Sources

28.02.2026. Dieses Angebot richtet sich an gesellschaftspolitisch engagierte Menschen aus Schleswig-Holstein, Haupt- oder Ehrenamtliche in Vereinen, NGOs, Politik oder Institutionen. Ob im Kollegium, der Nachbarschaft oder gar dem Freundeskreis – nicht selten sind wir mit rechten und rassistischen Aussagen konfrontiert. Das spontane Argumentieren gegen „Stammtischparolen“ ebenso wie gegen subtile abwertende Äußerungen ist dabei oft herausfordernd. Im angebotenen Workshop wird thematisiert, woran wir diskriminierende bis rechtsextreme Aussagen erkennen und welche Kommunikationsstrategien sich im Umgang mit beidem anbieten. Ebenso soll im Rahmen der Veranstaltung der konkrete Umgang mit menschenfeindliche Äußerungen geübt werden. Veranstalter: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. . Link: https://www.fes.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsdetail/287451 .

20.03.2026. Sprache nimmt eine bedeutende Rolle ein: Sie informiert nicht nur, sie erschafft Realitäten. Neben Grundlagen und Übungen zur Selbstsicherheit werden anhand von Beispielen Strategien für einen bewussten Umgang mit Sprache vorgestellt und geübt. Ziel ist es, sich sprachlich zu behaupten, denn Schlagfertigkeit ist erlernbar. Die Anmeldung ist bis zum 20.03.2026 möglich. Veranstalter: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. . Link: https://www.fes.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsdetail/286537 .

23.03.2026. Wenn Vorurteilen und Feindbildern nichts entgegengestellt wird, weitet sich der Raum des Sagbaren immer weiter – in die falsche Richtung. Es erfordert Mut, auf diskriminierende Vorurteile und Verallgemeinerungen mit einer eigenen Position zu reagieren. Aber, auch wenn es in manchen Situationen schwierig ist: jede und jeder kann es lernen. Im Online-Seminar erfahren Sie, wie Sie im Alltag gegen diskriminierende Äußerungen Stellung beziehen; wie Sie für Ihre eigenen Werte einstehen, Ihre Sprachlosigkeit überwinden, dabei Eskalationen vermeiden und künftig souverän für sich selbst und für eine freie und solidarische Gesellschaft einstehen. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos. Eine Anmeldung ist bis 20.03.2026 möglich. Veranstalter: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. in Kooperation mit der Evangelische Stadtakademie München. Link: https://www.fes.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsdetail/287674 .

24.03.2026. Wenn Vorurteilen und Feindbildern nichts entgegengestellt wird, weitet sich der Raum des Sagbaren immer weiter – in die falsche Richtung. Es erfordert Mut, auf diskriminierende Vorurteile und Verallgemeinerungen mit einer eigenen Position zu reagieren. Aber, auch wenn es in manchen Situationen schwierig ist: jede und jeder kann es lernen. Im Online-Seminar erfahren Sie, wie Sie im Alltag gegen diskriminierende Äußerungen Stellung beziehen; wie Sie für Ihre eigenen Werte einstehen, Ihre Sprachlosigkeit überwinden, dabei Eskalationen vermeiden und künftig souverän für sich selbst und für eine freie und solidarische Gesellschaft einstehen. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos. Eine Anmeldung ist bis 23.03.2026 möglich. Veranstalter: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. in Kooperation mit der Evangelische Stadtakademie München. Link: https://www.fes.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsdetail/287676 .

28.03.2026. Wenn Vorurteilen und Feindbildern nichts entgegengestellt wird, weitet sich der Raum des Sagbaren immer weiter – in die falsche Richtung. Es erfordert Mut, auf diskriminierende Vorurteile und Verallgemeinerungen mit einer eigenen Position zu reagieren. Aber, auch wenn es in manchen Situationen schwierig ist: jede und jeder kann es lernen. Im Seminar erfahren Sie, wie Sie im Alltag gegen diskriminierende Äußerungen Stellung beziehen; wie Sie für Ihre eigenen Werte einstehen, Ihre Sprachlosigkeit überwinden, dabei Eskalationen vermeiden und künftig souverän für sich selbst und für eine freie und solidarische Gesellschaft einstehen. Veranstalter: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. in Kooperation mit der Evangelische Stadtakademie München. Link: https://www.fes.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsdetail/287677 .

02.02.2026. Smartphones sind aus dem Alltag von Auszubildenden nicht mehr wegzudenken – doch viele Ausbilderinnen und Ausbilder sehen, dass die Bildschirmzeiten immer weiter steigen. Diese Entwicklung führt oft zu Ablenkungen, erhöhtem Stress und beeinträchtigt die Lern- und Arbeitsqualität. In diesem Webinar wird aufgezeigt, welche Herausforderungen damit verbunden sind und wie Unternehmen einen gesunden Umgang mit Smartphones in der Ausbildung finden können. Veranstalter: Leando in Zusammenarbeit mit den Communitys "Erfahrungswissen Ausbildungspraxis" und "Chancenschmiede" . Link: https://leando.de/smartphones-im-ausbildungsalltag-klare-regeln-fuer-weniger-stress .

02.03.2026. Jede Ausbildungsgruppe ist einzigartig. Einige Auszubildende haben Schwierigkeiten, sich zu konzentrieren, erfassen Texte mitunter langsamer als andere und fallen durch Impulsivität auf. Diese Herausforderungen können im Kontext von Neurodivergenz auftreten – einer natürlichen Variation in der Wahrnehmung und Informationsverarbeitung. Früher wurden solche Unterschiede oft als Schwächen abgestempelt, doch heute wird diese Vielfalt als Normalität im Ausbildungsalltag erkannt.  Der Umgang mit neurodivergenten Auszubildenden kann herausfordernd sein, bietet jedoch viele Chancen. In dem Webinar "Kein Kopf ist wie der andere: Vielfalt im Wahrnehmen, Denken, Fühlen und Lernen" soll aufgezeigt werden, wie man typische Herausforderungen in Sachen Neurodivergenz erkennt und einfache, wirkungsvolle Lösungsansätze für den Ausbildungsalltag finden kann. Veranstalter: Leando in Zusammenarbeit mit den Communitys "Erfahrungswissen Ausbildungspraxis" und "Chancenschmiede". Link: https://leando.de/individuelle-staerken-erkennen .

27.01.2026. Die neue Veranstaltungsreihe im Cooperative Brain Imaging Center – CoBIC verbindet Wissenschaft, Begegnung und Kultur. In entspannter Atmosphäre präsentieren Neurowissenschaftler*innen aktuelle Erkenntnisse aus der Hirnforschung – verständlich, spannend und mitten aus dem Forschungsalltag. Nach einem Umtrunk zum Ideenaustausch entwickelt sich der Abend zum inspirierenden klassischen Konzert. Wissenschaft trifft Kultur – offen für alle, anregend und vernetzend. Willkommen zu einem Abend voller Hirngespinste! Das CoBIC ist ein Hirnforschungszentrum in den bildgebenden Neurowissenschaften, an dem hochmoderne Forschungsinfrastruktur, wissenschaftliche Exzellenz und ein konstruktives,respektvolles Miteinander optimale Bedingungen für transdisziplinäre Forschung schaffen. CoBIC ist eine Kooperation der Goethe-Universität, des Max-Planck-Instituts für empirischeÄsthetik und des Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience. 27. Januar 2026Prof. Dr. Jonathan ReppleMafia, Flughäfen, Gehirn: Was gestörte Netzwerke gemeinsam habenKonzert: Dimiter Ivanov, Konzertmeister Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Veranstalter: Coopertive Brain Imaging Center (CBIC). Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/mafia-flughaefen-gehirn-was-gestoerte-netzwerke-gemeinsam-haben/ .

