Search Results (1,639)

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in education and society, cultivating critical AI literacy has become a key objective of sustainable higher education, enabling learners to engage with AI responsibly, critically, and throughout lifelong learning. However, empirical evidence on how innovative pedagogical approaches foster critical AI literacy remains limited. This quasi-experimental study evaluated a critical thinking-oriented flipped instructional model in an AI general education course. Following data screening, the final analytic sample consisted of 82 undergraduate students (53 in the Experimental Group and 29 in the Control Group). Closely aligned pretest and posttest forms assessed critical AI literacy across knowledge, skill, and attitude dimensions. Between-group gain-score comparisons showed that the Experimental Group demonstrated greater improvement in overall critical AI literacy than the Control Group (Cohen’s d = 1.12, 95% CI [0.63, 1.60]). Greater gains were also observed for knowledge (d = 0.54), skill (d = 0.84), and attitude (d = 1.21), with the standardized between-group difference descriptively largest for attitude. These findings suggest that the critical thinking-oriented flipped instructional model is a promising approach for cultivating critical AI literacy in higher education and may have broader implications for sustainable higher education. Full article

Futures Literacy is increasingly recognized as a key sustainability competence within the GreenComp framework, yet limited research has examined how arts-based pedagogies in teacher education can foster it. This study explores arts-based approaches to Futures Literacy within a micro-credential integrated into a first-year course for pre-service primary teachers. Developed within the GreenComp School project, the micro-credential comprised face-to-face and asynchronous components; the face-to-face arts-based activities were fully implemented, while engagement with the asynchronous component was limited. Data were collected through pre- and post-questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, participant artifacts, and the researcher’s reflective journal. The findings indicate increased self-reported understanding of Futures Literacy and identify six interconnected pedagogical processes: emotional engagement, communicating future-oriented messages, embodied learning, envisioning alternative futures, humanitarian values, and collaboration. Emotional engagement was particularly important to meaning-making and highlighted the affective complexity of engaging with uncertain futures. Arts-based speculative futuring supported envisioning alternative possibilities, although critical examination of assumptions, competing values, and perspectives was limited. The limited asynchronous component also highlighted challenges in integrating a non-assessed micro-credential into a compulsory first-year course. The study offers an empirically grounded account of how arts-based approaches can pedagogically enact Futures Literacy in teacher education. Full article

AI is influencing how language is learned and taught and, thus, how language learning is assessed. This study explores the triadic relationship among AI literacy, mindset transformation (MiT), and assessment as learning (AaL) to redress AI-revamped language assessment forms in AI-driven language education. It elucidates how faculty members’ AI literacy is associated with their pedagogical MiT, which, in turn, supports AaL. Towards this end, data were collected in two rounds within an explanatory mixed-methods approach. In the first round, AI literacy and MiT of sixty-four faculty members were surveyed and correlated. In the second round, a subset of the participants was singled out for a focus group discussion. The results showed that faculty members’ AI literacy is associated with their MiT, and this association is linked to using AI tools for AaL in their teaching. A common pattern in the responses was that faculty members frame AI as a supportive rather than authoritative agent. They expressed concerns about using AI in summative assessment due to uncertainty about how AI works; hence, they tend to avoid using it when grading students. Based on the findings, a model of directional relationship is proposed in which AI literacy appears to be associated with MiT, which, in turn, may facilitate pedagogical shifts toward AaL. The model can be used as a basis for further research to validate the correlation between AI literacy and MiT in the context of language education and assessment, and to demystify how faculty members navigate AI integration in language assessment in various contexts. Full article

Artificial intelligence is becoming deeply embedded in higher education, yet how the characteristics of AI-based e-learning systems relate to students’ perceived learning effectiveness and satisfaction remains insufficiently understood. This study examines the relationships of AI Functionality Compatibility, AI Instructional Process Coverage, and AI-Assisted Learning Cognitive Usability with Perceived Online Learning Effectiveness and Online Learning Satisfaction. Data from 384 students at Chinese universities were analyzed using a two-stage approach combining partial least squares structural equation modeling and artificial neural networks (PLS-SEM-ANN). The results showed that all three system characteristics were positively associated with perceived learning effectiveness, with instructional process coverage showing the strongest relationship. Cognitive usability also had a significant direct association with learning satisfaction, whereas functionality compatibility and instructional process coverage showed significant indirect effects through perceived learning effectiveness. The findings reveal an outcome-oriented pattern in which perceived learning effectiveness occupies a central position between system characteristics and satisfaction. This study extends understanding of AI-supported learning systems by emphasizing the alignment of technical functions with pedagogical processes and learners’ cognitive needs. It also provides practical guidance for universities and developers seeking to better align the design and evaluation of AI-based e-learning systems with learners’ instructional and cognitive needs. Full article

