For many students, mathematics, traditionally thought to be difficult and dull, is often considered inaccessible, generating a negative attitude towards it. In order to encourage a positive attitude towards mathematics, we propose class practices that, through research activities, will lead the students to experiment a similar path to the one that has given, as a final product, a structured theory, so as to enhance their self-efficacy, give a correct vision of the discipline and stimulate positive emotions. This can be realized, for example, as a “laboratory activity” in which the students compare ideas, intuitions, arguments, and work together to obtain results, using their critical capabilities in a collaborative learning activity. A team of university professors and high school teachers has developed a laboratory activity that focuses on some properties of quadrilaterals. The activity has at any rate been experimented in different first biennium classes of some high schools and has obtained very good results.

Changes in computer and communication technology have sparked an educational revolution. For over 20 years, higher education, as a whole, has been adapting to the changing educational landscape. Christian theological education, which is not immune to changing educational realities, has also been adapting to decentralized educational tendencies and experiencing rapid growth in distance and online learning. Christian theological education appears to be a decade or so behind higher education in its contemporary adaptation to online learning,. Questions that higher education began asking over a decade ago about online learning are now part of the contemporary conversation within Christian online theological education. One of those questions asks, “What are standards of quality for Christian online theological education?” The purpose of this study was to identify standards of quality in Christian online theological education as well as issues related to implementing these standards of quality. This study was originally planned as an explanatory, sequential mixed methods study. Due to circumstances encountered during the administration of the originally planned study, this study’s approach had to be adapted to the descriptive survey research method. This study was conducted among an expert sample of distance learning professionals from within Association of Theological Schools (ATS) accredited schools. As indicated by distance learning professionals at ATS-accredited schools, this study: (a) identified 24 standards of quality for Christian online theological education, (b) discovered insights on how well these leaders perceive they are implementing quality standards, and (c) identified areas of both success and challenge when trying to implement quality standards in Christian theological education. These research findings led to two conclusions and produced seven key themes for Christian online theological education. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research were discussed in order to help Christian theological education not only survive the educational revolution it is immersed in, but to thrive within it.

For many students, mathematics, traditionally thought to be difficult and dull, is often considered inaccessible, generating a negative attitude towards it. In order to encourage a positive attitude towards mathematics, we propose class practices that, through research activities, will lead the students to experiment a similar path to the one that has given, as a final product, a structured theory, so as to enhance their self-efficacy, give a correct vision of the discipline and stimulate positive emotions. This can be realized, for example, as a “laboratory activity” in which the students compare ideas, intuitions, arguments, and work together to obtain results, using their critical capabilities in a collaborative learning activity. A team of university professors and high school teachers has developed a laboratory activity that focuses on some properties of quadrilaterals. The activity has at any rate been experimented in different first biennium classes of some high schools and has obtained very good results.

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Teachers' ability to integrate technology is a topic of growing concern given the importance of technology and 21st century skills readiness in both academics and the global society of 2014. This study investigated the technology integration barriers that educators faced, the training the educators received, and support needs of educators at a large, prominent, 30-year old international school located in Central America offering grades Pre-K 3 to 12. The social learning theory of Bandura, the constructivist theories of Piaget and Dewey, and the technology constructionism of Papert provided the theoretical framework. The research questions focused on understanding technology integration by assessing key aspects of the teachers' technology proficiency and needs. A nonexperimental quantitative cross-sectional study design was used to examine the educational technology integration practices and deficiencies at the focus school. A Likert-style instrument, comprised of parts from 3 existing instruments, was completed electronically by 62 purposefully sampled certified teachers at the focus school. Descriptive statistics identified technology integration levels, training factors, and support needs of focus school educators. Correlational analyses failed to reveal any significant relationships between technology integration levels of the focus school teachers and the variables of interest: self-perceived barriers to technology integration, self-perceived confidence using technology, and participation in onsite professional development. In light of the survey findings, a 3-phase technology integration improvement plan was designed. The study yields social change for the focus school by improving their technology integration practices based on empirical evidence.

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<div> <div> <div> <p>Previous work has identified the many difficulties that students experience in learning abstract concepts in STEM. Past studies have also identified the critical role that emotions play on students' motivation to learn. As new learning technologies are developed, they enable visualizing complex scientific concepts which can be non-visible thus assisting students' understanding of abstract ideas as well as improving their motivation as they learn. This study investigated two learning technologies and compared them to examine 1) their effectiveness on learning concepts of electricity in physics and 2) the interplay between learning with technology and emotions. Participants were randomly assigned to either Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) with a computer simulation or Game-Based Learning (GBL) with a computer game which addressed concepts of electricity in physics. During the experiment, students in the IBL condition explored materials by using the computer simulation and posed hypotheses and questions on their own with a guiding worksheet for IBL. Students in the GBL condition played an educational computer game following the guiding worksheet while they were meeting challenges created by the game with a guiding worksheet for GBL. Students' learning gains were assessed by comparing their pretest and posttest scores. Emotions were self-reported after the posttest by responding to a survey that measured 6 emotional scales that students may perceive during the experiment. The study found that both IBL and GBL enhanced students' understanding of given concepts. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two conditions in terms of learning gains. Students in the IBL achieved higher mean learning gains, whereas students in the GBL showed that they were more engaged. At the same time, students in the GBL perceived more confusion and frustration compared to students in the IBL. <br></p> </div> </div> </div>

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Understanding base-ten numbers is one of the most important mathematics topics taught in the primary school, and yet also one of the most difficult to teach and to learn. Research shows that many children have inaccurate or faulty number conceptions, and use rote-learned procedures with little regard for quantities represented by mathematical symbols. Base-ten blocks are widely used to teach place-value concepts, but children often do not perceive the links between numbers, symbols, and models. Software has also been suggested as a means of improving children's development of these links but there is little research on its efficacy. Sixteen Queensland Year 3 students worked cooperatively with the researcher for 10 daily sessions, in 4 groups of 4 students of either high or low mathematical achievement level, on tasks introducing the hundreds place. Two groups used physical base-ten blocks and two used place-value software incorporating electronic base-ten blocks. Individual interviews assessed participants' place-value understanding before and after teaching sessions. Data sources were videotapes of interviews and teaching sessions, field notes, workbooks, and software audit trails, analysed using a grounded theory method. There was little difference evident in learning by students using either physical or electronic blocks. Many errors related to the "face-value" construct, counting and handling errors, and a lack of knowledge of base-ten rules were evident. Several students trusted the counting of blocks to reveal number relationships. The study failed to confirm several reported schemes describing children's conceptual structures for multidigit numbers. Many participants demonstrated a preference for grouping or counting approaches, but not stable mental models characterising their thinking about numbers generally. The independent-place construct is proposed to explain evidence in both the study and the literature that shows students making single-dimensional associations between a place, a set of number words, and a digit, rather than taking account of groups of 10. Feedback received in the two conditions differed greatly. Electronic feedback was more positive and accurate than feedback from blocks, and reduced the need for human-based feedback. Primary teachers are urged to monitor students' use of base-ten blocks closely, and to challenge faulty number conceptions by asking appropriate questions.