Students' critical thinking ability requires improvement from schools as an educational institution. Besides, it is important to maximally integrate character education into mathematics learning. One of the attempts was implementing mathematics comic that contains Pancasila values as teaching material through contextual teaching and learning. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effectiveness of mathematics comic teaching material with Pancasila values in improving students' critical thinking and character. This is a quasi-experimental study that involves non-equivalent control group design. The population was fourth-grade students of elementary schools in Gajahmungkur District, and data were collected using a critical thinking test and questionnaire. The results showed that using mathematics comic teaching material with Pancasila values was (1) effective in improving students' critical thinking ability; (2) effective in developing character, especially discipline and hard work trait. In the beginning, both character traits were categorized as good, and after treatment, there was an increase in the very good category. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of mathematics comic teaching material with Pancasila values is effective in improving critical thinking ability and character traits.

The objective of this research is to analyze the twelfth graders' mathematics critical thinking skills using a mathematics learning model to stimulate fundamental critical thinking abilities of science courses in SMA Negeri, Pacitan Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia. This quasi-experimental research design was used in this study with one group posttest only design using multiple substantive posttests. The sample of 141 students from the total population of six public schools involving the twelfth graders of the natural sciences was selected through purposive sampling technique, data were taken through tests of students' critical thinking skills and interviews. The data analysis consists of five stages, namely an analysis of one sample t-test, an analysis of students' grades, an analysis of problem-solving stages, an analysis of critical thinking abilities indicators, and an analysis of mathematics critical thinking abilities indicators. The results showed (1) The results of the one sample t-test show that the mathematics learning model is effective to stimulate critical thinking, which means that the application of the mathematics learning model is effective to stimulate critical thinking; (2) the overall grades of students that met the minimum mastery criteria; (3) the data analysis of eleven problem-solving stages proves that the criteria for critical thinking abilities are categorized as good and very good. The highest score indicator considers the principle and definition of transformation, while the lowest grade indicator is mainly concerned with the questions on right and coherent steps; (4) the critical thinking skills have seven indicators that highlight the criteria of students' critical thinking abilities categorized as good and very good. The indicators that get the highest score determine the definitions of terms, while the indicators of the lowest score determine the action; (5) the results of the analysis show indicators of mathematics critical thinking skills that have eight indicators. The criteria of students' critical thinking abilities met good and very good categories along with indicators with the highest value score by considering the definitions of terms, while the indicators of the lowest score deal with the habit of caution.

This research aimed to analyze the levels of agreement between kindergarten teachers and principals in identifying the assessment of teachers’ teaching competencies and performance. The study was designed under a quantitative approach using a survey. It implemented a non-probability sampling technique with purposive sampling. The sample of the population comprised of 173 kindergarten teachers and 101 principals in Semarang District, Indonesia, or a total of 274 respondents. The data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient to measure the levels of agreement between raters and Pearson Chi-Square test was also utilized to determine the differences in perceptions among principals and teachers. The findings showed that the levels of agreement between raters were averagely in the no agreement category, implying the existence of differences in perceptions among teachers and principals. The involvement of a multi-rater strategy in such research is a rare effort, especially for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) level in Indonesia. Researches regarding teaching competencies and performance generally only involve single rater, either teachers or principals who judge themselves on their competencies and performance, thus the results tend to be subjective. In conclusion, the assessment of teaching competencies with the relation of cognitive abilities was conducted through a test that considered subjective questions and case analysis to evaluate the teachers’ skills based on their performance and self-description. Both personal and social assessments utilized self-assessment forms or autobiographies, which were completed with specific themes. Meanwhile, the performance assessment was observed with the assessment rubric and comparison with the learning process performed by an individual educator.

The teaching and learning in Indonesian elementary schools focus both on students’ concept mastery and character development.  Teachers are encouraged to implement a learning model that integrates character values and yet promote learning interest.  This study was aimed at investigating the mathematics learning interest of grade three elementary school students through the integration of thematic learning with character education, referred to as the character-integrated thematic learning model. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, this study involved 70 students and employed a questionnaire to obtain data, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Descriptively, the average scores of students' learning interest before and after the implementation of the character-integrated thematic learning model are respectively 117.54 and 140.69 with the gain index of 0.44 in the fair category. While score obtained for thematic learning model are 116.11 and 120.23 with the gain index of 0.07 in the low category. The results of the statistical inference analysis using the independent sample t-test were obtained t-count of 4.98 > t-table of 1,667. This indicates that there has been a significant increase in students’ learning interest scores with the implementation of character-integrated thematic learning model. Thus, this learning model can be applied to pay attention to the development of student’s character which has an impact on increasing student’s learning interest.

