Search Results (424)

Current efforts to improve the quality of initial teacher education and effective preparation for the teaching profession require an in-depth understanding of teachers’ lived experiences during their teaching practice. This qualitative study examined the reflective narratives and collages of pre-service teachers’ (PST) teaching practice experiences. The use of collaging provided PSTs with a mosaic experience, a creative process through which they selected, arranged, and connected visual elements to represent the complexity, emotions, and meanings embedded in their teaching practice journeys. Framed within the paradigm of practitioner inquiry, the study aimed to intentionally stimulate reflection, a sine qua non for professional learning. Ten out of 163 PSTs volunteered to participate in this study. The reflections were analysed thematically, while the collages were analysed using the created-image data analysis (CIDA) analytic tool. The findings reveal five key dimensions of teaching practice central to pre-service teachers’ lived experiences of teaching. These include awareness of the emotional nature of teaching, the significance of support, developing meaningful relationships, navigating complex classroom realities, forming a professional identity, and the influence of contextual challenges. However, these dimensions do not fully capture the multifaceted nature of learning to teach, offering only partial insights into the deep, context-specific aspects of teaching. Nonetheless, these insights are, however, crucial to the ongoing refinement of initial teacher education programmes in our department. There is a need for teacher educators to design learning activities that intentionally foster reflective, context-conscious skills, recognising that teaching is inherently situated within specific social and educational contexts. Full article

This study investigates how integrating the 4PADAFE instructional design methodology with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools helps develop innovative, pedagogically sound digital learning environments in higher education. To meet the demand for scalable and flexible instructional models, 4PADAFE offers a seven-phase, iterative framework that connects pedagogical goals with the creative use of AI-powered tools. Using a qualitative exploratory approach, 20 Systems Engineering students applied the methodology to collaboratively create a four-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) titled “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools for University Teaching.” They utilized ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Gamma to produce educational materials without direct input from subject-matter experts. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and analysis of student-created artifacts. The findings revealed increased learner autonomy, creativity, and digital skills, along with more efficient instructional design processes supported by prompt engineering and real-time feedback. The structured 4PADAFE framework helped participants align AI-generated content with specific learning outcomes while maintaining ethical safeguards. This study concludes that, with proper guidance and a systematic framework, students with technical backgrounds can serve as effective instructional designers, demonstrating the potential of combining structured methodologies and GAI to democratize high-quality course development in digital higher education. Full article

The accelerating digitalization of education has heightened the need for instructional approaches that are developmentally appropriate for young learners and capable of supporting both linguistic growth and creative speech production. This study investigates the pedagogical potential of integrating adapted English-language podcasts and media-based tasks into primary English instruction to foster originality, contextual coherence, expressive flexibility, and emotional richness in learners’ productive speech. The research employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design implemented in intact classroom groups and involved 233 third- and fourth-grade students (experimental group, n = 116; control group, n = 117). Over one academic semester (January–May 2025), the experimental group participated in a structured programme embedded within regular lessons that combined short podcast episodes with dialogic and narrative tasks, while the control group followed the standard curriculum without podcast integration or comparable multimedia enrichment. Data analysis combined quantitative comparison of pre- and post-intervention speech outcomes with qualitative evaluation of learners’ oral and written products, supplemented by student and teacher feedback. The results showed statistically significant improvements in the experimental group across key indicators of creative speech performance. Qualitative evidence further indicated a shift toward more independent, personally meaningful language use, with learners demonstrating greater willingness to experiment with narrative transformation, evaluative retelling, and expressive variation. Taken together, the findings suggest that adapted podcasts, when systematically integrated into routine classroom practice, can serve as an effective and feasible tool for strengthening creative speech development in primary English language education and for enriching contemporary media pedagogy in digitally evolving learning environments. Full article

