Learning in high schools has used a lot of smartphone assistance to make it easier for students to understand the material explained by the teacher. However, with the many uses of smartphones in learning, of course, it must provide positive benefits to the ability of students, especially the science literacy ability. In this study, the objectives to be achieved are to examine how much the smartphone's usability in physics learning, examine students' science literacy and examine the effect of the smartphone’s usability on students' science literacy in physics learning. The method used in this study is a quantitative method with a research design used is a one-shot case study. The data on smartphone usability is obtained using a questionnaire, and science literacy of students is obtained through on physics science literacy test. The results of this study indicate that the smartphones usability and students' science literacy in physics learning are respectively in the high and medium categories with a respective percentage of 57.20% and 36.36%. The students' science literacy is influenced by the smartphone's usability in physics learning by 34.30%. These results indicate that smartphone usability by most students is very high, but has not been able to contribute optimally to students' science literacy. Therefore, special treatment is needed in utilizing the use of smartphones in physics learning so that students' science literacy can be optimized.

This study investigated the influences of social constructivist approaches on history teachers' opinions of social science education. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of social constructivist approaches and explore the views and practices of teachers in their current use of teaching approaches in social science education. For this study, a qualitative study approach was employed. The study was conducted at intermediate secondary schools in the city of Erbil. For open semi-structured interviews, eight teachers of social science education were purposely selected from eight intermediate secondary schools of grade ninth, and eight social science classes were observed. The results revealed that despite significant changes of the system of education, many challenges were identified in implementing social constructivist approaches in social science education such as the environment of fear, the shortage of proper public infrastructure, lack of care, and resources. Also, the study revealed several barriers like absence of sufficient well-designed teaching guidelines, lack of adequate clear instructions, inadequacy classroom teachers' autonomy, and no freedom. Lastly, the study ends up by specifying several conclusions.

The discussion about the loss of nationalism values in the Indonesian migrant workers’ (IMW’s) children in border areas, has become an important issue in the world of Indonesian education. The purpose of this study is to describe the role of Community Learning Center (CLC) in fostering nationalism values in IMW’s children, as well as to reveal the teaching experience and meaning of nationalism from the perspective of teachers at CLC Sarawak, Malaysia. The research uses qualitative method with case study approach that focuses on factors that can foster nationalism of IMW’s children. Data collection obtained through observation techniques, in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results showed meaningful findings according to the conditions in the education system in CLC, as well as socio-cultural conditions that affect every activity in the border area. The first finding indicates that CLC has an important (central) role in fostering the nationalism of IMW’s children in border areas. The second finding shows the fact that teachers are still experiencing some problems in the field, such as; limited access to information and communication, teacher education background, school conditions, limited educational units, learning facilities, and family and social environments. The third finding emphasizes the importance of nationalism for teachers who devote themselves to teaching in border areas, because teachers have a crucial role in transferring knowledge, providing meaningful learning experiences, and fostering the nationalism of IMW’s children.

English teachers had to retrain and build a new normal in order to prepare for an online classroom while keeping their teaching pedagogy and professional identity as a result of the sudden changes brought by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in education. In this study, the effect of English teachers' professional identity transformations, attitudes toward online teaching was explored. The study's sample comprises 130 English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers from a state and a foundation university in Turkey. The research data was gathered from a questionnaire, the Teacher Professional Identity scale, and a semi-structured interview with 12 volunteers. Qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews were apportioned into pattern coding and analyzed through content analysis. EFL lecturers did not appear to be properly prepared for their online pedagogical and technological difficulties, which had a deeply corrosive effect on teachers' professional identities as they shift away from face-to-face education. The results showed that participants who were educated on EduTech during their undergraduate education or as professional development affected their perceptions of professional identity throughout the transition to online language teaching. Future studies can broaden the field of study by making use of exploratory action research, awareness of the teaching community, and continued professional development.

