Search results for "MATHEMATICS"

The Associations Between Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Academic Performance: A Twin Study

2021

Background: Both genetic and environmental influences have been shown to contribute to the association between physical activity and overall academic performance. The authors examined whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) shares genetic and environmental variances between spelling, essay writing, reading aloud, reading comprehension, and mathematics in early adolescence. Moreover, they investigated whether genetic polymorphisms associated with physical activity behavior affect these academic skills. Methods: Participants were 12-year-old Finnish twins (n = 4356–4370 twins/academic skill, 49% girls). Academic skills were assessed by teachers, and LTPA was self-reported. Polygenic sco…

Motivational predictors of students' participation in out-of-school learning activities and academic attainment in science : An application of the tr…

2018

Abstract Given the shortfall in students studying science, promotion of motivation and engagement in science education is a priority. The current study applied the trans-contextual model to study the motivational predictors of participation in science learning activities in secondary-school students . In a three-wave design, secondary-school students completed measures of perceived autonomy support, autonomous and controlled motivation, social-cognitive beliefs (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control), intentions, and self-reported participation in out-of-school science learning activities. Five-weeks later, students self-reported their science learning activities. Students' science…

The role of parents' and teachers' child-related competence beliefs in the development of students' self-concept of ability

2017

Individuals’ perceptions about their abilities, that is, self-concepts of abilities, are crucial determinants of academic achievement and education-related choices. The aims of this research were to examine the role of parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about children’s abilities in students’ self-concept of ability in the domains of literacy and mathematics, and whether the role of parents and teachers is different among boys and girls, and among low- and high-performing students. These questions were examined using three different data sets: the LIGHT study, the Jyväskylä Entrance into Primary School (JEPS) study and the STAIRWAY study. In all three studies, the participants were Finnish. In …

Zero-Achievers Non-Progressing Studies in Finnish Open University : Three Preventive Factors

2021

Current education policy responds to changes and needs in working life by guiding individuals at different stages of working careers to develop their skills in the spirit of lifelong learning. More and more are applying with hope and enthusiasm to the Open University to strengthen their competence but are unable to get their studies completed. The article explores factors related to the non-progression of studies by students at the Open University in Finland. We call non-progressing students zero-achievers who enroll in studies but do not complete a single credit during the period of course. This research is a descriptive mixed methods study. The research data was collected by an online sur…

Children's achievement behaviors in relation to their skill development and temperament

2013

Preventive Support for Kindergarteners Most At-Risk for Mathematics Difficulties: Computer-Assisted Intervention

2015

Weaknesses in early number skills have been found to be a risk factor for later difficulties in mathematical performance. Nevertheless, only a few intervention studies with young children have been published. In this study, the responsiveness to early support in kindergarteners with most severe difficulties was examined with two different computer programs. Two intervention groups were matched by age, visuo-spatial, and phonological working memory, as well as early number skills. After a short and intensive computerized intervention, the results indicated significant intervention effects for verbal counting Wilcoxon ES (r) = 0.46, and dot counting fluency, r = 0.52, when practiced with Grap…

Higher education teachers’ descriptions of their own learning: a quantitative perspective

2017

In this large-scale study, higher education teachers’ (n = 1028) descriptions of their own learning are examined with quantitative analyses. The study follows up an earlier qualitative study that, using a phenomenographic approach, identified four different ways in which teachers at Finnish universities of applied sciences described their own learning. The purpose of the present study was to find out how teachers’ descriptions were divided into the categories formed in the previous study and to examine whether teachers’ descriptions of their learning differ according to their position, gender and age. The results show that most teachers described their learning as an individual activity. Di…

Visual cues improve students’ understanding of divergence and curl: Evidence from eye movements during reading and problem solving

2019

The coordination of multiple external representations is important for learning, but yet a difficult task for students, requiring instructional support. The subject in this study covers a typical relation in physics between abstract mathematical equations (definitions of divergence and curl) and a visual representation (vector field plot). To support the connection across both representations, two instructions with written explanations, equations, and visual representations (differing only in the presence of visual cues) were designed and their impact on students’ performance was tested. We captured students’ eye movements while they processed the written instruction and solved subsequent c…

Insights into Finnish first-year pre-service teachers’ twenty-first century skills

2016

This study focuses on Finnish pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their twenty-first century skills, especially their learning strategies, collaboration and teamwork, as well as knowledge and attitudes related to ICT in education. The target group consist of 263 first-year pre-service teachers from three universities. The results outline how pre-service teachers perceive their twenty-first century skills, the relationships between different areas of these skills, and the differences among pre-service teachers in terms of perceived skills. The results indicate that the pre-service teachers perceive themselves as skilled learners in terms of learning strategies used as well as collaboration …

Kids Inspire Kids for STEAM

2017

Abstract The goal of the Kids Inspiring Kids in STEAM (KIKS) project was to raise students' awareness towards the multi- and transdisciplinary connections between the STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics), and make the learning about topics and phenomena from these fields more enjoyable. In order to achieve these goals, KIKS project has popularized the STEAM-concept by projects based on the students inspiring other students-approach and by utilizing new technologies, tools, open educational resources, and everyday items and materials. Through the students-inspiring-other-students-approach, we have aimed to get participating students developing STEAM activitie…