Fred Paas,Nadine Marcus,Kevin Sigayret,Peng Wang,Kim Ouwehand,Liye Zou
{"title":"Embodied guidance fading: When embodiment supports STEM learning by optimizing cognitive load","authors":"Fred Paas,Nadine Marcus,Kevin Sigayret,Peng Wang,Kim Ouwehand,Liye Zou","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2717080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2717080","url":null,"abstract":"Zhang et al.’s (2026) Perform First Hypothesis proposes that learners often benefit from direct sensorimotor action early in expertise development and from observing, imagining, or using abstract representations later. This commentary sharpens that proposal with cognitive load theory. We argue that action helps when it makes concept-relevant relations easier to process, such as when tracing a graph helps novices coordinate slope, variables, and change. Action can also hurt when it adds motor demands, redundant cues, or irrelevant activity without improving understanding. The central instructional aim is not movement or lower load for its own sake, but better learning, transfer, and flexible use of formal representations. We therefore reformulate the Perform First Hypothesis as embodied guidance fading: use the least embodied, task-relevant support needed for the learner’s current knowledge and the task’s element interactivity, then fade that support as schemas develop. This account yields concrete design principles, measurement recommendations, and testable predictions for embodied instruction in STEM.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yi Yang,Jon R. Star,Ru-De Liu,Kunli Li,Wei Hong,Xiantong Yang
{"title":"Defining and measuring mathematical strategy flexibility: A systematic review with a multidimensional framework","authors":"Yi Yang,Jon R. Star,Ru-De Liu,Kunli Li,Wei Hong,Xiantong Yang","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2695644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2695644","url":null,"abstract":"Mathematical strategy flexibility, a critical component of mathematical proficiency, has received substantial attention in educational research due to its pivotal role in adaptive expertise and problem solving. Despite its recognized importance, the construct of mathematical strategy flexibility has been explored through inconsistent definitions and measurement approaches, reflecting its complex and multifaceted nature. This systematic review synthesizes 140 studies to address these challenges, quantitatively analyzing patterns in definitions, measurements, definition-measurement alignment, and emerging trends over time. Based on these findings, we propose a comprehensive multidimensional framework comprising three core conceptual dimensions: Multiple Strategies (MS; the ability to know and generate multiple strategies), Optimal Strategy (OS; the ability to identify and utilize optimal strategies), and Switching (SW; the ability to adaptively switch strategies when problem or context changes). These three dimensions are further operationalized by seven key measurement components: (1) knowing multiple strategies, (2) generating multiple strategies, (3) identifying optimal strategies, (4) using optimal strategies when prompted, (5) using optimal strategies spontaneously, (6) adaptively switching strategies when prompted, and (7) adaptively switching strategies spontaneously. This MS-OS-SW framework not only bridges gaps in the theoretical understanding and measurement of the construct but also lays the groundwork for targeted interventions in educational practice.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Possibility mindset: A theory of motivation under constraint, with neurodivergence as a revealing interpretive case","authors":"Hari Srinivasan","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2689599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2689599","url":null,"abstract":"Growth mindset has reshaped how educational psychology explains persistence under challenge by showing that self-change beliefs influence how students interpret difficulty and respond to setbacks, particularly when learning conditions make improvement feasible. For disabled and neurodivergent learners, however, effort and strategy often cannot fully remove high-impact barriers, raising questions about how motivation operates under enduring constraint. Possibility mindset is proposed as a complementary construct for understanding motivation in such contexts. It is defined as a learner’s context-specific appraisal of “room to move,” grounded in three belief dimensions: self-change beliefs, environment-change beliefs, and pathway-flexibility beliefs. Although especially salient for disabled and neurodivergent learners, the framework applies more broadly to educational contexts in which effort alone cannot reliably secure access. The central claim is that self-change beliefs are most likely to sustain engagement when learners also expect environments to respond and pathways to remain viable. The framework specifies predicted belief configurations, outlines a research agenda for measurement and incremental validity testing, and identifies aligned interventions that combine psychological messages with visible structural flexibility. Drawing on attributional traditions, the framework shows how attributions about systems—not solely about the self—shape motivational decisions under enduring constraint.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"473 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Remodeling methods for researching self-regulated learning: Randomized controlled trials vs. N=me","authors":"Philip H. Winne","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2686111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2686111","url":null,"abstract":"This invited essay adapts my address delivered on the occasion of receiving the American Psychological Association Division 15 Career Achievement Award. I summarize my conceptualization of self-regulated learning (SRL) and, relative to that account, I identify deficiencies of today’s gold standards for research, the randomized controlled trial (RCT) and meta-analyses of RCTs. Studies adopting that paradigm misconstrue how learners practice SRL in their individual ways, garble how SRL relates to outcomes, and cannot validly ground generalizations about practices individual learners should adopt to regulate learning more productively. Software can be engineered to gather fine-grained, precise trace data documenting what each learner does as they study and which information they process via each of those events. Leveraging trace data, I propose an alternative to the gold standard for researching SRL (and other constructs), the N=me approach. I describe that approach, how it rectifies shortcomings of RCTs, and note some of its limitations.