Drawing out emotions in primary grade geometry: An analysis of participant-produced drawings of Grade 3–6 students

Research on psychosocial classroom learning environments has a strong tradition due to the early discovery of a relationship between positive classroom climate and academic performance and motivation, engagement, participation, and attitude towards school and teaching. Yet, more research is needed in this area due to the rich concept of classroom climate. In this paper, I focus on the emotional classroom climate in specific mathematics lessons, namely geometry lessons. The goals of this paper are threefold: (a) to present an analytical tool to determine the emotional classroom climate in geometry lessons using participant-produced drawings, (b) to provide insight into the emotional classroom climate in primary grade geometry lessons (Grades 3-6), and (c) to report on the differences and similarities between the grade levels regarding the emotional classroom climate. In total, 114 German primary grade students participated in the study. The emotional classroom climate was analyzed using participant-produced drawings. The results showed that the emotional classroom climate in all grades could be described as positive and relatively stable. However, positive emotional classroom climate dominated in Grade 3 geometry lessons only. Negative classroom climate was elicited in very few cases, if at all. Still, an ambivalent classroom climate (both positive and negative emotions) increased from the lower to the higher grades. Lastly, versatile implications for theory and practice are discussed regarding the methodology as well as possible future directions.

High School Students’ Emotional Perception and Attitudes Toward English Teacher’s Feedback in Cloud Classroom Learning Environments

Cloud classrooms are catching increasing attention in English teaching during the outbreak. This study, by using multiple correlation analysis, path analysis, and data collected from randomly selected 230 participants, explored the effects of students’ emotional perceptions and attitudes towards teaching feedback in cloud classroom learning environments. It was concluded that all emotional perceptions correlated significantly and positively, and of which learning motivation was the most significant effect, followed by interest. Besides, learning motivation could essentially predict the perceived teaching feedback in this learning environment. Furthermore, students with strong self-confidence could spark their learning motivation and interest in English learning. Concerning students’ attitudes towards teachers’ feedback, high-score students preferred more profound and euphemistic comments; medium-score students hoped to catch more attention and obtain positive feedback from teachers; poor-score students favored direct and explicit evaluations. These findings might be helpful to future researchers who attempt to discover non-verbal and peer feedback to students’ learning outcomes and emotions in technology-based learning environments.

Human connection and learning

Human connection is fundamental to learning. Through social interaction, we consciously and unconsciously share a range of states with others in the learning environment which assists us to understand one another and the experience. Underpinning this sense of connection is a phenomenon known as social synchrony – an innate capacity that allows us to connect with and understand others. The nature of this connection is represented in the quality of the learning environment, and is colloquially referred to as the ‘vibe’. We’ve all sensed it in our own classes or our own learning experiences in the classroom, but does it impact learning and, if so, how can we manage it to promote learning? These were the practical questions as an educator that drove my initial research into human connection and learning in school contexts. Using a science of learning lens, I wanted to understand the factors that contribute to this ‘vibe’, the strategies that we could use to enhance it, and the indicators of its quality. The findings have not just informed our understanding of classroom learning environments in schools, but also the role of human connection in learning beyond the classroom, into the workplace, in online environments, and across the lifespan.

Science Classroom Learning Environments in Afghanistan: Assessment, Effects and Determinants

Although the field of classroom learning environments has undergone remarkable expansion and internationalisation, no study in Afghanistan in any subject area or at any educational level has ever adopted a learning environment framework or involved the assessment and investigation of classroom environments. Our study in Afghanistan included seven learning environment scales from the widely-used What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire, together with two scales assessing the student attitudes of Enjoyment and Self-regulation. After minor modifications to suit the Afghani context, scales were translated into Dari (one of the two dominant languages in Afghanistan) and then independently back-translated to check the accuracy of the original translation. Analyses of data from 1619 grade 10‐12 science students supported the validity and reliability of the Dari-language scales. Past research in other countries was replicated in Afghanistan in that positive and statistically-significant associations were found between the learning environment and student attitudes. Some consistent patterns of gender differences and school-location differences (urban/rural) were identified.

Enhancing Motivation and Engagement in Math classrooms using Inquiry-based learning

Students in math classrooms are disengaged and math anxious which results in them losing interest in any activity related to mathematics. This paper is an exploratory review which focuses on the topic of student motivation and engagement in classroom learning environments focusing on mathematics and the instructional method of inquiry-based learning (IBL). IBL has shown to impact student motivation and engagement, but the outcomes of this impact are still unclear. Thus, IBL is explored as a potential method to impact motivation and engagement in children. Expectancy-value theory (EVT) is used to examine the aforementioned relationship using symbolic interactionist and structural-functionalist theories for classroom interactions and math self-concept respectively. Finally, conclusions are made about relationships between IBL and motivation and engagement.