The Social Representations of Childhood Questionnaire (CRSID) explores how pre-service Early Childhood Education teachers understand childhood and translate these ideas into pedagogical approaches. This study sought to obtain a shorter, reliable version that can be readily used in initial teacher education. The original 31-item instrument was administered to 242 first-year university students (M_age = 18.94; SD = 1.70; 90.5% women). Analyses were conducted in JASP and R (psych, lavaan) using diagonally weighted least squares on a polychoric correlation matrix with oblimin rotation. Items with loadings below 0.40 or high uniquenesses were progressively removed. The final version includes 17 items grouped into three dimensions: Adultcentrism (5 items), Directive Teacher Role (6 items), and Rights and Facilitation (6 items). Sampling adequacy was satisfactory (KMO = 0.765; χ²(136) = 1149.9, p < 0.001), and parallel analysis supported the three-factor solution. Fit indices indicated an acceptable model, explaining 39.5% of the variance. Reliability coefficients were within acceptable ranges (ω = 0.67–0.73; α = 0.65–0.73). Differences emerged in two factors depending on prior experience with children. Overall, the reduced CRSID offers a consistent and workable tool for teacher education, although some refinement remains advisable. Full article

The digital transformation of higher education requires assessment approaches capable of capturing complex learning processes. In teacher education, immersive virtual reality (VR) simulations generate multimodal records, yet transforming them into pedagogically meaningful evidence for assessing classroom-management competence remains challenging. This methodological pilot study examines Mission Control–Didascalias VC, an analytics infrastructure for classroom-management simulations. Of 626 sessions, 595 were retained in the cleaned analytical corpus. Data sources comprised session metadata, verbal interactions, programmed challenging events, vocal and movement signals, dashboard exports and, for 17 focal cases, video recordings and transcripts. The analysis examined data quality, traceability and interpretability, developed and refined a multimodal coding framework, and included a worked example of sequence-based coding. Results show that simulation records do not constitute assessment evidence in themselves. Their formative value emerges through cleaning, temporal alignment, multimodal triangulation and contextual interpretation, which transform isolated technical traces into pedagogically meaningful interactional sequences. Critical verbal interactions, participant responses, emergent classroom situations, and vocal and movement patterns provided complementary evidence, including in sessions without programmed challenging events. The study concludes that VR analytics can support sustainable formative assessment when technical records are transformed into pedagogically interpretable interactional evidence for debriefing, feedback and evidence reuse over time. Full article

Remote and digital laboratories have become critical resources for sustaining experimental activities in natural sciences and engineering when direct access to physical facilities is constrained. This scoping review of 470 articles published between 2021 and 2026 examines the current state of research on remote laboratory development and educational implementation, identifying disciplinary patterns, pedagogical approaches, and reported learning outcomes. The analysis, based on systematic searches of Web of Science, Scopus, and Springer Nature, reveals a marked asymmetry: research concentrates overwhelmingly on university engineering, whilst chemistry, physics, and especially biology remain underrepresented, the corpus concentrates geographically in Europe, North America, and Asia, and production accelerated sharply during the pandemic before stabilizing or declining. A critical finding is that much of the literature (particularly in engineering) treats student learning as secondary validation of technical infrastructure rather than as a primary research question. The review identifies a consistent and significant gap in rigorous investigations of scientific skill development in remote laboratories for natural sciences, and limited evidence, within the analyzed search strategy, of explicit pedagogical or didactic frameworks for integrating these technologies into science teaching sequences. These findings point to a clear research priority: the field requires concrete didactic and pedagogical models for integrating remote laboratories into natural science education, with sustained attention to authentic scientific reasoning and experimental competencies, particularly at pre-university levels where the gap is most pronounced. Full article

Social inequalities often persist despite widespread endorsement of universal norms such as fairness and equality. One explanation is that actors interpret these principles differently in practice, generating divergent forms of action within the same institutional setting. This study examines this process in the context of gender equity in STEM education by analysing how teachers organise beliefs, awareness, pedagogical practices, responsibility, and the perceived value of gender equality when reasoning about pedagogical fairness. Using an exploratory case study with a theory-guided, person-centred typological classification approach, questionnaire data from teachers in a Portuguese school cluster (Grades 1–12) were analysed through quantitative classification and interpretive analysis of open-ended responses. Rather than differing only in degree of commitment to equality, teachers’ reported reasoning was organised into three theory-guided orientations: Procedural Impartiality (fairness as identical treatment), Compensatory Intervention (fairness as corrective action), and Reflexive Professional Responsibility (fairness as situated professional judgement). The resulting profiles showed differentiated configurations across the five analytical dimensions, particularly in the relative organisation of awareness, pedagogical practices, responsibility, and the perceived value of gender equality. Descriptive subgroup distributions also suggested tentative variation across disciplinary field, sex, and teaching experience, although these patterns should not be interpreted as systematic or generalisable associations. The findings indicate that teachers’ reported reasoning can be organised into distinct theory-guided orientations and suggest that shared commitments to gender equality may coexist with different professional interpretations of fairness and legitimate pedagogical intervention. The study therefore proposes a framework for examining how equity is interpreted as a professional category in educational contexts, while recognising that further research is needed to examine how such orientations relate to observed classroom practices and student outcomes. Full article

