "hard" skills so they can function in a rapidly changing and dynamic world. While hard skills are relatively straightforward to define and foster the same cannot be said for soft skills, despite the…

This study explores the role of teaching presence in students' behavioral engagement in online learning. We analyzed three classes conducted by one teacher over a period of three semesters. Content analysis and social network analysis were employed to analyze the teacher's teaching presence and students' behavioral engagement. Results indicated…

This study explored relationships between students' attitudes toward science and their preferred versus actual experience of cooperative, constructivist-oriented, or direct instruction. The sample consisted of 1334 Chinese middle school students in physics and chemistry classrooms. Results showed that students report experiencing more direct…

Recognizing the importance of multinational telecollaboration and form-focused instruction in computer-assisted language learning teacher education, this article investigates teaching English grammar through a seven-week-long telecollaborative project with 41 pre-service language teachers from the United States (US), Poland, and China. The…

This article reports on an experimental study that set out to investigate and compare the effectiveness of a direct and an indirect approach to data-driven learning (DDL) in facilitating Chinese learners' mastery of a challenging type of lexico-grammatical resource (i.e. hedges) in an undergraduate English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing…

We examined the developmental relationship between cognitive-linguistic skills (nonverbal IQ, vocabulary, phonological awareness, rapid automatised naming [RAN]), home environment factors (direct teaching, shared book reading, access to literacy resources, parents' expectations, family's socioeconomic status [SES]), and pinyin letter knowledge in…

Background: This article is based on a study that aimed at finding out how pre-primary teachers integrate directed play into literacy teaching and learning. Play is a platform through which young children acquire language. Aim: This study uses an action research approach to understand how guided play benefits incidental reading and expands…

This study is aimed at exploring the relationship between explicit instruction of mind mapping at pre-writing stage and the quality of Chinese EFL learners' argumentative writing. Thirty-nine first-year English majors from two convenient classes were randomly assigned into the experimental group and the control group respectively. For the control…

This paper presents the reflections of one of the authors, a junior faculty member, on teaching a master's level, English-medium instruction (EMI) course. The course was titled, "International Research on Teacher Education," and it took place in a Chinese research-intensive university. It was, in part, a response to the need for…

Classroom instruction in China and in the United States have sharp differences. Typically, constructivist learning theory shapes American classroom instruction whereas Confucian educational culture shapes Chinese classroom instruction. Furthermore, typically, Chinese classrooms adopt a direct instructional approach whereas American classrooms…

The present study explores ways to enhance students' question-asking ability (i.e., the ability to ask critical questions), which is the premise of scientific inquiry and a precondition for effective science teaching. A survey of junior high school students in Zhejiang province in China showed that students' questioning behavior was not well…

Research Findings: Western ideas and progressive pedagogies have been introduced to China (including Shenzhen), Hong Kong, and Singapore to replace traditional Chinese pedagogy. But these imported ideas are not congruent with traditional Chinese culture and thus have encountered resistance from Chinese teachers. The present study observed and…