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Classifying papers according to the fields of knowledge is critical to clearly understand the dynamics of scientific (sub)fields, their leading questions, and trends. Most studies rely on journal categories defined by popular databases such as WoS or Scopus, but some experts find that those categories may not correctly map the existing subfields nor identify the subfield of a specific article. This study addresses the classification problem using data from each paper (Abstract, Title, Keywords, and the KeyWords Plus) and the help of experts to identify the existing subfields and journals exclusive of each subfield. These "exclusive journals" are critical to obtain, through a pattern detection procedure that uses machine learning techniques (from software NVivo), a list of the frequent terms that are specific to each subfield. With that list of terms and with the help of optimization procedures, we can identify to which subfield each paper most likely belongs. This study can contribute to support scientific policy‐makers, funding, and research institutions—via more accurate academic performance evaluations—, to support editors in their tasks to redefine the scopes of journals, and to support popular databases in their processes of refining categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As obesity and physical inactivity rates continue to rise in the United States, Kentucky ranks third in childhood obesity rates (10‐17 year olds) and 50th in physical inactivity. The public school environment is a logical place to examine practices and closely discern how time is spent. Federal legislation over the past 50 years has largely dictated the emphasis and priority of our public education system and how schools are funded and assessed. Recently, new federal legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, moved more power, flexibility, and accountability to the states allowing for additional funding opportunities surrounding not just reading and mathematics standardized test scores. Kentucky made promising steps toward including a well‐rounded education in their accountability plan, however; ultimately removed those measures in their revised submission to the US Education Department. We must reexamine our current priorities and policies based on evidence‐based best practices regarding health, physical activity, and academic achievement. This report outlines history, issues, and policy solutions which will move Kentucky's youth toward better opportunities for quality physical activity in our public schools within our current resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some previous research studies, quite successful results have been obtained in using online tools to increase students' academic achievement. In many fields; the benefits of online formative quizzes have been widely recognized by educators. However, there is little research determining whether weekly formative online exams affect students' academic achievement, especially in engineering courses. In this quasi‐experimental study, it was investigated whether the weekly quiz application method had an effect on students' academic achievement in an engineering course. One hundred and ninety sophomores participated in the study. Although the experimental group (n = 81) used the quizzes prepared on the Course Portal online to learn the Sensors and Transducers Unit, the control group (n = 109) solved the quizzes in the textbook on a paper‐pencil basis. After the online quizzes were solved, the experimental group was given which questions they answered incorrectly and the related video link of these incorrectly answered questions, and the relevant section of the book was given by the Course Portal as feedback. The pretest and posttest data of the students were obtained, and analysis of covariance was utilized as the analysis method to reveal the answer to the study question. The statistical analysis of the students' average achievement scores in the posttest (midterm exam) showed that the experimental group's average achievement score was significantly better than the control group. Results show that online weekly exams have significant effects on students' academic achievement. Weekly online quizzes are recommended to engineering lecturers as they offer students to improve their students' academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Academic performance is essential in medical education, yet comprehensive training programs addressing this need are lacking. Simulation‐based learning has emerged as a valuable tool for developing clinical skills, with the Anatomage table offering a virtual platform to enhance learning experiences. This study aimed to assess the impact of utilizing the Anatomage table on the academic performance and similarity of case reports among seventh‐semester medical students. Methods: A total of 68 students participated, with 25 using paper‐based medical history and 43 using the Anatomage table. Descriptive statistics and Turnitin were employed for data analysis. Results: Students using the Anatomage table exhibited higher academic performance and lower similarity percentages compared to those using paper‐based medical history. Conclusion: These findings highlight the benefits of integrating advanced technology into medical education to enhance learning outcomes and prepare students for clinical practice. Further investigation is required to improve the effectiveness of simulation‐based learning in enhancing academic performance of medical students. Practice Points: The usage of Anatomage table can provide a more individualized and interactive approach in writing of case reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of e‐exams in higher education is increasing. However, the role of student diversity in the acceptance of e‐exams is an under‐researched topic. In the current study, we considered student diversity in terms of three sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, and second language) and three dispositional student characteristics (computer anxiety, test anxiety, and technology openness). Objectives: The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between student diversity and acceptance of e‐exams. Methods: Our research combined cross‐sectional analyses (N = 1639) with data from a natural experiment on the introduction of e‐exams versus the established paper‐pencil exams (N = 626) and used both self‐report and institutional data. Sociodemographic and dispositional characteristics were indirectly related to pre‐exam acceptance via expectancy variables from the Technology Acceptance Model framework. Results and Conclusions: Comparisons of post‐exam acceptance showed that practical experience with the e‐exam led to a significant increase in e‐exam acceptance, and that students with low openness toward technology particularly benefited from this effect. Students' exam performance (i.e., grades) was unrelated to the exam format or their pre‐exam acceptance of the e‐exam format, and this was true across students' sociodemographic and dispositional characteristics. Takeaway: Student diversity plays a role in e‐exam acceptance, but its influence is mitigated by first‐hand experience with e‐exams. The practical implications for higher education institutions aiming to implement e‐exams are discussed. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: The use of e‐exams in higher education is increasingThe role of student diversity for e‐exam acceptance is unclearTechnology acceptance is predicted by expectancies towards new system What this paper adds: We investigated students' sociodemographic and dispositional diversityDiversity predicted e‐exam acceptance via the expectanciesIn a natural experiment, first‐hand experience increased e‐exam acceptanceNo difference between performance in e‐exams and paper‐pencil‐exams found Implications of the study findings for practitioners: Higher education institutions implementing e‐exams should consider diversitySupport for older students and students with low technology openness neededNo student groups systematically disadvantaged by e‐exam implementationPractice rooms can increase experience with new system before exam [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of Mind, Brain & Education focuses on the relationship between executive functions (EF) and reading. It includes research papers and commentaries from neuroscience and educational contexts. The issue was the result of a research symposium sponsored by The Dyslexia Foundation, which aimed to explore the connection between EF and reading development and disorders. The papers in this issue address various aspects of EF, including its role in academic performance, its neurobiological origins, and its intersection with environmental factors. The goal of this issue is to enhance the understanding of EF and its implications for reading instruction and intervention, particularly for students with reading disorders. [Extracted from the article]

Gamification, characterized by the integration of game design elements into non‐game environments, has gained popularity in classrooms due to its potential for increased engagement and enjoyment compared to traditional lecture‐based teaching methods. While students generally exhibit positive attitudes towards gamification, its impact on academic achievement remains a subject of debate. This study employed a meta‐analysis approach to examine the overall influence of gamification on students' academic performance. The sample comprised 22 experimental studies conducted between 2008 and 2023, comparing the effects of gamified and non‐gamified classes. Utilizing a random effects model, the results revealed a moderately positive effect of gamification on student academic performance (Hedges's g = 0.782, p < 0.05). The paper further discussed the outcomes of various moderator analyses, providing valuable insights into the selection and utilization of game design elements, as well as considerations specific to different educational stages.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicMost research has consistently demonstrated that gamification has a positive impact on students' achievement.The current state of review research is not sufficiently comprehensive.There is a lack of meta‐analyses exploring the diverse impacts of gamification.What this paper addsThe effect of factors such as geographical regions, education levels, learning environments, subjects and game elements on gamification was examined.The study revealed a significant and positive impact of gamification on students' achievement across various factors, including geographical regions, education levels, learning environments, subjects and game elements.Implications for practice and/or policyGamification represents a prudent choice for teachers seeking to enhance students' achievement.Teachers are suggested to adopt and employ appropriate game elements in their instructional approaches.Future research could focus on investigating the impact of feedback as a game element in teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) games offer significant potential to enhance learning experiences, yet the impact of when these games are introduced during the educational process remains underexplored. This study explored how the timing of providing the AR game influenced learners' achievement, satisfaction and acceptance. Using a quasi‐experimental design, 68 second‐graders engaged with the AR game AR Easy Sign Language: Grams and Kilograms, either before class or in class. Additionally, perspectives from eight students, one teacher and 24 parents (from the before‐class group) were collected. Results indicated that providing the AR game in class significantly improved learners' achievement and acceptance compared to providing it before class. While overall satisfaction was unaffected by timing, students' cognitive focus differed: in‐class participants emphasised the game's educational value, whereas those using it before class viewed it more as an entertaining tool with educational functionality. Both the teacher and parents acknowledged the educational value of AR games but expressed concerns regarding the cost and potential health issues. This study contributes to theoretical understanding and practical implementation strategies for AR games in education, particularly in optimising their timing for maximal impact. