Language-dependent knowledge acquisition: Mechanisms underlying language-switching costs in arithmetic fact learning

Within the research on bilingual learning, first studies have revealed that content learned in one language is retrieved more slowly when participants have to switch language from instruction to testing (i.e., language-switching costs, LSC). These costs are attributed to language-dependent knowledge representations. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying LSC are still largely unknown. We investigated these mechanisms by using strategy as well as translation self-reports and by analysing oscillatory parameters in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Thirty-six university students learned arithmetic facts of three different operations over four days either in English or in German. Afterwards, they were tested in both languages with concurrent assessments of self-reports and electrophysiological activity. As expected, LSC in response latencies were observed in all arithmetic tasks. More importantly, analyses of self-reports and EEG revealed that both translation processes and calculation procedures contribute to LSC, with translation processes being the main cognitive mechanism underlying LSC. These results corroborate previous findings of language-dependent knowledge representations in arithmetic fact learning and shed new light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying LSC and possible educational consequences

A momentary view of engagement in collaborative learning: Triangulation through multimodal data

Despite recognising momentary challenges while learning, collaborative groups do not necessarily regulate and adapt their learning process according to the demands. Various online measures have recently been explored to unobtrusively study engagement and adaptation in collaborative learning (CL), as it occurs in the classroom. For example, physiological synchrony derived from electrodermal activity (EDA) has been a prominent reflector of momentary engagement in CL. However, how physiological synchrony relates to students’ views about CL, regulation of learning, and performance remains unclear. This study investigates how momentary measures of physiological synchrony, students’ perceived value of CL, and regulation of learning, align and further relate to group performance. The participants were 94 students attending a physics course consisting of four 90-minute lessons and a collaborative exam. Each lesson included a CL task. At the beginning and end of each session, students reported their perceived value of CL. Students’ EDA was recorded to derive physiological synchrony. Co-regulation (CoRL) and socially shared regulation (SSRL) were coded from the video. Results suggest that when groups show higher physiological synchrony, they perceive their CL as less valuable and tend to perform worse in collaborative exams. It seems that self-reports on the value of CL, rather than physiological synchrony, may better reflect the regulation of CL. Interestingly, the association patterns for CoRL and SSRL differed, as frequent CoRL was linked to the less valued CL, while SSRL tended towards a positive relation. The study demonstrates the complex and multidimensional role of momentary engagement in CL

Analyzing teachers’ scripts from teachers’ reflections after they tried to encourage students’ flexible mathematical thinking

Teachers play a key role in promoting flexible mathematical thinking in society. There is a growing need to develop better methods for both pre- and in-service teacher training, but not enough is so far understood about what knowledge and skills teachers use in practical teaching situations. The means for investigating this are few. A new analytic framework was developed using abductive content analysis to investigate signs of script restructuring and construction as they appear in teachers' written reflections reporting their experiences in applying novel methods in their classrooms. Scripts are mental knowledge structures combining formal professional knowledge and the knowledge teachers use in practical situations with representations, assessments, and predictions of different classroom events. Scripts enable teachers to make (rapid) snap decisions to structure their teaching and manage classrooms to facilitate students' attention towards objectives, activities, and information that support learning. In this multiple case qualitative study, six teachers enrolled on the “Flexible and Adaptive Arithmetic Skills in Primary School” course, part of the JoMa (Towards Flexible Mathematics) in-service training program, teaching assignment and end-of-course reflections were investigated in depth. The goal was to advance the application of script theory to the study of teachers' actions and thinking as they engage in teaching intended to promote flexible mathematical thinking. The results suggest that signs of script restructuring and construction can be investigated post-hoc from textual accounts, scripts may have a considerable influence on teachers’ actions and thinking, and by engaging in teaching practice in real-life settings and reflecting on these accumulating experiences, processes leading to script development may be initiated. The results suggest that the analytic framework developed is functional and robust, paving the way for future investigations with larger samples. This study provided a more profound understanding of how online in-service education can support teachers to develop scripts supporting their competences to teach mathematical flexibility.

