Design-based learning (DBL) is widely promoted as a way to enhance authenticity and engagement in engineering education, yet empirical evidence remains limited on how students in Chinese application-oriented undergraduate engineering programmes perceive DBL opportunities and how these perceptions relate to student engagement and engineering thinking. This study examines the associations among perceived DBL, multidimensional student engagement, and self-perceived engineering thinking using survey data from 407 undergraduate engineering students who had completed at least one DBL project. Survey scales captured students' perceptions of DBL activities, their behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement, and their self-perceived engineering thinking. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was conducted using a disjoint two-stage approach, with the Stage-2 higher-order model estimated via the consistent PLS algorithm (PLSc). Results showed that perceived DBL strongly predicted student engagement and engineering thinking, and that engagement partially mediated the DBL - engineering thinking relationship. The findings highlight student engagement as a proximal process through which design-rich pedagogy may support higher-order thinking in application-oriented engineering classrooms.
This qualitatively driven mixed-methods inquiry investigates how 39 pre-service EFL teachers (PSETs) in Indonesia negotiate pedagogical agency through strategic translanguaging. Analysis of survey and focus group data indicates a perceived relationship between the flexible orchestration of linguistic resources and heightened student involvement. Specifically, 84.6% of respondents reported that translanguaging increased students' cognitive engagement, while 76.9% noted a positive shift in the affective climate. These findings suggest that strategic translanguaging functions as a situated form of pedagogical agency, providing essential anchors for meaning-making in superdiverse secondary classrooms. The study concludes that validating students' full semiotic repertoires may mitigate foreign language anxiety and facilitate interactional inquiry, though these results remain tentative and context-specific.
The objective of this study was to examine the mediating role of homework motivation (expectancy and value) in the relationship between parental homework involvement (content, autonomy, and control) and homework completion. Data were collected from 589 middle and high school students in T & uuml;rkiye and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) and model comparison procedures. The findings confirmed that homework motivation mediated the relationship between parental homework involvement and homework completion. Among the three dimensions of parental homework involvement, autonomy support showed the strongest associations. Autonomy support was positively related to expectancy and value, whereas content support and control were negatively related to both constructs. Expectancy and value were significantly associated with homework completion. Moreover, the relationships among parental homework involvement, homework motivation, and homework completion differed by school level. Among high school students, some forms of parental homework involvement were linked to lower motivation and, indirectly, to lower homework completion. Taken together, the findings underscore the critical role of autonomy-supportive parental practices in fostering students' motivation and improving homework outcomes, while also offering guidance for educators and parents seeking to enhance homework engagement across different educational levels.
Modern chemistry is an interdisciplinary field encompassing sub-disciplines such as organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry. These areas are closely interconnected, forming the foundation for a comprehensive understanding of chemical phenomena. In university teacher education, however, they are often taught separately, which can hinder prospective teachers from grasping chemistry as an integrated system. Developing a deep, interconnected understanding of chemical content is essential for professional competence. Only teachers who can recognize and reflect on these interconnections are able to convey complex topics effectively and highlight interdisciplinary links in their teaching. Consequently, fostering both interconnection knowledge and interconnection understanding is increasingly important. This study explores how these skills can be specifically promoted among chemistry teacher education students. The research focuses on the use of an advance organizer (AO) in the form of a concept map (CM), a visual tool designed to structure and support the integration of content. The study examines both students' knowledge of content interconnections and their metacognitive awareness of these links, providing insights into how prospective teachers develop the ability to understand and apply chemistry as an interconnected, coherent system.
Epistemic trust in the science community is pivotal to their everyday work. Without it, scientists have a limited voice in their field. However, it has been unjustly limited due to ascribed characteristics (race, gender). Furthermore, our understanding of how epistemic trust functions within the narratives of scientists with disabilities (ScWDs) is limited. Using a case study, this research amplifies the voices of seven ScWDs as meaningful sources of knowledge and insight into their lives. Findings provide more nuance to the concept of epistemic trust - inherent in their stories is the impact of disability on competence, integrity and goodwill. For example, competence takes on a different meaning, challenging conventional expectations and disrupts ableist views. These theoretical nuances are discussed and can support future research in science education in understanding how people with disabilities (PWD) develop relationships with their peers, colleagues and teachers. Teachers can reflect on their concepts of competency, and how students with disabilities might demonstrate their knowledge and creativity in science classroom. Researchers, teachers, and administrators can re-engage with concepts of goodwill and how PWDs are motivated by helping others. Ultimately, understanding ScWDs' lived experiences provides a new perspective on epistemic trust within the scientific community and science education.
