Category: Effective Teaching Approach

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Effective Teaching Approach Secondary School Education

Enhancing Middle School Science Learning with AR-Supported Intelligent Tutoring

Ateş (2025) examines whether combining augmented reality (AR) with an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) can improve middle school students’ science learning outcomes and learning experiences. The study focuses on the teaching of the periodic table, a topic that is often difficult for students because it involves abstract concepts and complex relationships among elements. By integrating AR-based visualizations with ITS-supported personalized feedback, adaptive learning paths, and individualized support, the research explores whether this technology-enhanced approach can outperform conventional science instruction.

Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design, the study involved 58 eighth-grade students from a public middle school. The experimental group learned through the ITS-AR system, while the control group received traditional textbook-based instruction, lectures, demonstrations, practice exercises, and assessments. The intervention lasted eight weeks: students first received an introduction to the learning system, then completed pretests and questionnaires, participated in four weeks of instruction, and finally completed posttests and post-questionnaires. Measures included academic achievement, student engagement, science motivation, and self-efficacy.

Results indicate that students in the ITS-AR group significantly outperformed those in the control group across all measured outcomes. After controlling for pretest differences, the experimental group showed higher science learning outcomes, stronger engagement, greater motivation to learn science, and higher self-efficacy. The AR component helped students visualize and interact with periodic table content in more dynamic ways, while the ITS component provided feedback on students’ project ideas and supported more individualized learning. Together, these features appeared to make abstract scientific ideas more concrete, interactive, and accessible.

Overall, the findings suggest that AR-supported intelligent tutoring can be an effective instructional approach for improving science learning and supporting students’ motivational and affective development. The study highlights the value of integrating artificial intelligence and immersive visualization tools into science education, particularly when students need to understand abstract or visually demanding concepts. At the same time, because the study was conducted with a relatively small sample from one school, the findings should be interpreted as promising evidence that requires further validation across broader and more diverse educational contexts.

Source (Open Access): Ateş, H. (2025). Integrating augmented reality into intelligent tutoring systems to enhance science education outcomes. Education and Information Technologies, 30(4), 4435-4470.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12970-y… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Primary School Education

Support for self-regulated learning in immersive virtual reality – An experimental design for science learning

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) enables users to engage with virtual environments in a highly immersive way. Past studies have found that immersive virtual reality (IVR) may increase students’ cognitive load, distract them from learning tasks, and hinder their knowledge acquisition. To address these challenges, Hsu and Lee (2026) explored the integration of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies into IVR, and examined their impact on students’ cognitive load. An experimental design was employed, involving 105 students randomly assigned to either an SRL group (n=52) or a non-SRL (NSRL) group (n = 53). A two-way mixed-design ANOVA was conducted to identify differences in the science learning outcomes of the two groups. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to examine the structural relationships among affective factors in IVR environments, cognitive load, and students’ learning outcomes within both the SRL and NSRL conditions.

The findings confirm that, while learning with IVR, extraneous cognitive load exerted negative effects on both SRL gains and science knowledge, whereas germane cognitive load positively influenced these outcomes. First, interactive extraneous cognitive load predicted both lower- and higher-level science knowledge in the NSRL group. Second, environmental extraneous cognitive load negatively predicted SRL gains across both IVR conditions.  Third, a finding common to both the SRL and NSRL groups was that increased student control and active learning significantly enhanced perceived germane cognitive load.

As IVR technology becomes increasingly accessible and user-friendly, it is no longer confined to professional instructional designers; teachers now need the capacity to independently create VR-based learning materials. This shift highlights the importance of preparing teachers not only to use VR tools but also to design pedagogically meaningful IVR content, such as the incorporation of SRL strategies. Accordingly, teachers must recognize the benefits of presence and interaction while remaining cautious of their limitations and potential pitfalls. They should also be mindful that less optimal instructional designs may impose extraneous cognitive load, which can undermine learning outcomes. Most importantly, teachers should foster learners’ autonomy and agency, as these are critical for effective IVR-based learning.

Source (Open Access): Hsu, Y. T., & Lee, S. W. Y. (2026). Support for self-regulated learning in immersive virtual reality–An experimental design for science learning. Education and Information Technologies, 31(1), 269-300.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-025-13807-y… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Linking Classrooms and Museums for Self-Regulated STEM Learning

Lewalter et al. (2025) examine how school-based factors shape students’ self-regulated STEM learning during and after a museum visit. The study addresses an important challenge in STEM education: how to connect classroom learning with meaningful real-world contexts beyond school. Focusing on a museum exhibition about mobility and traffic, the authors investigate whether students’ learning strategy knowledge, prior knowledge, prior interest, and classroom preparation or follow-up activities predict their learning processes during the visit and their learning outcomes three months later.

