ETR&D
2 weeks 2 days ago
Although recommender systems have the potential to advance self-regulated learning (SRL) in online environments, implementation challenges impede their development. To systematically investigate the barriers to the effective use of recommender systems to enhance SRL, this study developed a three-tiered analytical framework that considers challenges in three areas: data and experiments, user experience/interface design, and technical factors. A systematic search of five bibliographic databases identified 33 empirical studies. The findings revealed the following key challenges in the three analytical levels: (a) data and experiments: scarcity, validity, and arrangement; (b) user experience and engagement: poor matching and inadequate scaffolding for SRL (e.g., weak feedback mechanisms) and suboptimal interface and function designs; and (c) technical factors: lack of stability and security of recommender systems and limitations in modeling complex learning behaviors and balancing personalization with pedagogical goals. These challenges interact dynamically to form a self-reinforcing recursive constraint, where poor user experiences lead to disengagement, resulting in sparse, low-quality data that further constrains algorithmic capabilities. Current algorithmic approaches typically address isolated problems, failing to break this cycle by overlooking these systemic interdependencies. This underscores the critical need to move beyond isolated fixes and develop comprehensive, pedagogically-aware algorithmic architectures. To address this, this study proposes a four-phase development roadmap for creating an SRL-Scaffolding Architecture. This roadmap integrates multi-modal data validation, hybrid algorithmic intelligence combining emotional and cognitive modeling, adaptive scaffolding interfaces, and a continuous human-in-the-loop feedback cycle. By mapping these interconnected challenges and proposing a structured architectural framework, this study proposes roadmap to address these barriers and develop recommender systems that effectively empower SRL in online environments.
2 weeks 4 days ago
Manual therapy mobilizations are common therapeutic practices for musculoskeletal conditions, but their acquisition presents significant challenges as it requires the precise, coordinated, and safe execution of specific movements. Traditional teaching approaches often rely on subjective feedback and offer limited real-time guidance, which may hinder skill acquisition. In recent years, immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) has emerged as a promising educational tool, showing potential to enhance learning experiences and increase student motivation. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel teaching approach for manual therapy mobilizations by integrating iVR as a complementary tool in undergraduate education, allowing students to practice techniques with greater precision and efficiency. A mixed-methods cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with undergraduate students who had no prior experience with the technique. An iVR application for head-mounted displays was developed to teach a knee mobilization technique. Students in the experimental group used the iVR application alongside a traditional instructional session, while the control group received traditional teaching only. Quantitative and qualitative data related to usability, iVR experience, and learning experience were collected after the session. Results showed that students in the experimental group reported higher engagement and motivation when learning manual therapy techniques, although some perceived the traditional method as simpler. Learning experience outcomes indicated improved coordination of translational and rotational movements among iVR users, which is essential for effective manual therapy mobilization. Overall, these findings suggest that iVR can serve as an effective supplementary tool to conventional teaching methods, contributing to enhanced learning and performance outcomes.
2 weeks 4 days ago
Extended reality technologies are increasingly used in teacher education. For instance, innovations like 360 videos and virtual reality have been shown to be effective in improving future educators’ noticing, self-efficacy, and sense of presence, particularly in simulations of real classrooms. However, little is known about how presence is experienced in immersive recordings of educational gaming environments (i.e., Minecraft or Roblox). This study addresses that gap by examining how pre-service teachers experience presence when viewing a 360 video of a third-grade math lesson set within Minecraft.edu. Using Rasch analysis, we validated the eXtended Reality Presence Scale with a sample of 91 pre-service teachers. We also examined the correlation between presence scores and participants’ field of view (a proxy for visual attention) and compared presence ratings between immersive recordings of a real classroom and a Minecraft.edu environment. Results support the scale as a valid tool for measuring presence in game-based immersive environments. Presence was significantly correlated with participants’ field of view, suggesting that attentional engagement is linked to the experience of presence. However, participants reported lower presence in the Minecraft.edu lesson compared to the real classroom. These findings extend theoretical understanding of presence by demonstrating its variability across extended reality contexts and validating a tool for measuring it in educational gaming environments—an area previously underexplored.
