In order to thrive in today's uncertain environment, there is a need to master 21st century skills as well as knowledge of key subjects. Project-based learning (PBL) has been recommended as an important instructional strategy to prepare students for their future work and life. As teachers play an important role in classroom instructional practice, understanding their perspectives on PBL is essential in order to provide them with support for its successful implementation. We investigated how Finnish pre- and in-service class teachers and mathematics and science teachers (N = 257) view PBL in terms of (1) its objectives, (2) its characteristics, (3) the suitable application and situation regarding its implementation, and (4) support for and barriers to its implementation. We collected data from two questionnaire surveys, project plans, and reports and then analysed them quantitatively. We found that a majority of the teachers considered the development of students’ knowledge and understanding of mathematics and science, and 21st century skills as important objectives of PBL in mathematics and science education. The development of teamwork skills and the connection between theory and practice were regarded as key PBL characteristics. Moreover, PBL was perceived as suitable for both revising and learning new content. Nevertheless, the relative inadequacy of resources and support for PBL implementation was reported. Of particular necessity were ready-made project instructions, ideas, tips, and examples; advice from experienced teachers; training and guidance on basic PBL issues; and more time allocation. We discuss implications for teachers’ professional development towards PBL.

Since educational design research (EDR) was introduced to educational research at the beginning of the 1990s, it has gained recognition as a promising research approach that bridges the gap between research and practice in education. This paper aims to investigate how EDR has been utilised and developed and which challenges it has faced by systematically reviewing 21 Finnish EDR doctoral dissertations on mathematics, science, and technology education published between January 2000 and October 2018. The findings indicate that all dissertations yielded practical and theoretical contributions. Moreover, common EDR characteristics, including the use of educational problems in practice as a point of departure, research in real-world settings, evolution through an iterative process, development of practical interventions, and refinement of theoretical knowledge, were found in all dissertations. Most of the doctoral researchers were confronted with challenges, such as high demand for EDR with limited resources and difficulties associated with multidisciplinary teamwork. However, the dissertations were diverse in terms of research contexts, practical educational problems, research outcomes, research methodologies, scale, and collaboration. This systematic review not only enhances the understanding of the utilisation, development, and challenges of EDR but also provides implications for future EDR.

Educational design research (EDR) seeks to contribute to both practice and theory by developing solutions that improve educational practice and generating usable and generalisable knowledge. Most EDR researchers tend to focus on reporting their research contributions to educational practice. Therefore, there is a need for disseminating research that pays more attention to the theoretical contributions of EDR so that those outside a particular EDR project can benefit. This paper focuses on the theoretical contributions, particularly the design framework and design methodological knowledge, of a 6-year EDR enquiry that aimed to develop educational technologies that promote primary school mathematics learning and classroom practice. Informed by the literature and direct experiences of working in collaboration with teachers and various disciplines during this iterative study, a design framework for developing real-world educational technologies and guidelines for conducting EDR are proposed. The design framework highlights four essential aspects—content, pedagogy, practice, and technology—that should be considered when developing educational technologies to ensure their educational benefits, feasibility, and successful real-world utilisation and adoption. The proposed guidelines for conducting EDR, such as exploring design alternatives and employing appropriate design construction and evaluation methods, can assist other researchers, including a single doctoral student, in embracing opportunities and overcoming the challenges that may emerge.

Tangible technologies provide interactive links between the physical and digital worlds, thereby merging the benefits of physical and virtual manipulatives. To explore the potentials of tangible technologies for learning linear equations, a tangible manipulative (TM) was designed and developed. A prototype of the initial TM was implemented and evaluated using mixed methods (i.e., classroom interventions, paper-based tests, thinking aloud sessions, questionnaires, and interviews) in real classroom settings. Six teachers, 24 primary school students, and 65 lower secondary school students participated in the exploratory study. The quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that the initial TM supported student learning at various levels and had a positive impact on their learning achievement. Moreover, its overall usability was also accepted. Some minor improvements with regard to its pedagogy and usability could be implemented. These findings indicate that the initial TM is likely to be beneficial for linear equation learning in pre-primary to lower secondary schools and be usable in mathematics classrooms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Despite the increasing use of technologies in the classroom, there are concerns that technology-enhanced learning environments may hinder students’ communication and interaction. In this study, we investigated how tangible technologies can enhance students’ multimodal communication and interaction during equation-solving pair work compared to working without such technologies. A tangible app for learning equation solving was developed and tested in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms with two class teachers and 24 students. Video data of the interventions were analysed using deductive and inductive content analysis. Coded data were also quantified for quantitative analysis. Additionally, teacher interview data were used to compare and contrast the findings. The findings showed that the tangible app better promoted students’ multimodal communication and peer interaction than working only with paper and pencil. When working in pairs, tangible-app students interacted with one another much more often and in more ways than their paper-and-pencil peers. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of its contributions to research on tangible technologies for learning, educational technology development, and the use of tangibles in classrooms to support students’ multimodal communication and peer interaction.

Computational Thinking (CT) is widely recognised as a transversal competence essential for learning, problem solving, and knowledge transfer across disciplines. However, its effective integration into school education remains strongly dependent on the availability of assessment instruments that are pedagogically meaningful, psychometrically sound, and applicable across diverse educational contexts. This paper presents COMATH, a cross-national assessment instrument designed to evaluate CT in students aged 9–14. The instrument adopts a phase-based development and validation framework that integrates Bebras-inspired tasks, Item Response Theory, factor-analytic methods, learning analytics, and teacher and student feedback. The assessment was iteratively developed and piloted between 2023 and 2025 in six European countries, with data collected from 6,480 students and 155 teachers. The findings demonstrate that a phased assessment approach enables systematic calibration of task difficulty, robust evaluation of item functioning, and meaningful interpretation of student performance across age groups and national contexts. The results further highlight how well-designed CT assessment can support instructional decision-making rather than serve solely as a summative measure. The study argues for conceptualising CT assessment as a dynamic and iterative process that links measurement, psychometric validation, and pedagogical use in school education.