Given the persistent challenges in promoting pro-environmental behavior and student engagement in higher education, particularly in environmental courses, this study examines the effects of creative teaching strategies—specifically icebreaker games and activities—on cognitive understanding, attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviors among first-year university students in environmental education. Grounded in the Green Competency framework and game-based learning theory, the study addresses an empirical gap concerning the sustained impacts of active learning approaches. A Solomon four-group experimental design was employed with 200 students enrolled in the Environmental Society course at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT). Pre- and post-tests assessed changes across the three learning domains. ANOVA and Scheffé post hoc analyses revealed statistically significant improvements in cognition, attitudes, and behaviors among students exposed to the intervention, particularly those receiving both pre-testing and innovative instruction. Regression analysis indicated that cognitive understanding was the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behavior (β = 0.531, p < 0.001), while demographic variables showed no significant influence. The findings demonstrate that well-designed icebreaker activities can enhance student engagement and foster lasting behavioral change when aligned with course objectives. This study contributes to the sustainability education literature by linking active pedagogy, emotional engagement, and behavioral outcomes and offers practical implications for student-centered curriculum design in higher education. Full article

The teaching profession plays a central role in shaping educational quality and student development, yet it is increasingly characterized by high job demands and increasing pressures. Against this backdrop, this study examines how individual proactive behaviors (i.e., structural and social job crafting) interact with relational resources (i.e., LMX), to foster teachers’ emotional well-being and professional functioning, drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model and LMX theory. Using cross-sectional survey data from 374 Flemish public secondary school teachers, we investigated the relationships between job crafting, well-being, and performance outcomes, as well as the mediating role of LMX. The results indicate that both forms of job crafting are significantly associated with lower emotional exhaustion and higher teacher enthusiasm and creative performance. Moreover, LMX emerged as a key, yet underexplored, mediating mechanism linking job crafting to teacher well-being and enthusiasm. These findings advance theoretical understanding of how proactive work behaviors translate into positive outcomes in educational contexts and highlight the importance of high-quality leader–teacher relationships. From a practical perspective, the results suggest that encouraging teachers’ job crafting behaviors alongside supportive school leadership may be crucial for fostering sustainable well-being and performance in education. Full article

This paper presents the findings of a study on computer science teachers’ views regarding the reform of the computer science curriculum and its implementation in Greek model and experimental lower secondary schools (called Gymnasiums). Research data were collected through interviews with 19 computer science teachers who implemented the new curriculum in 12 model or experimental junior high schools. The results showed that the teachers acknowledged the important role of the computer science curriculum, which is perceived as a tool guiding their instruction. They have also understood and adopted, to a large extent, many elements of the instructional framework proposed by the new curriculum: (a) student-centred teaching approaches; (b) learning activities that promote students’ active participation, inquiry, and collaborative learning; (c) focus on the expected students’ learning outcomes related to developing a range of computational competences such as digital skills, computational thinking, problem-solving skills, creativity, and collaboration; and (d) students’ assessment is constructively aligned with the anticipated learning outcomes, including the learning activities implemented as well as their digital-computational creations. Full article

The relationship between sound and visual representation has long intrigued artists and educators, with historical explorations ranging from colour–music correspondence to alternative notations and graphic visualisations of music. Recent advances in digital technologies have significantly expanded the pedagogical potential of visual information in music education. However, there is still no comprehensive review mapping how visual information is applied in digital music education tools. This scoping review maps the application of visual modalities in original digital tools for music teaching and learning, drawing on 63 studies published between 2014 and 2024. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting guidelines, this review analyses the methodological characteristics, pedagogical foundations, and design features of these tools. Findings reveal a dominant focus on performance skills and individual learning, often supported by visual feedback and interactivity. However, other aspects of learning such as creativity, responsiveness, and collaboration remain underexplored. While references to concepts such as multimodality and embodied learning are common, a robust theoretical grounding is frequently lacking or implicit. This review calls for a shift from technology-driven innovation toward pedagogy-led design, advocating for a more holistic educational approach and more rigorous empirical research. Implications highlight the potential of visual information not only to support performance skill acquisition but also to foster creative, expressive, and collaborative dimensions of music learning. Full article