Listening proficiency is critical to language development in children and adults learning a second language. Many bilingual language learners, however, find listening to be challenging because they do not have good control over cognitive processes during listening. Many language teachers also remain unsure of how best to teach listening. This article proposes an approach that begins with an understanding of learners' internal factors which research has shown to influence listening processes. After explaining listening processes in listening, it focuses on how three factors - linguistic knowledge, metacognition, and first language (L1) listening - may influence second language (L2) comprehension. We invite language educators to consider how these theoretical and research insights can assist them in reviewing their current methods for teaching listening. We address three questions that teachers ask by drawing on implications from the theory and research findings presented. The article concludes with some thoughts on listening research that are valuable for teaching practice.
This study examined Japanese high school students' perceptions of the human elements of science (HEOS) within the nature of science (NOS) framework, an area for which limited empirical evidence is currently available. Participants included 605 students from three public high schools in southern Japan. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, and non-parametric tests were conducted to examine differences by gender, course type, and grade level. Overall, students expressed neutral views on the suitability of boys/men and girls/women for science education and did not strongly endorse gender-based differences. Female students in both course types believed that girls/women are not suitable for engineering. Students valued socio-emotional competencies, imagination, and creativity, alongside cognitive competencies, for scientists, but tended to underestimate the social aspects of scientific practice. Most students thought that scientific questions could be answered through observations and experimentation; however, some expressed doubts. They agreed that the development of science and technology benefits society and vice versa. Although they acknowledged science's negative influence on society such as ethical issues caused by the development of genetic modification, they believed that scientific assistance could address these issues. Further research is needed to clarify how students can learn HEOS and related social values.
This study explores the role of PILL eTwinning project in fostering intercultural citizenship and related 21st-century skills within an EFL course in a public Anatolian high school in Northern Turkiye. An instrumental case study design was followed to investigate fifteen Turkish students' motivations, experiences, and challenges encountered throughout the project. Findings indicate that students were motivated primarily by professional language advancement, certification, and peer/teacher/family support. The project facilitated the development of intercultural skills, such as empathy and cultural awareness, by engaging students in poetry-based analysis, collaborative interpretation and meaning-making, and discussions that required attention to cultural perspectives. The enhancement of 21st-century skills was noted, mainly through digital collaboration and critical thinking. However, technical challenges and procedural barriers restricted full participation. These findings highlight the need for supportive structures and richer intercultural exchanges in educational programs to effectively cultivate intercultural citizenship skills, with implications for digital and intercultural curriculum design.
This study, conducted in Tehran, Iran, examines how auditory stimuli can enhance expressive depth, emotional engagement, and narrative complexity in adult L2 learners. Grounded in phenomenology, embodied cognition, and arts-based pedagogy, the research employed a multi-method design combining curated soundscapes, learner-generated sound diaries, and collaborative sound-collage projects. Twelve multilingual participants produced oral and written narratives in response to auditory and visual prompts, collected both immediately and after a delay. Analyses integrated linguistic metrics (lexical diversity, metaphorical density, narrative coherence), phenomenological thematic coding of reflective journals, and artistic examination of sound-collages, with triangulation ensuring rigour. Findings indicate that soundscapes elicit richer autobiographical recall, heightened embodied resonance, and greater metaphorical and affective expression than visual prompts. Collaborative sound-collages further fostered creativity, social interaction, and shared meaning-making. These results highlight the pedagogical and theoretical significance of multisensory, arts-based approaches in second language acquisition, demonstrating that integrating auditory and participatory modalities can enhance narrative fluency, emotional depth, and learner engagement. The study contributes to reconceptualizing multimodal pedagogy as a dynamic, sensory-rich approach to language learning.
Modelling is a central scientific practice, yet many science teachers still present models as fixed depictions rather than tentative, evidence-constrained tools. This reflects both teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for modelling and their epistemologies of models (EoM). Professional development addressing both dimensions remains limited. This study investigates Lesson Study (LS) as a mechanism for reshaping EoM and strengthening modelling-specific PCK. Five secondary science teachers engaged in two LS cycles over five months. Data from lesson observations, reflective dialogues, and interviews were inductively analysed to identify mechanisms of teacher learning. Four features of LS proved powerful: (1) self-reteaching, where teachers re-implemented revised lessons to transform reflection into enacted change; (2) critical reflection and dialogue, which tied instructional adjustments to student evidence; (3) knowledgeable others as catalysts, who injected theoretical clarity and challenged assumptions; and (4) master teachers as anchors, who grounded discussions in pedagogical expertise. These mechanisms shifted instruction from transmissive presentations of models towards constructivist engagement in generating, evaluating, and revising models. The study contributes a process model of LS as "plan - do - see-(self)reteach," positioning self-reteaching as a novel catalyst of growth. Findings highlight how epistemological aims can be embedded in LS to support sustainable teacher learning.