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic AR games integrate the advantages of augmented reality and games, enabling learners to interact with virtual and physical objects in a fun way, bringing a new dynamic to education. Prior research has shown that AR games contribute to the improved learning process and learning outcomes. However, applying technologies such as AR games to authentic educational contexts is still challenging, as it involves many decision‐making issues to be investigated. One key issue that remains unresolved is determining the optimal timing of providing AR games. What this paper adds Providing AR games in class significantly enhanced students' learning achievement and acceptance, emphasising the need to carefully time such interventions. The timing of providing AR games influenced students' cognition, with in‐class use promoting a focus on learning, while before‐class use emphasised entertainment. Teachers and parents acknowledged the educational value of AR games for students, but they had concerns regarding potential visual health risks and the associated costs. Implications for practice and/or policy Educators should determine the timing of providing AR games depending on the desired goal. Providing AR games before class allows students to focus more on the game experience while providing AR games in class allows for a focus on learning through the game and enhancing learning achievement. Students' cognition of technology may influence their usage and outcomes. Developers should design AR games with mechanisms that guide learners' cognition of educational content, while researchers should explore the effectiveness of such designs to achieve better learning outcomes. Educational institutions should select devices with built‐in eye protection features and enforce screen time limits to mitigate visual health risks, addressing concerns raised by teachers and parents. AR games incorporating sign language have the potential to improve students' learning achievement, holding promise for applications in special education. What is already known about this topic AR games integrate the advantages of augmented reality and games, enabling learners to interact with virtual and physical objects in a fun way, bringing a new dynamic to education. Prior research has shown that AR games contribute to the improved learning process and learning outcomes. However, applying technologies such as AR games to authentic educational contexts is still challenging, as it involves many decision‐making issues to be investigated. One key issue that remains unresolved is determining the optimal timing of providing AR games. What this paper adds Providing AR games in class significantly enhanced students' learning achievement and acceptance, emphasising the need to carefully time such interventions. The timing of providing AR games influenced students' cognition, with in‐class use promoting a focus on learning, while before‐class use emphasised entertainment. Teachers and parents acknowledged the educational value of AR games for students, but they had concerns regarding potential visual health risks and the associated costs. Implications for practice and/or policy Educators should determine the timing of providing AR games depending on the desired goal. Providing AR games before class allows students to focus more on the game experience while providing AR games in class allows for a focus on learning through the game and enhancing learning achievement. Students' cognition of technology may influence their usage and outcomes. Developers should design AR games with mechanisms that guide learners' cognition of educational content, while researchers should explore the effectiveness of such designs to achieve better learning outcomes. Educational institutions should select devices with built‐in eye protection features and enforce screen time limits to mitigate visual health risks, addressing concerns raised by teachers and parents. AR games incorporating sign language have the potential to improve students' learning achievement, holding promise for applications in special education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achievement goal theory is a popular motivational theory within education and psychology, with several review papers summarizing the extensive work done in these fields. Although reviews exist in these specific fields, none exists within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This is a considerable gap in our knowledge as STEM educators, especially engineering educators, where motivation is often ill‐defined. Purpose: This paper highlights the findings of a systematic review of how STEM educators have used achievement goal theory within undergraduate STEM education. Scope/Method: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 checklist for our search. A total of 50 studies (43 journal articles and 7 conference proceedings) were included in our review. Results: Our review revealed five common themes: quantitative methodologies, sex, emotions, academic achievement, and culture. A majority of the papers reviewed used quantitative methods. Although there was inconclusive evidence of differences in motivational orientations based on biological sex, the most studied emotion (anxiety) was found to be inversely correlated with mastery orientations. Among the many ways to measure academic achievement, exam scores was the most popular method reported. Lastly, ethnic, institutional, and department cultures were significant factors in shaping a student's motivational orientation. Conclusions: Our review suggests that a motivational difference between students based on biological sex is inconclusive. We also recommend more studies that use qualitative or mixed methodologies to gain further insight into students' motivational processes and consider how cultural contexts may impact students' motivational orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current set of papers in this special issue capture the range of viewpoints, scientific approaches, and populations needed to illuminate and tackle the issues of school achievement among vulnerable learners. This includes providing a framework for researchers to work from relevant policy findings, and literature reviews to small scale studies. The manuscripts also traverse different aspects of scientific inquiry – from data reported by federal and state programs, thus providing a "bird's eye view" of findings, to more granular neurobiological approaches. Across all papers is the clear theme of needing to shift from where we have been in order to establish a path forward for where we need to go to account for learners that have been relatively neglected in scientific studies. To break down barriers of inequity and increase our understanding of causes and consequences of vulnerable learners, there is a need to re‐think how we establish policies and allocate funds, as well as broadening our lens as we conduct scientific studies. Each piece in this special issue calls for the need to better understand these issues that vulnerable learners face to address inequities in our educational ecosystems. Together they provide a rich set of insights that have significant implications for science and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Competency‐based medical education (CBME) led to the widespread adoption of workplace‐based assessment (WBA) with the promise of achieving assessment for learning. Despite this, studies have illustrated tensions between the summative and formative role of WBA which undermine learning goals. Models of workplace‐based learning (WBL) provide insight, however, these models excluded WBA. This scoping review synthesizes the primary literature addressing the role of WBA to guide learning in postgraduate medical education, with the goal of identifying gaps to address in future studies. Methods: The search was applied to OVID Medline, Web of Science, ERIC and CINAHL databases, articles up to September 2020 were included. Titles and abstracts were screened by two reviewers, followed by a full text review. Two members independently extracted and analysed quantitative and qualitative data using a descriptive‐analytic technique rooted in Billett's four premises of WBL. Themes were synthesized and discussed until consensus. Results: All 33 papers focused on the perception of learning through WBA. The majority applied qualitative methodology (70%), and 12 studies (36%) made explicit reference to theory. Aligning with Billett's first premise, results reinforce that learning always occurs in the workplace. WBA helped guide learning goals and enhanced feedback frequency and specificity. Billett's remaining premises provided an important lens to understand how tensions that existed in WBL have been exacerbated with frequent WBA. As individuals engage in both work and WBA, they are slowly transforming the workplace. Culture and context frame individual experiences and the perceived authenticity of WBA. Finally, individuals will have different goals, and learn different things, from the same experience. Conclusion: Analysing WBA literature through the lens of WBL theory allows us to reframe previously described tensions. We propose that future studies attend to learning theory, and demonstrate alignment with philosophical position, to advance our understanding of assessment‐for‐learning in the workplace. The authors' synthesis of literature that focuses on the overlap between workplace learning and workplace assessment highlights gaps and identifies key strategies for enabling "assessment for learning" in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the importance of 'time spent' in understanding the international student experience. Short‐term mobility programmes (involving stays of between 1 week and 2 months) attracting less privileged students, such as the relatively new Turing Scheme in the United Kingdom, have been hailed as a potential 'solution' to the fact that, traditionally, wealthier individuals have been far more likely to engage in study abroad. However, we do not yet know how short‐term and longer duration programmes compare in terms of the value they confer to students (in relation to their experiences and outcomes). How likely is it that short‐term mobility at undergraduate level is as valuable, according to different measures, as mobility lasting 6 months to several years (as with degree mobility)? This paper reviews some of the evidence to date on shorter duration mobility, addressing how value in international study is constructed and conferred and how this relates to 'time spent'. The paper concludes by arguing that the picture is mixed: although short‐term mobility will be beneficial to students, those engaging in longer term exchanges (usually more privileged students) are likely to derive greater benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines the use of augmented reality (AR) as a concept‐association tool in schools, with the aim of enhancing primary school students' learning outcomes and engagement. Conflicting findings exist in previous studies regarding the cognitive load of AR‐enriched learning, with some reporting reduced load and others indicating increased demand and poorer performance. Understanding these implications is essential for effectively leveraging AR in education. The study offers a fresh perspective on the potential of AR technology in improving educational experiences. Objectives: The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of an AR‐assisted concept‐association strategy for improving essential knowledge acquisition and skills outcomes, increasing cognitive load, and increasing self‐efficacy and learning motivation among primary school students. Methods: A quasi‐experimental design with a control group was employed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention. Results and Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the implementation of the AR‐assisted concept‐association strategy effectively enhanced essential knowledge acquisition and skills outcomes, increased cognitive load, and increased self‐efficacy and learning motivation among primary school students. These findings highlight the potential of AR technology to improve the learning experience and engagement of primary school students. The study contributes to the existing literature on the effectiveness of AR technology in education, suggesting future research directions. Ultimately, it offers a practical solution for improving the learning experience by presenting a new approach for teaching using AR technology. