This review outlines encouraging and discouraging factors in stimulating the adoption of deep approaches to learning in student-centred learning environments. Both encouraging and discouraging factors can be situated in the context of the learning environment, in students' perceptions of that context and in characteristics of the students…

The paper examines studies based on the theory of expansive learning, formulated in 1987. In recent years the theory has been used in a wide variety of studies and interventions. The theory builds on foundational ideas put forward by Vygotsky, Leont'ev, Il'enkov, and Davydov, key figures in the Russian school of cultural-historical activity…

This study examines the impact of computer technology (CT) on mathematics education in K-12 classrooms through a systematic review of existing literature. A meta-analysis of 85 independent effect sizes extracted from 46 primary studies involving a total of 36,793 learners indicated statistically significant positive effects of CT on mathematics…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of evidence for the effectiveness and safety of commonly used crisis interventions in schools, such as critical incident stress debriefing (CISD), critical incident stress management (CISM), and psychological debriefing (PD). Two researchers independently searched relevant databases for reviews and…

While the importance of phonological sensitivity for understanding reading acquisition and impairment across orthographies is well documented, what underlies deficits in phonological sensitivity is not well understood. Some researchers have argued that speech perception underlies variability in phonological representations. Others have…

This article provides an interdisciplinary review of theory and research linking aspects of emotional competence to learning and school-related outcomes across childhood. Drawing upon work in developmental psychology, educational psychology, and teacher education, this review also discusses the role of teachers in socializing students' emotions…

In this paper, we review research on parental expectations and their effects on student achievement within and across diverse racial and ethnic groups. Our review suggests that the level of parental expectations varies by racial/ethnic group, and that students' previous academic performance is a less influential determinant of parental…

Although scaffolding is an important and frequently studied concept, much discussion exists with regard to its conceptualizations, appearances, and effectiveness. Departing from the last decade's scaffolding literature, this review scrutinizes these three areas of scaffolding. First, contingency, fading, and transfer of responsibility are…

This meta-analytical review focuses on the role of spatial ability when learning with pictorial visualizations. By means of selective theoretical review and meta-analysis (the latter regarding 27 different experiments from 19 studies), several sub-factors of spatial ability are considered as well as dynamic and non-dynamic, interactive and…

Teaching and learning are fundamentally social enterprises. In attempting to understand, explain, and predict social behavior, social psychologists have amassed scores of empirically grounded, fundamental principles. Yet, many such principles have yet to be applied to classrooms despite the social nature of these settings. This article illustrates…

In this article we present an integrative model of team learning. Literature shows that effective team learning requires the establishment of a dialogical space amongst team members, in which communicative behaviours such as "sharing", "co-construction" and "constructive conflict" are balanced. However, finding this balance is not enough.…

Many countries suffer from teacher shortages. One possible solution to this problem is to recruit second-career teachers. These second-career teachers form an intriguing group. They bring an abundance of previous experiences into a new, professional domain. The purpose of this study is to identify pedagogical principles that support the training…

Previous studies on the effects on students' test scores of their peers' socioeconomic status (SES) reported varying results. A meta-regression analysis including 30 studies on the topic shows that the compositional effect that researchers find is strongly related to how they measure SES and to their model choice. If they measure SES dichotomously…

"Weblogs" or "blogs" are increasingly visible in higher education settings. Some scholars suggest that blogs are useful because of their reflective nature. However, as this review indicates the research regarding blogs is largely self-report data (surveys, interviews) or content analyses. This review summarizes results of this existing research on…

The purpose of this review paper is to contribute to the effort of rethinking scientific literacy in a form that is appropriate for describing and theorizing its occurrence "in the wild," that is, in the everyday world that we share with others (as opposed to testing situations in classrooms and laboratories). Consistent with our commitment to…