The aim of this explorative study was to develop and test a pedagogy aimed at promoting students' ability to perform historical contextualization. Teaching historical contextualization was conceptualized in terms of four pedagogical design principles: (1) making students aware of the consequences of a present-oriented perspective when examining…

Background: This study is the second study of a design-based research, organised around four studies, that aims to improve student learning, teaching skills and teacher training concerning the design-based learning approach called Learning by Design (LBD). Purpose: LBD uses the context of design challenges to learn, among other things, science.…

The use of data for educational decision making has never been more prevalent. However, teachers and school leaders need support in data use. Support can be provided by means of professional development in the form of "data teams". This study followed the functioning of 4 data teams over a period of 2 years, applying a qualitative case…

Video footage is frequently used at teacher education. According to Sherin and Dyer (2017), this is often done in a way that contradicts recent studies. According to them, video is suitable for observing and interpreting interactions in the classroom. This contributes to their situated knowledge, which allows expert teachers to act intuitively,…

After the transition to secondary school around age 12, a well-known decline in young adolescents' motivation for learning causes particular concerns in the lowest level of secondary education, where the percentage of early school leavers is highest. This article focuses on a study of the effects of an intervention, designed to enhance motivation…

This paper presents a mixed methods study in which 77 students and 3 teachers took part, that investigated the practice of Learning by Design (LBD). The study is part of a series of studies, funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, that aims to improve student learning, teaching skills and teacher training. LBD uses the…

Based on positive psychology, self-determination theory and a perspective on teacher quality, this study proposes and examines a strength-based approach to teacher professional development. A mixed method pre-test/post-test design was adopted to study perceived outcomes of the approach for 93 teachers of six primary schools in the Netherlands and…

We investigated the sustained effects of explicit versus implicit instruction on the breadth and depth of children's vocabularies, while taking their general vocabulary and verbal short-term memory into account. Two experimental groups with 12 and 15 kindergarten children respectively learned two sets of 17 words counterbalanced to be taught first…

Objective: To test the effectiveness of Houvast: a strengths-based intervention for homeless young adults. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 10 Dutch shelter facilities randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Homeless young adults were interviewed when entering the facility and when care ended.…

Although kindergarten teachers often struggle with implementing technology, they are rarely involved in co-designing technology-rich learning activities. This study involved teachers in the co-design of technology-rich learning activities and sought to explore implementation and pupil learning outcomes. A case-study method was used to investigate:…

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of dynamic testing in the measuring of children's need for instruction and to explore responses of special education teachers to dynamic testing results. Thirty-six 10-12-year-old children with a moderate to mild intellectual disability and their teachers participated. Children in the…

One important aim of citizenship education is learning to deal with cultural diversity. To this end, schools organise exchange projects to bring students into contact with different social and cultural groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of intergroup contact in educational settings and to understand what the most…

Though popular among children outside of school, Dutch teachers often struggle to offer technology integrated activities in the kindergarten classroom. Because involving teachers in development of technology integrated activities can support their implementation, this study examines teachers in the role of re-designing such activities. Two case…