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Augmented reality (AR) technology has been increasingly explored in educational settings.Previous research has shown that AR can enhance learning outcomes and engagement among students.AR applications have the potential to serve as concept‐association tools to improve the learning experience. What this paper adds: This paper investigates the effectiveness of using an AR application as a mobile concept‐association tool in school settings.The study demonstrates that the AR‐assisted concept‐association strategy effectively enhances knowledge acquisition, skills outcomes, cognitive load, self‐efficacy, and learning motivation among primary school students.The findings highlight the potential of AR technology in improving learning experiences and engagement for primary school students.The study offers practical implications for integrating AR technology into educational settings, and suggests avenues for future research in this area. Implications for practice and/or policy: Incorporating AR applications as concept‐association tools can enhance learning outcomes and engagement in primary school settings.AR technology can be used to increase cognitive load, and to increase self‐efficacy and motivation among students.Educators and policymakers should consider integrating AR technology into teaching practices to improve the overall learning experience.Future research and exploration should be conducted to understand the full potential and limitations of AR technology in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Behavioural intention (BI) has been predicted using other variables by adopting the technology acceptance model (TAM). However, few studies have examined whether BI can predict learning performance. Objectives: The present study used an extended TAM to investigate whether students' BI is a predictor of their listening learning performance (LLP) through vocabulary learning performance (VLP) in the context of mobile vocabulary‐assisted listening learning by using two mobile learning tools. Methods: A total of 129 college students with a pre‐intermediate level of English were recruited as participants, and a 10‐week mobile vocabulary‐assisted, listening‐learning course was conducted in 2022. In each task of this course, the students had to learn target words from a listening passage on Quizlet and then engage in listening activities on Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab. Quantitative responses obtained through an online questionnaire were analysed through partial‐least‐squares structural equation modelling. Results: The analysis results indicated that BI significantly predicted LLP through VLP. Perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) were significant antecedents of BI. However, PEU did not significantly predict PU because of the difficulty of navigating between the two technological tools used in this study. The extended model demonstrated its effectiveness in explaining listening learning performance, as evidenced by an explained variance (R2) of 69%. Conclusion: The extended model validates the influence of BI on learning performance and it can also draw teachers' focus toward the significance of enhancing students' BI to improve their listening learning performance. Pedagogical implications based on the results are provided in this paper. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: TAM was used to study learners' acceptance of mobile‐assisted language learning.TAM incorporates latent variables to explore mobile‐assisted language learning.Investigating factors influencing BI is a primary research focus in extended TAM literature.Mobile tools could improve listening learning and vocabulary retention. What this paper adds to that: Learning performance was considered as a dependent variable in an extended TAM.BI might predict students' learning performance in vocabulary and listening in an extended TAM.Teachers used two mobile tools to design mobile vocabulary‐assisted listening tasks.Pre‐learning the target words facilitate students' listening learning performance. Implications for practice and/or policy: We show the importance of BI on predicting listening learning performance.The impact of BI on other factors became another focus of TAM research.Results highlight pre‐learning target words' importance for better listening performance.Existing mobile tools improve listening performance, avoiding new system development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social annotation has emerged as a promising educational technology that fosters collaborative reading and discussion of digital resources among learners. While the positive impact of social annotation on students' learning process and performance is widely acknowledged, students' behavioural patterns in social annotation are underexplored. Objectives: This study investigated patterns in students' use of annotation and response behaviours in social annotation activities. We also explored how students' performance in the behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions varied based on their behavioural patterns. Methods: We recruited 93 undergraduates who were enrolled in an elective course at a large North American University. Students were tasked with collaboratively annotating the class readings uploaded to Perusall, a social annotation platform, over 7 weeks. We used metaclustering to determine the optimal number of clusters pertaining to student behaviours. We compared the differences among clusters across multiple performance dimensions. Results and Conclusions: Two distinct clusters were identified and defined as initiators and responders. We found that responders had significantly longer active reading time and exhibited greater social annotation effort compared to initiators. However, initiators received more peer acknowledgement, as evidenced by higher upvotes. No significant difference was found in cognitive insight between initiators and responders, but responders demonstrated significantly higher cognitive discrepancy. Additionally, there were no significant differences in positive and negative tones between initiators and responders; however, responders displayed higher levels of prosocial behaviours than initiators. This study has significant practical implications regarding promoting students' collaborative learning experience in social annotation. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Annotation and response behaviours are two primary actions in social annotation.Understanding how students navigate through annotations and respond to their peers' contributions is essential for optimizing their learning experience.Social annotation outcomes can be assessed in the behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions. What this paper adds: This paper revealed students' behavioural patterns in social annotation activities.This study offered a comprehensive understanding of the various dimensions of performance among students with different behavioural tendencies. Implications for practice and/or policy: The two student clusters, initiators and responders, revealed distinct engagement patterns in social annotation and informed the design of targeted scaffoldings.Responders were not passive learners since they demonstrated significantly longer active reading time, greater social annotation effort, and higher level of prosocial behaviours.Educators might not need to place significant emphasis on monitoring participants' emotional expressions in social annotation.Social annotation platforms should incorporate features that encourage and reward both initiation and response behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first section of this paper sets the record straight regarding many of Debouwere's (2024, Review of Education, 12, e3445) specific criticisms. The second section discusses the magnitude of the SES‐achievement relationship, specifically Debouwere's (2024) contention that the correlation is strong around 0.5 or 0.6 compared to observed correlations mostly between 0.2 and 0.3. The third section deals with five issues that Debouwere (2024) raises in his paper: (1) the stability of SES vis‐à‐vis cognitive ability; (2) the accuracy of children's reports of parents' socioeconomic characteristics; (3) whether teachers discriminate by students' SES; (4) the importance of cognitive ability for educational differentiation (i.e., tracking and streaming); and (5) SES effects on student achievement, controlling for prior achievement. The fourth section discusses the role of genetics in student achievement. Meta‐analyses and other studies indicate that about 50%–70% of the variance in student achievement is attributable to genetics (i.e., the heritability). The high heritability of student achievement accounts for its high stability, its strong correlations with cognitive ability and the weak effects of SES, net of prior achievement or cognitive ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A practical test that measures the information and communication technology (ICT) skills students need for effectively using ICT in primary education has yet to be developed (Oh et al., 2021). This paper reports on the development, validation, and reliability of a test measuring primary school students' ICT skills required for effectively using ICT (the ECC‐ICT test). Objectives: Based on existing literature, three ICT use domains were identified for effectively using ICT: Effective, collaborative, and creativeuse of ICT. For these three domains, 24 corresponding teaching objectives were identified from a widely used digital literacy framework. Thirty‐four test items cover these teaching objectives in an online test. Methods: A mixed‐method approach was used for the ECC‐ICT test. Four pilot rounds (n=25) implemented qualitative interviews for cognitive validity and refining the test items, followed by a qualitative usability study(n=6). Confirmatory factor analysis and ANOVA provided quantitative insight into the large‐scale test administration(n=575). Results and Conclusions: Composite reliability of our conceptual 3‐factor confirmatory model showed that the test reliably measured primary school effective use of ICT (ω = 0.82), collaborative use of ICT (ω = 0.80) and creative use of ICT (ω = 0.64). Convergent validity (ranging from 0.41 to 0.46) was acceptable. Internal consistency (ranging from 0.84 to 0.91) and discriminant validity (HTMT values below 0.90) are good. ANOVA results show that mean test scores are higher for students in higher grade levels (p < 0.001). The post hoc Bonferroni results show that most grade‐by‐grade comparisons are significant (p < 0.001). Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Information and communication technology (ICT) skills are finding their way into national curriculums as teachers implement more digital learning environments.Teachers currently do not have a measurement instrument for the ICT skills primary education students need to learn in a personalised way. What this paper adds: This paper gives teachers a test that reliably measures the effective, collaborative, and creative ICT skills required for primary school students to learn using ICT.To our knowledge, this test is the first of its kind.Al materials to reproduce the test are available digitally for teachers. The implications of study findings for practitioners: For policy, this test can be used to check if a student is ready to use ICT in a self‐regulated setting.With this test, teachers can assess and support students' growth on the effective, collaborative, and creative ICT skills required for primary school students using ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since little is known about the effects of free textbooks on compulsory school students in China, this paper examines the effects of free textbooks on the academic performance of Chinese middle school students. It combines propensity score matching and difference‐in‐difference estimation to control for both observable and unobservable factors that affect the probability of obtaining free textbooks as well as students' academic performance. Results indicate that free textbooks significantly improve the midterm scores of girls and rural students, and the effects vary across different subjects. Moreover, the impact mechanisms of free textbooks are different for different groups and different subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect on academic performance of an exogenous educational reform that reduced the school calendar of non-fee-paying schools in the Madrid region (Spain) by approximately two weeks, leaving the basic curriculum unchanged. To identify the consequences of such a measure, we exploit the fact that it did not affect private schools (control group) and the existence of an external cognitive test that measures academic performance before and after its application in the region. We find that the reform worsened students' educational outcomes by around 0.13 of a standard deviation. This effect was especially strong in the subjects of Spanish and Mathematics. We further explored quantile effects across the distribution of exam scores, finding that the disruption had a more negative effect on students in the upper quartile than those in the lower quartile. Overall, the analysis shows a reduction in the gap across non-fee-paying schools and an increase in the gap between non-fee- and fee-paying schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The substantial growth in gamification research has connected gamified learning to enhanced engagement, improved performance, and greater motivation. Similar to gamification, personalized learning analytics dashboards can enhance student engagement. Objectives: This study explores the student experiences and academic achievements using a gamified dashboard in a large, introductory STEM course. Methods: We examined two groups of students enrolled in different sections of a one‐semester‐long physical geology course with a total enrollment of 223 students. The only difference between the groups was that one had access to the dashboard. The data collection included students' assignments, overall performances, and exam scores. Students in both sections completed a Science Literacy Concept Inventory survey at the beginning and end of the term. Additionally, students completed an end‐of‐term survey containing open‐ended questions on their experience and interactions with specific elements. Results: Students shared mostly positive comments about their experience with the dashboard, and the final grade of students with access to the dashboard was 13% higher, on average, compared to their peers in the non‐dashboard section. Conclusion: With low costs and little time invested, gamified dashboards could have a significant impact on student performance in large STEM lecture courses. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Leaner dashboards that provide personalized feedback are linked to improved student performance in undergraduate STEM courses. However, students may be reticent to adopt dashboards, especially students in the middle range of the performance distribution, for whom the impact of the dashboard may be most significant.Prior research on gamification in STEM courses suggests that adding gameful elements like progress trackers, badges, and rewards can increase students' engagement in undergraduate coursework.The combination of personalized learning in dashboards and the motivational experience of gamification should boost student engagement, dashboard adoption, and ultimately foster academic achievement. What this paper adds: In this paper, we examine the differences in academic performance between students with and without access to a gamified learning dashboard in an undergraduate Geology course.We observe that students with access to the dashboard (the treatment group), outperform students without access (the control group). The greatest benefit is observed for students who use the dashboard more frequently.Students reported that the progress tracker, the badges, and the rewards all incentivized their use and provided useful feedback about their performance. Students who did not adopt the dashboard expressed a need for more detail about the tool and its purpose. Implications for practice and/or policy: Instructors and instructional designers for large enrollment undergraduate STEM courses should consider the affordances of gamified learner dashboards for increasing engagement and for providing synchronous feedback about learners' strategies in the course.Aligning the dashboard to the content of the curriculum—by ensuring that badges reflect key concepts‐ encouraged participation and helped students identify the utility of the tool. Dashboards should be personalized to individuals and to the course.Adding gameful elements in a low‐cost intervention for increasing adoption and engagement of dashboards in large enrollment introductory courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Writing is an important and complex skill, which could be enhanced by teaching students effective writing strategies such as outlining. Electronic outlining ‐ integrated feature in Microsoft® Word – has been shown to enhance students' writing performance. However, little is known about the optimal didactic approach for electronic outlining. Objective: This study examined the effects of learning to use electronic outlining either via observational learning or via learning‐by‐doing on students' argumentative writing performance. Methods: Students (N = 129, 10th‐grade) were assigned with their complete class to one of three conditions: a control (traditional pen and paper outlines via learning‐by‐doing), outline (electronic outlines via learning‐by‐doing) or observation (electronic outlines via observational learning) condition. Students followed an argumentative writing lesson‐series that differed across conditions in terms of planning strategies and didactic approaches used. To examine the influence of the different conditions on students' writing, argumentative texts were used as pre‐ and post‐tests, and the quality was evaluated with an analytic assessment protocol. In addition, data regarding students' perceived mental effort and the organisation of the writing process were collected. Finally, students' attitudes towards electronic outlining were assessed. Results and Conclusion: Although the overall text structure had improved after the lesson series, no significant differences were found between conditions. Electronic outlining increased the total amount of time dedicated to the texts as well as the revision ratio. Students in the observation condition showed a higher pause ratio and a lower fluency on the post‐test as compared to students who learned by doing (both control and outline conditions). With regard to perceived mental effort, students in the outline and control conditions perceived significant decreases over tasks, as opposed to those in the observation condition. In conclusion, the self‐reports indicate that students in the outline condition appropriated electronic outlining significantly better than those in the observation condition, suggesting that practice enhanced students' appropriation of electronic outlining. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Planning as a writing strategy helps students organise their writing and reduce mental effort.Electronic outlining is an effective and efficient tool to support a planning strategy.Observational learning is an effective didactic approach in writing education. What this paper adds: Traditional planning and electronic outlining via either observational learning or learning‐by‐doing affect writing products equally.Tool appropriation is greater for students who learned‐by‐doing. Implications for practice: Importance of elaborated and explicit (strategy) instruction.Advantage of video‐based modelling for teacher efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain tumours are the most common and fatal of all solid tumours for children and adolescents. The effects of the tumour and treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery) results in significant disruptions to childhood development and large amounts of missed schooling. Among other challenges for families, this produces obstacles for children and adolescents to achieve and maintain academic performance and experience positive schooling encounters. Aims: We thus aimed to systematically identify and synthesize qualitative evidence on how families experience paediatric brain tumour from diagnosis and beyond with regards to their schooling and education to identify gaps in service delivery, research, and policy. Methods: A protocol for this review was registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020177165). Searches were conducted in Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Embase, and Web of Science, and yielded 22 eligible papers (representing 17 studies). Data were extracted into NVivo12 and analysed by qualitative description. Results: We formed the following domain summaries: academic (perceived failure to keep up with peers and finding success where one could, the importance of encouragement for diagnosed children), social (the importance of friendships and the harm of bullying), and support (the defining factor in overall return‐to‐school experience, often not enough received from educational professionals and clinicians). Our review highlights the need for more comprehensive, individualized, and integrated support for diagnosed children to return to educational institutions, and for the need to address their social experiences, particularly with regards to bullying, potentially through a school‐wide social and emotional learning approach. Conclusion: Funding support, evidence‐based guidelines, staff skill development, and clear communication structures across families, health care facilities, schools, and educational departments are essential to achieving this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant interest in using of the blockchain technology in higher education for keeping secure student's records storage and retrieval is noted. This paper describes a new system based on blockchain approach to store students' records accumulated in the educational process at the higher institution in extended format. Every block of the records contains four types of information about student: academic activities, research participation, cultural activities and achievements. The system suggests participation of educational institution, student and potential employers in usage of integrated machine learning and blockchain technologies. The novelty of our paper is that the system allows university and student to keep complete and accurate data about the entire student learning process, avoid forgeries of educational records, e‐portfolio inaccuracies and fabricated degrees. Additionally, it could be used by employers to find qualifying potential employees, using large amount of verified and systematically accumulated data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Providing adaptive scaffolds to help learners develop effective self‐regulated learning (SRL) behaviours has been an important goal for intelligent learning environments. Adaptive scaffolding is especially important in open‐ended learning environments (OELE), where novice learners often face difficulties in completing their learning tasks. Objectives: This paper presents a systematic framework for adaptive scaffolding in Betty's Brain, a learning‐by‐teaching OELE for middle school science, where students construct a causal model to teach a virtual agent, generically named Betty. We evaluate the adaptive scaffolding framework and discuss its implications on the development of more effective scaffolds for SRL in OELEs. Methods: We detect key cognitive/metacognitive inflection points, that is, moments where students' behaviours and performance change during learning, often suggesting an inability to apply effective learning strategies. At inflection points, Mr. Davis (a mentor agent in Betty's Brain) or Betty (the teachable agent) provides context‐specific conversational feedback, focusing on strategies to help the student become a more productive learner, or encouragement to support positive emotions. We conduct a classroom study with 98 middle schoolers to analyse the impact of adaptive scaffolds on students' learning behaviours and performance. We analyse how students with differential pre‐to‐post learning outcomes receive and use the scaffolds to support their subsequent learning process in Betty's Brain. Results and Conclusions: Adaptive scaffolding produced mixed results, with some scaffolds (viz., strategic hints that supported debugging and assessment of causal models) being generally more useful to students than others (viz., encouragement prompts). Additionally, there were differences in how students with high versus low learning outcomes responded to some hints, as suggested by the differences in their learning behaviours and performance in the intervals after scaffolding. Overall, our findings suggest how adaptive scaffolding in OELEs like Betty's Brain can be further improved to better support SRL behaviours and narrow the learning outcomes gap between high and low performing students. Implications: This paper contributes to our understanding and impact of adaptive scaffolding in OELEs. The results of our study indicate that successful scaffolding has to combine context‐sensitive inflection points with conversational feedback that is tailored to the students' current proficiency levels and needs. Also, our conceptual framework can be used to design adaptive scaffolds that help students develop and apply SRL behaviours in other computer‐based learning environments. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: SRL, which involves the regulation of cognitive, affective, metacognitive and motivational (CAMM) processes, is an important construct for effective learning.Novice learners in open‐ended learning environments (OELEs) often engage in sub‐optimal SRL strategies and encounter learning and problem‐solving difficulties.These students are likely to benefit from in‐the‐moment scaffolding, but designing adaptive scaffolds for SRL in OELEs is a challenging task. What this paper adds: The design and implementation of an adaptive scaffolding framework in the Betty's Brain OELE, that (a) detects key cognitive‐metacognitive inflection points during learning, and (b) provides feedback (strategic hints and encouragements) to help students overcome their learning difficulties at the inflection points and develop more effective SRL behaviors.A method to evaluate the adaptive scaffolding framework by analyzing log data collected from a classroom experiment.Findings from the data analysis that provide evidence on scaffold effectiveness and inform future design of adaptive scaffolds in OELEs. Implications of study findings for practitioners: The adaptive scaffolding framework developed in this paper can be extended to other OELEs.The findings from scaffold evaluation can be used to improve the design of the adaptive scaffolding framework in OELEs, for example, by considering affect transitions and cognitive‐affective relationships to build more effective scaffolds for affect regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between‐class attainment groups ('setting') in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Meal pattern is a potential health determinant. Previously, mean values for properties of meal pattern, such as daily meal frequency, have been considered. Means, however, obscure variability between‐day (irregular or chaotic eating). This systematic review aimed to identify and critique published methods used to characterise between‐day variability in meal pattern, and to explore relationships between this and obesity, as well as associated health outcomes. Methods: Using relevant databases, a systematic search was undertaken for studies with adults and children in which between‐day variability in meal pattern was measured, and related to body weight, metabolic syndrome components and cognitive function. Results: In 34 papers identified (28 observational and six intervention studies), between‐day variability in meal pattern was characterised by a variety of methods. These ranged from single questions about intake regularity to more complex methods quantifying the degree of variability. Assumptions were made, such as there being three main meals, resulting in dissociation from the "clock time" of eating. In 24 of the papers, between‐day variability in meal pattern was associated with negative weight and health outcomes including higher weight, reduced thermogenic response to meals and poorer academic achievement. Conclusions: Between‐day variability in meal pattern is a promising research area that might inform low‐cost public health interventions. However, current methods of characterising between‐day variability tend to make assumptions and be inconsistent in the meal pattern properties considered. Well controlled dietary intervention studies are required to confirm causation. Highlights: This systematic review summarised the evidence about associations between day‐to‐day variability in meal pattern and body weight, components of the metabolic syndrome and cognitive function.Four databases were used to conduct an electronic search.Thirty‐four studies were included in this systematic review.Observational and intervention studies were included in this review.Studies included participants who were adults and children of healthy weight and living with overweight and obesity.Most studies demonstrated associations between the degree of meal pattern variability and negative health outcomes.However, different methods were used to characterise meal pattern variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This phenomenological qualitative study describes students' experiences and counter‐stories of school climate and how school climate matters for their academic achievement in an urban school district. The study uses a critical race perspective to help understand contextual influences on school climate. Data were collected through eight focus group interviews comprised of students conducted in middle and high schools in a large Midwest urban school district. Themes emerged within each school climate domain: teacher support, teacher expectations, safety, and peer social and emotional competence. The study results describe how students experience and understand school climate—perception of safety in schools with a mix of safe and unsafe home‐community climate—and demonstrate how students acknowledge the relationship between school climate and academic achievement. Urban secondary students are observant of the social‐emotional learning of their peers and maintain awareness of group differences as expressed in their counter‐stories. The findings advanced our understanding of school climate in urban contexts where social‐contextual‐struggles experienced by people of color affect their school experiences. The discussion includes practical implications for educators and administrators and directions for future research. Practitioner points: What is the main issue that the paper addresses? Students' experiences and counter‐stories of school climate and how school climate matters for their academic achievement in an urban school district.What are the main insights that the paper provides? Students acknowledge the relationship between school climate and academic achievement. Urban secondary students are observant of the social‐emotional learning of their peers and maintain awareness of group differences as expressed in their counter‐stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth, internationally, in professional doctorates over the last 25 years has been well documented, as are the forms, fields and disciplines that such doctorates embrace. Yet relatively little is known about the professional tensions teachers encounter, in relation to their positionality, when carrying out doctoral research in the schools where they work. This paper draws attention, not only to the contribution the Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) makes to research as a whole, but also to the significance of teachers as invaluable members of the research community. Findings will be presented from interviews with 30 senior teachers from schools in England who are carrying out practitioner research as part of their doctoral studies. The paper draws attention to how power relations in the research process ferment the structural and agentic concerns of the participants in this study when discussing their researcher positionality. The scholarly significance of this study is its contribution to knowledge of how schools are increasingly becoming both sites of research and research‐rich environments. With its focus on researcher positionality the paper draws attention not just to the tensions and dilemmas these participants encounter on their doctoral journey, but also to the importance of teacher researchers and their role in research knowledge production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the collection and availability of data on student academic performance and academic background, higher education institutions have recently stepped up initiatives in and infrastructure for learning analytics, leveraging this deluge of data to inform student success. With definitions of student success varying from analyses of what predicts levels of specific career readiness competencies to degree completion, the environment is a fertile ground for statistical practice and collaboration among a statistically savvy yet diverse clientele of instructors, programme advisors and administrators. In this paper, we discuss our experiences to this end through a consulting project evaluating the impact of writing course class size on students achieving a graduation writing requirement. In detailing the workflow for and challenges in this project, we share aspects of statistical communication and reporting, applications of innovative statistical methodology developed by our research group for handling confounding factors and correlated inputs and training through an interdisciplinary applied institutional research professional development programme. This paper illustrates how instilling an appreciation for statistical inference through each of these components is invaluable for capturing institutional buy‐in for data‐informed decision‐making in general statistical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discuses critical engagement with educational ideas, or at least with ideas influencing prominent debates about education. Topics include the history of certain relevant traditions of educational research; root and branch analysis of the research process of the CtP project, and framework for thinking more productively about the future of educational knowledge production in the context of a tradition of educational practice.