04.02.2026. Die Leugnung und Verfälschung des Holocaust auf TikTok Nicht erst seit dem Angriff der Hamas auf Dörfer und Gemeinden im Süden Israels am 7. Oktober 2023 scheinen antisemitische Diskurse und die Relativierung und Leugnung des Holocaust auf sozialen Medienplattformen wie TikTok Hochkonjunktur zu haben. Insbesondere die immer einfacher werdenden Möglichkeiten, mithilfe von Künstlicher Intelligenz erfundene Wirklichkeiten, sogenannte Deep Fakes, zu generieren, stellen das Erinnern an die Shoah mit und auf sozialen Medien vor neue Herausforderungen. Der Vortrag diskutiert auch Möglichkeiten, wie sich Akteure der politisch-historischen Bildung, Überlebende und andere Influencer diesen Phänomenen entgegenstellen und eine kritische Auseinandersetzung fördern können. Prof. Dr. Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann lehrt und forscht an der Hebräischen Universität in Jerusalem zu Visueller Kultur, Medien und Erinnerungskulturgeschichte. Im Oktober 2025 erschien von ihm das Buch Gewalt als Bild: Die Bilder vom 7. Oktober im Spiegel der visuellen Erinnerung an die Shoah im Berliner Neofelis Verlag. Veranstalter: Fritz-Bauer-Institut. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/spielerischer-antisemitismus-und-erinnern-mit-deep-fakes/ .

21.01.2026. In welchem historischen und ideengeschichtlichen Kontext steht die amerikanische Unabhängigkeitserklärung? Wie verhalten sich Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Verfassungen zu den Prinzipien der »Declaration of Independence«? Wie wurden diese Prinzipien im Laufe der Zeit unterschiedlich interpretiert und politisiert und welche Rolle spielen sie in der politischen Kultur der USA heute? Wie hat die »Declaration of Independence« Demokratisierungsbewegungen weltweit inspiriert? Und schließlich: Sind die USA aktuell dabei, sich von ihren eigenen Gründungsprinzipien zu entfernen? Die Reihe wird in Kooperation mit der Hessischen Landeszentrale für politische Bildung und der Stiftung Orte der deutschen Demokratiegeschichte veranstaltet. Heike Paul, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg»Gefühlte Aufklärung? Politische Emotionen und die amerikanische Demokratie« Mittwoch, 21. Januar 2026, 19:00 Uhr Veranstalter: Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften der Goethe Universität Frankfurt. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/umkaempftes-vermaechtnis-die-declaration-of-independence-als-lebendige-tradition-1776-2026-2-3/ .

21.01.2026. Die Begriffstrias Liberté – Égalité – Fraternité prägte als Vermächtnis der Aufklärung und der Französischen Revolution die Entwicklung der Demokratie. Doch der universelle Anspruch dieser Werte blieb in der politischen Realität oft unerfüllt, wie nicht zuletzt postkoloniale und geschlechterhistorische Forschungen gezeigt haben. Trotzdem inspirieren diese Ideale bis heute demokratisches Handeln. Daneben ist die Kritik an der Tradition der Aufklärung aber nicht etwa verstummt – von der Frankfurter Schule über den französischen Poststrukturalismus bis hin zu aktuellen Stimmen, die angesichts des Erfolgs erratischer Politik und digitaler Polarisierung das „Ende der Aufklärung“ ausrufen. Was bedeutet das für ein politisches Europa? Und welche  Konsequenzen ergeben sich daraus in Frankreich und Deutschland für Wissenschaft und Praxis? Die Vortragsreihe untersucht, wie in beiden Ländern diese Ideale gedeutet und theoretisch weiterentwickelt werden. Politikwissenschaftler*innen aus Frankfurt und Frankreich präsentieren Bestandsaufnahmen, Analysen und Visionen und öffnen die Diskussion für Perspektiven aus Literaturwissenschaft, Geschichte und Ökonomie. 21. Januar 2026Sigrid RoßteutscherStadt-Land-Unterschiede in populistischen Einstellungen und Wahlverhalten? Ein Vergleich zwischen Deutschland und Frankreich Veranstalter: IFRA-SHS/Institut français Frankfurt, Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Institut für Romanische Sprachen und Literaturen, Historisches Seminar, Forschungszentrum Historische  Geisteswissenschaften (Prof. Dr. Xenia von Tippelskirch/Prof. Dr. Roland Ißler/Prof. Dr. Sandra Seubert). Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/stadt-land-unterschiede-in-populistischen-einstellungen-und-wahlverhalten-ein-vergleich-zwischen-deutschland-und-frankreich/ .

20.01.2026. Veranstaltungsreihe des Graduiertenkollegs „Gewohnter Wandel“ Wie wirkt sich Krieg auf das Wohnen aus, und was können wir durch den Blickwinkel des Wohnens über Krieg lernen? Das Graduiertenkolleg „Gewohnter Wandel“ fokussiert sich in Vorträgen und Film auf politische, ökonomische, bauliche und soziale Dimensionen der Wohnungsversorgung in Zeiten drohender Kriege, andauernder bewaffneter Konflikte sowie Nachkriegsperioden. Wie begegnen die Menschen den alltäglichen Herausforderungen des Wohnens in kriegsbelasteten Ländern? Und wie dauerhaft prägen bewaffnete Konflikte gesellschaftliche Wohnrealitäten und -identitäten? Dies erkunden Forschende aus Stadtplanung, Humangeographie, Architektur, Kunstgeschichte sowie Rechtswissenschaften und Anthropologie. Zugleich zeigen sie auf, wie Krieg als Zäsur bestehende Ordnungen und Strukturen zerstört und welche Neuerungen staatlicher Planungen zur Versorgung mit Wohnraum sich daraus entwickelt haben. 20. Januar 2026Prof. Dr. Stef Jansen (Sozialanthropologe/University of Sarajevo)Shifting values of housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Veranstalter: DFG-Graduiertenkolleg „Gewohnter Wandel. Gesellschaftliche Transformation und räumliche Materialisierung des Wohnens“. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/wohnen-im-und-nach-dem-krieg/2026-01-20/ .

15.01.2026. Demokratie unter Beschuss: Der Aufstieg des Autoritarismus aus Perspektiven der Gender StudiesCornelia Goethe Colloquien Die globale politische Landschaft ist von schweren Angriffen auf die parlamentarische Demokratie geprägt. Der Aufstieg rechter Parteien, Bewegungen und Regierungen spiegelt die wachsende Zustimmung zum Autoritarismus und die Aushöhlung demokratischer Normen und Institutionen wider. Obwohl sich dieser Trend in verschiedenen nationalen und regionalen Kontexten unterschiedlich zeigt, gibt es erkennbare Gemeinsamkeiten, die die verschiedenen konservativen, religiösen und rechtsgerichteten politischen Agenden miteinander verbinden. Eine besonders auffällige Gemeinsamkeit all dieser Bewegungen ist ihre Fixierung auf Geschlechtergleichheit und -vielfalt als grundlegende ideologische Bedrohung. Diese Vortragsreihe wird die miteinander verknüpften Dynamiken der demokratischen Erosion und der Rückschläge im Bereich der Geschlechtergerechtigkeit untersuchen und die aktuellen Entwicklungen historisch und vergleichend einordnen. Sie stellt die Frage, inwieweit die Angriffe auf Geschlechtergleichheit und -vielfalt mit den Prozessen der demokratischen Regression sowie mit autoritären Wünschen und Politikenzusammenhängen. 15. Januar 2026 Gabriella HauchFrausein allein ist kein Programm!? Ein geschlechterhistorischer Blick auf Europa im 20. Jahrhundert  Veranstalter: Cornelia Goethe Centrum der Goethe Universität Frankfurt. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/frausein-allein-ist-kein-programm-ein-geschlechterhistorischer-blick-auf-europa-im-20-jahrhundert/ .