This paper investigates how multiliteracies pedagogy, translanguaging, and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) intersect in higher education language and literacy courses. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, we analyse two case studies. Case Study 1 is a GenAI-supported virtual exchange between undergraduates at a Greek and a US university (N = 24) who used AI image generators and translation tools to co-construct visual representations of cultural themes. Case Study 2 involves 20 students in Greek - English and Spanish - English online courses who used a digital learning platform with machine translation and peer review tools to design bilingual, multimodal brochures. Data sources include pre/post and post-activity surveys, learning analytics, multimodal artefacts, open-ended written reflections, and focus group interviews. Survey and analytics data were analysed descriptively, and qualitative data underwent thematic analysis; results were integrated through cross-case synthesis using the lens of design, repertoire, and transposition. Across cases, GenAI-supported activities fostered advanced digital literacies, dense translanguaging practices, and more inclusive participation, while also surfacing stereotypes, cultural inaccuracies, and risks of over-reliance on AI outputs. The study argues that when GenAI tools are embedded in multiliteracies- and translanguaging-informed designs and supported by critical AI literacy, they can extend rather than replace human judgement in students' multimodal meaning-making.
Conducted in a 16-week digital storytelling course for B1-B2 level English majors, this study examines the role of Generative AI in developing EFL learners' multiliteracies through symbiotic learning -a form of human-AI collaboration that enhances design practice via digital storytelling. Two EFL learners were selected based on a purposeful sampling strategy. Multiple data sources were incorporated, including semi-structured interviews, digital videos, learners' reflections, and the primary researcher's reflective journals. This study employed content analysis to examine the human-AI co-creating process of multimodal compositions, utilizing Transpositional Grammar to analyze transitions among multimodal elements in learners' digital narratives. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) Role transformation in multimodal compositions with GenAI, (2) Development of multiliteracies through human-AI co-created multimodal compositions, and (3) Dynamic and negotiated agency in GenAI-supported multimodal compositions. Findings show learners effectively used GenAI to engage with semiotic resources and reach their goals. Through iterative prompting, revision, and refinement of AI outputs, learners developed multiliteracy skills. Symbiotic learning fosters agency, personalization, creativity, and critical decision-making. AI literacy, combining technical skill and critical awareness, is essential for responsible engagement. Pedagogically, integrating prompt engineering into curricula can enhance multiliteracies in the creation of AI-supported digital stories.
In this paper, we examine the resurgence of research on the relationships between pedagogy and physical learning environments in schools over the past twenty years and propose a research agenda to further advance the field. Acknowledging the field's evolution from earlier studies in the 1960s and 1970s to its current state, we identify two main research areas: the design of learning spaces and the pedagogical use of learning spaces, emphasising their interconnectedness. Recent studies have focused on flexible and innovative learning environments, spatial literacy and competency, and the alignment of pedagogy, physical space, and educational technology. Our proposed research agenda emphasises maximising pedagogical opportunities in learning spaces, exploring how environments can support pedagogical and technological progress, and investigating the impact of emerging technologies, including AI. Throughout, we stress the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in creating effective learning environments that respond to evolving educational needs and technological advancements. We also highlight the need to address issues of diversity and inclusion, well-being, community use, and varied stakeholder perspectives.
Despite the rapid worldwide increase in students' use of AI, reflexivity remains underdeveloped in both research and practice. To address this gap, we analyse two case studies involving students in the United States and in Denmark, who utilized generative AI tools for creative tasks involving writing and visual presentations. Our findings reveal a significant gap between students' recognition of ethical issues and their actual practices, highlighting burgeoning but superficial agency and limited reflexive engagement. Drawing on research on videogaming and literacies, we propose a new model for reflexive AI literacies based on three interconnected concepts: design and context, cybernetic relationships, and I-positions. This model emphasizes recursive, socially situated meaning making facilitated by reflexive pedagogy. Advocating for greater attention to reflexivity, we use this model to offer entry points for critically evaluating AI outputs, understanding biases, and assuming moral and ethical responsibility - key components for fostering sophisticated, responsible AI literacies essential for future education and society.
