HandsUp: An In-Class Question Posing Tool

Lecture recordings are a common and useful resource for students due to the flexibility they provide. Recent rapid shifts to online modes of teaching have made recorded lectures especially valuable as many students rely on them to access course content. As a result, there is a pressing need to understand how students consume lecture content via recordings and what patterns of access are effective. In this research, we investigate the common lecture recording viewing behaviors of students and the relationship between lecture recording viewing and academic performance in a first-year programming course. Several trends were observed. A significant positive correlation between lecture recording views and final grades was identified. Students who repeated the course after failing it once, achieved, on average, higher grades if they had more lecture recording views in their second attempt. A small number of students engaged in habitual “binge-watching” behavior and those students had lower grades, on average, than students who watched more regularly. This was a particular problem for repeating students, attempting the course a second time, who failed the course at twice the rate if they engaged in habitual binge-watching. Although lecture recordings appear to be a helpful learning resource for students in introductory programming courses, this work suggests that binge-watching is an unproductive study strategy that should be discouraged.

Recent research has demonstrated pair programming to be an effective model of collaborative learning for millennial students. However, much of the research describes the impact of pair programming in first-year programming courses. This paper highlights experiences using pair programming in an advanced web development programming course. Most of the students in the course were at the junior or senior level and had not been formally introduced to pair programming prior to taking the course. Qualitative data were collected through the use of written reports and surveys. The author discusses what was learned about the impact on students’ attitudes, learning and quality of work. Challenges are also described, as well as recommendations for enhancements.

Opportunities for students at all age levels to learn programming are growing and this has led to increased enrolments both online and in the classroom. As the range of prior experiences within a cohort becomes more diverse, it poses a challenge for instructors to produce learning resources at an appropriate level of difficulty for individuals. Techniques to easily modify the difficulty of existing resources can be valuable in addressing this challenge, but not all problem types lend themselves to such customization. Parsons problems are a popular programming exercise that present learners with the lines of code for a solution in a scrambled order. Faded Parsons problems are a recent variation, where some lines of code have missing portions that students are required to fill in. Selecting which parts of the solution code to remove, or fade, is typically a manual process for an instructor and little is known about how different fading strategies impact problem difficulty. In this paper, we present a novel open-source tool for delivering Faded Parsons problems, and we explore the relative difficulty of three distinct fading strategies as part of an evaluation in a first-year programming course with 900 students. We find that fading conditional statements greatly increases the difficulty of Faded Parsons problems, and we observe that some students appreciate the ability to tackle more challenging problems. Results of this work will inform future automated approaches for adapting the difficulty of such problems.

Purpose – This study explores secondary school students’ perspectives on the factors that create an ideal mathematics classroom. While prior research has emphasized curriculum and content delivery, fewer studies have systematically examined students’ own voices regarding classroom dynamics, teacher influence, and learning environments. Methodology – A qualitative design was employed, involving free-form reflective essays written by 390 students from three public secondary schools. Students were prompted to describe their classroom experiences and identify elements they found most impactful for their learning. The essays were analyzed thematically to uncover key categories and emerging themes. Findings – The analysis revealed that relatively few students emphasized content knowledge as a central element. Instead, the majority highlighted engaging instructional methods, teacher personality and behavior, and positive teacher–student relationships as most critical to their learning. A joyful, interactive classroom environment was consistently described as essential for motivation and understanding. Students also indicated that class length and scheduling significantly shaped their learning experiences. These findings suggest the need to balance pedagogy and content delivery while ensuring classroom environments remain supportive and engaging. Novelty – By foregrounding students’ narratives, this study contributes original insights into learner-centered perspectives in mathematics education. It highlights the importance of affective and relational factors, often underrepresented in policy-oriented curriculum reforms. Significance – The findings provide valuable guidance for mathematics teachers, curriculum developers, and policymakers. Incorporating students’ perspectives into curriculum design and teaching practices can foster more inclusive, responsive, and effective mathematics classrooms.

