The problem addressed in this study was that many educational institutions have not fully integrated digital technology into online teaching strategies during the school shutdowns. Digital technology enables both synchronous and asynchronous communication between teachers and students, allowing access to learning materials and supporting…

STEM learning experiences at the school level provide both opportunities and challenges for exploring students' understanding of statistical concepts. This report focuses on data handling and informal inference embedded in a STEM context, that is, of testing, adjusting, and retesting catapults. In particular, the learning goal was for Grade 4…

In this article, based on a longitudinal study that the author conducted in a primary school in Japan, a methodology for assessing the long-term impact of music education is discussed. With the intention of understanding the meaning of primary music education from the perspectives of the learners, retrospective data were collected from former…

The Learning Team at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa received funding in 2014 to create and conduct a long-term outdoor learning experience for Hillsborough County, Florida, fifth-grade students. The program was designed with four parts to optimize students' experiences in their local watershed, including both classroom and field activities. This…

Wales has seen a shift from a performance-driven education system to one focused on the learner (Evans, 2021). The aims of the Curriculum have 'four purposes'. Every child is seen as: (1) an ambitious capable learner; (2) an enterprising, creative contributor; (3) an ethical, informed citizen; and (4) a healthy confident individual. Traditional…

Purpose: The study aims to present a logic map linking the Professional Development School (PDS) Nine Essentials as a PDS theory of action and offer an analysis of dissertations that compare outcomes of learning in PDS and non-PDS contexts. Design/methodology/approach: For this current study, the authors identified 25 of the 210 dissertations from…

Project-based learning is gaining popularity as a student-centered approach to education. It provides a multitude of benefits, especially compared to the practices surrounding standardized testing. The purpose of this action research study was to examine and improve teaching practices related to project-based learning at the elementary school…

This study examined student learning outcomes from a middle school computer science (CS) curriculum developed through a researcher and practitioner partnership (RPP) project. The curriculum is based on students creating mobile apps that serve community and social good. We collected two sets of data from 294 students in three urban districts: (1)…

The theory of evolution can be a useful basis for developing students' understanding of ecology. Our study used concept maps to examine the development of sixth-grade students' understanding of the Antarctic ecosystem following several evolution 'Science Days' conducted at 'Nature Campus' -- an informal learning environment comprised of a natural…

This article explores how using mobile learning-focused mixed reality (MR) can complement and reinforce learning experiences outside the classroom. Our study involved one primary school class, the teacher, and a marine reserve visitor centre and was based in the co-design of digital tools which were contextually relevant to all educators and…

Since 1996, hundreds of teacher preparation programs and thousands of schools, school districts, and government agencies have turned to the Framework for Teaching for a better understanding of excellent instruction. The Framework's four domains, 22 components, and 78 key elements provide an expansive, holistic definition of what teachers across…

Using cross-grade peer mentoring as an integral component to field trip experiences can help educators realize the learning potential of nature-based experiences. When young students are paired with older students, Socratic peer dialogue deepens interest, investment, and ultimately ownership of new learning. Using peer-supported inquiry…

In this article, we present a theoretical framework for mixed reality (MR/XR) self-determined learning to enhance ecological literacy in free-choice educational settings. The framework emerged from a research study in New Zealand which aimed to explore how learning experiences which incorporate mobile technologies within free-choice learning…

Background: Children's interest in science is known to decline around the upper primary age, and botanical topics are unpopular with students. Drama in education has the potential to increase motivation and interest in school science. Purpose: The study examined the impact of immersive drama on knowledge about biological classification and…

Bush kindergartens are a new practice in the Australian early childhood learning context and one that is rapidly becoming part of the kindergarten experience. Children leaving the confines of the bounded space of a kindergarten has been practised through excursions to outdoor places like zoos but the notion of conducting regular, ongoing…