In recent years, integrating technology into education continues to attract more attention along with the rapid growth of information and communication technology. In the literature, teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) plays an essential role in successfully integrating technology into teaching and learning contexts. This study aims to provide a comprehensive view of prior literature and some possible directions for researchers and educators for further TPACK studies. A total of 106 papers were chosen from the Springer database and synthesized. Frequency of annual publications, number of documents with and without TPACK in the title, research methods, number of authors, major contributed countries, most cited papers, and most productive journals in TPACK research were reviewed. The results showed that TPACK has continued to receive attention from researchers in the past decade. Among the reviewed publications, each of the 53 documents included the term TPACK in the title and abstract. To date, qualitative methods were more frequently adopted in TPACK research than quantitative, mixed, and non-empirical methods. Most papers published in TPACK research have two authors. When ranked by country, the US has the highest contribution compared to other countries in this field, followed by Turkey, Australia, Singapore, and Taiwan. The authors with the most cited papers were Min-Hsien Lee and Chin-Chung Tsai with 210 citations. Based on the number of articles published in TPACK, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher and TechTrends seemed to be the most contributing journal in this field.

This research presents an analysis of the value given to the game as an educational resource on social networks. The purpose of this study is to analyze the discourse on Twitter of the different educational agents (teachers and other educational professionals) to know the value given to the use of this tool and how the social network is an educational form of communication and interaction. From a qualitative methodology, a descriptive-interpretative study of the information on didactic/play strategies present in social networks is approached. The analysis is performed by the Nvivo12 software through matrices and content analysis. The results show that the game is mentioned within the speech on Twitter where it is alluded to its importance, value, application, etc. From an educational perspective, working in the classroom with the use of social networks provides some significant advantages; these networks offer interactive and effective teaching and learning tools. In addition, the integration of tools and applications. It is concluded that Twitter is an educational and formative way and where the value attributed to the game as a didactic resource is significant.

The following article is a qualitative study that analyses the perception of parents and high school students regarding teaching in times of Coronavirus disease COVID-19, with the idea of recognizing the facilitators and barriers for the teaching-learning process in the pandemic. The above, in the understanding that due to the sudden appearance of SARS-CoV-2, educational systems around the world had to adapt to virtual teaching, as a result of the confinement to which the population has been subjected during the year 2020 and a good part of the year 2021. The research is based on the interpretative-comprehensive paradigm, with a qualitative methodology, which considered the realization of four focus groups with students and four focus groups with secondary school parents, from two public high schools located in the province of Talca, Maule region, Chile. The findings of the study are related to the adverse effects of the pandemic on student learning, as a result of connectivity difficulties, and the emotional impact on the quality of life of young people and their families. On the other hand, learning at home is related to limited pedagogical strategies and evaluative aspects that do not allow verifying the real learning of the students.

Shortly after the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began, studies on the challenges faced by tertiary students during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) became available. However, the data sets were harvested early, as many countries began implementing ERT in response to the pandemic in March 2020. Many recent studies have failed to distinguish between the challenges faced by students enrolled in the laboratory and non-laboratory courses. There is still a dearth of literature on the difficulties encountered by students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the first year of ERT implementation. The purpose of this paper was to examine the various challenges faced by tertiary students enrolled in non-laboratory courses following the conclusion of the first year of ERT implementation. Contextualized in two state-owned higher education institutions in northern Luzon, this study employed a fundamental qualitative approach, with focus group discussions (FGDs) serving as the primary data collection technique. Five major themes emerged from the FGDs with 42 purposively selected tertiary students. These themes presented in the spider web illustration include (1) student-focused challenges, (2) instructional material-related challenges, (3) instructor-emanating challenges, (4) technology-related challenges, and (5) student support-related challenges. This article concludes that these issues must be dealt with immediately to facilitate the implementation of ERT in non-laboratory courses. These difficulties may also be dimensions of concerns about distance education, particularly in non-urban areas of the Philippines. The themes also provide some actual pictures of the student challenges in the initial year of ERT in college. This paper highlighted some implications for pedagogy and educational management, as well as future research directions.

