Due to the rigor and pace of undergraduate medical anatomy courses, it is not uncommon for students to struggle and fail initially. However, repetition of coursework places an additional burden on the student, instructor, and institution. The purpose of this study was to compare the exam preparation strategies of repeating and non-repeating…

Out of over 1.9 million students in the 2018 ACT-tested graduating class, 44% took the full ACT® test at least twice in hopes of improving their scores. Camara and Allen (2017) support this practice, confirming that factors such as time in the classroom between test administrations are associated with increases in ACT Composite scores from the…

Retention in kindergarten involves holding students back from advancing to the next grade level due to unresolved learning gaps. This practice has been the subject of continuous research as educational experts seek to balance the potential developmental risks of prolonging kindergarten by providing students an additional year to fill their…

Schools should be spaces where students feel safe and welcome, actively engage with learning, and strive for success. Discipline policies and practices should reinforce these values, particularly safety and belonging. Unfortunately, ineffective discipline practices that punish students harshly and take them away from the classroom -- like…

Establishing positive classroom expectations, or norms, that reflect the shared values of a classroom community (i.e., educators, students, families) is an important step toward creating a positive teaching and learning environment. This brief provides guidance for creating and using a classroom teaching matrix to explicitly identify, define, and…

Courses: Introduction to Rhetoric and Communication, Basic Course, Public Speaking, Classical Rhetoric. Objectives: To re-establish disciplinary commitment to civic education in perilous democratic times through "imitatio."

This qualitative descriptive study explored which components of intervention programs, if any, influence grade retention of struggling readers at the elementary school level in one school district on the East Coast. Multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS) is the theoretical framework that guided this study. The sample group consisted of 12…

This is a practical article for teachers in the primary grades and for other teachers and reading specialists whose students experience difficulty responding automatically to high-frequency words. In this article, we will begin by providing some helpful information about vocabulary and high-frequency words in particular. You will learn why…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is "Institutional Grit." Articles include: (1) The Link between…

This Teaching Tip describes how one second-grade teacher used whole-class repeated reading (WCRR) to promote social interaction and develop reading confidence with English learners (ELs). The authors share a brief review of professional literature on the challenges of ELs and the benefits of repeated reading and WCRR. The authors also provide…

Teachers of young learners (YLs) often use songs and movement to engage children in the classroom. However, are there missed opportunities for language learning and practice that can be added to what they are already doing in their English for young learner (EYL) classes? A deeper understanding of the importance of music in children's lives and…

Grade retention as a major element in education and reading policy has been adopted by at least 14 states, with 32+ states linking reading intervention to high-stakes testing. These policies ignore four decades of research on the negative consequences of grade retention and the significant body of research on effective and supportive literacy…

The authors present findings from a data-driven account in which they followed ten fifth-grade students receiving intervention in reading through Georgia's test-based grade retention policy. Under the policy, the students had little confidence in themselves as readers and felt that reading test passages was unnecessary and difficult. Consequently,…

In elementary school, the use of repetitive songs to help children remember concepts is commonplace and is usually very effective. Unfortunately for many students, this strategy is generally not used in later grades. A group of mathematics teachers at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, have taken this approach to a new creative…

Developing preservice and inservice teachers' sociopolitical consciousness remains an important part of supporting the success of P-12 student experiences. The authors recognize that one way to enhance the sociopolitical consciousness aspect of culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching is through experiential opportunities that support teacher…