14.01.2026. Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen lädt zur Diskussion über Zukunftsperspektiven demokratischer Ordnungen. Die westlichen Demokratien stehen unter Druck. Seit der von Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz ausgerufenen „Zeitenwende“ ist der Begriff zum Signum einer Epoche des Umbruchs geworden – politisch, gesellschaftlich und normativ. Polarisierung, der Aufstieg autoritärer Bewegungen, geopolitische Spannungen und die Erosion grundlegender demokratischer Prinzipien werfen die Frage auf, wie stabil und zukunftsfähig die demokratischen Ordnungen der Gegenwart sind. Die Ringvorlesung „Am Scheidepunkt? Zur Krise der Demokratie“ nimmt diese Entwicklungen aus internationaler und interdisziplinärer Perspektive in den Blick. Sie untersucht Ursachen, Erscheinungsformen und Dynamiken demokratischer Krisen sowie Möglichkeiten der Erneuerung bzw. Verteidigung demokratischer Prinzipien in einer global vernetzten, aber zunehmend fragmentierten Welt. Organisiert wird die Vorlesungsreihe von Prof. Thomas Biebricher, Prof. Rainer Forst, Prof. Martin Saar und Prof. Greta Wagner im Rahmen des Forschungsprogramms „Zeitenwenden. Normative Ordnungen im Umbruch?“, das durch den Stiftungsfonds Commerzbank im Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft am Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen gefördert wird. Mittwoch, 14. Januar 2026Prof. Christine Hentschel (Universität Hamburg)Vom Retten der Welt zum Vorbereiten auf den Kollaps: Neuorientierungen in katastrophischen Zeiten Veranstalter: Forschungszentrum Normative Ordnungen der Goethe Universität Frankfurt. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/vom-retten-der-welt-zum-vorbereiten-auf-den-kollaps-neuorientierungen-in-katastrophischen-zeiten/ .

05.02.2026. Die Fortbildung „Classroom Management 4.0“ richtet sich an Multiplikator:innen in der Lehrkräftebildung und thematisiert den professionellen Umgang mit Störungen im digital gestützten Unterricht. In mehreren Terminen erhalten Teilnehmende praxisnahe Impulse zur Gestaltung von Fortbildungen, die Lehrkräfte beim Classroom Management in digitalen und hybriden Lernsettings unterstützen. Termine zum Anmelden: Donnerstag, 05.02.2026, 14:00–17:00 Uhr Mittwoch, 11.02.2026, 10:00–13:00 Uhr Freitag, 27.02.2026, 09:00–12:00 Uhr Montag, 09.03.2026, 13:00–16:00 Uhr Mittwoch, 11.03.2026, 15:00–18:00 Uhr     Veranstalter: Kompetenzverbund lernen:digital – TransferstelleInstitut für Erwachsenenbildung, Bonn. Link: https://eveeno.com/397717223 .

14.01.2026. Klimawandel, Bevölkerungswachstum und Ressourcenknappheittragen zur Verschärfung globaler Ungleichheiten bei. Die Vortragsreihe beleuchtet Aspekte der Ungleichheit aus geographischer Perspektive. 14. Januar 2026: Prof. i.R. Dr. Ulrich Scholz (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen)Auf den Vulkanen Indonesiens Veranstalter: Frankfurter Geographische Gesellschaft. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/geographien-der-ungleichheit/2026-01-14/ .

20.01.2026. Übersicht der Termine und Themen Dienstag, 02.12.2025Referent: Herr Prof. Dr. Philipp Manow (Universität Siegen)Das Recht gegen die Demokratie?Hörsaal 15 im Hörsaalzentrum Dienstag, 16.12.2025Referent: Herr Prof. Dr. Stefan Kadelbach (Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main)Die neue Aktualität des Krieges und das VölkerrechtHörsaal 15 im Hörsaalzentrum Dienstag, 20.01.2026Referentin: Frau Prof. Dr. Isabel Feichtner (Universität Würzburg)Vom Erdboden bis zum Mond. Ist das Recht nur noch Code des Kapitals?Hörsaal 12 im Hörsaalzentrum Dienstag, 03.02.2025Referentin: Dr. Coretta Ehrenfeld (University College Freiburg/ Universität Freiburg)Migration und tödliche Grenzregime: Sterben im Namen des Rechts?Hörsaal 12 im Hörsaalzentrum Veranstalter: Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft der Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main. Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/vom-erdboden-bis-zum-mond-ist-das-recht-nur-noch-code-des-kapitals/ .

28.01.2026. Gegenwärtig wird sichtbar, was sich schon lange abzeichnete: Politische Kräfte, die neoliberale Politiken mit autoritären Anrufungen verknüpfen, rücken zunehmend zusammen und bilden Allianzen. Die Veranstaltungsreihe „Aspekte des neuen Autoritarismus“ nimmt diesen Prozeß in den Blick, die nicht nur soziale Ungleichheiten vertieft, sondern auch demokratische Strukturen zunehmend untergräbt und für viele Menschen eine unmittelbare Bedrohung bedeutet. Die vom Institut für Sozialforschung und Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm organisierte Veranstaltungsreihe beleuchtet die aktuelle Konjunktur dieser Allianz in Deutschland und der Welt, legt Mechanismen autoritär-neoliberaler Politik und deren gesellschaftlichen Konsequenzen offen und fragt danach, welche Gegenbewegungen zum neuen Autoritarismus sichtbar und denkbar sind. Veranstalter: Carolin Amlinger (Universität Basel) im Gespräch mit Georg Marx (IfS). Link: https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/event/wie-es-kommen-musste-aspekte-des-neuen-autoritarismus/2026-01-28/ .

17.04.2026. Wer das Sagen hat, hat die Macht! Sprache spielt eine bedeutende Rolle: Sie ist das Herzstück unserer menschlichen Kommunikation. Wie verhalten sich in Gesprächen Männer gegenüber Frauen und umgekehrt? Werden Frauen in der Kommunikation „untergebuttert“, und wenn ja, wie geschieht das? Und wie können wir durch unser sprachliches Verhalten gegensteuern?Neben Grundlagen und Übungen zur Kommunikation und Körpersprache werden Strategien für einen bewussten Umgang mit Sprache vorgestellt. Außerdem werden Möglichkeiten zum Umgang mit unfairen verbalen Angriffen und zum schlagfertigen Reagieren vorgestellt und eingeübt. Veranstalter: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.. Link: https://www.fes.de/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungsdetail/287400 .

18.04.2026. In diesem Online-Seminar geht es darum, Grundlagenwissen zur Lese-Rechtschreib-Schwäche (LRS) zu erwerben. Der Fokus liegt dabei besonders auf Unterstützungsangeboten und Trainingsmethoden für Schüler*innen mit LRS. Eine Anmeldung ist bis zum 09.04.2026 möglich. Veranstalter: Verband Sonderpädagogik e.V. (vds). Link: https://www.verband-sonderpaedagogik.de/termine/leben-und-lernen-unter-den-bedingungen-einer-lese-rechtschreib-schwaeche-verstehen-erkennen-unterstuetzen-2/ .

The recent emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) agents has brought significant potential and challenges in education. In science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education, it is especially vital to cultivate students’ GenAI literacy and critical thinking skills. These competencies enable students to effectively apply artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in their STEAM learning. The present study proposed a GenAI agent-based STEAM learning approach and adopted the information world mapping (IWM) method to explore how a GenAI agent enhanced the engagement of 12 middle school students in a STEAM course, and their perceptions of GenAI agent-supported STEAM learning. These students fully participated in a 16-week course titled “Creative Design in STEAM Education.” Participants were asked to illustrate significant individuals, items, locations, and their interconnections to delve into their perceptions of and feedback on GenAI agent-supported STEAM learning. The results showed that while middle school students’ GenAI literacy improved, it did not reach a statistically significant level. In contrast, there was a significant enhancement in their critical thinking tendencies. Regarding students’ perceptions of GenAI agent-supported STEAM learning, the majority acknowledged that the GenAI agent played the roles of information provider and interaction facilitator in STEAM learning activities, particularly excelling in information retrieval and learning interactions. Moreover, the GenAI agent had positive influences on students in various aspects, including learning support, task completion, tool functionality, user experience, usage confidence and attitudes, as well as perceived warmth. Overall, the GenAI agent-based STEAM learning approach effectively enhanced middle school students’ technical skills and problem-solving abilities while also strengthening their teamwork, ethical awareness, and reflective capabilities, thereby demonstrating its potential for future applications in education.