In this research, the influence of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on 9th grade students’ mathematics achievement is analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. A posttest only with control group design was used to compare the mathematics marks of 9th grade students from the previous school year (before the pandemic, control group) and the current school year (during the pandemic, experimental group). Seventy-three students from a public high school in Spain attending class on alternate days participated in the study. Three focus group sessions were held with students, and five semi-structured interviews were conducted—two with teachers and three with students’ families. Results show statistically significant differences in students’ mathematics achievement, with students enrolled in 9th grade the previous (pre-pandemic) year outscoring their peers currently enrolled in 9th grade (during the pandemic) by 22.17%. An overall negative effect size of Hedge’s g = -1.11 was reported. Although significant statistical differences between groups were reported for both male and female students, the effect was 42.31% larger for male students (Hedge’s g = -1.11) than for females (Hedge’s g = -0.78). The qualitative information supported the quantitative results. Changes in educational settings, students’ lack of motivation, monotony, and students’ level of responsibility were qualitatively reported as factors that may explain this phenomenon. The main conclusion of this study is that the COVID-19 pandemic may be significantly and negatively affecting 9th grade students’ mathematics achievement.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an inevitable shift from face-to-face to distance learning, a phenomenon known as panic-gogy. Parents are the main students’ companions while studying at home. Although various studies show the constraints in this condition, few employ phenomenology that accurately describes people’s experience regarding a situation. Therefore, this study aimed to describe parents’ experience during distance learning mathematics using a phenomenology approach. The participants comprised 71 35-50-year-old parents of junior high school students. A Google form with open-ended questions was used as the main instrument in data collection. Data were analyzed using NVivo-12-assisted thematic analysis in coding, while source triangulation was used to strengthen the data trustworthiness. The results showed that students did not learn the content well due to poor explanations by the teacher. Furthermore, they did not study well at home due to signal constraints and quota limitations. This study recommends blended learning by combining limited face-to-face and online learning.

Teachers´ life-long learning and occupational well-being is significant in promoting educational goals and professional development. The aim of the study was to determine which factors contribute to teacher educators´ commitment to work and give them energy for work and self-development. The research data consisted of 24 teacher educators in Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The research method of this case study was a qualitative, thematic content analysis, the research approach phenomenography. The most important single factor seemed to be the community of teachers, students and the administrative staff which are included in dialogue and collaboration. Emotions, meaningfulness, and interaction play an important role, often via pedagogical fellowship. Committed teacher educators take responsibility for workplace culture and transformation of teaching. Positive attitudes, motivation, reflection, and dialogue seem to be connected to professional capability and the ethos of teacher educators´ work.

Visual representations and the process of visualisation have an important role in geometry learning. The optimal use of visual representations in complex multimedia environments has been an important research topic since the end of the last century. For the purpose of the study presented in this paper, we designed a model of learning geometry with the use of digital learning resources like dynamic geometry programmes and applets, which foster visualisation. Students explore geometric concepts through the manipulation of interactive virtual representations. This study aims to explore whether learning of geometry with digital resources is reflected in higher student achievements in solving geometric problems. This study also aims to explore the role of graphical representations (GRs) in solving geometric problems. The results of the survey show a positive impact of the model of teaching on student achievement. In the post-test, students in the experimental group (EG) performed significantly better than students in the control group (CG) in the overall number of points, in solving tasks without GR, in calculating the area and the perimeter of triangles and quadrilaterals than the CG students, in all cases with small size effect. The authors therefore argue for the use of digital technologies and resources in geometry learning, because interactive manipulatives support the transition between representations at the concrete, pictorial and symbolic (abstract) levels and are therefore important for understanding mathematical concepts, as well as for exploring relationships, making precise graphical representations (GRs), formulating and proving assumptions, and applying different problem-solving strategies.

