Fostering critical thinking and creativity – a way to improve education

Using Educational Technology to Facilitate and Enhance Science Education

Scientific reasoning encompasses pupils’ ability to use evidence to understand natural phenomena, formulate explanations for them, and evaluate claims. It involves forming hypotheses, designing and carrying out observations or experiments, analysing data, drawing conclusions, presenting arguments, and revising ideas based on empirical evidence. In my talk, I will illustrate how these processes can be enabled and facilitated using educational technology such as virtual experiments (simulations) to engage in (guided) scientific inquiry practices. The studies cited show how educational technology serves to augment (rather than replace) hands-on experiments; furthermore, they illustrate effective ways to support cognitive and metacognitive processes during scientific inquiry.

Short biography of Katharina Scheiter

Language, Literacy and Learning to Read

Learning to read depends on children’s phonological skills and knowledge of letters, and measures of rapid naming ability are also correlated with reading fluency. Drawing on a longitudinal study of children at high risk of reading disorders, it is proposed that oral language forms the foundation of reading, yet its role has typically been underestimated in models of reading development. Data are presented highlighting both the direct and indirect impact of language skills beyond phonology on children’s reading outcomes. Findings are discussed within a multifactorial framework, and implications for interventions to promote reading and related educational skills are considered.

Short biography of Margaret (Maggie) Snowling

The Future of Games for Learning

Over the past two decades, research into games and learning has revealed how well-designed play can foster cognitive development, motivation and behavioural change across education, health and even the justice system. Yet as the world faces escalating disinformation, polarisation and social fragmentation, the field must evolve. This talk reflects on what we have learnt about how games cultivate thinking and skills – and argues that the next frontier lies in designing for shared understanding, critical discernment and civic imagination. Games for learning must now help rebuild the very social fabric that enables learning, trust and democracy itself.

Short Biography of Constance Steinkuehler

The Future of Learning: Tailoring Educational Approaches to Individual Backgrounds

Talent development frameworks have typically been associated with supporting the most able learners in schools. However, to engage effectively in talent development, it is necessary to gain an understanding of learners’ current skills and competences and to help them progress to the next level. As we work towards making society more inclusive, an equitable talent development framework requires recognising and embracing the backgrounds of all students and creating educational environments in which they can all thrive. In this presentation, I will discuss psychological factors that demonstrate how to personalise learning experiences by addressing the unique cultural, social and cognitive influences that shape each student’s educational journey.

Short Biography of Frank C. Worrell