Yupana Inka Tawa Pukllay arithmetic eye tracking analysis: novices

The concept of number emerges from the interaction of psychological, behavioral, and material elements of numerical cognition, collapsing the distinction between "abstract" and "concrete." This dual nature is evident in the Inca numerical system, where tools like the yupana integrate abstract numerical concepts with concrete materials. The Yupana Inka Tawa Pukllay (YITP), a Peruvian arithmetic method, enhances mathematical and visual-spatial skills through tile-based board games. While effective with children, its impact on university students is unexplored. This research used eye tracking to study gaze and attention during YITP operations, comparing novices and experts. Eight university students and two experts participated, with eye-tracking data and scatter plot (dispersion plot) analyses collected using Tobii Pro Glasses. The study introduced the Variation Ratio Tokens (VRT) metric to assess visual attention efficiency, showing significant improvements in VRT dispersion and attention during the arithmetic learning process. These findings suggest YITP's potential in higher education for improving cognitive processes and arithmetic performance, laying a foundation for future research and innovative educational practices. This work establishes a foundation for cross-cultural cognitive studies and innovative STEM education approaches leveraging ancestral knowledge systems

Perspectives on Momentary Engagement and Learning Situated in Classroom Contexts

In recent years, there has been a strong call for more fine-grained analyses of student engagement to better capture its nature as a situated, momentary phenomenon. This special issue aims to promote cross-disciplinary discussions about the complex processes involved in students’ momentary engagement and learning situated in classroom contexts. Momentary engagement is conceptualized as students’ involvement with learning activities over short time intervals. We begin by presenting definitional, conceptual, and methodological reflections on the construct of momentary engagement, highlighting how moment-to-moment analyses can deepen our understanding of how engagement unfolds in complex, dynamic learning environments. Next, we discuss the need for a holistic and multidisciplinary perspective to foster an integrative understanding of contexts and conditions under which students engage in academic tasks. Finally, we provide a brief overview of the papers in this special issue, emphasising their diverse methodological approaches to capturing students’ momentary engagement and summarizing their main results that offer practical insights on supporting engagement. Each contribution reflects the efforts of a multidisciplinary team who have studied students’ momentary engagement and learning across various contexts, combining insights and identifying cross-disciplinary synergies in theory and method. The authors integrate perspectives from various fields of research, including motivation, emotion, self-regulation, engagement, social interaction and conceptual change. Their research draws on student samples from the United States, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.&nbsp

The impact of academically and socially focused peer relations on children’s engagement and academic progress in primary school

Previous research suggests connections between peer relationships and children’s engagement and learning within the classroom. However few studies have explored these connections in detail or considered the possible processes that may begin to explain the linkages. This study collected systematic data from different respondents within primary school settings to help clarify the role of peers in classroom engagement and learning. Over 800 pupils based in English primary schools were involved in a multi-method study. Peer-sociometric questionnaires provided measures of academic peer relations, informal-social peer relations, such as being accepted as a work partner and liked as a person to play with, playground group centrality and leadership. Self-report questionnaires provided data on school engagement, disengagement, and disaffection. Science attainment data were collected at the start and end of the year. Momentary behavioural engagement was observed in classrooms for a subsample of pupils who were also rated by their teachers in terms of their attention and behaviour in class. Findings revealed small to moderate associations between peer relations measures, multiple measures of school and classroom engagement, attainment, and progress. Multiple regressions examined peer relations measures relative to momentary, classroom and school engagement and learning outcomes. Findings highlight important overlaps and differences in the predictors of different types of engagement. They also highlight the variety of ways in which peer relationships, whether academically or socially focused, may have different implications for engagement at momentary, classroom, and school levels. Findings indicate that academic peer acceptance is predictive of engagement at the different levels and science attainment. However, informal-social peer relations were more highly connected with class disruption, school disengagement and disaffection and were negative predictors of attainment and progress over the year. This suggests different pathways for children with different types of relationships with peers relative to engagement and adjustment highlighting complex connections between social and academic life in school