This study aims at exploring the professional identities of six ELT students through the lens of critical incidents. For the sake of this aim, six ELT students took part in this research at an Anatolian High School in 2018-2019 spring semester. The teaching practicum process was conducted from April to mid of May 2019, once a week over six-week practicum. The main data collection of this study was the Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ). Additionally, two questions were asked to the participants to evaluate their actual and designated professional identities. The first question was answered before the practicum and the second one was answered at the end of the practicum process. The results showed that some internal and external factors influenced their professional identity. Additionally, it was found that critical incidents could be used to spot the changes in the participants’ professional identity formation processes. Results of the study indicated that not only negative but also some positive critical incidents contributed to the participants’ professional identity formation. As a result of the encountered incidents that influenced their formation of identities, it was observed that the actual identities of four students changed from positive to negative at the end of the process. Correspondingly, the findings of this study put forward that how the participants explored their identity formation process through the critical incidents.

Industrial revolution 4.0 is currently present in various countries, including Indonesia. Indonesia responded quickly through technological developments, especially education. The actions of the Indonesian government to deal with industrial 4.0 are contained in the 4C principle, one of which is Critical Thinking. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning approach has become an alternative in building critical thinking skills, especially in science learning. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively measure the impact of the STEM-inquiry model based on the K-13 Indonesian Curriculum towards critical thinking skills of 15-16 years old students. This study employed quasi-experimental with non-equivalent control group design at SMAN 1 (State Senior High School) Padang Cermin, Lampung, Indonesia. The research subjects consisted of 50 students. The critical thinking skill was measured through 10 items of an essay question on the momentum and impulse material. Based on the results of the non-parametric statistical hypothesis test Mann Whitney, the significance level of 0.004 was obtained (sig <0.05). The results of the hypothetical test showed that the student's critical thinking skills before and after using the STEM-based inquiry model were different. It can be concluded that the application of the STEM-based inquiry model was effective in increasing students' critical thinking skills.

Professional teaching competence is significantly influenced by beliefs about teaching and learning. Prospective teachers start their teacher training with quite persistent beliefs about learning processes. These beliefs are mainly influenced by the way they experienced their own lessons as a student at school. Previous biology lessons at school might be linked to the imagined biology lessons of prospective teachers. We interpret these future lessons as a representation of their beliefs about teaching and learning. The present study investigated how prospective teachers remembered their previous biology lessons as well as how they imagine the lessons they will conduct in the future. The drawings of 181 prospective biology teachers in Germany (Mage = 22.1; SD = 3.6; 64.1 % female) were analyzed using the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C). Results of the study indicate that the lessons they experienced were mainly teacher-centered, whereas the lessons they imagined were mainly student-centered. Results of a chi-square-test indicate that there is no connection between these two drawings of biology lessons. This suggests that experiences from one’s own schooling may have no connection with the way prospective teachers would like to teach in the future. The results of this study might be used as a basis for further studies examining the development of prospective biology teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning.

The aim of this study is to find out the influence of online project collaborative learning and achievement motivation on problem-solving ability in the area of citizenship. This study uses a quasi-experimental design. The total of study subjects is 71 students of higher education; consist of 36 students as the experimental group and 35 students as the control group. Data of problem-solving ability is obtained by using an essay test, while data of achievement motivation is obtained by using a questionnaire. Data analysis is done with ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). The study results show that online based-project collaborative learning strategy has a positive influence on civic problem-solving ability. There is a difference in civic problem-solving ability between students with high achievement motivation and students with low achievement motivation. Online project collaborative learning strategy and achievement motivation interact in influencing the civic problem-solving ability of students. It is recommended that further study corroborate this finding by testing again the effectiveness of using online-based project collaborative strategy in the aspect of problem-solving in a similar field of study.

