Formative assessment with interactive whiteboards: A oneyear longitudinal study of primary studentsxe2x80x99 mathematical performance Abstract   The popularity of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) has grown and, in many countries, are nearly ubiquitous. Nevertheless, a lack of training, among other factors, has led to teachers misusing, or even abandoning this technology. While IWBs should improve learning outcomes, few studies have evaluated the impact of longterm IWBbased instruction. The purpose of this study is to track changes in the mathematical performance through formative assessment (FA) for primary school students participating in an IWB Formative Assessment (FA) system, characterized by elements including feedback, social learning through discussions, agentive learning through personalized options, and gamebased learning featuring amonggroup competition and withingroup collaboration. A convenience sample of 178xe2x80xafsgrade students from the same grade (four classes) participated in the study, which lasted one school year. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was utilized to analyze data from the IWB system, revealing the following: (1) a significant correlation between studentsxe2x80x99 involvement in formative IWB activities and mathematics achievement (txe2x80xafxe2x80xaf6.52; pxe2x80xafxe2x80xaf0.00); (2) no effect of gender on initial mathematics performance; (3) a significant role of student motivational goals on initial mathematics performance, with higher masteryavoidance associated with better initial assessments (txe2x80xafxe2x80xaf2.02, pxe2x80xafxe2x80xaf0.04) and higher performanceavoidance associated with lower initial assessments (txe2x80xafxe2x80xafxe2x88x922.60, pxe2x80xafxe2x80xaf0.03); (4) interaction between gender and linear change, with girls outperforming boys (txe2x80xafxe2x80xafxe2x88x922.57, pxe2x80xafxe2x80xaf0.01) in FA performance over time (although boys made advances on summative assessments); and (5) a negative interaction of masteryavoidance with linear change, where higher levels of masteryavoidance were associated with a greater decline in FA performance over time (txe2x80xafxe2x80xafxe2x88x922.57, pxe2x80xafxe2x80xaf0.01). In short, the research findings suggest that if teachers use IWBbased FA over a relatively long time, they must pay special attention to boys and those who hold high masteryavoidance goals.

The effects of coding on childrens planning and inhibition skills Abstract   Computational thinking (CT) and the coding element of it are progressively entering in the primary school curriculum worldwide. Yet, little is known about the effects of these skills on childrenu0027s cognitive development. In a clusterrandomized controlled trial, we examined how 1stgrade childrenu0027s gains in coding skills that follow instructional intervention transfer to two important executive functions (EFs): planning and response inhibition. Onehundred seventynine (179) first graders from 5 schools and 10 class groups, with no prior experience of coding, were randomly assigned to an experimental (coding, 5 classes) or control (standard STEM, 5 classes) instructional condition. The experimental intervention involved 8xe2x80xafh of coding activities (two weekly lessons for 4 weeks), through the Code.org platform. Children in the control group were exposed to standard STEM instruction. Four coding tasks drawn from Code.org, two standardized planning tasks (Elithorn maze test and Tower of London, ToL, test) and two standardized response inhibition tasks (NEPSYII inhibition subtest and numerical Stroop), were used to assess childrenu0027s skills at the pretest and posttest (after the instructional intervention). To measure retention, the same skills were also assessed for 44 children from the experimental group 5 weeks from the posttest (follow up). The results show that practice with coding through Code.org not only improved measurably childrenu0027s ability to solve coding problems, but also their EFs, increasing the time children spent planning, their ability to solve standardized planning tasks, and to inhibit prepotent responses. Such findings add to the still limited literature on the cognitive effects of coding, deepening our understanding of the positive implications of introducing Computational Thinking early in the school curriculum.