This essay first raises a question about the difference between the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation’s official plan-Subject Pedagogy (25~35%) and Subject Contents (75~65%), and the reality of Teacher Appointment Exam in the distribution ratio of Pedagogy and Contents in English subject. Not only questioning the difference, it also disputes the validity of giving a large portion of the test to the area of English Education to the extent of 47.5% (2016-17), among English Education, Linguistics, Literature, and General English. Second, commenting on the domain of English Literature which constitutes the lowest percentage in Teacher Appointment Exam, it contends that the present situation of English education leans too much to the education for profit or economic growth. It points out that excessive concentration on the education for profit in teaching English could result in the lowering of English proficiency, especially students’ reading ability and its accompanying thinking ability. Therefore, this essay pronounces on the necessity of invigorating English literature in EFL learning process since English literature as coupling English language and the humanities is crucial in the development of critical thinking and human compassion, as well as English proficiency. As a case study of English literature class for boosting students’ creativity and human compassion, it introduces English & American poetry class practiced with online discussion which was actualized due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lastly, this essay proposes the reform of English Teacher Appointment Exam such as making questions out of the selected must-read books so that teacher candidates could read English literature texts and collaborate in forming creative and interactive classroom environment with poems, novels, and dramas in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.

Low student engagement in Natural and Social Sciences (IPAS) learning remains a persistent challenge in Indonesian elementary education, particularly in contexts where teacher-centered approaches dominate. Gamification has emerged as a promising pedagogical strategy to enhance motivation and participation; however, qualitative insights into its classroom implementation remain limited. This study aims to explore how gamification is applied in primary IPAS learning and how it influences student engagement and motivation.This research employed a qualitative case study design conducted at an elementary school in Majalengka, Indonesia. Data were collected over one week through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with two teachers and eleven Grade 5 students, and documentation analysis of lesson plans and learning media. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of data reduction, display, and conclusion drawing.The findings indicate that gamification—implemented through digital platforms such as Wordwall and Quizizz, as well as paper-based adaptations—significantly enhanced students’ behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social engagement. Students demonstrated increased participation, enthusiasm, collaboration, and persistence in completing learning tasks. Teachers also reported a more dynamic and interactive classroom environment. However, challenges were identified, including limited instructional time, varying levels of digital literacy, and technical constraints.These results suggest that gamification can serve as an effective and adaptable pedagogical approach to foster student engagement in elementary IPAS learning. Its successful implementation depends not only on technology but also on teachers’ pedagogical design and contextual adaptation, highlighting the need for sustained professional development and infrastructure support.

Background and Aim: Gamification is widely recognized for enhancing student motivation. However, some educators sidestep it due to time constraints, insufficient technical skills, and challenges in selecting and integrating suitable games for teaching. Hence, this study explores the motivation and challenges in English language instruction. Materials and Methods: Using a qualitative, single-case study design, data were collected from eight (8) participants through semi-structured interviews and thoroughly analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The findings reveal that students used Hangmoon, Memory Match, Crossword, and Triviatron in the GENYO e-learning platform, finding these games entertaining and educational. They appreciated the ease of access and how the games sparked their curiosity. Despite technical challenges, such as poor internet connectivity, malfunctioning IT equipment, forgotten login credentials, inaccessible links, and power outages, and complex game instructions, students adopted coping strategies, including adapting to technical difficulties, seeking support, and ensuring stable connectivity. Conclusion: The study concluded that a variety of games in the learning process enhances interactivity and engagement and sparks curiosity. Finally, this study underscored that gamification fosters a more dynamic and interactive classroom environment.