Against the dual backdrop of the rural revitalization strategy and the pursuit of high-quality, balanced urban–rural education, optimizing rural campus spaces has emerged as an important lever for addressing educational resource disparities and improving pedagogical quality. However, conventional evaluation of campus space optimization faces two systemic dilemmas. First, top-down decision-making often neglects the authentic needs of diverse stakeholders and place-based knowledge, resulting in spatial interventions that lose regional distinctiveness. Second, routine public participation is constrained by geographical barriers, time costs, and sample-size limitations, which can amplify professional cognitive bias and impede comprehensive feedback formation. The compounded effect of these challenges contributes to a disconnect between spatial optimization outcomes and perceived needs, thereby constraining the distinctive development of rural educational spaces. To address these constraints, this study proposes a novel method that integrates regional spatial feature recognition with digital media-based public perception assessment. At the data collection and ethical governance level, the study strictly adheres to platform compliance and academic ethics. A total of 12,800 preliminary comments were scraped from major social media platforms (e.g., Douyin, Dianping, and Xiaohongshu) and processed through a three-stage screening workflow—keyword screening–rule-based filtering–manual verification—to yield 8616 valid records covering diverse public groups across China. All user-identifying information was fully anonymized to ensure lawful use and privacy protection. At the analytical modeling level, we develop a Transformer-based deep learning system that leverages multi-head attention mechanisms to capture implicit spatial-sentiment features and metaphorical expressions embedded in review texts. Evaluation on an independent test set indicates a classification accuracy of 89.2%, aligning with balanced and stable scoring performance. Robustness is further strengthened by introducing an equal-weight alternative strategy and conducting stability checks to indicate the consistency of model outputs across weighting assumptions. At the scenario interpretation level, we combine grounded-theory coding with semantic network analysis to establish a three-tier spatial analysis framework—macro (landscape pattern/hydro-topological patterns), meso (architectural interface), and micro (teaching scenes/pedagogical scenarios)—and incorporate an interpretive stakeholder typology (tourists, residents, parents, and professional groups) to systematically identify and quantify key features shaping public spatial perception. Findings show that, at the macro level, naturally integrated scenarios—such as “campus–farmland integration” and “mountain–water embeddedness”—exhibit high affective association, aligning with the “mountain-water-field-village” spatial sequence logic and suggesting broad public endorsement of ecological campus concepts, whereas vernacular settlement-pattern scenarios receive relatively low attention due to cognitive discontinuities. At the meso level, innovative corridor strategies (e.g., framed vistas and expanded corridor spaces) strengthen the building–nature interaction and suggest latent value in stimulating exploratory spatial experience. At the micro level, place-based practice-oriented teaching scenes (e.g., intangible cultural heritage handcraft and creative workshops) achieve higher scores, aligning with the compatibility of vernacular education’s “differential esthetics,” while urban convergence-oriented interdisciplinary curriculum scenes suggest an interpretive gap relative to public expectations. These results indicate an embedded relationship between public perception and regional spatial features, which is further shaped by a multi-actor governance process—characterized by “Government + Influencers + Field Study”—that mediates how rural educational spaces are produced, communicated, and interpreted in digital environments. The study’s innovative value lies in integrating sociological theories (e.g., embeddedness) with deep learning techniques to fill the regional and multi-actor perspective gap in rural campus POE and to promote a methodological shift from “experience-based induction” toward a “data-theory” dual-drive model. The findings provide inferential evidence for rural campus renewal and optimization; the methodological pipeline is transferable to small-scale rural primary schools with media exposure and salient regional ecological characteristics, and it offers a new pathway for incorporating digital media-driven public perception feedback into planning and design practice. The research methodology of this study consists of four sequential stages, which are implemented in a systematic and progressive manner: First, data collection was conducted: Python and the Octopus Collector were used to crawl online comment data related to Fuwen Township Central Primary School, strictly complying with the user agreements of the Douyin, Dianping, and Xiaohongshu platforms. Second, semantic preprocessing was performed: The evaluation content was segmented to generate word frequency statistics and semantic networks; qualitative analysis was conducted using Origin software, and quantitative translation was realized via Sankey diagrams. Third, spatial scene coding was carried out: Combined with a spatial characteristic identification system, a macro–meso–micro three-tier classification system for spatial scene characteristics was constructed to encode and quantitatively express the textual content. Finally, sentiment quantification and correlation analysis was implemented: A deep learning model based on the Transformer framework was employed to perform sentiment quantification scoring for each comment; Sankey diagrams were used to quantitatively correlate spatial scenes with sentiment tendencies, thereby exploring the public’s perceptual associations with the architectural spatial environment of rural campuses. Full article