This study focuses on online supervisory written feedback on PhD supervisees’ performance, given explicitly through online communication, particularly during the first wave of COVID-19. This unusual situation has brought many different effects on students’ academic lives. This scenario has influenced both students’ and teachers’ mutual communication. A directed qualitative content analysis (DQCA) approach was adapted from previous research and modified for the present context. The current study planned to bring forth the supervisee and supervisors’ perception of the communication and feedback process, considering that online feedback and communication has been a new experience for most students. According to the findings, teachers/supervisors give feedback on students’ production, whereas teacher-student communication also seemed crucial for the performance improvising of learners. The result brought forth a wide range of social, educational, and surprisingly psychological issues both supervisees and supervisors faced during online communication during COVID-19.

Mathematics anxiety has always been an interesting topic to study and discuss in the world of education. This study aimed to (1) investigate the impact of teacher roles, mathematics content, and mathematics anxiety on learning motivation, and (2) explore how students manage mathematics anxiety as a stimulus in learning motivation. This research used mixed methods with embedded concurrent design. The research sample was 100 respondents. The questionnaire instrument was arranged based on a Likert scale with 5 answer choices. This study used a structural equation model and confirmatory factor analysis as data analysis methods. The research findings indicated that: (1) a significant direct impact emerged between mathematics anxiety and students' learning motivation, and there was an indirect impact between the teacher's role and mathematics content on learning motivation; (2) students could manage mathematics anxiety when they were in optimal anxiety or positive anxiety so that they could overcome mathematics anxiety as a stimulus for achievement and deconstruct anxiety into motivation according to experience and personal resources. Results of this study confirmed that the statements about mathematics anxiety which always has a negative impact on motivation and learning achievement is not universal, because mathematics anxiety does not always have a negative impact on motivation and learning achievement if this anxiety is managed effectively.

Character education is urgent in passing down the ethical and moral values in the cultured community life. The local cultural values are a source of ethics and moral education for elementary school students. The school keeps taking an essential role in cultivating the local values through online character education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the effect of implementing online integrated character education and parental engagement in local cultural values cultivation outcome. The method of this study used an exploratory sequential mixed method design. Collect qualitative data using interview forms, observation, documentation, and quantitative data using questionnaires and portfolios. Qualitative data interpretation used content analysis, and inferential analysis used multiple linear regression. Results revealed that parental engagement, teachers’ performance, and online learning obstacles affect local cultural values cultivation outcome in character education partially and simultaneously for sixth-grade students in Padang City. We suggested teachers improve character education management based on local cultural values by building good synergy and collaboration between them and parents to cultivate noble character behavior among students.

This research aims to determine second-year university students’ understanding in interpreting and representing fractions. A set of fraction tests was given to students through two direct learning interventions. An unstructured interview was used as an instrument to obtain explanations and confirmations from the purposive participants. A total of 112 student teachers of primary teacher education program at two private universities in Indonesia were involved in this research. A qualitative method with a holistic type case study design was used in this research. The results indicate that a significant percentage of the participants could not correctly interpret and represent fractions. In terms of interpretation, it is found how language could obscure the misunderstanding of fractions. Then, the idea of a fraction as part of a whole is the most widely used in giving meaning to a fraction compared to the other four interpretations, but with limited understanding. Regarding data representation, many participants failed to provide a meaningful illustration showing the improper fraction and mix number compared to the proper fraction. Improvement of fraction teaching at universities - particularly in primary teacher education programs - is needed so that students get the opportunity to develop and improve their knowledge profoundly. We discuss implications for teaching fractions.