Metacognitive skills are key transversal skills, strongly linked to academic achievement and essential for effective lifelong learning. They are widely recognized to underpin many of the core competencies required for effective social and professional participation, including core competencies such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-awareness, highlighted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as key to Education for Sustainable Development. Digital learning technologies and virtual learning environments increasingly form a core strategic dimension of teaching and learning within Higher Education, however effectively harnessing them to enhance student learning remains challenging. This paper presents the Metacognition Design Framework, an evidence-based learning design that scaffolds the development of metacognitive skills in students through blended learning. It draws on the tools available within the virtual learning environment to provide a unique, and potentially powerful, opportunity to extend ‘metacognitive influence’ on student activity and learning outside standard class times with realistic levels of staff input. The design provides clarity for planning accessible learning interventions, their linkage with appropriate technology, and for guiding how face-to-face and online, or fully online, components interrelate. It also delivers an effective conduit to convey information in a practical format that readily permits adaptation to local contexts. Overall, it offers a practical way to re-frame educators as designers, increasing educator design capacity and the effective deployment of technology to enhance learning, at the same time targeting a learning outcome with high potential impact.

To address the rising cybersecurity threats associated with educational technology in K-12 schools and the gap in cybersecurity education, we designed and implemented a multimedia-based Educational Technology (Edtech) Cybersecurity and Privacy Awareness-Ask-Action (AAA) professional development (PD) for school administrators, technology support staff, and teachers. This study sought to identify the PD’s effectiveness, specifically focusing on the participants’ knowledge increments and the perceptions of their experience. Fifty K-12 school personnel with diverse demographic, technology and contextual backgrounds (district types and school levels) participated. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests indicated a significant increase in participants’ knowledge between pre- and post-test. Inductive coding identified emerging themes from post PD survey and follow-up interviews, highlighting participants’ perceived benefits, challenges encountered and future needs. Participants expressed an overall positive attitude, appreciating the increased cybersecurity awareness and enhanced ability to recognize and act against potential cyber threats to protect students and schools. However, challenges such as technical complexity and resource constraints were noted. Participants suggested future cybersecurity professional development could include more contextual guidance, AI-related cybersecurity topics, and provide up-to-date resources.

This study compares engineering college students’ learning motivation between AI-featured and traditional scaffolding methods using a mixed-methods approach. Two different types of class activities, one involving solving a computational problem and the other assembling an essay, were designed to be carried out using both AI-featured and conventional methods. All activities were designed using the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) model and results were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative means. Findings show that participants’ motivation was significantly higher in all Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction categories when they used AI-featured methods for solving computational problems while their motivation was significantly higher when they used AI-featured methods only in Attention and Confidence for the essay activity. Qualitative findings describe how AI features motivated learners based on the different types of scaffoldings. Additionally, how the AI features are related to each ARCS model categories are summarized. The results suggest strategies for optimizing the design of AI-featured scaffolds to motivate learners in STEM fields grounded in the ARCS model. This involves linking learners’ goals and interests to real scientific applications of AI by expanding ‘Relevance’ and adjusting learning requirements to strengthen ‘Confidence’ and ‘Satisfaction’.

This research investigates the design, development and implementation of Multiple Learning Analytics Dashboards (MLADs) with the goal of enhancing data-driven decision-making among teachers in primary education. The study presents a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach to ensure the iterative development and refinement of MLADs through collaboration with educational professionals. The research involved four key steps in the presented DBR approach: 1) identifying the requirements through stakeholder interviews; 2) generating design ideas through brainstorming sessions and prototyping; 3) collaboratively designing and developing MLADs and conducting usability testing to gather feedback; and 4) implementing the MLADs in real-world educational settings. This paper outlines the research methodology, the participants involved, and the progress made toward developing these Learning Analytics Dashboards (LADs). The outcomes highlight the creation of tailored MLADs for teachers across multiple municipalities, as well as the lessons learned from real-world implementation. Additionally, we analyze user feedback from teachers regarding the dashboard’s clarity, navigation, functionality, and design, providing a comprehensive view of the dashboard’s usability and areas for future enhancement.

Background Briefly describe the educational challenge, the relevance of AI and AR, and why improving practical skills learning is important. Purpose/Objective State the primary aim of the study (to investigate the impact of AI and AR on practical skills learning) and any secondary aims (motivation, engagement, retention). Methods Include study design (mixed-methods, quasi-experimental), participants, sampling, instruments (questionnaires, observations, interviews), intervention (AI + AR), and analysis methods. Results Summarize the key findings: significantly higher post-test scores in the AI/AR group, improved motivation, engagement, satisfaction, and stronger 3-month retention relative to controls. Conclusion Provide a concise interpretation that AI and AR effectively enhance practical skill acquisition and have important implications for education and training.

The present study investigated the interplay of cognitive cues and social cues in instructional videos on students’ knowledge acquisition and sense of social presence. 312 preservice teachers took part in the study. Out of these, 238 participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups receiving an asynchronous online video lecture on three research methods topics, featuring either static slides with voiceover (minimal signaling), dynamic slides with voiceover (moderate signaling), or dynamic slides with additional instructor signaling (maximum signaling). 74 participants served as a control group and completed pre- and posttests without attending the course. Perceived difficulty, invested effort, motivation, and notetaking were included as covariates. Dynamic slides did not improve knowledge acquisition compared to static slides. However, instructor signaling enhanced knowledge acquisition when perceived difficulty was high. Furthermore, instructor signaling significantly increased perceptions of social presence for two of the three investigated topics, highlighting the importance of social cues.

Spirituality and art have been recognized by educators as crucial factors affecting students’ learning outcomes. By taking these two factors into account, this study proposed the project-based STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) approach to improving students’ learning achievement, 21st-century competencies, computational thinking, and project outcomes in a science course in response to several challenges encountered by conventional STEM education in addressing global issues. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 79 participants distributed across three groups: a project-based STEM approach, a project-based STEAM approach, and a project-based STREAM approach. The experimental results showed that students who learned with the STREAM and STEAM approaches performed significantly better on learning achievement, complex problem-solving, creativity, and project quality than those who learned with the STEM approach. Students who learned with the STREAM approach had higher meta-cognition and communication than those who learned with the STEAM and STEM approaches. However, there was no significant difference between students who learned with the STREAM, STEAM, and STEM approaches in the collaboration aspect. Students who learned with the STREAM and STEM approaches had significantly better computational thinking than those who learned with the STEAM approach. Additionally, the integration of the religious aspect cultivated a heightened sense of care for their peers and the environment, as well as respect for differing opinions. The findings could be a valuable reference and provide recommendations for teachers, instructors, and researchers to develop the STREAM curriculum.

With the advancement of technology and the internet, individuals offload their cognitive demands onto the internet to access information and supplement their cognitive capacity. However, heavy reliance on the internet often produces undesirable consequences such as poor metacognitive judgments and memory retention. This study investigated whether these negative effects can be mitigated by making learners more cognitively mindful of their search activities. A total of 104 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to two conditions. In the thinking-before-googling condition, participants had to first generate or guess answers to three brainstorming questions about modern pentathlon, a topic unfamiliar to most college students, before searching to find answers to 15 more specific problems on it. In the googling-only condition, participants were instead shown a keyword slide and immediately started searching the internet for the same 15 problems. The thinking-before-googling group demonstrated significantly higher pre-search curiosity and recall performance compared to the googling-only group. However, no significant group differences emerged in cognitive self-esteem and the estimation of performance and study time. Both groups expressed significantly higher interest in the topic after the search compared to before. Curiosity is discussed as the potential psychological mechanism underlying the benefits of the thinking-before-googling group.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in an era where Computational Thinking (CT) emerges as a crucial skill. This interconnected, data-driven landscape necessitates deeper CT skills, enabling students to effectively navigate both the opportunities and challenges presented by AI. The flipped classroom model has gained widespread acceptance in CT education owing to its adaptability, interactivity, and personalization. However conventional implementations of the flipped classroom model still face significant limitations such as insufficient student autonomy in learning processes and a need for enhanced quality of classroom interactions. Addressing these, our study introduces a synergy of flipped classrooms with AI, termed the Flipped Classroom with AI Learning Companion teaching model (FC-AIC). This model aims to enhance high school students CT, self-efficacy, and motivational levels compared to traditional flipped classrooms (FC). Our quasi-experimental research involved 60 first-year high school students from central China, divided into control (FC) and experimental (FCAIC) groups over eight weeks. Students completed a questionnaire to self-appraise their CT, self-efficacy, and motivation at pre-intervention and post-intervention stages. Results indicate that FC-AIC significantly boosts student self-perceptions of their own CT skills, specifically in problem-solving and creativity, and improves perceived self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation without notably impacting perceived extrinsic motivation. This investigation highlights how integrating flipped classrooms with AI technologies can synergistically enhance educational paradigms offering new insights about practical innovations for intelligent educational frameworks.