The study used a pretest–posttest–follow-up design with 409 Grade 10 students from 21 classes in 12 German high schools. Students visited the Deutsches Museum München and explored a tablet-supported exhibition programme titled Mobility Transition—What Moves Us in the Future? Traffic and Mobility Challenges of the 21st Century. During the 90-minute visit, students worked in small groups and engaged in self-guided exploration of selected exhibits. Questionnaire data were collected one week before the visit, immediately after the visit, and approximately three months later to measure learning strategy knowledge, preparation and follow-up activities, situational interest, basic psychological needs, perceived content relevance, engagement, knowledge, and individual interest.

Results show that most students did not experience systematic classroom integration of the museum visit: 75% reported no classroom preparation, and 60.4% reported no follow-up activities after the visit. Students’ metacognitive and motivational learning strategy knowledge positively predicted several aspects of the learning process, including perceived content relevance, basic need satisfaction, situational interest, and engagement. However, when prior individual interest was included in the model, it became the strongest predictor of learning process variables, suggesting that students’ existing interest plays a central role in shaping museum-based STEM learning.

For medium-term learning outcomes, follow-up activities in the classroom were especially important. Three months after the museum visit, students who experienced classroom follow-up showed higher self-perceived and objective knowledge. Knowledge of learning strategies also contributed to self-perceived knowledge, whereas students’ later individual interest was mainly predicted by their prior individual interest. Overall, the findings highlight that museum visits should not be treated as isolated field trips. Instead, their educational value depends on stronger links between classroom teaching and out-of-school learning, particularly through helping students develop self-regulated learning strategies and providing meaningful follow-up activities after the visit.

Source (Open Access): Lewalter, D., Neubauer, K., & Moser, S. (2025). Self-regulated STEM learning in museums—the role of learner characteristics and visit-related activities in school. International Journal of STEM Education, 12(1), 56.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00577-9… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Secondary School Education

Creative Visual Programming for Secondary Students: Enjoyment, Self-Efficacy, and Gender Differences

Smit et al. (2025) examine how students’ enjoyment during visual programming tasks relates to their self-efficacy beliefs and gender differences in programming confidence. Grounded in Pekrun’s control-value theory of achievement emotions, the study focuses on whether positive emotional experiences in programming can strengthen students’ beliefs in their ability to program. The research was conducted in a daylong visual programming workshop titled “Creativity in Science and Technology-Smart Textiles”, where secondary school students programmed LED matrices connected to micro:bit devices (small programmable computers commonly used in STEM and coding education) and applied them to creative, real-world tasks such as smart shirts and bicycle shirts.

The study involved 269 lower-secondary students from 16 Swiss classes in Grades 7 to 9. Students completed pre- and post-questionnaires measuring self-efficacy for visual programming, while their momentary enjoyment was measured four times during the workshop through experience sampling. The course was structured to move from more guided tasks in the morning, including Morse code and debugging activities, to more open and creative tasks in the afternoon, such as designing smart textile applications. Structural equation modelling, including latent state-trait theory and latent growth curve models, was used to examine changes in enjoyment and self-efficacy over the day.

Results show that students’ enjoyment remained relatively stable across individual tasks and was largely shaped by their general enjoyment of programming rather than by specific task situations. However, students with lower initial enjoyment showed stronger increases during later, more creative tasks. Girls reported lower enjoyment than boys at the beginning of the workshop, but their enjoyment increased more strongly over time, narrowing the gender gap. Both girls and boys showed increased self-efficacy for visual programming by the end of the course. Although girls initially reported substantially lower self-efficacy than boys, the gender difference was no longer significant in the final model after the workshop.

Overall, the findings suggest that application-oriented and creative visual programming activities can foster students’ confidence in programming, especially among girls. The combination of smart textiles, visual coding, debugging practice, and open-ended design tasks appeared to create a motivating learning environment that supported positive emotions and self-efficacy development. The study highlights the importance of designing programming instruction around authentic, creative, and personally meaningful tasks, rather than treating programming as an abstract or purely technical activity.

Source (Open Access): Smit, R., Schmid, R., & Robin, N. (2025). Experiencing enjoyment in visual programming tasks promotes self‐efficacy and reduces the gender gap. British Journal of Educational Technology, 56(3), 1231-1247.

https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13523… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Kindergarten

From Worksheets to Workstations: The Impact of Play and Choice in Kindergarten Classrooms

Although high-stakes testing has increasingly shifted early childhood education toward teacher-directed academic instruction, Rodriguez-Meehan et al. (2025) argue that play and meaningful choices remain essential for children’s development. Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), Rodriguez-Meehan et al. (2025) explore the integration of play- and choice-based workstations in a kindergarten classroom to understand how fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness through self-directed play influences student motivation and behavior.