The purpose of the study was to identify how debates effected the analytical thinking abilities of tertiary students and how the debates as an instructional approach were perceived by the students. The study used quantitative data collection methods such as tests and observation checklists and qualitative data collection methods such as a focus group discussion. The data was yielded from the measurements of students’ analytical thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills. The pretest and posttest measurements were administered using the test of analytical skills, the quiz entitled “Get Ready to Test Your Analytical Skills!”, and the problem-solving test. The study found that the debates improve the students’ analytical thinking abilities and are perceived positively by them. The pretest and posttest measurements results, observation reports, and a focus group discussion showed that the debate-driven instructional model brought positive change to students’ analytical thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills which are supported by the statistically significant Mean differences in all the variables. The findings from observations implied that the lessons were organised in a way that could sufficiently challenge the students, engage them in the search of information, and presenting their findings based on the facts and statistics. The results obtained from the students’ responses in the outline focus group discussion found that the students appreciated participation in the debates as they associated the experience with job benefits, the practical value of the debates, learning engagement, and research.

The study is intended to expose mind mapping used as strategy for learning which is able to assist students to write their writing assignments. Thirty students who registered in the Teacher Qualification Improvement Program of Universitas Terbuka (UT) was involved as the participants in this present study. The participants had to follow the face-to-face tutorial session of the Instructional System Design course (ISD) course. One of the given assignments of the course was writing the modular based learning materials for the primary school students. The participants had to study the required knowledge and skills of writing the printed modular based learning materials through the systematic and systematic ways. The mind mapping strategy was used to help the students to complete their writing assignments – the printed modular based leaning resources. At the beginning the participants felt uncertain about the writing assignment. The study was found that the use of mind mapping as learning strategy increased the students learning motivation and improve the ability to write the printed modular based learning materials.

We investigated the effects of just-in-time guidance at various stages of inquiry learning by novice learners. Thirteen participants, randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 8) or control (n = 5) group, were observed as they learned about DC electric circuits using a web-based simulation. Just-in-time instructional prompts to observe, predict, explain, systematically test, collect evidence, and generate rules were strongly associated with diagnosing and correcting misconceptions, and constructing correct scientific concepts. Students’ repeated use of predictions, systematic testing, and evidence-coordinated reasoning often led to formulating new principles, generalizing from observed patterns, verifying comprehension, and experiencing “Aha!” moments. Just-in-time prompts helped learners manage embedded cognitive challenges in inquiry tasks, achieve a comprehensive understanding of the model represented in the simulation, and show significantly higher knowledge gain. Just-in-time prompts also promoted rejection of incorrect models of inquiry and construction of robust scientific mental models. The results suggest ways of customizing guidance to promote scientific learning within simulation environments.

The progressive integration of mobile technology in the classroom is generating new scenarios to innovate teaching methods. The aim of this study was to analyse the perceptions of university students toward the use of Socrative and its implications in gamified learning situations. This is a descriptive-survey investigation, complemented with content analysis techniques. The data were collected using a questionnaire designed ad hoc by Quiroga-Estévez et al. and structured interviews. The sample consisted of undergraduate students (n=472) of the degree of Primary Education from the Faculty of Education Sciences of a Spanish university. The results show significant changes in the learning process of the students, in social relations and in the teaching methodology.

Teaching mathematics in general and instructing mathematics at junior schools in particular not only create favorable conditions for students to develop essential and core competencies but also help students enhance mathematical competencies as a foundation for a good study of the subject and promote essential skills for society, in which mathematical communication skill is an important one. This study aimed to train students in mathematics communication by presenting them with topics in line with the structure's congruent triangles. An experimental sample of 40 students in grade 8 at a junior school in Vietnam, in which they were engaged in learning with activities oriented to increase mathematical communication. A research design employing a pre-test, an intervention, and a post-test was implemented to evaluate such a teaching methodology's effectiveness. For assessing how well the students had progressed in mathematical language activities, the gathered data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Empirical results showed that most students experienced a significant improvement in their mathematical communication skills associated with congruent triangles. Additionally, there were some significant implications and recommendations that were drawn from the research results.

The changes brought about in higher education by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic require effective action. Teachers must be trained to work on university platforms. The study allows us to analyse the current educational problems, which are found in many countries, not only in Ecuador. The research aimed to determine the virtual andragogical competencies of Ecuadorian university education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed research approach was used. A quantitative analysis was applied first, followed by a qualitative analysis. The sample selection was participatory and non-probabilistic. The sample consisted of 1003 active higher education teachers in Ecuador. A questionnaire of 106 questions divided into four variables was applied. A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. The analyses demonstrated the need to apply four integral competencies. First the teacher must "Know how to be", through continuous ICT training. After the teacher has been trained, he/she must "Know". This process involves mastering educational technology. After updating knowledge, they must "Know how to live together". Develop critical and constructive communication. Then "Know how to do" by applying an effective guiding methodology. Teacher training under the competency-based approach is seen as a viable alternative.

