In this article, we present some core ideas underpinning research that takes a Designs for Learning (DFL) approach guided by theoretical considerations and choices, as well as by practitioners’ challenges and inquiries. These choices shape, and are shaped by, DFL’s research goals and motives, theoretical orientation, research objectives, questions, and practitioners’ participation and ethical considerations. Further, we present and discuss how DFL as a research approach compares to other design-oriented research strategies. Even if a DFL research approach shares several similarities with other approaches of inquiry, we argue that it remains primarily oriented towards knowledge areas that relate to understanding and developing learning and teaching – both in formal education and in informal settings such as museums.

There are different strategies to analyze teacher and student performance when they interact with each other in class. The most used strategies are direct observation and verbal reports. Even though what is observed or reported depends on theoretical frameworks regarding didactic interactions, these must be related to teacher functions such as supervision, providing feedback, and evaluation of student performance. In this study, instruments for observational recording and verbal reports were developed and validated considering teacher functions and their student performance counterparts to compare the degree of correspondence or divergence between data gathered from both strategies. 135 students enrolled in a science class and their teachers participated. The class was taught in a public high school located in center/south Mexico. Classes were videotaped and the corresponding observational records were analyzed. Two months later, verbal reports were administered to students and teachers. Coincidences and differences that were found revealed that observer-observe interaction is conditioned by social norms. These results were interpreted considering the notion of silence as a communicative element.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of game-based learning (GBL) through the use of Genially in English as a foreign language (EFL) online instruction. The participants were 61 EFL undergraduate students, who were distributed into an experimental group (32 students), and a control group (29 students). Their ages ranged from 22 to 56 years old, and their English proficiency level was B1, according to the Common European Framework of References (CEFR). The students were enrolled in two pre-intermediate courses that are part of an EFL Teaching program at a private university in southern Ecuador. The courses were delivered in an online remote learning environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study followed a quasi-experimental approach and it took place over a sixteen-week period. The instruments included a diagnostic survey, a pre-test, a post-test, a students’ perceptions survey, and a semi-structured interview. The main findings revealed that Genially games have the potential to enhance EFL learners’ academic performance in online instruction, particularly in aspects related to students’ knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in context. Besides, it was found that according to students’ perceptions, the implementation of games based on their real learning needs increases their motivation, especially when feedback is effectively provided.  

This qualitative study explored the possibility of implementing the happy school model (HSM) in the context of Vietnamese higher education, with a focus on the socio-cultural perspectives of nine tertiary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers at different career stages. Through semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis, and theoretical underpinning by constructivist paradigm and humanistic education theory, the study illuminated multifaceted insights. Key themes emerged, including aligning the HSM with holistic student development, recognizing challenges and potential benefits, balancing traditional Confucian values, and adapting the model to Vietnam’s unique socio-cultural and economic landscape. The findings provide valuable guidance for educational innovation in Vietnam, highlighting complexities of aligning a new educational paradigm with existing practices and cultural norms. While the study’s focus on a specific cultural context and limited participant pool presents certain limitations, the insights offer rich contributions to the broader global dialogue on education and human development. Future research directions and practical implications are also discussed, making this study a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, and researchers interested in the intersection of universal educational principles and specific cultural contexts like Vietnam.

This article is aimed at integrating the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) system with the Didactic Suitability Criteria (DSC) of the Didactic-Mathematical Knowledge and Competences (DMKC) system to improve the reflection of prospective mathematics teachers on online classes. Thirteen prospective teachers, divided into two subgroups, participated in a training cycle that addressed both models. Each participant used and created indicators of reflection of the assigned model to analyze an online class on functions, and subgroups exchanged reflections to examine the class from the other model’s perspective. It was noted that the DMKC model allows for a broad analysis of the class but has limitations in assessing technology and the teacher's technological knowledge, while TPACK’s emphasis is on technology and teacher knowledge but does not explicitly address mathematical interaction or affective aspects. It is concluded that combining the TPACK model and the DSC of the DMKC model can generate more complete tools to reflect on online math classes and consequently allow for a comprehensive evaluation that covers both the mathematical content and the technological and pedagogical skills of the teacher.

Writing is a complex activity. If a child’s preparation for writing, which begins to develop in the preschool years, is poor, this can inhibit writing and cause problems. Because children are expected to know how to hold a pencil correctly, how to sit correctly while writing, and how to prepare and adjust the writing surface without planning, this study seeks to determine how first graders are prepared for writing in terms of selected biomechanical and ergonomic factors at the beginning of the school year. The goal was to determine whether there are any differences between students according to sex and handedness and if there is any connection between basic pre-writing skills and the ergonomic suitability of furniture (table and chair size). An empirical study was conducted involving 246 first graders from randomly selected public primary schools in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and fifteen of their female teachers. The results of the research showed that inadequate furniture size affects how students sit and that there are statistically significant differences between the positions of the writing surface for right-handers and left-handers. The research did not show a correlation between posture and pencil grip, but it is very likely that it would have been demonstrated in a larger sample. No sex differences were found between pencil grip, writing surface position, and posture; no connection between handedness, pencil grip, and posture; no connection between pencil grip, poor posture, and writing surface position; and no connection between posture and ergonomically appropriate school desks and chairs.