The current study examined the effects of using a commercially available computer program on the early literacy skills of preschool children and the relationship between fidelity and improvement in literacy skills. Parents and their preschool children were recruited to voluntarily participate in an educational app study. Forty-two preschool children were randomly assigned to an intervention group, which used OgStar Early Reader, or a control group, which used IXL Math. The recommendation was to use the program for 15–20 min per day for five days a week over eight weeks in the summer prior to kindergarten. Three Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) measures were used to assess literacy skills: Letter Naming Fluency (LNF), Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF). A total of 33 children completed posttests. The intervention group scored statistically significantly higher on LNF posttests (g = 0.41, p = .025) and NWF- correct letter sounds posttests (g = 0.52, p = .009) over the control group. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups for PSF (g = 0.19, p = .458) or NWF- words recoded correctly (g = 0.61, p = .057). Overall, children completed between seven and 131 lesson segments during the study, suggesting fidelity to the planned intervention varied across participants. The number of lessons completed was moderately related to participant gains on LNF and NWF (r = 0.31–0.38). These findings provide some initial support that the use of the early reader app may improve alphabetic knowledge for preschool children.

The study investigates the latent profiles of learners based on motivated self-directed learning (MSDL) and collaborative learning (CL) within an e-learning environment, focusing on how peer-to-peer confirmation is linked to learners' engagement and learning outcomes. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, and drawing on empirical insights from recent benchmark studies, the research identifies two distinct learner profiles: one with low MSDL and CL engagement and the other with high engagement in self-directed and collaborative learning, including ICT-based activities. Logistic regression analysis reveals that peer-to-peer confirmation, particularly individual attention, predicts class membership, though the overall explanatory power is limited. Additionally, moderation analysis demonstrates that while peer assistance can support engagement, excessive support may diminish the benefits of self-directed learning on subjective achievement. The findings underline the importance of adapting social support strategies to different learner profiles, highlighting the motivational function of peer confirmation in fostering autonomy, relatedness, and competence. This study provides insights on how to optimise e-learning environments by balancing external support and learner agency, and offers practical recommendations for digital pedagogy design.

As a part of the Erasmus + funded project Super Cyber Kids, we have devised a skills framework to enhance the protection of children aged between 8 and 13 years in their Internet and online activities. The framework was developed through a systematic literature review, followed by a two-round Delphi study for validation. During this process, we identified N = 40 relevant studies and obtained validation from up to N = 18 professionals in cybersecurity, education, and cybersecurity education during the Delphi study. The resulting framework is presented as a matrix and offers a comprehensive set of skills aligned with the NIST (National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education) cybersecurity framework, specifically tailored to promote cybersecurity awareness among children in this age group.

Virtual scientific inquiry (VSI) environments are critical information technologies for improving the quality of education. However, the issue of students’ cognitive-affective profiles has received little attention, making it difficult to promote both cognitive achievements and positive affective factors. Based on the log-files and self-report data from 569 students, our study proposes a solution that integrates both theoretical underpinnings (including Cognitive Constructivism, Self-efficacy Theory, Flow Theory, Gender Schema Theory, and Control of Variable Strategy) and AI algorithms-driven analyses (i.e., unsupervised machine learning, pattern mining, and statistical analyses) to address this issue. Specifically, our study identifies two profiles: 350 thriving students and 219 struggling students, through the analysis of inquiry achievements, self-efficacy, and flow experience. Moreover, we found no significant gender difference between the two cognitive-affective profiles. Finally, we found that while thriving and struggling students shared similar foundational characteristics, thriving students exhibited more strategic behavioral frequencies and patterns. These findings can advance understanding of theoretical underpinnings and guide targeted support for students in VSI.

Due to the popularity of video lectures, an increasing number of older adults are engaging with this form of learning. Furthermore, co-viewing has become a common type of social interaction. Despite the popularity of video lectures among older adults, there is limited understanding of how to effectively support their learning through this medium. The present study tested the interaction effects of co-viewer similarity (young vs. older co-viewer) and the type of learning content (declarative vs. procedural knowledge) in video lectures on older adults’ learning performance, motivation, cognitive load, and PFC activation as measured by fNIRS. Our results found that older adults showed better learning performance, greater motivation, and reduced cognitive load when co-viewing with an older viewer compared to a young one, regardless of the type of learning content. Interestingly, for declarative knowledge (i.e., Traditional Chinese Medicine, older adults exhibited greater activation in the FEFs, S1, and SMC regions when co-viewing with an older viewer compared with a young viewer. For procedural knowledge (i.e., digital technology), they exhibited less activation in the dlPFC and SMC regions when co-viewing with an older viewer compared with a young viewer. Our findings suggest that educators should consider the age of co-viewers when designing video lectures for older adults, irrespective of the type of knowledge being taught.

Studies on learner–learner and learner–instructor interaction provide insight into the preferences and perceived effects of interaction types. However, evidence of the impact on measured performance resulting from substituting learner–content interaction for learner–learner interaction is sparse. Using an experimental design, this study examined the impact of substituting interaction types on perception of workload, perception of learning, and measured performance in an online, asynchronous, undergraduate-level setting of formal distance education. The results of this study showed (a) learner–learner interactions were perceived to be significantly more work than learner–content interactions, (b) learner–content interactions were perceived to be significantly more helpful in learning the material, (c) there was no significant difference in measured performance between the two interaction types, (d) interaction type did not significantly moderate the relationship between perception of workload and measured performance, and (e) interaction type did significantly moderate the relationship between perception of learning and measured performance. Implications and recommendations are also provided to inform future researchers and practitioners.

When students use critical thinking (CT) skills to identify, place, and link nodes to construct a concept map, what are the effects of constructing concept maps on students’ CT abilities? To what extent do prior studies control what mapping processes and CT skills are demonstrated to students and examine what CT skills students use while constructing concept maps? This review examines the effectiveness of concept mapping compared to traditional teaching methods for enhancing CT abilities. It includes 17 studies involving 1363 students that measured CT skills (e.g., analysis, evaluation, inference, induction, and deduction) using standardized tests in experimental and control groups. Our analysis revealed that the findings on the effects of concept mapping on CT skills are mixed. The studies implemented research designs and CT measures that lacked consistency. They reported minimal information on which CT skills were demonstrated to students, which CT skills students used to construct their maps, and how specific skills impacted the quality of students’ concept maps. This information is necessary to establish consistency and fidelity in implementing concept maps as an instructional method, identify possible variables contributing to the mixed findings, and enhance the effectiveness of concept mapping. Accordingly, this review aims to identify specific methodological gaps that may account for these inconsistencies and guide the refinement of future research design.

This phenomenographic study explores how six leading academic experts in the design and instructional design field experience creativity in instructional design, specifically, how they perceive, define, and use creativity in instructional design. Phenomenography describes the diverse ways these experts experience, conceptualize, and integrate creativity into ID, highlighting the complex nature of creativity within the field. The findings reveal a range of interpretations and applications of creativity, emphasizing the challenge of defining and incorporating creativity explicitly in ID education. Despite recognizing creativity as a critical skill for the twenty-first century, there is still a lack of explicit inclusion in the instructional design curricula. This study contributes to understanding how creativity is perceived in instructional design by presenting four distinct categories of description. By describing these experts' perspectives on the role of creativity in their work, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the significance of creativity in instructional design. It highlights the need to reevaluate how creativity is fostered within instructional design programs and advocates for a more integrated and explicit approach to fostering creativity within the classroom to prepare future instructional designers for the complexities of the twenty-first-century learning environment.