3 weeks 4 days ago
Data is everywhere. Preparing students to navigate and succeed in a data-driven world is an increasingly important role for secondary education. Given its ubiquity, there is tremendous potential to situate data science in students’ lived experiences. Toward this goal, this paper investigates ways to make data science learning experiences authentic. We explore how high school students perceive the authenticity of the datasets, tools, and learning activities they engage with in an interest-driven data science curriculum. Drawing from student reflections, survey responses, and in-depth analysis of final projects, we examine how the curriculum aligns with the four dimensions of authenticity proposed by Shaffer & Resnick (1999). The analysis reveals that students recognized the value of working with real datasets and tools, which enhanced their understanding of data science as a meaningful and applicable discipline. Students reported feeling like data scientists when completing learning activities that mirrored real-world tasks. This was particularly true for their final projects, which involved identifying and analyzing data to answer self-generated questions. The paper also presents design characteristics that foster authentic learning and discusses the practical implications for designing such curricula. The insights from this study contribute to the growing body of literature on authentic learning and underscore the importance of designing relevant and authentic curricula that prepare students for the data-rich world that awaits them beyond the classroom.
3 weeks 5 days ago
Emerging roles and capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to support andragogical education and enhance learning experience for adult learners (ALs). However, the effective use of AI to support multifaceted components of andragogy including involvement, experience, problem-centered, relevance remains under explored. Furthermore, research on AI design principles to support ALs and andragogy is limited. This study, therefore, aims to investigate ALs perceptions of AI applications in enhancing andragogy and to explore the essential design principles of AI systems for andragogy. To this end, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 ALs facilitated by 11 scenarios of AI application storyboards and paper prototypes with 24 graduate students. The study findings reveal that ALs perceive various types of AI to support andragogy across different andragogical components. The study also found that ALs viewed AI as a collaborative learning agent, learning from and with AIs to solve complex problems, share knowledge, enhance understanding, and hone higher order thinking skills. Furthermore, the study identifies three key AI design principles for andragogy, including Human-in-the loop (building shared mental models between humans and AI; enabling human-AI co-creation), emotional design (calibrating an appropriate level of AI reliance, empathetic communication), and adaptability (continuous adaptation, interoperability).
1 month ago
Interdisciplinary lesson study plays a significant role in promoting pre-service teachers’ professional development, and has been recognized as a critical approach to improve high-level interdisciplinary education. However, due to the dynamic and complicated process of the interdisciplinary lesson study, there is a lack of research on its procedural mechanism and dynamics. As teachers’ collaborative talk gains attention, the framework of Pedagogically Productive Talk has been established to facilitate the talk analysis, with talk serving as procedural data that facilitates a deeper understanding of collaborative patterns among teachers. This study employed Social Epistemic Network Signature approach to analyze collaborative talk patterns and social ties within a team comprising 7 pre-service science teachers, 5 pre-service information technology teachers, and 3 faculty members during an offline interdisciplinary lesson study involved designing and implementing an AI-integrated science course. The findings reveal that this interdisciplinary lesson study team exhibited the characteristics of Community of Practice. A nuanced interpretation of the collaborative talk across different stages of the interdisciplinary lesson study revealed that the team focused primarily on identifying and resolving practical problems, while the faculty members played a crucial role in maintaining friendly team relationship. Suggestions are provided for facilitating collaboration in the interdisciplinary lesson study to effectively integrate AI into science curricula.
1 month ago
Synchronous online lectures often rely on static slide presentations and end-of-session quizzes, limiting sustained cognitive engagement and meaningful interaction. This study introduces quiz-based inquiry (QBI), an incremental, lecture-embedded instructional approach that distributes low-stakes quiz prompts across live sessions to regulate attention, stimulate reasoning, and integrate feedback within the progression of instruction. Rather than functioning as terminal assessments, quiz prompts serve as structural drivers of inquiry and dialogue. Using a quasi-experimental design, three groups of undergraduate students (N = 90) enrolled in an online public administration course were assigned to one control condition (LMS-based post-lecture quizzes) and two experimental conditions that implemented QBI via interactive presentation platforms (Mentimeter and AhaSlides). Data included online formative quiz performance, paper-based summative examination scores, technology acceptance, multidimensional engagement, perceived interaction, and course satisfaction. Students in the QBI conditions demonstrated significantly higher formative and summative performance compared with the control group. Formative performance strongly predicted final examination outcomes (β = 0.66, p < .001), accounting for a substantial proportion of variance. QBI also yielded significant gains in behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement, along with enhanced perceived interaction. Qualitative findings revealed sustained attentional readiness, dialogic reasoning, and real-time conceptual clarification. Minimal differences between platforms indicate that instructional sequencing, rather than technological variation, accounted for observed effects. This study advances instructional design theory by reframing formative assessment as a structural component of instructional architecture that sustains inquiry, engagement, and cumulative understanding in synchronous online learning environments.