To capture a comprehensive view of this transition, Rodriguez-Meehan et al. (2025) conducted a qualitative case study in a public charter school in the Southeastern United States, focusing on one kindergarten teacher and a subset of her students. Data collection included four comprehensive classroom observations, a semi-structured individual interview with the teacher, and interactive focus group interviews with the children. Additionally, the research team analyzed student artifacts, such as drawings and writings. The collected data underwent holistic analysis to identify emerging themes reflecting the participants’ experiences.

The analysis revealed three primary themes regarding the classroom’s transformation. First, the teacher viewed the implementation as highly successful, noting drastic improvements in academic achievement, student engagement, and classroom behavior. Second, the transition required a “balancing act,” as the teacher navigated initial structural barriers like managing physical space and rationing access to highly preferred activities. Third, the children demonstrated immense joy and ownership over their learning, repeatedly expressing enthusiasm about picking their own workstations and peers.

Rodriguez-Meehan et al. (2025) conclude that replacing traditional morning worksheets with free play and adaptable choice centers effectively supports children’s intrinsic motivation and social-emotional needs. Although implementing these pedagogies requires teacher flexibility and a willingness to relinquish some control, the benefits strongly align with the principles of self-determination theory. Ultimately, the study advocates for school administrators, educators, and families to actively support and integrate more daily play and choice-based frameworks in early childhood environments.

Source (Open Access): Rodriguez-Meehan, M., Chobrda, T., Haughton, V. J., & Franz, M. (2025). “The best part of their day”: Play and choice in kindergarten. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 23(2), 164-178.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X241293909… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach K-12 Education

The effect of AI-driven intelligent tutoring systems on K-12 students’ learning and performance: A systematic review

A recent systematic review published in npj Science of Learning examines the effects of intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) on students’ learning and performance in K-12 education. As artificial intelligence in education (AIEd) has expanded rapidly, ITSs have emerged as a key application with the potential to personalize learning and improve educational outcomes. However, despite their growing adoption, their actual educational value remains uncertain. While some studies suggest that ITSs can enhance learning outcomes and even outperform traditional instruction, others report limited or inconsistent effects. In addition, existing research often conflates different educational contexts or focuses on broader AI applications, leaving a lack of systematic understanding of ITS effectiveness specifically in K-12 settings. This study therefore aims to assess the effects of ITSs on K-12 students’ learning and performance and to examine the experimental designs used to evaluate these systems.

The authors conducted a systematic review of 28 empirical studies involving a total of 4,597 students. Most studies adopted quasi-experimental designs, typically comparing an ITS-based intervention group with control conditions such as traditional teacher-led instruction, non-intelligent tutoring systems, modified ITSs, or no control group. The studies covered a range of countries, subjects, and school levels, with a strong concentration in middle and high school STEM education. Intervention durations varied considerably, from a single class session to several weeks or months. The review categorized studies based on educational context, experimental design, and intervention characteristics to enable a structured comparison of findings.

The review finds that ITSs generally have a positive effect on students’ learning and performance in K-12 education, particularly when compared to traditional teacher-led instruction, where most studies report medium to large effects. However, when compared with non-intelligent tutoring systems, the results are more mixed, with several studies finding no significant differences. Substantial heterogeneity is observed across studies due to differences in design, duration, and context. Importantly, the effectiveness of ITSs depends on key features such as personalization, adaptivity, and real-time feedback, as well as on implementation conditions. ITSs that are integrated with teacher support, encourage self-regulated learning, and are used over longer periods tend to produce better outcomes. In contrast, short interventions may be influenced by novelty effects, and learner characteristics such as prior knowledge and educational level also shape outcomes.

Taken together, the findings suggest that ITSs can enhance learning and performance in K-12 education, but their effectiveness is contingent upon pedagogical design and implementation conditions rather than technology alone. ITSs are most effective when aligned with sound instructional principles and used in combination with teacher guidance. The study also highlights limitations in the existing literature, including short intervention durations, limited sample diversity, and a lack of attention to ethical considerations. It calls for future research with more robust experimental designs, longer interventions, and greater attention to ethical issues, particularly as AI technologies continue to evolve and play an increasing role in education.

Source (Open Access): Létourneau, A., Deslandes Martineau, M., Charland, P., Karran, J. A., Boasen, J., & Léger, P. M. (2025). A systematic review of AI-driven intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) in K-12 education. npj Science of Learning, 10(1), 29.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00320-7… Read the rest