We present experimental evidence on the impact of a multi-faceted program that integrates technology-aided instruction, teacher training and coaching, community ownership, and free primary education. Our setting is three districts in rural Zambia, where we randomly assigned the program across 30 treatment and 33 control schools. The results show…

Using ethnographic methods, this article looks closely at how a team of first-grade teachers and digital media artists in an urban elementary school used video in innovative ways during professional development over the course of one year. Extending a body of literature that primarily documents how video can be used as a tool in professional…

This mixed methods research explores the effects of literacy support tools to support comprehension strategies when reading informational e-books and print-based text with 14 first-grade students. This study focused on the following comprehension strategies: annotating connections, annotating "I wonders," and looking back in the text.…

Background/Context: Mathematics education, especially at early grade levels, continues to be an important focus for national education improvement efforts, and more districts are introducing technology as part of their solution. Along with increasing consistent delivery of personalized and individualized learning to students, technology- and…

While programming was introduced to mathematics classrooms in the 1980s, emerging robotic technologies have encouraged more widespread integration of these technologies to support the development of K-12 students' mathematical reasoning. The recent emphasis of programming and computational thinking in K-12 education has highlighted the need to…

This study used a person-centered approach to examine mother-daughter dyad behaviors when jointly solving addition problems during a card game. The goal was to identify maternal and child profile behaviors during the interaction as predictors of children's autonomous addition accuracy and strategy use at the end of first grade. Videotaped…

This article reports on 2 experiments in inner-city Baltimore evaluating a computer-assisted tutoring approach, Tutoring With Alphie (TWA), in which 1 paraprofessional can work with up to 6 children at a time. In Study 1, we randomly assigned 14 schools to receive TWA or to continue with whatever approaches they were currently using. Each…

Although some research-based educational practices have shown promise, many fail to be implemented at a scale that affects more than a small proportion of children. Further, research on interventions for young children includes mixed results, with most documenting "fadeout" of effects after several years, but some showing lasting…

Mobile devices have integrated themselves in society where they are used naturally and invisibly by individuals. Despite the fact that these devices are available to teachers and learners, the traditional style of classes is still the dominant style. This research explores the utilization of mobile applications in traditional classroom settings,…

The targeted reading intervention (TRI) is a professional development program for rural kindergarten and first grade classroom teachers to help them provide effective reading strategies with struggling readers. In two randomized controlled trials, the TRI was delivered two ways: (1) literacy coaches provided support for classroom teachers through…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how computer-assisted use of Reading-through-Writing (RtW) method relates to the level of literacy and reading motivation of school children in grades 1 and 2 (N = 261-385). The research also explored the extent to which the RtW method was perceived as useful among teachers and by school children with…

This study proposes an innovation Laser-Driven Interactive System (LaDIS), utilizing general IWBs (Interactive Whiteboard) didactics, to support student learning for rural and developing regions. LaDIS is a system made to support traditional classroom practices between an instructor and a group of students. This invention effectively transforms a…

Well-designed mathematics instruction focused on concepts and problem-solving skills associated with measurement and data analysis can build a foundational understanding for more advanced mathematics. This study investigated the efficacy of the Precision Mathematics Level 1 (PM-L1) intervention, a Tier 2 print- and technology-based mathematics…

There has been a drastic increase in the use of technology in the classroom over the past 20 years. As computers and tablets permeate our schools, their presence is oftentimes seen as a cure to whatever problems may exist. While the promise of technology has held true within some domains, little has been done to examine its efficacy in some areas.…

This article presents a comparative case study on the ways in which children's school ecologies facilitate their adjusting positively to first grade in risk-filled contexts in South Africa and Finland. The insights of two children (one South African, one Finnish) from socio-economically disadvantaged communities, their teachers, parents and…