Supporting Integration of Multiple Source Perspectives Through Dialogic Argumentation

We report a study examining, for the first time, the effectiveness of engagement in dialogic argumentation in relation to its ability to promote integration of multiple source perspectives in an argumentive writing task after reading controversial multiple texts. Sixty-four primary school students engaged in a dialog-based intervention aiming to support them to learn to argue. Participants’ argument skills have been improved and transferred to a writing task completed after reading novel multiple texts on new, non-intervention, topics. In particular, the experimental group participants showed gains in their ability to integrate multiple source perspectives in an argumentive writing task after reading controversial multiple texts, compared with a control group which engaged in business-as-usual school curriculum. Microgenetic data revealed a progressive development of experimental participants’ integration skill throughout their engagement in the argumentive discourse activity. The findings have important educational implications. They show that learning to argue by engaging in dialogic argumentation is a promising pathway for supporting the ability to integrate multiple source perspectives after reading controversial multiple texts

Children’s Momentary Behavioural Engagement and Class Size: A National Systematic Observation Study : Momentary Behavioural Engagement

This study used systematic observation to test the direct and moderating effects of class size on children’s momentary behavioural engagement in learning. Data were collected with 632 children (50.6% girls) in 121 classrooms in 92 schools recruited into the Children’s School Lives national cohort study of Irish primary schooling. The Observational and Research Classroom Learning Evaluation (ORACLE) systematic observation tool was used to observe individual children’s behaviour at 30-seconds intervals across a five-minute period in ordinary lessons of English, mathematics, science and Irish. Multilevel path models identified that behavioural engagement was higher in smaller classes and behavioural disengagement was higher in larger classes. Class size also moderated the impact of several individual differences and classroom composition factors on momentary behavioural engagement. For example, smaller classrooms protected lower ability children from disengaging whereas higher ability children were more likely to stay engaged in larger classes compared to lower ability children. Implications for research, practice and policy are discussed

Optimal Learning Moments in Finnish and US Science Classrooms: A Psychological Network Analysis Approach

Engagement can be situative and, when it occurs, a number of experiences will co-occur. The present study examined the co-occurred experiences of optimal learning moments (OLM), a type of situated engagement, using the novel network analysis and including data from two countries: Finland and the US. Both samples were from high schools and were measured using the experience sampling method. The Finnish sample consisted of 282 students (age = 15-16) and was assessed in science lessons only. The US sample consisted of 533 students at the same age. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that, when OLM occurred, feelings of concentration, success, in control, and meeting self and others’ expectations appeared frequently. These results were highly consistent between Finnish and US science classrooms. Further analysis found optimal learning moments were mutually reinforced by the creative experiences, feelings of competitiveness and pride, and the attitudes toward science practices. As a result, an updated optimal learning moment framework was proposed to understand its enhancers, detractors, accelerants, and outcomes in science learning situations. This provides new theoretical accounts regarding the co-occurring experiences of optimal learning moments

Exploring Math Moments: Middle-schoolers’ Phases of Problem-solving, Executive Functions in Practice, and Collaborative Problem Solving

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) has been shown to both engage and benefit students’ learning of mathematics. However, there is evidence that group work is not always easy to facilitate, in part because educators lack details about learners’ engagement during group work: the processes of problem solving involved, and how these are engaged. In this exploratory study, we focused on these processes in the moments of related math activity, or math moments, engaged by two groups of interested, urban, middle-school aged students during four sessions of work in the Virtual Math Teams (VMT) environment. We examined three phases of their problem solving: Exploring, Constructing, and Checking. In addition, to further describe the students’ cognitive and behavioral engagement, we considered both the process of students' use of executive functions (EF), during problem solving, termed executive functions in practice (EFP), as well as the stage of CPS (Participation, Cooperation, and Collaboration), during phases of problem solving. We learned that the relation between each phase of problem solving, categories of EFP, and stages of CPS vary; for example, the problem-solving phase of Exploring was found to have a more positive effect on EFP and CPS than either Constructing or Checking. Implications for educational practice, and next steps for related research are described