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A theoretical model for stimulating epistemic growth in learners","authors":"Gabe Avakian Orona,Jeffrey A. Greene","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2689595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2689595","url":null,"abstract":"People today must navigate an overwhelming flow of information, much of it misleading or false, while contending with deep political divides. In this post-truth era—where emotion and ideology often overshadow facts—the challenge is not only identifying reliable information, but also critically evaluating it while remaining open to diverse perspectives. Addressing this challenge requires effective epistemic thinking: a constellation of beliefs, knowledge, and dispositions that support critical engagement, truth-seeking, and meta-level awareness of knowledge structures. Despite growing recognition of its importance, no comprehensive framework currently specifies how epistemic interventions target the mechanisms underlying epistemic thinking. Moreover, existing models often operate at different levels of granularity, making it difficult to situate interventions within a broader process of epistemic growth. In this article, we address these gaps by proposing a theoretical model that integrates research on epistemic virtues, beliefs, and metacognitive knowledge and skills, alongside interventions designed to enhance them. We then demonstrate how this model can be extended to inform other frameworks of thinking and thriving in the modern world. Finally, we outline generative directions for future research, including applications to both general and discipline-specific learning.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"150 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Academic procrastination at three levels: The DEferral dispLAY (DELAY3) framework","authors":"Lisa Bäulke,Benjamin Nagengast,Ulrich Trautwein","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2686109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2686109","url":null,"abstract":"Procrastination—the voluntary and unnecessary delay of an intended personally important action, despite awareness of negative consequences and accompanied by subjective discomfort—is a widespread phenomenon and has typically been conceptualized as a result of self-regulatory failure. Existing theoretical approaches propose various mechanisms underlying procrastination, yet these have not been integrated into a comprehensive framework. Moreover, prior research tends to focus either on state aspects of procrastination or on more stable interindividual differences; it rarely addresses different levels simultaneously. With the proposed DEferral dispLAY (DELAY3) framework, we aim to move the field forward in four respects. First, we integrate currently dominant approaches to more comprehensively describe the (lack of) self-regulatory processes underlying procrastination. Second, we extend previous theoretical approaches by explicitly considering three different levels of procrastination, including situation-specific processes, domain-specific person characteristics, and general traits. Third, we take contextual factors of procrastination and their potential moderating role for individual behavior into account. Fourth, feedback cycles across levels, and regulatory processes on a state level are described. The DELAY3 framework provides a comprehensive framework for procrastination research. It offers guidance for future research and allows the derivation of targeted interventions.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Epistemic in/justice and theories of multiple source use: A narrative review and emerging sociocultural model","authors":"Simon Knight,Jason L. G. Braasch,Laura Allen","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2686106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2686106","url":null,"abstract":"Multiple source use (MSU) is a common phenomenon in everyday literacy tasks, and learning environments. A subset of MSU tasks implicates justice concerns, in requiring readers to engage with contested or contentious issues, or/and issues of power and in/equity in source and content evaluation and underlying topics of foci. Epistemic in/justice provides a conceptual frame to understand some of these issues, relating to testimonial and hermeneutic in/justice in how sources are treated and the interpretive resource available for epistemic communities to build knowledge. This article introduces a novel emerging account of epistemic in/justice in theoretical models of multiple source use, through a narrative review of both literatures that highlights areas of intersection in MSU tasks. We provide an exemplification of the account through discussion of a vignette describing a typical MSU task, and possible sites for closing, opening, and activating opportunities for engagement with epistemic justice in this task. Our approach has implications both in the use of MSU in research (as instantiating, probing, or challenging epistemic justice), and in MSU task design for pedagogic contexts.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multiple text comprehension: A civic good to be interrogated as a core task of human learning and development","authors":"Carol D. Lee","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2695636","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2695636","url":null,"abstract":"This article summarizes the contributions of the articles in this special issue focusing on the complexities of multiple text comprehension. The author provides additional recommendations regarding the importance of addressing the demands of multileg text comprehension in terms of pedagogical practices in the contexts of schooling; argues for the need to critically examine the assumptions we bring to understanding cultural membership as relevant to how people engage in multiple text comprehension and how we can address the epistemic justice goals called for across the articles in this special issue; and argues for the importance of warranting arguments around conditions that support multiple text comprehension in fundamental propositions regarding human functioning articulated from across the Science of Learning and Development and the neurosciences.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multiple texts, culture, marginalization, and generative AI: An introduction to the special issue","authors":"Alexandra List,Jason L. G. Braasch","doi":"10.1080/00461520.2026.2686110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2686110","url":null,"abstract":"In this Introduction to the Special Issue, our aims are three-fold. First, we provide the motivation for and explain the timing of this Special Issue. We also introduce three dimensions of analysis to justify why we asked authors to consider issues of culture, marginalization, and generative AI in relation to the literature on learning from multiple texts. These dimensions include that the analysis of culture, marginalization, generative AI, and multiple texts all require the critical consideration of language and source, reflect processes of homogenization and perpetuation, and demand individuals’ sense-making of and within broader social experience. Second, we analyze the Special Issue contributions to identify three unifying themes in the critiques introduced about the literature on learning from multiple texts. These critiques include the multiple texts literature’s (a) neglect of affect, (b) over-reliance on researcher-determined and constrained document sets, and (c) insufficient consideration of the sociotechnical context shaping students’ multiple text use and students’ own emerging conceptions of this context. Third, we introduce the idea of texts models as an epistemic tool that can be used to address some of these concerns by structuring students’ reflections on the affective, epistemic, technical, and social justice dimensions of their interactions with information.","PeriodicalId":48361,"journal":{"name":"Educational Psychologist","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148946732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}