This study investigates the impact of integrating innovative gestures into language instruction at Universitas Muhammadiyah Gresik (UMG) and Universitas Muhammadiyah Gorontalo (UMGO). The primary objective was to assess how various types of gestures, including interactive digital boards, emotional expression, dynamic movement sequences, gamified approaches, and multimodal feedback gestures, influence student engagement, comprehension, and retention. Through observational data and semi-structured interviews with language lecturers, the study provides comprehensive insights into the efficacy of gesture-based teaching methods. The results reveal that the use of gestures significantly enhances the visibility and impact of corrective feedback, making linguistic errors more noticeable and facilitating better understanding and retention compared to traditional verbal feedback methods. Observational data indicate that students are more actively involved in discussions and activities when gestures are used, leading to a more dynamic and interactive classroom environment. This increased engagement highlights the potential of gestures to improve comprehension and cognitive processing in language learning. Semi-structured interviews with lecturers further emphasize the perceived benefits of gestures, such as enhanced engagement, improved comprehension, and better retention of language skills. However, challenges including technological limitations, the need for professional development, and time constraints were also identified. To address these challenges, educators recommended strategies like gradual implementation of gestures, soliciting student feedback, and combining gestures with other multimedia resources. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that integrating gestures into language instruction can significantly enhance learning outcomes by making lessons more engaging and effective. Future research should focus on long-term impacts and the development of training programs to support educators in adopting gesture-based teaching methods.

This study aimed to analyze teacher conversations in the “Descriptive Text” learning video from MAS Ponpes Darul Qur'an using Sinclair and Coulthard's discourse model. With a qualitative descriptive design, data were collected through video observation and transcribed to identify exchanges, movements, and actions in classroom interactions. The results show that the Initiation–Response–Follow-up (IRF) structure dominates classroom discourse, with teachers taking most of the initiative through questions, explanations, and directions, while students generally provide brief and limited responses. Teacher follow-ups are mostly evaluative, using praise and confirmation, which helps maintain motivation but does not expand student cooperation. The discussion highlights that while this teacher-centered approach ensures clarity, structure, and regularity, it also limits opportunities for students to provide longer and more creative responses. The study concludes that teacher talk has a dual role: as a facilitator of learning and as an obstacle when it is too dominant. More varied strategies, such as open-ended questions and in-depth feedback, are recommended to create a more interactive and student-centered classroom environment.

With the wide adoption of Course Management Systems (CMSs) and their availability on different types of devices, students can access their course content anytime, anywhere and stay up to date with their modules on a frequent basis. The continued growth in the volume of data allows us to apply learning analytics strategies to understand patterns of access and students’ online behavior. Our aim is to analyze the use of online materials in a Moodle-based CMS by students to identify their usage patterns. To do this, we systematically collected and analyzed students’ access of the course materials related to two coursework assessments in a large programming course for entry level students across two years. Our results indicate that students’ access of the course materials significantly impact on their assignment scores. There are also differences in students’ access based on their gender and STEM/Non-STEM backgrounds. Based on our results, we derive suggestions for how to improve the learning experience of students in CMSs.

This study investigates the impact of Reflective Teaching combined with the use of text models on student engagement and achievement in English writing classes at MTs Nurul Huda Kragan. The research employs a mixed-method approach, integrating quantitative data from pre-test and post-test scores with qualitative insights derived from observations and semi-structured interviews. Results demonstrate a significant increase in student participation, from an average of 50% to 76.42%, and an improvement in achievement scores, with a rise from 58.44 to 85.57 after the intervention. The Reflective Teaching approach enabled teachers to adapt their methods through continuous self-assessment, fostering a more interactive and supportive classroom environment. Additionally, the use of text models facilitated students’ understanding of writing structure and content, enhancing their critical thinking and creativity. This study concludes that the combination of Reflective Teaching and text models is an effective strategy to address challenges in writing instruction, offering valuable insights for educators seeking to improve learning outcomes in similar contexts.

The aims of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the Teams Games Tournament (TGT) learning model in increasing students' cognitive engagement and reducing boredom during classroom learning. Using the Classroom Action Research (CAR) methodology, this study involved 24 female students from class VIII B Regular. Data collection used pre-test and post-test assessments to evaluate learning progress. The intervention followed four procedural stages: planning, action implementation, observation/evaluation, and reflection. Initial findings revealed suboptimal student performance, with only 8.3% achieving the learning mastery standard (mean score: 56.91). After implementing the TGT model in the second cycle, significant improvements were observed. The students' average score increased to 80.25, and 70.83% of students met the learning mastery threshold. These results demonstrate the capacity of the TGT model to stimulate active student participation, encourage cooperative learning, and improve critical thinking skills. This study underscores the importance of implementing a student-centered pedagogical approach to maximize educational outcomes and engagement, especially in a complex subject such as Tajwid Science. This study provides valuable insights for educators seeking to develop interactive and inclusive classroom environments. While the results are promising, further research is recommended to examine the adaptability of the TGT model across different subject areas and student demographics.