This study was conducted following the initial stage of the transition to distance education necessitated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and meeting the various challenges that came with it. At this point, countries and teachers have gained experience in preparing and delivering online education. Therefore, the study aimed to identify the beliefs of primary school mathematics teachers about teaching in synchronous virtual classrooms. It adopted a mixed methods approach, following a convergent parallel design. The overall study sample comprised 410 male and female teachers. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data across three dimensions (teaching efficiency, employing the philosophy of active learning, mathematical achievement). There were 31 items (verified for validity and reliability) comprising statements measured using a five-point Likert scale, together with open-ended options for further elaboration. In total, 130 teachers completed the questionnaire. Interviews were conducted with 10 teachers to collect qualitative data. The results show means in the range 3–5.75 for agreement with statements concerning the beliefs of mathematics teachers about teaching in virtual classrooms in the following order of importance: teaching competence; mathematical achievement; employing the philosophy of active learning. The study also found no statistically significant differences attributable to the variables of gender, qualification, or teaching experience, and also that many factors are considered to affect teaching in synchronous virtual classrooms related to the teacher, the family, and the student.

A socio-scientific issue is one of the learning techniques used today, which uses various scientific sources to make students think scientifically to conduct a dialogue and discuss solving a problem. Various problems in socio-scientific are controversial, requiring reasoning, and ethical evaluation in the decision-making process. A conflict between chemical reason and students' social point of view will cause students' different assessments and attitudes towards the socio-scientific issue. This study is a research and development (R&D) that focuses on the instrument's validity with the factor analysis technique to assess attitudes towards the socio-scientific issue in chemistry learning. CFA and EFA analysis found five factors in the tool: anxiety, interests, likes, benefits, confidence, validity, and reliability. The total reliability coefficient is .853. Of the eight instrument feasibility analysis requirements, seven instruments were declared fit to meet construct validity.

The main objective of this research was to study the effects of instructional management models and nominal variables on the development of students’ creative thinking. The researchers used the research synthesis of 400 studies on the development of students' creative thinking by a meta-analysis of research according to Cohen. The meta-analysis results revealed that the average effect size of the instructional management model (d = 3.43; [3.10, 3.17]) was positive and had a very high effect size with statistical significance. The most significant influence on the creative thinking development model was creative development theory (d = 4.217; [3.32, 5.11]). In addition, effect sizes varied with the attribute variables of the research, particularly the attribute variable of the research on instruction with the highest effect consisted of research with the focus on language, at the primary level, applied Torrance's creativity theory, designed between one to six lesson plans. Moreover, there was less than one hour per plan, the instructional period including the experiment conducted more than 31 hours and there were four weeks of instruction. In addition, there were six steps for instruction, there had quiz as an assessment tool, number of exams varied between 30 and 39 questions, and knowledge sheets were used as instructional materials. In the context of the meta-analysis, the findings indicated that the teachers should apply creative development theory in developing the students’ creative thinking for more effective instructional management.

During didactic interactions, teachers and students employ competencies and skills that correspond functionally to one another, and several models propose to typify didactic performances in higher education. For this study, we chose the didactic performance interbehavioral model as the substantive theory to identify six pairs of didactic performance criteria through self-evaluations from graduate students. These included: Competency exploration–precurrent learning behaviors, Criteria explicitness–Criteria identification, Illustration–Participation, Practice supervision–Relevant practice, Feedback–Improvement, and Evaluation–Application.309 Peruvian students from an in-person postgraduate course in Education Sciences filled out two scales (via Google Forms) to assess teacher-student performance criteria during online classes. Convergent and divergent validity were obtained separately for six teacher/student performance constructs through a confirmatory analysis using LISREL 8. Moreover, differences according to sex were only significant for the Illustration teacher criterion (favoring men) and the Application student criterion (favoring women). Students rated Explicitness of criteria and Illustration as the teacher performance criteria most frequently seen during online classes. On the other hand, Criteria identification ranked the highest in terms of the students’ performance criteria, followed by Feedback–Improvement. Another conclusion was that the didactic performance interbehavioral model could be empirically supported by the two self-assessment questionnaires, which yielded good convergent and divergent validity of constructs.