This study investigates the development and impact of a teaching–learning sequence (TLS) designed for biology students with the aim of enhancing their understanding of key aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI). The TLS was developed within a design-based research (DBR) framework and centers on Griffith’s pivotal historical experiment to provide contextual depth and integrate both epistemic and non-epistemic dimensions of science. Instruction was based on explicit and reflective inquiry involving progressive scaffolding of students from structured towards more open investigative activities. An initial implementation with nine students, drawing on data from questionnaires and interviews, revealed their prior views regarding several NOS and NOSI aspects. Following the TLS, students demonstrated a more sophisticated understanding of the role of research questions in guiding experimental design, as well as a richer conception of scientific hypotheses. They also internalized the experimental logic underlying Griffith’s work and recognized the importance of creativity and imagination in scientific practice. The study discusses contextual limitations and highlights the potential of TLSs to provide robust instructional contexts, making NOS and NOSI aspects meaningful and accessible to students through historical experiments. Full article

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which criterion-referenced originality scores are related to scores generated through alternative measures of originality (i.e., sample-based scoring and expert-referenced scoring) in mathematical problem-solving tasks. Drawing on data from 520 students enrolled in a public elementary school situated in a culturally diverse metropolitan area of New South Wales, Australia, the criterion-referenced approach was compared psychometrically with sample-based and expert-referenced scoring approaches. Another focus for analysis was on how each scoring system describes the relationship between originality and fluency. The results are important for ongoing debates about creativity and educational assessment, highlighting the implications of scoring methods for the interpretation of students’ original mathematical thinking. The study contributes important information for the design of fair and meaningful assessment and scoring practices. Full article

Higher education is in a period of change driven by increasing demands for student-centred learning, flexible delivery, and stronger industry relevance. While innovation in course design is widely recognised as essential, academics often face barriers such as limited time, institutional constraints, budget and financial constraints and risk aversion. Building on previous pedagogical and innovation models, this paper presents the enabling innovation framework, developed through an iterative, design-thinking process and grounded in Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory. The framework conceptualises three interconnected modes of innovation: everyday, strategic, and radical. The development of each mode highlights the importance of time and scholarly activity as underpinning concepts of the framework. Everyday innovation involves small, often spontaneous adjustments to teaching practice; strategic innovation is collaborative and aligns with institutional or program-level goals; and radical innovation is transformative, disrupting existing practices to create new cultures of learning. Together, these modes offer multiple entry points into innovation, encouraging academics to engage meaningfully with course design regardless of their level of risk appetite or institutional positioning. By framing innovation as a continuum supported by scholarship, the framework provides educators with a practical scaffold to initiate and sustain pedagogical change. This work argues that enabling innovation at different levels fosters a stronger culture of creativity, adaptability, and quality in higher education teaching and learning. Full article

