This research focuses on implementing sit-to-stand desks in higher education to reduce sedentary time and improve student mental wellbeing. Since students in higher vocational education and academic education have less classes and more self-study hours than students in vocational education and training (VET), previous findings from VET cannot be directly translated to higher education. Through co-creation, we explore the needs and preferences of higher education students to implement sit-to-stand desks. Subsequently, we test the effect of this implementation during six months on physical activity, mental wellbeing, and academic performance. Positive results can stimulate wider use of sit-stand desks in education.

The mental well-being of secondary school students is declining, raising concerns with implications extending beyond school performance as low mental well-being negatively affect their future and society as a whole. A key factor in mental well-being is emotion regulation. Teacher-student interaction can stimulate emotion regulation; however research has focused on a) improving students’ ability to regulate their own emotions and b) outside real-life classrooms. Proposed research studies teacher-student interaction of emotion regulation in-the-moment, and how this relates to student mental well-being. By grounding this research in real-time classrooms this will uncover better support into fostering student mental well-being and learning.

This review study concerns a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of the student-centered, problem-driven learning methods, problem-based and project-based learning, on self-regulated learning in higher education. A comparison is made with lecture-based learning. Student-centered learning methods can differ greatly in design and implementation, such as the level of student control vs teacher direction that is offered. Other student characteristics (e.g., motivation) and implementation factors (e.g., group size) could also affect self-regulated learning. This review, therefore, aims to give more insight into what works and for whom regarding the improvement of self-regulated learning in student-centered, problem-driven learning methods.

Since 2024, smartphones are partially or completely banned at secondary schools. While demonstrating benefits during classes (better concentration and learning performance), its effects after school are unknown. Adolescents’ social lives occur online for a substantial amount of time, making smartphone use an integrated part of their life. Completely banning smartphones for a large part of the day may elicit fear of missing out, increase after-school smartphone use, fueling homework and bedtime procrastination. This project investigates these relationships during students’ daily routines, comparing partial versus total ban schools. The findings yield important recommendations for optimizing the smartphone ban policy.

Educators often believe that student interest naturally leads to better learning outcomes. But what if that interest sometimes does more harm than good? Recent research suggests that interest can foster overconfidence, leading students to misjudge their comprehension and study less effectively—a phenomenon called the “interest-overconfidence effect.” While most studies have examined this effect in controlled lab settings, its impact in real classrooms remains unclear. This project will explore when and how interest leads to overconfidence in everyday learning environments, providing educators with practical insights for designing interesting and effective learning materials.