High-quality field-based experiences are at the core of teacher preparation programs; however, the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited access to such placements for pre-service teachers. This descriptive study examined how virtual tutoring in a summer-semester intermediate literacy course impacted both pre-service teachers and students served.…

Even though a school in Southern Virginia had been utilizing a variety of manipulatives, calculators, and computers to transition students through the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) sequence; students did not meet the state proficiency requirement on the standardized math assessment. A qualitative descriptive case study design, grounded…

Spatial-Temporal Math (ST Math) is game-based, instructional software for K-12 students created by the MIND Research Institute (MIND). ST Math is integrated into classroom instruction, but can also be used in a computer lab or at home. The ST Math software games begin without language and symbol abstractions by posing math programs as purely…

During the fall of the 2016-17 school year, first, second, and third grade students in six elementary schools -- two in St. Paul and Eagan, Minnesota, and four in Bedford County in the Piedmont region of Virginia -- were assigned to take part in randomized efficacy trials carried out for the purpose of rigorously evaluating the impact of…

The purpose of this design case is to tell the story of our work to design context-aware activity notification for learning management systems. The story of the design experience is not simple, in that it includes research and development, conceptual evolution, implementation and extinction, and multiple phases, including inspiration for future…

A test of the effectiveness of patterning instruction was conducted with 140 first-graders. First, 383 first-graders from 20 classes were screened on a patterning test. The eight in each class who scored worst were given individual 15-minute lessons on patterning or reading or mathematics or social studies three times weekly for a period of 6 1/2…

Computer-based instruction in kindergarten classrooms can be controversial, but one Los Angeles charter school is showing promising results and plans to expand the hybrid approach. The school conducted an experiment with a teaching method called blended learning, in which students learn from computers as well as teachers. The kindergarten…

The reported exploratory study consisted primarily of classroom visits, videotaped sessions, and post-treatment interviews whereby second graders (n = 12) worked on problems in planar geometry, individually and in triads, using physical and virtual manipulatives. The goal of the study was to: 1) characterize the nature of geometric thinking found…

The SuccessMaker[R] program is a set of computer-based courses used to supplement regular classroom reading instruction in grades K-8. Using adaptive lessons tailored to a student's reading level, SuccessMaker[R] aims to improve understanding in areas such as phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and concepts of…

After 10 years of No Child Left Behind standards-focused education, mathematics scores have improved only marginally for elementary-aged students. Students who developed a solid conceptual mathematics foundation at the elementary level succeeded later in higher-level mathematics courses; thus, educators have sought ways to increase mathematics…

In the current state of social studies education, field trips are being cut from many schools' curriculum. While not a true substitution, today's technologies provide some opportunities through virtual field trips (VFTs) to simulate these experiences, engage students in knowledge production and disciplined inquiry, and have interactions with the…