Predicting the level of student learning engagement in online learning is crucial for student success, especially for asynchronous courses. While digital traces can track students’ activity on the platform and help to measure the engagement level, they could provide contradictory results, so it is crucial to incorporate complementary methods which can triangulate the findings obtained from digital traces. This study aimed to develop and validate a model to determine the level of learning engagement in adult learners on an asynchronous online platform using a mixed-method approach. Data from digital traces, surveys, and interviews were combined. The study involved 2234 students and employed Extreme Gradient Boosting and Logistic Regression with L2 regularisation models to predict the level of engagement. The Extreme Gradient Boosting model more accurately predicted students in the low engagement group, providing crucial support for potentially vulnerable students. The number of finished homework assignments and attempts were found to increase the probability of high engagement. The diversity of activities, such as access to text materials, played a pivotal role in sustaining engagement. Interviews corroborated these results, suggesting the model effectively reflects engagement levels. The article discusses implications for constructing similar models in future research.

A review of the literature reveals a discrepancy about what type of task with concept maps is the most effective for individual learning. Furthermore, to date, no research has compared these tasks in individual and collaborative learning contexts. This paper explores the influence of the different tasks on learning, involving concept maps and summaries. The participants were 226 undergraduates who were randomly assigned to 12 experimental conditions. Two independent variables were considered: the knowledge representation task (fill-in-the-blanks concept map, sort a shuffled concepts-provided map, self-construct a map, write a summary) and the structure of the activity (individual + collaborative, collaborative + individual, and fully individual). In addition to the evaluation of comprehension and delayed recall, 4195 verbal exchanges during the collaborative activities were recorded and analyzed. Results confirm an interaction between the type of task and the structure of the activity. The students who self-constructed complete concept maps and then discussed them in pairs obtained better learning results than those in other conditions. Verbal interaction was much more dialogic in this type of task, with a significantly greater proportion than in the other conditions of in-depth exploratory talk episodes, and a lower proportion of cumulative talk. However, the fill-in-the-blanks and shuffled-concepts conditions provided a greater proportion of superficial exploratory talk, and the collaborative summary condition generated a greater proportion of non-dialogic talk fragments. The findings are discussed in the context of the ICAP (Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive learning) framework, cognitive load theory and the sociocultural perspective on dialogic learning.

In an increasingly competitive educational landscape, understanding the determinants of academic success is imperative. While prior research has identified epistemic curiosity as a predictor of academic achievement, the psychological mechanisms through which curiosity cultivates internal resources—such as grit and learning flow—remain underexplored. Drawing on Psychological Capital Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the present study investigates how epistemic curiosity promotes grit and learning flow, which together constitute a serial mediation pathway leading to academic success in a large sample of Chinese adolescents. Utilizing data from 17,352 students across 36 primary and secondary schools in 21 provinces in China (age = 9–18, M = 14.1, SD = 2.9), we employed established measures such as the Epistemic Curiosity Scale, Grit-S, and Study-Related Flow Inventory. Our findings reveal that: (1) epistemic curiosity, grit, learning flow, and academic performance are significantly and positively correlated; (2) learning flow and grit may potentially serve as partial mediators in the relationships between epistemic curiosity and academic performance; (3) grit and learning flow point to a potential sequential mediation process connecting epistemic curiosity to academic performance. This research advances the theoretical understanding of curiosity-driven psychological resource development and offers valuable implications for educational policy and practice, emphasizing the importance of nurturing these psychological traits to enhance student performance.

Retrieval practice benefits long-term memory performance in a variety of contexts, but its usefulness for retention of more advanced material is less clear. Additionally, evidence of the role of individual differences in retrieval strategy use is mixed. Such evidence is important to determine the usefulness of particular retrieval strategies as a function of cognitive processes, affective characteristics, and aspects of to-be-learned material. With a sample of undergraduate participants (n = 213), we examined how combining testing strategies (free recall, practice quizzing, and test question generation) could impact learning of a published research article compared to rereading, and how cognitive load, self-efficacy, and working memory capacity influenced these relationships. Although retrieval practice activities did not improve final test performance over rereading, the role of some individual differences varied as a function of assigned strategy. Compared to rereading, using retrieval practice increased cognitive load. Cognitive load then mediated the relationship between assigned strategy and retrieval performance, with higher cognitive load associated with lower final test scores. These results suggest that the memorial benefits of retrieval practice might be limited by cognitive load requirements.

This study aims to deepen the theoretical foundations of debriefing in simulation-based pedagogy. By applying distributed cognition (DCog), we analyse a case of a simulation debriefing with nursing students. Using transcribed excerpts from video recordings, our cognitive ethnography shows how debriefing conversations function as a coordination device for two key processes: joint conversational remembering and distributed metacognition. According to our model, debriefing conversations coordinate a cascade of representations of simulated events. This cascade enables participants to engage reflexively with past actions, transforming these into shared learning opportunities. Reframing the trajectory of public representation in debriefing conversations in terms of DCog reveals new insights into the cognitive consequences of debriefing practices and how they can be developed. We highlight the importance of enabling multiple viewpoints and shared cognitive resources for epistemic outcomes, while also challenging students’ assumptions and foster critical thinking skills.

Achievement goal theory (AGT) has become increasingly prominent for exploring the interplay between teachers’ goals and their instructional practices. Prior research has suggested that relational goals significantly impact mastery-oriented instruction, surpassing the influence of mastery goals. Nonetheless, much of this evidence is derived from studies conducted in Western contexts. The current work investigates the relationships between teachers’ goals and their instructional practices in the Lao context, aiming at providing a more nuanced understanding of these relationships and examining their applicability in collectivist cultural settings. A total of 207 teachers participated in this study by completing an online questionnaire that assessed their teaching goals, instructional approaches, and specific practices. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze two models. Model 1 revealed positive correlations between relational and mastery goals with mastery-oriented instructional approaches and between ability-approach and ability-avoidance goals with performance-oriented strategies. Additionally, Model 2 demonstrated that relational goals were associated with recognition, grouping, and mutual respect, whereas mastery goals were linked to task and recognition. The findings underscore the central role of relational goals in fostering effective instructional practices, even in a collectivist cultural setting. This study also offers a more detailed understanding of the interconnection between the goals of teachers and their instructional practices, contributing to the cross-cultural AGT literature and providing insights for enhancing teaching practices globally.

The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of guidance methods on students’ performance, and it was hypothesized that this effect is manifested through students’ learning and perception. The aim was to investigate the effect of three guiding methods (open-ended questions; objective questions; and behavioral objectives) on students’ learning and perceptions of an educational technology course. In an experimental setting, three randomly selected groups of students (n = 41) responded to depth of knowledge test questions as a measure of learning and a measure of perceptions. Students in the intervention condition were given guiding methods to guide them in interacting with digital learning resources (DLR) using a social annotation tool (Diigo). In this way, all groups were motivated to learn independently, and students’ thinking processes were guided according to the three guiding methods. It was found that students in the open-ended questions intervention condition performed significantly better on depth of knowledge test questions, followed by the behavioral objectives intervention. Whereas, objective questions intervention students’ performance worse on the post-test. The results indicated the powerful nature of guiding methods and their positive impact on students’ perceptions and future intentions. The results suggest that Diigo’s collaborative guiding methods can be useful in web-based learning, and that considering guiding methods can improve student activity and motivation.