This study aimed to determine the effect of implementing Game-Based Learning on students’ interest and understanding in Indonesian language learning, particularly on the topic of describing plants and animals in the surrounding environment both orally and in writing. The research used a descriptive method with a qualitative approach involving Grade IIIB students at SD Islam Al-Chusnaini. Data were collected through observation and analysis of Sumatif Tengah Semester (STS) report documents. The findings show that the implementation of Game-Based Learning had a positive impact on student learning outcomes. Most students achieved scores above 85, with an average score of 91.3. The success of this method was supported by active student participation in educational games, increased learning motivation, and enjoyable learning experiences aligned with students’ learning styles. Game-Based Learning also created a more dynamic, interactive, and collaborative classroom environment, which contributed to improved student understanding of the learning material.

A new learning unit in chemistry, Case-based Computerized Laboratories (CCL) and Computerized Molecular Modeling (CMM) was developed at the Technion. The CCL and CMM curriculum integrates computerized desktop experiments and molecular modeling with an emphasis on scientific inquiry and case studies. Our research aimed at investigating the effect of the CCL and CMM learning environment on students’ higher-order thinking skills of question posing, inquiry, and modeling. The experimental group included 614 honors 12th grade chemistry students from high schools in Israel who studied according to this learning unit. The comparison group consisted of 155 12th grade chemistry honors students who studied other chemistry programs. Pre- and post-tests questionnaires were used to assess students’ higher-order thinking skills. Students’ responses were analyzed using content analysis rubrics and their statistical analysis. Our findings indicated that the scores of the experimental group students improved significantly in question posing, inquiry and modeling skills from the pre-test to the post-test. The net gain scores of the experimental group students were significantly higher than those of their comparison peers in all three examined skills. In modeling skills, experimental group students significantly improved their achievements in making the transfer from 3D models to structural formulae, but only about half of them were able to transfer from formulae to 3D models. By presenting a case-based chemistry assessment tool and content analysis of students’ responses in this paper, we enable teachers and educators to analyze their students’ higher-order thinking skills both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Computer science is a fast-growing field in today’s digitized age, and working in this industry often requires creativity and innovative thought. An issue within computer science education, however, is that large introductory programming courses often involve little opportunity for creative thinking within coursework. The undergraduate introductory programming course (CS1) is notorious for its poor student performance and retention rates across multiple institutions. Integrating opportunities for creative thinking may help combat this issue by adding a personal touch to course content, which could allow beginner CS students to better relate to the abstract world of programming. Research on the role of creativity in computer science education (CSE) is an interesting area with a lot of room for exploration due to the complexity of the phenomenon of creativity as well as the CSE research field being fairly new compared to some other education fields where this topic has been more closely explored.To contribute to this area of research, this article provides a literature review exploring the concept of creativity as relevant to computer science education and CS1 in particular. Based on the review of the literature, we conclude creativity is an essential component to computer science, and the type of creativity that computer science requires is in fact, a teachable skill through the use of various tools and strategies. These strategies include the integration of open-ended assignments, large collaborative projects, learning by teaching, multimedia projects, small creative computational exercises, game development projects, digitally produced art, robotics, digital story-telling, music manipulation, and project-based learning. Research on each of these strategies and their effects on student experiences within CS1 is discussed in this review. Last, six main components of creativity-enhancing activities are identified based on the studies about incorporating creativity into CS1. These components are as follows: Collaboration, Relevance, Autonomy, Ownership, Hands-On Learning, and Visual Feedback. The purpose of this article is to contribute to computer science educators’ understanding of how creativity is best understood in the context of computer science education and explore practical applications of creativity theory in CS1 classrooms. This is an important collection of information for restructuring aspects of future introductory programming courses in creative, innovative ways that benefit student learning.