The learning of academic vocabulary, which consists of words commonly found in academic discourse across disciplines, is crucial for success in higher education. However, studies have shown that English as a second language (ESL) students face significant challenges acquiring this vocabulary, particularly during their first year of university. Given the pivotal role that learners' beliefs play in language learning, understanding their beliefs regarding their academic vocabulary learning (AVL) can provide educators with insights into the teaching strategies that effectively address the difficulties learners encounter. Accordingly, this mixed‐methods study examined the beliefs of 172 first‐year ESL undergraduates in Hong Kong regarding their AVL. Quantitative findings indicated that although students generally recognised the importance of developing academic vocabulary, their beliefs about their competence and effective learning methods varied. The students' English proficiency level was also found to be associated with their beliefs. An analysis of open‐ended responses further revealed that the students faced challenges related to the infrequent occurrence of academic vocabulary in non‐academic contexts, its complex nature, as well as the difficulty of retaining newly learned words. The paper concludes by discussing pedagogical implications and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration among scholars in scientific research is increasingly common, making it important to address how to recommend suitable collaborators, especially for their first cooperation. To address this issue, this study focuses on 1487 core scholars in the field of library and information science in China, and then analyzes the impact of academic differences between these scholars in their first collaboration by using the propensity matching score method. It uncovers potential driving factors for scholars to reach first collaborations, including similar research productivity, contrasting academic influence, aligned research directions, and distinct research focuses. Then, the distribution of features of three types of first cooperation demonstrates that if one or both partners publish the first paper in this collaboration, the collaborative relationship tends to be more enduring and stable. In addition, the subsequent collaboration of scholars and the change in their academic differences are related to the initial academic differences between the two parties in the first collaboration. These patterns can be used to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the scholar recommendation mechanism, hence promoting research collaboration and knowledge exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge and its acquisition are central to the field of curriculum studies, but the ways in which empirical studies of pedagogical approaches relate to theories of knowledge acquisition are under researched. This paper reports the outcomes of a rapid evidence assessment about the impacts of experiential learning (EL), regarded by some as progressive pedagogy, on the school attainment of children aged 4–14. Database searches of the Education Resources Information Center, the British Education Index, the Teacher Reference Center, the Education Database and APA PsycINFO were carried out to review peer‐reviewed research studies published between 2013 and 2023. In total, 465 studies were screened for their relevance, and the Mixed methods appraisal tool was used to assess the methodological quality of relevant studies; 44 studies were included in the final analysis. The findings of the research showed the overall positive impact of EL pedagogies on children's academic achievement. Key examples of positive impact included evidence for the beneficial effects of EL on the achievement of children with lower academic achievement; strong links between EL and science achievement; and the positive impact that EL has on domain‐general academic skills including memory and vocabulary development. Some links between EL and children's motivation, engagement, agency, and wellbeing, factors which underpin academic achievement, are also noted. The findings indicate that EL can be a highly valuable approach to enhancing children's acquisition of knowledge, skills and understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the context of the in‐country mobility of Hong Kong students studying at Chinese Mainland universities, this paper proposes the notion of 'transborder habitus' to understand Hong Kong students' experiences and perceptions. Through qualitative research with in‐depth interviews with 51 Hong Kong students studying in major cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen, how these students move across the socio‐cultural and academic fields at specific times is dissected. The process of how they perceive and adapt to their new life and identities on the mainland campuses is scrutinised. Students exhibited three types of adjustment styles: the Adjusters with pre‐adapted habitus, the Strangers with cleft habitus and the Outsiders with mis‐matched habitus. Their coping strategies are discussed and the salient factors shaping the students' transborder habitus are analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that academics of colour remain under represented in higher education; they are less likely to be professors and occupy senior managerial roles compared to White groups and report regular incidents of overt and covert racism. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives such as training programmes to progress the position of academics of colour into senior roles have been used to address their under representation. Drawing on Critical Race Theory this paper examines how within the neoliberal marketised university, such training programmes are used for the benefit of White groups to perpetuate White privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators and researchers strive to build policies and practices on data and evidence, especially on academic achievement scores. When assessment scores are inaccurate for specific student populations or when scores are inappropriately used, even data‐driven decisions will be misinformed. To maximize the impact of the research‐practice‐policy collaborative, every stage of the assessment and research process needs to be critically interrogated. In this paper, we highlight the need to reframe assessment and research for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and multilingual students with disabilities. We outline a framework that integrates three critical perspectives (QuantCrit, DisCrit, and critical multiculturalism) and discuss how this framework can be applied to assessment creation and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual contexts play a crucial role in assisting students' learning. Researchers have taken advantage of the potential of immersive virtual reality (VR) for situating students in inaccessible places, and for engaging them in learning activities. Meanwhile, several previous studies have reported that, in VR‐based learning contexts, students' perception of immersion and learning motivation could be low owing to the lack of clear objectives and problem‐solving scenarios. On the other hand, digital game‐based learning is capable of enhancing students' engagement in a task. In this study, we designed a learning approach (namely RPG‐VR) by means of integrating a role‐playing game with VR technology to enhance students' science learning. Furthermore, a quasi‐experiment was conducted to evaluate the students' learning effectiveness via, respectively, providing the RPG‐VR learning approach and the conventional VR (called C‐VR) learning approach for the experimental and control groups. The experimental results indicated that this approach significantly enhanced the students' perceptions of immersion, self‐efficacy and extrinsic learning motivation, in comparison with the C‐VR learning approach. Specifically, students who learned with the RPG‐VR learning approach perceived more immersion in the engagement and the total immersion stages. This study contributes to existing knowledge of VR technology by providing that a digital role‐playing game could reinforce the main characteristics of VR‐based learning environments and enhance students' concentration on a learning task. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of promoting students' learning achievements, implying that more instructional assistance is needed to improve students' knowledge gains in VR‐based learning environments. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Virtual contexts play a crucial role in promoting students' learning performances.Virtual reality has been adopted for situating students in inaccessible places to promote their learning.A DGBL context provides students with opportunities for learning that emphasize immersion in practice, resulting in concept acquisition and skill development.What this paper adds An RPG‐VR learning approach was designed by means of integrating a role‐playing game with VR technology to enhance students' science learning.A virtual reality learning system with a role‐playing game was developed based on the proposed approach.This approach significantly enhanced the students' perceptions of self‐efficacy, extrinsic learning motivation and immersion, especially in the engagement and the total immersion stages.A digital role‐playing game could reinforce the main characteristics of VR‐based learning environments.Implications for practice and/or policy The RPG‐VR learning approach could be a notable reference for further research on VR‐based learning environments.More instructional assistance is needed to improve students' knowledge gains in VR‐based learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas hackathons are widespread within and outside academia and have been argued to be a valid pedagogical method for teaching interdisciplinarity, no detailed frameworks or methods are available for conceptualizing and organizing educational hackathons, i.e., hackathons dedicated to best achieving pedagogic objectives. This paper is dedicated to introducing EDUCational Hackathons for learning how to solve Interdisciplinary Challenges (EDUCHIC) through: (1) defining the fundamental principles for framing an activity as an EDUCHIC, integrating principles from pedagogical methods, hackathon organization, and interdisciplinarity processes; (2) describing general properties that EDUCHIC possess as a consequence of the interaction of the fundamental principles; (3) developing operational guidelines for streamlining the practical organization of EDUCHIC, including an exhaustive end‐to‐end process covering all the steps for organizing EDUCHIC and practical frames for carrying the key decisions to be made in this process; and (4) a demonstration of these guidelines through illustrating their application for organizing a concrete EDUCHIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Youth violence, victimization, and bullying are pervasive in schools across the United States and are detrimental for learning and healthy development. K‐12 school safety is an increasingly urgent issue to research and understand from multiple perspectives. Physical and psychological safety in school is linked to better student and school outcomes and is fundamental to fostering well‐being and prosocial behavior. METHODS: Despite research demonstrating positive outcomes associated with school safety, there is no comprehensive conceptual model in the literature that considers precursors, strategies, mechanisms, and outcomes of school safety together. The current paper presents an equity‐centered comprehensive model of school safety, which is intended as a holistic representation of the multiple factors and pathways that contribute to school safety and positive youth development. RESULTS: This model can guide research and practice through an equity‐centered and comprehensive approach. This model can enable practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to make informed decisions and reach consensus regarding planning and decisions related to reducing violence and establishing supportive school environments. CONCLUSION: Our model suggests that a comprehensive approach can ensure the safety and well‐being of students and staff. By thinking ecologically, schools, communities, and stakeholders can ensure that all aspects of the school context are included in school safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Before and after the fandom, the pattern of education has difficulty in accepting the requirements of the MZ generation with very intense changes. Individual differences between students and different educational environments have more difficulties with the addition of practical subjects than general students. In this study of the purpose, after coronavirus disease‐19 (COVID‐19), the change in demand was described for the factors that influence the motivation necessary in current beauty education for diversity in education methods of MZ generation. Methods: These thesis studies are literature reviews, and for this purpose, a narrative review approach was used. A total of 200–300 references were selected and reviewed, and a total of papers were finally selected as of 2010–2022 using the PRISMA flow diagram. Results: With the emergence of diversity in education, online education is showing its power. In beauty education, the need for education of practical subjects has emerged and is the basis for providing more skilled skills in the field. This review paper conducted a comprehensive study on the motivational factors that will be the basis for the improved academic achievement of the MZ generation on the changes in education after COVID‐19. Conclusion: This literature review revealed the needs of the subjects of K‐education to be seen after the post‐COVID era and the factors of learning motivation required in the beauty distance education of the MZ generation. In addition, the global status of K‐beauty workers has