Retrieval practice is a well-established learning strategy. However, the cognitive load involved in retrieving all the steps required for problem solving may hinder its effect in mathematics learning. This study aims to optimize retrieval practice by focusing on key procedural steps to enhance students' learning outcomes in mathematical problem solving. Targeting junior middle school students, the experiment utilized one-variable quadratic equations as learning material. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a key-step retrieval group, who were instructed to recall only the essential steps in problem solving; a general retrieval group, who retrieved full solution steps; and a relearning group, who restudied the worked examples without retrieval. Results showed that while there was no significant difference in final test scores between the general retrieval practice group and the relearning group, the key-step retrieval practice group significantly outperformed both the general retrieval and relearning groups. Moreover, the key-step retrieval practice group achieved a higher initial retrieval success rate than the general retrieval practice group. These findings indicate that emphasizing key steps during retrieval practice can improve students' transfer performance and lead to more effective learning of mathematical problem solving.

This study investigates the integration of dispositions - defined as the attitude, beliefs, and values influencing the application of knowledge and skills - into the work of professional instructional designers in higher education. Instructional design in higher education is primarily focused on knowledge and skills, often overlooking the equally critical role of attitudes, beliefs, and values - collectively known as dispositions. This exploratory study aims to understand whether and how instructional designers in higher education incorporate dispositions into their course design, and what teaching and learning activities and feedback and assessment procedures they employ. It is guided by Fink’s (2013) Integrated Course Design framework, which includes situational factors, learning goals, teaching activities, feedback and assessment procedures, and more importantly, the alignment between these components. Semi-structured interviews with six instructional designers revealed that dispositions are recognized as essential learning goals. While some identified effective teaching strategies, many lacked clear or appropriate methods to assess dispositions, raising concerns about the alignment between the components of Integrated Course Design. This misalignment suggests that learners may be inadequately prepared to activate dispositions which drive them to appropriately apply their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts. The findings highlight the need for more structured approaches to integrating and assessing dispositions in instructional design, ensuring that learners develop not only domain-specific knowledge and skills, but also the right dispositions to apply them in different contexts.

Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an active learning and small group instructional strategy that provides students with opportunities to apply conceptual knowledge through a sequence of activities that includes individual work, teamwork, and immediate feedback. The aim of this study is to investigate an interactive approach to teaching medical terminology based on the use of team-based learning. The participants for this study were randomly selected from first year paramedical students. Sixty anesthesiology students were randomly assigned into two groups; namely, the experimental group (Team-Based Learning) and the control group (Lecture-Based Learning) (N = 30). The experimental group were tested by individual and team readiness assurance tests after sixteen TBL sessions were held. To compare, the other 30 students were evaluated by individual readiness assurance test after sixteen lecture-based learning (LBL) sessions. The results of the study showed a significant increase in the students’ scores on medical terms through team readiness assurance test (TRAT) as compared to individual readiness assurance test (IRAT) (P < 0.01). TBL group members outperformed those in the LBL group demonstrating that the paramedical students learned how to be collaborative and productive in the team process (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the TBL intervention had a beneficial effect and was a successful strategy when learning medical terminology in the classroom for paramedical students. Thus, it can be concluded that TBL can complement a lecture-based learning approach.

In any US school, even in schools with strong commitments to equity, colleagues and administrators may make deficit-oriented, prejudiced, and/or problematic comments about students and families. These harmful comments are often fueled by white supremacy, cisheteropatriarchy, ableism, capitalism, etc., and we refer to them as politically charged scenarios or dilemmas. When politically charged situations arise, teachers and teacher candidates, or TCs, need to take action and advocate for students, especially for students of marginalized and minoritized backgrounds. Attention to politically charged dilemmas is especially timely with current events such as recent executive orders eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, attempts to dismantle the United States Department of Education, and prior anti-Critical Race Theory attacks that push equity-minded teachers out of schools. This qualitative case study investigates white female elementary TCs’ understandings about the role of emotions when presented with politically charged dilemmas in their elementary mathematics methods course. The authors theorize emotional tools of creative insubordination, which emerged from the data as TCs described how they would respond to the various politically charged scenarios. Emotional tools of creative insubordination refer to actions that leverage emotions in order to advocate for students, especially those of marginalized backgrounds, such as regulating or de-escalating emotions, leveraging empathy, revealing emotions, and being comfortable being “called out” (or called in). The emotional tools of creative insubordination offer strategies for teachers and TCs to advocate for students’ learning and well-being to ultimately promote equity and justice in schools and society.

The gender achievement gap in higher STEM education is well documented as STEM course grades often show a bias favoring men, even when controlling for overall student achievements. The current work, which was preregistered prior to data collection, replicates and extends prior work to evaluate several possible contributors to the gender gap in advanced STEM courses. The contributing factors include students’ STEM-preparedness, learning assessment design, and students’ activity level in the course. We analyzed the data of a cohort of 315 undergraduate engineering students in a leading technological university in Israel. A mixed-effect model analysis revealed a gender gap in both high-stakes and low-stakes assessments of learning. We found that the gap first appears in lower-division undergraduate mathematics courses and remains steady through advanced STEM courses, with relatively little variance between different courses. We further found that students’ activity in the course’s learning management system is not associated with a gap reduction. The analysis suggests that the gender gap can be traced back, at least in part, to students’ STEM-preparedness when entering college. Notably, although the gap is traced prior to college, high-school grades likely show a ceiling effect and are thus not representative of the gap shown later in college. Therefore, it may be that other preparatory factors contribute to this gap, outside of or in addition to high-school performance.

Although students often acknowledge the importance of feedback, they generally struggle to engage with it and act upon it. Specific pedagogical factors, such as poorly structured feedback, unsuitable tone, and weak educator-student relationships, can impede effective utilisation of feedback. Students also exhibit varying degrees of comprehension, engagement, and action in response to feedback. Despite these observations, there is a lack of empirical studies systematically investigating diverse feedback experiences, practices, and action-taking behaviours of students. This paper addresses this gap by reporting on a study that aimed to explore students’ current feedback practices, self-reported action-taking behaviours, and perceived challenges related to students’ sensemaking and action-taking processes. A sample of 641 students from higher education was surveyed to investigate: (a) their feedback experiences, including practices, attitudes and beliefs; (b) variations in their motivations and emotional responses to feedback; and (c) variations in students’ perceived challenges in understanding and acting on feedback. The study employed 29 Likert scale items and latent class analysis (LCA) to identify four distinct classes of students based on their feedback experiences, aiming to uncover heterogeneity in their inclination to act upon feedback and challenges experienced in the feedback process. Additionally, thematic analysis of four open-ended questions captured a comprehensive understanding of their challenges, motivations, and emotional responses to feedback. The analysis revealed that students showed various levels of feedback experiences, engagement, and challenges in the feedback process across different classes. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of self regulation skills and the social-affective component of a dialogic feedback process. This process can potentially be facilitated by technology-enhanced feedback tools, such as learning analytics (LA) tools.

In collaborative learning game environments where competition and collaboration coexist, conflicts among students are not uncommon. While conflicts of ideas and opinions are prevalent during collaborative learning, they are often perceived as elements to be avoided. One of the main concerns about conflict is its ability to trigger negative emotions, such as anger, which can compromise effective peer interaction, collaborative learning, and, in turn, diminish the quality of group discussions. However, this raises the question of whether anger always negatively affects collaborative learning. Most studies on negative emotions are related to test anxiety or boredom, while the impacts of emotions such as anger on learning are less explored. Especially within computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), there is limited research on how anger impacts students’ collaborative activities and learning. To address these issues, this paper aims to explore the potential relationship between anger and its impact on students’ collaborative discourse in a hybrid game-based simulation. Our findings suggest that anger has the potential to facilitate diverse and productive collaborative discussions. Students, driven by their anger, delved deeper into game mechanics, linked concepts to real-life situations, and employed various forms of logical reasoning to substantiate their opinions. However, the moment a student exhibited “tilting“ behavior, the quality of their collaborative discussions plummeted. Our findings provide important preliminary insights into the concept of “tilting” within immersive collaborative learning games and how it may manifest; they also offer guidance on the timing for educators’ intervention in collaborative discourse when anger arises among students.