1 month ago
The potential of strategic scaffolds to enhance spatial cognitive processing in virtual reality (VR) learning environments remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of strategic scaffolds in VR contexts on students’ spatial cognition. A cohort of 88 college students was randomly assigned to one of four conditions, following a 2 × 2 factorial design that included two variables: problem scaffolding (yes vs. no) and summary strategy (yes vs. no). The findings revealed that: (a) the group utilizing problem scaffolding exhibited higher levels of students’ flow, cognitive load, attention, total fixation duration, and total fixation count; (b) the summary strategy significantly influenced spatial memory; (c) problem scaffolding effectively impacted the attention of students with both high and low spatial abilities, and (d) spatial ability moderated the relationship between problem scaffolding and attention. These results suggested that suggested that either problem scaffolding or the summary strategy in a VR learning environment can significantly affect spatial cognitive processes. The findings highlighted the importance of selecting appropriate strategies within virtual reality environments to enhance effective spatial cognition.
1 month ago
The rapid adoption of educational technologies such as mobile learning (m-learning) has revolutionised the higher education sector. However, the effectiveness of m-learning in developing country contexts, particularly with a focus on cultural differences, has not been well explored. Therefore, this study employed the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to identify technological factors, and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions theory to understand the cultural factors influencing the acceptance of m-learning among university students in Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya. Data were collected from 588 respondents via a questionnaire, and results revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence are key drivers of m-learning adoption. In contrast, the impact of compatibility, defined as the extent to which m-learning aligns with users’ values and existing familiarity, varies significantly across geographic contexts and is influenced by factors such as cultural orientation, poor infrastructure, digital illiteracy, and economic difficulties. These results emphasise the need to tailor m-learning programmes following the particular cultural and economic realities of developing countries to better understand the acceptance of technology in such contexts.
1 month 1 week ago
Social robots are specifically designed to interact with humans by engaging in social behaviors. In education, these machines are progressively adopted to support learning processes. Despite this trend, there is a lack of research that maps the implementation of social robots for education in real settings. To address this gap, we used a documentary research method to identify and classify cases of social robot deployments in educational contexts worldwide. In total, we traced back and analyzed 206 cases of social robots deployed in 28 countries, involving 43 different robot models. These robots were identified in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, universities, and occupational therapy centers, among other institutions. The most prevalent functions of these robots are edutainment, entertainment, teaching programming skills, and offering psychological support. This study provides a comprehensive overview of social robots’ current applications in the educational sector, with implications for future adoption.
1 month 2 weeks ago
The integration of interconnected devices with artificial intelligence enables Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) that can assist teachers in monitoring student learning and providing timely interventions in classrooms. However, limited research has examined the factors influencing the quality of teachers’ AIoT integration, established theoretical foundations to predict quality, or applied comprehensive methodologies to address this issue, leaving open questions about how to promote high-quality AIoT integration. This study draws on the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior (COM-B) model and the Interactive-Constructive-Active–Passive (ICAP) framework through both linear (structural equation modeling) and nonlinear analyses (regression tree analysis). Survey data from 930 teachers in primary and middle schools with the adoption of an AIoT system supported by generative AI were analyzed to examine the impact of their capability (technological pedagogical content knowledge), opportunity (perceived support on first-order barriers), and motivation (self-efficacy, utility value, enjoyment, and habit) conceptualized in AIoT integration contexts on the integration quality (interactive, constructive, active, and passive learning). The linear analysis showed that opportunity directly and indirectly through motivation enhances AIoT integration quality, whereas capability affects AIoT integration quality only indirectly through motivation. The nonlinear analysis uncovered multiple effects of opportunity (the quality balance scale and brake) and motivation factors (the brake and amplifier). The findings advance the understanding of predictors of AIoT integration quality, informing interventions towards the effective application of novel technologies in education.
1 month 3 weeks ago
The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between metacognitive awareness and social media use on predicting and explaining adolescent students’ incidental information literacy. Using a conceptual framework, we organized literature about adolescents’ metacognitive awareness, social media use, and incidental information literacy and presented hypotheses and predictions about the likely outcomes of the study. Adolescent student participants (n = 452) were recruited from a K-12 developmental research school in the southeastern United States. Analyses included descriptive statistics, internal consistency reliability, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression models. Our findings show that social media use is not related to adolescent students’ incidental information literacy. Metacognitive awareness was measured using two distinct constructs: knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. While knowledge of cognition was significantly and positively related to incidental information literacy, regulation of cognition had a smaller but still statistically significant negative relationship with incidental information literacy. These findings and possible explanations for their meaning are discussed, considering the limitations and delimitations of the study.