Despite the growing adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in higher education, limited research has examined how future educators perceive and use these technologies in their academic practices. This study investigates the practices, perceived benefits, and challenges associated with the use of GenAI tools—such as ChatGPT—among undergraduate students enrolled in programs that confer teaching qualifications. Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 314 students from the Early Childhood Education, Philosophy, and Philology departments. The findings indicate that the majority of students use GenAI tools primarily for academic purposes, most commonly for information searching, data analysis, study advice, and exam preparation. Students reported several perceived benefits, including rapid access to information, time efficiency, improved comprehension of complex concepts, enhanced study organization, and support with assignments and research-related tasks such as summarizing or translating academic texts. At the same time, participants expressed notable concerns, particularly regarding over-reliance on AI, reduced personal effort, risks to academic integrity, diminished critical thinking, and weakened research skills. Additional challenges included misinformation, reduced creativity, improper use of AI-generated content, skill underdevelopment, and potential technological dependence. The study concludes that teacher education programs should systematically integrate AI literacy and responsible-use training to prepare future educators to address the pedagogical and ethical implications of GenAI in educational settings. Full article

This study investigated conceptual change in novice English teachers’ understanding of English teaching fostered through an Attentive Teaching-based professional development course. In particular, the practice of an approach called Attentive Teaching applied to English teaching enabled the participants to expand their initial concept of English teaching; this change can be seen in multimodal artifacts the teachers produced, involving a visual representation, a written explanation, and an oral presentation. In the course, the concept of teaching English was explored by applying the Attentive Teaching approach, which aligns with other action-oriented approaches under the CEFR framework. The main findings reveal a change in the novice teachers’ understanding: they initially perceived teaching from the outside; as learners, however, following the course, they positioned themselves as leaders of the teaching process in the classroom. This change was observed through creative multimodal products in which each participant expressed their unique point of view, produced at the beginning and the end of the course. The findings illustrate a conceptual change at both the individual and group levels regarding the participants’ understanding of the concept of English teaching. Thus, the practice of Attentive English Teaching is a promising pedagogical tool for inducing and observing conceptual change in novice teachers. Full article

The research explores the educational potential of artistic mediation with children at risk of social exclusion, drawing on the narratives of twenty early years and primary school teachers. Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, it examines perceptions of openness to the creative process, the use of art in teaching practice and its value as a socio-educational tool. The findings show that experiences of artistic mediation generate feelings of harmony, concentration and achievement, thus fostering a more collaborative and emotionally balanced classroom climate. The study also observes that art serves as a means for teachers’ reflective practice, encouraging critical thinking, the formulation of questions and an approach to assessment that focuses more on processes than products. In vulnerable contexts, artistic mediation proves particularly effective for expressing emotions, strengthening self-esteem and reinforcing group cohesion. Taken together, the findings suggest that artistic mediation should be understood beyond its instrumental value, recognising it as a transformative practice that promotes both educational inclusion and professional reflection on teaching, thereby helping to enhance the quality and humanistic purpose of pedagogical interventions. Full article

Education in entrepreneurship offers university students the opportunity to develop sound problem-solving and critical-thinking dexterity, which are crucial for navigating contemporary higher education. This research explores the opportunities and challenges of education in entrepreneurship within universities based in Lebanon, focusing on the role of fostering entrepreneurial alertness/awareness. This paper further examines how emerging technologies—specifically Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI)—impact these relationships. In spite of the increasing relevance of entrepreneurship, the results reveal constant limitations in students’ innovation and creativity, together with a lack of mentorship and training prospects for teachers. The study underlines the importance of integrating innovative systems, digital technological means, and sustainable education values to support SDG 4 (Quality Education) and reinforce learning quality environments. To empirically explore the relationships between the variables, the research uses a quantitative research design, using SmartPLS4 to investigate the structural paths between entrepreneurship education, student innovative behavior, entrepreneurial alertness, and the use of Gen-AI. Our data was collected from 197 participants through a validated survey scheme, together with insights received from instructors and students. The results indicate that instructors consider entrepreneurship education positively and recognize the potential of Gen-AI to improve teaching quality, encourage entrepreneurial alertness, and strengthen quality learning practices. Students also highlighted their requirement to acquire new skills and access new opportunities to enhance their decision-making abilities. Generally, the results/findings suggest that entrepreneurship education—emboldened by entrepreneurial alertness and moderated by Gen-AI—plays a vital role in improving students’ innovative behaviors and progressing SDG 4 through high-quality, inclusive, and transformative higher education. Full article