confirmed that new changes with beauty and intelligence are being born as well as simple technical, and it is expected to be used as an important material for beauty distance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Owing to the exponential growth of three‐dimensional (3D) environments amongst researchers and educators to create simulation games (SGs) in primary education, there is a growing interest to examine their potential support in computer science courses instead of visual programming environments. Objectives: This study explores the relationships between students' learning performance, focusing on computational thinking (CT) and programming skills development, in association with their cognitive load (mental load and mental effort) and emotions (happiness, anger, anxiety, sadness) by playing SGs. Methods: A total of two hundred and ninety participants (n = 290) in fifth‐grade classes (10–11 years old) of Greek primary schools completed all pre‐and post‐intervention tests. A quasi‐experimental study was conducted over a 14‐week timetable course and in two comparison conditions, in which a SG was created by using OpenSimulator&Scratch4SL and Scratch for the experimental group (n = 145) and the control group (n = 145), respectively. To further investigate the effectiveness of the proposed SG in each teaching intervention, an exploration of relationships between students' learning performance, cognitive load, and emotions through multiple analyses, depending on correlation, t‐tests, correlation, and hierarchal regression was delivered. Results and Conclusions: The findings indicate that the proposed SG created by using OpenSimulator&Scratch4SL positively affected students' emotions and cognitive load, whereas there was no significant difference in learning gain between the two groups. Implications: The study provides empirical evidence on the effects of SGs on students' knowledge acquisition, highlighting the importance of considering both cognitive and emotional components in the design of these games. The findings also offer valuable insights for implications policy and practice. Lay Description: What is already known: Interactive environments can support the development of students' computational thinking (CT) and programming skills due to a wide range of digital elements/features that expand the boundaries where learning can happen.CT is a 21st‐century skill to be on top with others, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic for future generations of students to tackle real‐life problems.Despite a broad consensus on the increasing number of interactive environments, there is no dedicated measurement of their effects on students' performance and their possible association with psychological constructs. What this paper adds: This study explores any possible relationships amongst students' CT skills, emotions, and cognitive load for programming courses in fifth‐grade (10–11 years old) classes of primary education by playing a simulation game (SG).The proposed SG was created by using two interactive environments that project different 2D/3D user interface and game elements (e.g., special effects, scenes, animations, feedback, challenges, goal clarity, and scripted interaction).A quasi‐experimental study was conducted over a 14‐week timetable course and in two comparison conditions, in which the proposed SG was created by using OpenSimulator&Scratch4SL and Scratch for the experimental group (n = 145) and the control group (n = 145), respectively. Implications for practice and/or policy: In‐game scenario and students' embodied experiences can increase CT vocabulary acquisition, understanding, and expression of solution plans via visual coding.A practical roadmap for practitioners and instructors proposed how to purposefully integrate elements/features into interactive environments.Problem‐solving exercises in a simulated reality can become interesting and reduce students' cognitive load, when they are taking part in enjoyable and playful settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Considerable evidence suggests that students' achievement emotions are important contributors to their learning and success online. It is, therefore, essential to understand and support students' emotional experiences to enhance online education, especially under the COVID‐19 context. However, to date, very few studies have investigated how students' achievement emotions might be affected by teaching and learning factors in online learning environments. Objectives: Based on Pekrun's (2006) control‐value theory of achievement emotions, this study examined the influence of students' perceived online teaching quality and appraisals of control and value on their achievement emotions in an online second language (L2) learning context instigated by the COVID‐19. Methods: Data were collected using an online survey of 1503 undergraduates from ten universities across different regions of China. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed to test the validity of the instruments and structural equation modelling were conducted to examine the relations between L2 teaching and learning variables. Results and Conclusions: Results revealed that perceived teacher internet and communication technology competence had positive effects on enjoyment, but negative effects on anxiety and boredom, and these effects were fully mediated by perceived control and/or value. Perceived chaotic teaching structure (CTS) had reverse effects for the three emotions. Perceived CTS effects on enjoyment and anxiety were fully and partially mediated by perceived control, respectively. Takeaways: Online teaching quality is critical for students' appraisals and emotions towards L2 learning. Teachers should strive to improve online teaching quality and design interventions targeting students' perceived control and value to temper their affective experiences associated with the crisis‐prompted online teaching practices. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Teachers' internet and communication technology (ICT) competence and pedagogical design can enhance students' e‐learning efficacy, motivation and interests.Students' perceived control and value can influence their achievement emotions in online learning.Teacher's ICT competence and pedagogical design can impact students' emotions in online learning. What this paper adds: Perceived teacher ICT competence and chaotic teaching structures can have differential impact on students' perceived control and value for e‐learning.Perceived control and intrinsic value differently mediated the effects of the two teaching factors on students' emotions for e‐learning.Perceived teacher ICT competence and chaotic teaching structures can have both direct and indirect effects on students' e‐learning emotions via perceived control and value. Implications for practice and/or policy: Teacher training and development programs should prepare teachers for varying teaching formats including unplanned online teaching due to a forced switch to remote teaching.Teachers should acquaint themselves with using various online platforms and software to communicate the goals, expectations, structures and requirements of their language lessons to students' in a clear manner.Online language teaching interventions aiming to increase or decrease a specific emotion could directly target specific combinations of teaching characteristics and appraisals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation is a principal task of early development. The failure to develop effective emotion regulation skills is associated with behavioural, academic, psychological and socioemotional difficulties. Although researchers have studied emotion regulation for decades, work on emotion dysregulation—defined as the inability to maintain emotional control, engage with the environment or recover from distress in a developmentally appropriate manner—is rare and there are discrepancies in its conceptualisation among very young samples. While some scientists refer to emotion dysregulation as if it were a discrete concept, it may be more accurately depicted as a multidimensional system of developmental processes. The National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) is a framework that allows researchers to track dysfunction across multiple areas of analysis and may be an ideal system for exploring the multidimensional nature of infant emotion dysregulation. In this paper, we draw on empirical studies to describe how the RDoC framework can be used to support studies of emotion dysregulation in infancy. This proposed model can also serve as a roadmap for future researchers to follow to generate the evidence base for a multidimensional conceptualisation of infant emotion dysregulation and its underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify neighborhood institutional resources (e.g., nonprofit organizations, libraries, and labor market conditions) that promote Mexican‐origin high school students' progress in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathway into postsecondary education. A nationally representative, longitudinal sample of 1340 Mexican‐origin students from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 was used to investigate students' postsecondary education STEM outcomes. Neighborhood institutional resources, assessed during the high school years, were appended from multiple administrative data sources at the zip code level. Multilevel models utilizing the Heckman correction model, to correct for selection bias in postsecondary education pursuits, revealed that neighborhood resources during high school, specifically more minority‐ and immigrant‐serving organizations and a more STEM‐focused local labor market, support Mexican‐origin students' postsecondary STEM degree attainment, after controlling for risks and resources in the family and school contexts. We conclude by calling attention to how neighborhood institutional resources may facilitate Mexican‐origin students' STEM achievement and fulfill the labor market demands within high‐growth sectors of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning analytics is a fast‐growing discipline. Institutions and countries alike are racing to harness the power of using data to support students, teachers and stakeholders. Research in the field has proven that predicting and supporting underachieving students is worthwhile. Nonetheless, challenges remain unresolved, for example, lack of generalizability, portability and failure to advance our understanding of students' behaviour. Recently, interest has grown in modelling individual or within‐person behaviour, that is, understanding the person‐specific changes. This study applies a novel method that combines within‐person with between‐person variance to better understand how changes unfolding at the individual level can explain students' final grades. By modelling the within‐person variance, we directly model where the process takes place, that is the student. Our study finds that combining within‐ and between‐person variance offers a better explanatory power and a better guidance of the variables that could be targeted for intervention at the personal and group levels. Furthermore, using within‐person variance opens the door for person‐specific idiographic models that work on individual student data and offer students support based on their own insights. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicPredicting students' performance has commonly been implemented using cross‐sectional data at the group level.Predictive models help predict and explain student performance in individual courses but are hard to generalize.Heterogeneity has been a major factor in hindering cross‐course or context generalization.What this paper addsIntra‐individual (within‐person) variations can be modelled using repeated measures data.Hybrid between–within‐person models offer more explanatory and predictive power of students' performance.Intra‐individual variations do not mirror interindividual variations, and thus, generalization is not warranted.Regularity is a robust predictor of student performance at both the individual and the group levels.Implications for practiceThe study offers a method for teachers to better understand and predict students' performance.The study offers a method of identifying what works on a group or personal level.Intervention at the personal level can be more effective when using within‐person predictors and at the group level when using between‐person predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive learning platforms are increasingly being used as part of varying instructional modalities. Particularly relevant to this paper, adaptive learning is a critical component of personalized, preclass learning in a flipped classroom. Previously inaccessible, data generated by adaptive learning platforms regarding student engagement with the course content provides an invaluable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the learning process and improve upon it. We aim to investigate the relationships between adaptive learning platform interactions and overall student success in the course and identify the variables most influential to student success. We present a comprehensive analysis of our adaptive learning platform data collected in a Numerical Methods course, including aggregate statistics, frequency analysis, and Principal Component Analysis, to determine which variables exhibited the most variability and, therefore, the most information in the data. Subsequently, we used the Partitioning Around Medoids clustering approach to investigate naturally occurring clusters of students and how these clusters relate to overall performance in the course. Our results show that overall performance in the course, as measured by the final course grade, is strongly associated with (1) the behavioral interactions of students with the adaptive platform and (2) their performance on the adaptive learning assessments. We also found distinct student clusters (as defined by success in the course) that exhibited distinctly different behaviors. These findings provide qualitative and quantitative information to identify students needing support and to craft an evidence‐based support strategy for these students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature mainly examines the impact of academic self‐efficacy on academic achievement in educational psychology. Much less is known about the relationship between outcome expectations and adolescent academic achievement. This article applies the random intercept model to investigate the association between Chinese adolescent perceived value of effort as outcome expectations and academic achievement and employs the Karlson, Holm, and Breen (KHB) method to examine the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, this paper uses the random coefficient model to explore the heterogeneous association between the perceived value of effort and adolescent academic achievement across families and schools. Based on the Programme for International Students Assessment 2018 (N = 11751; 48.07% females), we found that the adolescent perceived value of effort was significantly and positively correlated with academic achievement. Adolescent educational expectations and academic engagement partially mediated the relationship between the perceived value of effort and academic achievement. Adolescents from disadvantaged families and schools benefited more from the perceived value of effort. These findings enhance existing literature by revealing how the adolescent outcome expectations contribute to academic achievement and provide a scientific basis for bridging the gap in academic achievement between families and schools to promote equity in education. Practitioner points: Adolescent perceived value of effort is positively associated with academic achievement.Adolescent educational expectations and academic engagement partially mediate the relationship between the perceived value of effort and academic achievement.Adolescents from disadvantaged families and schools benefit more from the perceived value of effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Speech sound disorders (SSDs) are the most common form of communication disorders in children. SSD have an impact on children's abilities to make themselves understood to their listeners and can influence a child's social and emotional well‐being as well as their academic achievements. Therefore, it is important to identify children with an SSD early, in order to provide appropriate intervention. A wealth of information on best practice in the assessment of children with SSD is available in countries where the speech and language therapy profession is well established. In Sri Lanka, there is a paucity of research evidence supporting assessment practices that are culturally and linguistically appropriate in SSDs. Therefore, clinicians rely on informal assessment methods. There is a need to understand more about how clinicians in Sri Lanka assess this caseload in order to get general agreement regarding comprehensive and consistent procedures for assessment of paediatric SSD in Sri Lanka. This would support speech and language therapists' (SLTs') clinical decision‐making in relation to choice of appropriate goals and intervention for this caseload. Aim: To develop and gain consensus on an assessment protocol for Sri Lankan children with SSD that is culturally appropriate and based on existing research. Method: A modified Delphi method was utilised to gather data from clinicians currently working in Sri Lanka. The research involved three rounds of data collection, exploring current assessment practices in Sri Lanka, ranking these in order of priority and establishing consensus on a proposed assessment protocol. The proposed assessment protocol was based on the results of the first and second rounds as well as previously published best practice guidelines. Outcome and Results: The proposed assessment protocol achieved consensus in relation to content, format and cultural appropriateness. SLTs affirmed the usefulness of the protocol within the Sri Lankan context. Further research is required to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of this protocol in practice. Conclusions & Implications: The assessment protocol supports practicing SLTs with a general guide to assessing children with suspected SSDs in Sri Lanka. The application of this protocol built upon consensus enables clinicians to improve their individual practice patterns based on best practice recommendations in the literature and the evidence on culturally and linguistically appropriate practices. This study has identified the need for further research in this area, including the development of culturally and linguistically specific assessment tools that would complement the use of this protocol. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: The assessment of children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) requires a comprehensive and holistic approach due to their heterogeneous nature. Although there is evidence to support the assessment of paediatric SSDs in many countries where the profession of speech and language therapy is established, there is limited evidence to support the assessment of children with SSDs in Sri Lanka. What this study adds: This study provides information about current assessment practices in Sri Lanka and consensus on a proposed culturally appropriate protocol for the assessment of children with SSDs in this country. What are the clinical implications of this work?: The proposed assessment protocol provides speech and language therapists in Sri Lanka with a guide for assessment of paediatric SSDs to support more consistent practice in this area. Future evaluation of this preliminary protocol is required; however, the methodology used in this research could be applied to the development of assessment protocols for other range of practice areas in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With Big Data revolution, the education sector is being reshaped. The current data‐driven education system provides many opportunities to utilize the enormous amount of collected data about students' activities and performance for personalized education, adapting teaching methods, and decision making. On the other hand, such benefits come at a cost to privacy. For example, the identification of a student's poor performance across multiple courses. While several works have been conducted on quantifying the re‐identification risks of individuals in released datasets, they assume an adversary's prior knowledge about target individuals. Most of them do not utilize all the available information in the datasets. For example, event‐level information that associates multiple records to the same individual and correlation between attributes. In this work, we propose a method using a Markov Model (MM) to quantify re‐identification risks using all available information in the data under a more realistic threat model that assumes different levels of an adversary's knowledge about the target individual, ranging from any one of the attributes to all given attributes. Moreover, we propose a workflow for efficiently calculating MM risk which is highly scalable to large number of attributes. Experimental results from real education datasets show the efficacy of our model for re‐identification risk. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic? There has been a number of works/research conducted on privacy risk quantification in datasets and in the Web.Majority of them have strong assumption about adversary's prior knowledge of target individual(s).Most of them do not utilize all the available information in the datasets, eg, event‐level or duplicate records and correlation between attributes.What this paper adds? This paper proposes a new re‐identification risk quantification model using Markov models. Our model addresses the shortcomings of existing works, eg, strong assumption about adversary's knowledge, unexplainable model, and utilizing available information in the datasets. Specifically, our proposed model not only focuses on the uniqueness of data points in the datasets (as most of the other existing methods), but also takes into account uniformity and correlation characteristics of these data points.Re‐identification risk quantification is computationally expensive and is not scalable to large datasets with increasing number of attributes. This paper introduces a workflow for data custodians to use to efficiently evaluate the worst‐case re‐identification risk in their datasets before releasing.It presents extensive experimental evaluation results of the proposed model for quantifying re‐identification risks on several real education datasets.Implications for practice and/or policy? Empirical results on real education datasets validate the significance and efficacy of the proposed model for re‐identification risk quantification compared to existing approaches.Our model can be used by the data custodians as a tool to evaluate the worst‐case risk of a dataset. It empowers data custodians to make informed decisions on appropriate actions to mitigate these risks (eg, data perturbation) before sharing or releasing their datasets to third parties. A typical use case would be one where the data custodians is an online course/program provider, which collects data about students' engagement with their courses and would like to share it with third parties for them to run learning analytics that would provide value‐added benefits back to the data custodian.We specifically study the privacy risk quantification for education data; however, our model is applicable to any tabular data release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the main findings of population‐based studies of the academic outcomes of children with isolated orofacial clefts compared to peers, general samples, or siblings, published over the past decade. Most of the reviewed papers report that children with orofacial clefts, particularly children with cleft palate only or in some studies children with cleft lip and palate, may have on average lower achievement on certain outcomes like test scores when comparing to non‐siblings. However, there are important differences across studies including designs, populations, outcome measures, and findings. The paper also offers recommendations for future research priorities including controlling for confounding, examining mechanisms and potential heterogeneity across family sociodemographic and contextual factors, and understanding outcomes in less developed settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]