This study aims to present the potential of Participatory Action Research (PAR) to bring together the experiences of teachers and researchers with the intention of improving teaching practices and students’ learning outcomes. Participants in the study were 7 teachers, their 160 fifths grade students, and researchers (authors). Teachers and researchers participated as partners in all collaborative activities during the period of 12 weeks.  All teachers assisted by the researcher (first author) who serves as a teacher at the same school, were involved in implementing the reciprocal teaching method (RTM) in math classes. They examined each step of the implementation of this method in order to investigate whether it has an impact on student achievement in solving mathematical word problems. Teachers observed the work of students in their classes, whereas in the joint meetings they discussed occasional ambiguities as well as issues that were most challenging for them and their students. The results showed that there was a significant improvement of the students’ results in the post-test of the mathematical word problems. The analysis of teachers' reflections highlights the benefits of collaboration within the PAR project, both for students and teachers. The study suggests that the PAR model can be used effectively within school settings as a research model, and as a pedagogical practice.

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.

This research explores how and what strategy is applied for preparing sustainable English teachers' professional development. This study utilizes lesson study strategy-based clinical supervision and quality assurance. Lesson study is a kind of action research based on a cycle base. This study is also recognized as research and development. Based on conceptual and empirical study, it is found that three grand principles of adding quality lesson study implication. Those are cycle reflection in accelerating the teachers’ competencies in English language teaching, clinical supervision nuance, a quality assurance principle by implementing the plan, do, check, and act strategy. This research successfully finds a model for preparing a prospective and sustainable professional teachers development based on lesson study, blended with the clinical supervision and a quality assurance implementation. The outputs consist of connection among professional English teachers; accelerating realization learning and teaching quality based on reflection implication; forming the open attitude and reflecting discussion and depth analysis; building a self-responsibility and awareness as professional teacher attitude; helping one each other in the professional teacher community for accelerating teaching quality by utilizing clinical supervision. Finally, the outcome is obtaining candidates of English professional teachers, prospectively and sustainably, with high-quality EFL teaching performance in national competitiveness.

This article presents the findings of an action research study that evaluated the effectiveness of differentiated instruction in the subject of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in primary education in Greek primary schools. Effective teaching poses a challenge to all educators in all educational levels. The subject of ICT poses multiple challenges to educators due to its applied nature, the limited allocated time and the diverse needs of the students. A differentiated teaching intervention was designed and applied from January to March 2020 to 113 upper elementary students from two elementary schools in Athens. The findings of the research highlight the improvement of the quality of the students’ assessment and the level of students’ active participation due to differentiated instruction. Furthermore, the strategy of flexible grouping, the technique of “thumb it up” cards and the applied differentiated working routine proved to be highly effective. Lastly, the implementation of asynchronous working combined with hierarchical learning activities proved to be challenging to the educator due to its complexity. Based on these findings, the article discusses the importance of further research in the systematic implementation of differentiated instruction in mixed ability classrooms and in multiple subjects.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic impacted various lines in the international world, including Indonesia. Pandemic COVID-19 in Indonesia has also changed multiple performances in multiple sectors, one of which is education. The concept of learning from home changes lecturers' paradigm as educators in tertiary institutions applying online learning. This study aims to identify students' perceptions of the implementation of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses a qualitative research approach with the type of phenomenology. The subject of this study was 22 students in Indonesia who experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research instrument uses semi-structured interview guidelines. Students perceive online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic as (1) ineffective learning activities; (2) unpleasant learning activities; (3) limit self-actualization in education; (4) helping to become an independent person in learning; and (5) fun learning activities. Higher Education should create innovative and creative online learning strategies. Thus, students have a high enthusiasm for online learning.

Many studies have pointed out a proportionate relation between metacognition and reading strategies. This study advances such an understanding by arguing that this relation is comprised of several sub-relations. Metacognitive Awareness Inventory and Reading Strategies Inventory were conducted among 92 English as Foreign Language students at a Vietnamese university. This study highlights 3 major findings. First, metacognition processes do not merely mean “cognition about cognition”. Second, while previous studies tended to portray metacognition as a whole, it is argued in this study that it is constituted by two main clusters (knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition) which can be further specified into eight sub-components. Third, there seem to be some sub-linearities that underpin students’ metacognition and that influence their uses of reading strategies. These findings are hoped to shed light on preserving spaces and autonomy in curriculum/syllabus development for students to exercise their own metacognition.