1 month 3 weeks ago
Mathematics is often challenging for young learners due to its abstract nature, making the design of age-appropriate instructional tools essential. This study investigated the effectiveness of a situation-based interactive e-book in a flipped mathematics classroom for first-grade students in China. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design was employed with 90 students randomly assigned to an experimental group, which used the interactive e-book, and a control group, which learned with instructional videos. Both groups received the same in-class instruction. The situation-based interactive e-book was developed in alignment with the national first-grade mathematics curriculum and integrated real-world scenarios with interactive features such as immediate feedback and virtual agents. The findings indicated that the situation-based interactive e-book significantly improved students’ learning achievement, motivation, and satisfaction compared to the control condition, while no significant difference was observed in learning attitudes. These results suggest that embedding mathematical concepts in familiar contexts through interactive digital tools can enhance elementary students’ engagement and performance in flipped classrooms. This study highlights the pedagogical value of situation-based e-books in early mathematics education, but further research is needed to establish their long-term impact and potential application in more advanced mathematical domains.
1 month 3 weeks ago
This study proposes that teachers’ reading comprehension knowledge is multifaceted, consisting of identification-based and construction-based dimensions, and that effective professional development (PD) should improve both. We evaluated a PD program including an online workshop and in-person coaching aimed at enhancing these two dimensions and recruited 184 Grade 4 and 5 teachers from six districts in Arkansas, Texas, and Utah in the United States. These teachers used various reading comprehension curricula. The online workshop helped teachers learn about top-level–structure-based reading comprehension instruction, followed by scaffolded peer practice. Teachers then applied this instruction in classrooms and received follow-up coaching. Teacher knowledge was measured through an identification-based assessment, the vocabulary and comprehension knowledge survey, and a construction-based generative assessment using a main idea writing task. Latent class and transition analysis were used to examine how teacher knowledge changed across both knowledge dimensions. Results revealed three latent classes: Weak Overall, Strong Overall, and Weak in Solution and Organization. Teachers in the treatment group who initially were classified as Weak in Solution and Organization, typically linked to construction-based knowledge, had a higher chance of becoming Strong Overall compared to those in the control group (OR = 5.69, p < .001). Although some teachers did not respond to the online workshop, more teachers in the treatment group transitioned to stronger knowledge after in-person coaching, compared to the control group (OR = 2.90, p < .05). These findings emphasize the importance of providing a simulated, resource-rich, and sustainable environment for teachers to apply evidence-based practices and enhance their knowledge.
1 month 3 weeks ago
The impact of educational e-textiles on student outcomes in STEAM education programs is a growing area of interest. Despite the potential of e-textile projects to enhance STEAM education, their effect on K-12 teachers’ professional development remains underexplored. This study investigates middle school teachers’ perceptions of their experiences with wearable e-textile-supported STEAM projects, their ability to translate those experiences into classroom practices, and their attitudes toward integrating these projects into the curriculum. Mixed-methods research with a convergent design was employed in two e-textile-supported STEAM teacher training camps, involving 20 and 19 in-service science teachers, respectively. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using post-intervention surveys, semi-structured interviews, and a follow-up survey. The findings revealed that the program increased teachers’ confidence in STEAM project design, fostered creativity and interdisciplinary learning, and improved STEAM knowledge and skills. In addition, teachers reported being well-equipped to integrate the learned practices in their classrooms, with a positive shift in their attitudes toward integrating such interdisciplinary approaches into the curriculum. The findings also revealed high teacher satisfaction with the program and a sustained interest in STEAM practices. This research provides valuable insights for future efforts to support the adoption of e-textiles in STEAM science classrooms by highlighting their role in teacher professional development.
1 month 3 weeks ago
Although there seemed to be an optimistic consensus about the use of Information and Communication Technologies to support teaching and learning, the negative effects of introducing technology into the classroom have become apparent in recent years. Evidence suggests that instead of using technological devices for the purpose for which they were introduced into the classroom, students are distracted by simultaneous multimedia activities. This is known as the multimedia multitasking tendency. This is not the only negative consequence of digital media in education. In line with this phenomenon, some authors have found that reading comprehension is lower when reading digitally (on screen) than when reading analogue (on paper). The aim of the present study is to investigate whether Multimedia Multitasking Tendency in the educational context plays a relevant role in the effect of the reading medium (analogue or digital) on reading comprehension. To this end, the responses of 97 participants in whom Multimedia Multitasking Tendency was measured, as well as their reading comprehension, were analyzed. Half of them took the reading comprehension test in an analogue medium (i.e. on paper; n = 50), while the other half took it in a digital medium (i.e. on a computer or mobile phone; n = 47). The results suggest that reading comprehension accuracy is lower in a digital medium than in an analogue medium. The results of this study also suggest that Multimedia Multitasking Tendency may play a substantial role in the effect of the reading medium on reading comprehension.