Students in higher education face diverse financial, employment and technological circumstances that may influence the suitability of different modes of delivery. This study explored students’ preferences for and experiences of online, face-to-face and hybrid/blended delivery, with particular attention to the role of socio-economic circumstances in these preferences and experiences. A concurrent mixed-methods case study design was employed. Forty-four senior undergraduate and postgraduate students completed an online questionnaire comprising five-point Likert-scale items and open-ended narrative responses. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis, while qualitative responses were analysed thematically and integrated with the quantitative findings. The results indicated a clear preference for online delivery, with 93.2% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that they preferred this mode and 75.0% preferring to remain online rather than change to an alternative mode. Flexibility, financial considerations and the ability to combine employment and study emerged as prominent considerations, particularly in a sample in which 95.5% of respondents combined employment with their studies. Transportation, accommodation and daily living expenses were also perceived as relevant to mode-of-delivery decisions. However, no single mode was perceived as universally inclusive, with students from very poor to poor socio-economic circumstances considered particularly vulnerable to exclusion. The findings demonstrate that mode-of-delivery preferences should be understood within students’ broader socio-economic circumstances rather than solely as pedagogical preferences. Thus, it is recommended that higher education institutions consider adopting flexible and differentiated delivery approaches accommodating students’ financial, employment and access circumstances while promoting equitable participation. Full article

Heritage education has undergone substantial conceptual, pedagogical, and technological transformations over the last decade, driven by the expansion of digital technologies, participatory pedagogies, and arts-based approaches to learning. Although research in this field has grown considerably, existing studies remain fragmented across educational contexts, disciplinary traditions, and methodological perspectives. This systematic review aims to synthesise international research published between 2015 and 2026 on the relationships among heritage education, arts-based learning, museum education, digital transformation, sustainability, and teacher education. The review followed the PRISMA 2020 Statement and the PRISMA-S reporting recommendations. Searches conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus identified 525 records, of which 53 studies met the predefined eligibility criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. The findings reveal a marked expansion of museum-based and digitally mediated heritage learning, the growing adoption of arts-based pedagogies, and an increasing emphasis on teacher education and community participation. While digital technologies have become firmly established within heritage education, artificial intelligence remains an emerging area of inquiry with limited empirical evidence. The review also identifies persistent challenges, including the underrepresentation of rural and non-Western perspectives, limited longitudinal research, and the need for more robust methodological designs. Building on the synthesis of the reviewed literature, the article proposes the Arts-Based Heritage Learning Ecosystem as an integrative framework for understanding the interplay among cultural memory, artistic mediation, museum participation, digital innovation, sustainability, and teacher education. The study contributes to current debates by providing an updated synthesis of international research and by offering a conceptual basis to inform future research, curriculum development, and educational practice. Full article

Learning from errors (LFE) constitutes a complex, multilevel process whose pedagogical value depends on how errors are elicited, interpreted, and corrected. This narrative review critically synthesizes research on LFE and its implications for science instruction in school and higher education. The reporting of the purposive, non-exhaustive search was strengthened with reference to the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) criteria. The synthesis traces the historical transition from error avoidance to conditional error-as-resource perspectives and integrates five complementary lenses: error type, negative knowledge, cognitive load and prior knowledge, affective and self-regulatory processes, and the Generating Errors/Detecting and Correcting Errors model. It then evaluates instructional approaches including productive failure, erroneous examples, peer instruction, formative feedback, conceptual-change strategies, Predict–Observe–Explain, refutation texts, and gamification. Evidence is strongest when errors are embedded in structured cycles of manageable challenge, explanation, feedback, and revision; however, effects are heterogeneous and moderated by learner expertise, task demands, feedback design, classroom error climate, and safety constraints. Domain-specific evidence is most developed in physics, chemistry, biology, and health-professions simulation, whereas Earth and climate sciences and teacher professional development remain comparatively underexamined. The review concludes with an integrative framework and actionable design principles for science teacher education, while identifying methodological, cultural, and empirical gaps for future research. Full article