Background: Online hate speech on social networks and the Internet is an increasingly pervasive phenomenon to which both children and adolescents are exposed. Objective: Our study’s main objective was to ascertain whether collective intelligence can improve their handling of hate speech. Methods: We conducted the study on the Collective Learning platform, comparing results between three groups of Spanish adolescents aged 15–16 years. The groups were of different sizes: one large group (G1, n = 123) and two smaller groups (G2, n = 18; G3, n = 23). Results: The experiment showed that the conditions for the emergence of collective intelligence were met within the large group (G1) but not in the two small groups (G2 and G3). The large group, as a collective, acquired capacities to deal with hate speech; however, this did not occur in the two smaller groups. Conclusions: Our study explains how the emergence of collective intelligence in online environments helps group members acquire a series of competencies. In particular, collective intelligence can help adolescents learn to deal with hate speech.

The increasing availability of multimodal sensing technologies has opened new avenues for studying human interactions. However, there remains a lack of systematic synthesis regarding which multimodal metrics are most predictive of productive collaborations. This study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic literature review of 163 studies published since 2000. Grounded in the theoretical framework of multimodal collaboration analytics (MMCA; Schneider et al., 2022), we examine how different data modalities—verbal, gaze, body, head, log, and physiological—are used to assess collaboration. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework (Liberati et al., 2009), we categorize studies on the basis of the types of collaborative indicators, the metrics extracted from multimodal data, and the methods used to establish relationships between them. We find several gaps, including an over-representation of lab-based studies with small sample sizes, reliance on simplistic individual or group synchrony metrics, and a lack of standard indicators for collaboration. We discuss related Grand Challenges for MMCA, including scaling up research through field-based studies, developing interpretable models that contribute to theory, computing sophisticated sensor-based metrics that better capture the temporal dynamics of interaction, and designing interventions that support collaboration using fine-grained, high frequency sensor data.

Collaborative learning deepens understanding by elaborating knowledge and facilitating memory-related information processing through interactions with others. In computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), mechanisms identified in collaborative learning are scaffolded through tools such as group awareness and scripted collaboration. While collaborative learning is considered effective, it remains unclear how older adults learn in collaborative environments using concept maps, and how cognitive decline may hinder their learning. Therefore, this study investigates differences between younger and older adults in collaborative learning with concept maps, focusing on learning performance, concept map performance, and the collaborative learning process. Learning performance was assessed using test scores, concept map performance through concept map evaluations as a tool for externalizing knowledge, and the collaborative process using the Interactive-Constructive-Active-Passive (ICAP) framework, which captures cognitive engagement. Results showed that younger adults had higher learning performance than older adults, while older adults showed no significant improvement, indicating a lack of learning gain. Similarly, younger adults outperformed older adults in concept map performance, and no improvement was observed in older adults for concept map scores. This suggests that older adults found it more difficult to elaborate knowledge, such as integrating new information. Regarding the collaborative learning process, younger adults were more likely to engage at the active, while older adults showed higher engagement at the constructive and interactive levels. Epistemic network analysis (ENA) revealed stronger connections between constructive and interactive behaviors in younger adults, and between active and interactive behaviors in older adults. These findings suggest that while younger adults progressively deepen their engagement during collaborative learning, older adults may require the reactivation of memory to engage in elaboration. These results offer insights into designing effective CSCL environments tailored to the learning needs of older adults.

Dialogic education is largely advocated as a means to promote dialogue and reduce polarization. Chatbots based on large language models (LLMs) carry the potential to scale dialogic education by serving as conversation partners and sustaining a dialogic space on various topics. They combine human-like conversational abilities with machine patience. To explore this potential, we fine-tuned an LLM-based chatbot, LlamaLo, using a corpus of productive discussions. We analyzed ten discussions with LlamaLo on contentious topics, such as liberalism and cultural appropriation. Our findings show that LlamaLo effectively opens dialogic spaces by questioning interlocutors’ assumptions, presenting alternative perspectives, and providing relevant knowledge. However, challenges, such as negative tone and bias, could undermine the dialogic space and should be addressed computationally and pedagogically. We conclude that dedicated LLM-based chatbots have the potential for enhancing dialogic education and enabling seamless scripting responsive to real-time needs.

Understanding how multiple dimensions of learning engagement co-develop during collaborative programming remains a critical challenge. Drawing on the four-dimensional engagement framework encompassing behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social components, this study employs multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) to investigate the dynamic interplay among engagement dimensions, prior knowledge, and leadership type in a university-level collaborative programming course. Group-level ICAP (Interactive, Constructive, Active, Passive) modes were coded from multimodal interaction data, while learning engagement was assessed via integrated behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social indicators. Findings reveal that prior knowledge supports individual task execution but contributes to collaborative engagement only under strong leadership. The three core dimensions of learning engagement—behavioral, cognitive, and social—were found to be significantly interrelated, reflecting a tightly coupled system of action, thinking, and peer interaction. In contrast, emotional engagement showed weak or inconsistent correlations with the other dimensions. Furthermore, interactive discourse fostered richer engagement and higher achievement, with group formation strategies moderating these effects through the interplay of prior knowledge and leadership type. While ICAP modes and overall learning engagement were strongly correlated—partly reflecting overlapping cognitive components—ICAP captured discourse patterns, whereas engagement scores aggregated multidimensional indicators across the task, suggesting complementary rather than redundant constructs. These findings advance engagement research by integrating discourse classification and multidimensional profiling, offering practical guidance on group formation, scaffolding, and real-time engagement monitoring to enhance collaborative programming pedagogy.

With the rapid development of emerging technologies in education, this research explored how children use teacher-, peer-, and technology-provided feedback together toward collective and embodied learning in a mixed-reality environment. In this study, we investigated how young children interact with feedback in a mixed-reality environment, Science through Technology Enhanced Play (STEP), a system that tracks students’ movement and turns their embodiments into characters on a shared screen. We used coding and interaction analysis to analyze data from three episodes from a curriculum about states of matter across two research sites. Our analysis demonstrated that as the curriculum progressed, children engaged with collective and blended feedback, i.e., input that leads to collective sense-making and liminal blending of multiple sources, in ways that enhanced collective agency over their inquiry. First, we focused on how children transitioned from individualized views of feedback to more collective views by blending multiple sources of feedback (from self, peers, teachers/researchers, and technology) to make sense of solid bonds. Second, we found that the children leveraged feedback from their peers, facilitators, and technology-provided representations to explore how the particles must behave collectively to form liquid bonds. Third, we saw how children engaged with feedback differently on the basis of their role (observing versus embodying) in an activity focused on making gas bonds. More than simply demonstrating the sophistication with which young children engage in collective inquiry-based learning through embodied and technology-enhanced play designs, our work also demonstrates how future learning environments with complex feedback structures (i.e., the coordination of multiple sources and multiple modalities by children working collaboratively) can be designed to support student inquiry and young children’s agency in blending feedback sources that they determine enhance their collective sense-making.

Hands-on laboratories are essential to acquire skills in education. However, they can be costly, lack flexibility, and do not allow one to do an unlimited number of experiments. Virtual and remote laboratories represent an interesting alternative to traditional hands-on lab sessions. On the other hand, fostering collaboration between learners and between learners and teachers is an important aspect to develop in these virtual and remote laboratories, as it enhances learning. This systematic literature review presents an extensive overview of previous research about fostering collaboration in educational virtual and remote laboratories. Results of this study show that communication and group awareness tools are generally well integrated into remote and virtual laboratories. These tools foster collaborative learning as they enable users to communicate, to be aware of the presence and the actions of the other members of the group and to share knowledge. However, tools for guiding and regulating collaboration are poorly integrated in the laboratories. These tools are yet useful to foster collaborative learning as they respectively give instructions to collaborate effectively and information about the state of collaboration to regulate it. This review also identified a minority of studies that assessed the quality of collaboration and learning in laboratories. Future research should put more emphasis in investigating guidance and regulation tools, as well as integrating studies to evaluate collaboration and learning in educational remote and virtual laboratories.