1 month 4 weeks ago
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, digital technology-based error correction significantly improves the efficiency of error correction by automatically identifying and clustering students’ errors and then analyzing the types of errors. However, in China’s whole class teaching, teachers still rely on experience to randomly select students with representative errors for error correction, making it difficult to ensure that all students’ errors are corrected in a timely and effective manner. In addition, in Chinese primary classrooms, high-achieving students and low-achieving students learn together in the same class, making it difficult to ensure that each student achieves the learning goals. Therefore, this study proposes a peer teaching-based digital error correction approach, focusing on its effects on primary school students’ learning performance, learning engagement, and perceptions of error correction. A total of 63 primary school students were recruited for the study, with 31 in the experimental group using the PT-DEC approach and 32 in the control group using the E-DEC approach. The results showed that students using the PT-DEC approach performed better than the control group in terms of learning performance and learning engagement. The results of this study validate the effectiveness of peer teaching in digital error correction and provide valuable insights and guidance for exploring more efficient error correction in the future.
1 month 4 weeks ago
Increasingly ubiquitous access to Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) presents many challenges, but also opportunities. The fundamental capacity of GenAI to mimic and augment human cognitive functioning, sets it aside from the myriad of previous technological ‘cognitive tool’ innovations that have been promoted as supporting human thinking, problem solving and knowledge construction. Indeed, GenAI has the potential to play a far more substantive and interactive role in knowledge building, founded on real-time dialogic discourse between humans and GenAI working in symbiotic knowledge building partnerships. This article draws on Scardamalia and Bereiter’s early work on human knowledge building communities and Krathwohl’s revision of Bloom’s Cognitive Domain, reconceptualising these to theorise how humans and GenAI might partner in processes of collaborative, joint knowledge construction. It presents a unique model identifying three flexible ‘Zones’, representing different but overlapping components of knowledge building, aligned with Bloom’s cognitive dimensions. It identifies a possible ‘division of labour’ within and across Zones, but argues the primacy of innately human capabilities operating in the Judgement Zone, as crucial to reasoned decision making and accurate knowledge building. The model and its discussion provide new insights into how human-GenAI knowledge building partnerships might be established and sustained.
2 months 1 week ago
Promoting students’ collaborative discussions has consistently been a focal topic in the field of computer-supported collaborative learning. Productive collaborative discussions rarely happen spontaneously without external support, and student groups usually encounter challenges in developing a high-quality collaborative knowledge construction. To address this gap, this research designed a group knowledge awareness (GKA) tool by using knowledge graph approach to promote collaborative discussions in China’s higher education. A within-subject design research was conducted to investigate the effects of the GKA tool on groups’ collaborative knowledge construction. The findings revealed that the GKA tool had positive effects on collaborative knowledge construction, students’ domain understanding, and collaborative cognitive load. In addition, students reported positive collaborative learning experiences with the support of the GKA tool. Based on the results, this research provided technological implications for developing and applying the GKA tools in education and pedagogical implications to promote collaborative learning supported by GKA tools.
2 months 1 week ago
Computer vision is the automated analysis of visual imagery by computer algorithms that includes, but not limited to object detection and identification, three-dimensional shape estimation, material recognition, and segmentation. The intervention consisted of two to three weeks of professional development that emphasized computer vision technologies with middle school teachers from Title I schools/districts in the states of Arizona and Georgia. Each location trained six in-service teachers. The questions answered through this research were: After in-service teachers engage in professional development emphasizing computer vision: (a) how do their perceptions of computer vision change? (b) how do their perceptions of human vision change? And (c) what are the differences between their perceptions of computer vision and human vision? Personal Construct Theory (Kelly, 1955) was used to explore our research questions. Elements (n = 2; computer vision and human vision) were defined and pairwise comparisons yielded constructs (n = 18) administered in the form of repertory grids. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed, and clusters were identified. Results showed that in-service teachers’ perspectives of computer vision changed with construct shifts within all four dendrograms that contained between one to eight constructs; all clusters yielded mean increases. Perspectives of human vision stayed relatively consistent across two clusters. The element human vision had a 6% (n = 1) shift in cluster membership, and the element computer vision generated a 72% (n = 13) change in the number of constructs that shifted clusters. Comparisons of computer vision and human vision indicated that in-service teachers had richer perspectives of computer vision after professional development. The significance of this study rests in its contribution to the limited research on computer vision in teacher education. The results show that a relatively short (two to three weeks) professional development experience can have an impact on in-service teachers’ perspectives of computer vision classroom use.