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has become a central priority in international education policy, increasing expectations for teacher education systems to prepare future teachers for sustainability challenges. This study examines how sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and higher-order cognitive expectations are embedded within teacher education policy frameworks in Hungary, Finland, and Poland. Using qualitative document analysis supported by MAXQDA, national policy documents, teacher education regulations, and programme frameworks were systematically analysed. Sustainable Development Goals were used to examine policy content, while Bloom’s Taxonomy provided a framework for investigating cognitive expectations in teacher education requirements. The findings reveal substantial cross-national differences in how sustainability is conceptualised and operationalised within teacher education. Finland demonstrates the most comprehensive and transversal integration, whereas Hungary primarily adopts a disciplinary approach and Poland places greater emphasis on digitalisation and innovation. In the Hungarian teacher education qualification requirements, lower- and intermediate-level cognitive processes are more frequently represented than higher-order processes, while the Finnish and Polish frameworks also contain explicit expectations related to higher-order thinking. Beyond comparing national frameworks, the study demonstrates how qualitative policy document analysis combined with SDG mapping and Bloom’s Taxonomy reveals pedagogical priorities within teacher education systems. The findings suggest that national policy frameworks may shape how sustainability competences and cognitive expectations are represented within teacher education requirements, offering policy-level implications for sustainability-oriented teacher education. Full article

Immersive interactive experiences like virtual field trips are increasingly popular in K-12 education, yet they often position youth as consumers. This paper details a design-based-research approach to developing a learning sequence that empowers students as creators of their own immersive learning experiences, grounded in principles of project- and place-based learning. An initial series of four case studies, involving six educators and 100+ youth, illustrates design milestones; highlighting that while students enjoy creating these experiences and educators recognize the pedagogical value, challenges such as time constraints and project scaffolding can impede implementation. Although these case studies represent small, non-controlled samples, findings were consistent across iterations. In response to these findings we present the VFT Creation Sequence, a suite of learning resources that uplifts the student experience and provides practical support for authentic implementation. A final case study showcases the sequence in practice in an elementary science classroom and examines domain-specific features of the student work, yielding promising results in using student products as evidence of sense-making. VFT creation can complement instruction across domains and learning contexts; the VFT Creation Sequence was designed to be easily distributed to and adapted by educators interested in integrating learner-driven digital activities into their curriculum. Full article

Sustainability Education (SE) is a complex pedagogical challenge that involves multiple disciplines and requires consensus on the content to be prioritized for citizenship education. Consensus-building on such complex issues can be effectively achieved through the Delphi technique, which relies on an anonymous panel of experts providing assessments through an iterative process. This study employed a modified Delphi method to develop a core curriculum for SE, tailored for non-specialist students at the pre-university or undergraduate level. The process involved two stages: first, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 experts to generate a list of key topics; subsequently, a questionnaire was administered using a ten-point Likert scale covering 59 key concepts, organized by conceptual area. The second panel, consisting of 40 professors from 10 departments at the University of Trento, evaluated and selected the topics for the curriculum. A consensus value was calculated for each item, and concepts were ranked according to their perceived importance and level of agreement. This research aims to arrive at a collective assessment that goes beyond individual disciplinary perspectives. The results demonstrate a strong multidisciplinary consensus on foundational and action-oriented dimensions, with the highest priority assigned to environmental sustainability and systemic interdependence (mean score of 9.3 on a 10-point scale), social equity (9.1), and operational energy efficiency (8.8). Conversely, highly specialized tools, such as carbon markets (7.2) and climate psychology (7.0), were deemed less central for general education. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that experts’ disciplinary backgrounds profoundly influenced their priorities, underscoring the necessity of a truly transdisciplinary approach. The results provide a systematic foundation for the development of interdisciplinary educational programs. Full article

Teacher learning presents a unique cognitive challenge: educators must simultaneously develop mathematical expertise and pedagogical knowledge for teaching. This study examines how interactive worked examples function as cognitive tools to support this dual learning process. Using a qualitative, exploratory case-study design, I investigated how 30 in-service mathematics teachers engaged with interactive worked examples of non-routine problems in a professional development setting designed to reduce extraneous cognitive load while promoting germane processing. Drawing on Cognitive Load Theory, expertise development frameworks, and recent perspectives on cognitive offloading and affective engagement in multimedia learning, I analyzed the cognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying teachers’ acquisition of both mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Results from teachers’ journals, reflective protocols, and self-assessed cognitive load measurements reveal three key findings: First, teachers experienced analyzing worked examples not as passive observation but as active problem-solving, engaging in self-explanation and schema construction. Second, the interactive format enabled them to discover new mathematical relationships and solution strategies that were previously unavailable to them. Third, and notably, teachers simultaneously developed pedagogical insights—recognizing instructional approaches and anticipating student difficulties—while working through the mathematical content. These findings extend worked example theory by demonstrating that carefully designed interactive examples can support dual-domain learning in professional contexts. By managing cognitive load through scaffolded interactivity, worked examples enable teachers to construct both mathematical and pedagogical schemas concurrently, suggesting a cognitively efficient pathway for teacher professional development. Given the study’s exploratory, single-setting design, these mechanisms are offered as a theoretically grounded account to be tested in future comparative research rather than as definitive causal claims. Full article