The present study aimed to develop the thinking maps training package and compare its training effect with the thinking maps method on the reading performance of second and fifth grade of elementary school male dyslexic students. For this mixed method exploratory study, from among the above mentioned grades' students in Isfahan, 90 students who…

The role parents can play in supporting early reading attainment is well documented. There is still, however, a need to understand what motivates parents to become involved in reading at home with their child. Past research, based upon correlational studies, has mixed findings regarding the influence of the teacher and the child on parents'…

In recent years, many students have developed a fixed mindset as a result of the national focus on raising test scores. The present study aims to investigate the effects of teacher language and the inclusion of growth mindset feedback on the writing motivation of second and third grade students. The researcher used a mixed-methods,…

This action research study examined how the integration of technology in a second grade ELA classroom impacted levels of student engagement. Research was conducted to investigate how utilizing various technological tools to meet learning goals and objectives in the classroom impacted levels of student engagement as perceived by the students and…

There is a great deal of enthusiasm for the use of games in formal educational contexts; however, there is a notable and problematic lack of studies that make use of replicable study designs to empirically link games to learning (Young, et al., 2012). This paper documents the iterative design and development of an educationally focused game,…

Australian youth (5-17) are exhibiting the most alarming statistics surrounding poor physical activity (PA) levels and increasing correlating chronic disease trends (i.e. obesity). With schools well positioned to address such concerns, this study aimed to determine the type, frequency and intensity levels of PA being undertaken by children during…

This paper presents the results of a multi-method study examining elementary students with high self-reported levels of mathematics motivation. Second- through fifth-grade students at a Title One school in the southeastern United States completed the Elementary Mathematics Motivation Instrument (EMMI), which examines levels of mathematics…

Recently, schools nationwide have expressed a renewed interest in school gardens, viewing them as innovative educational tools. Most of the scant studies on these settings investigate the health/nutritional impacts, science learning potential, or emotional dispositions of students. However, few studies examine the shifts in attitudes that occur…

What does it mean to be engaged, especially when it comes to literacy learning? It is this question that drove my doctoral research in 2007 when I became a participant observer in a grade two classroom with the goal of making the everyday visible while sharing a greater understanding of classroom life in relation to engagement. Six years later, I…

Teacher candidates in one Professional Development School did make a difference in children's academic growth. This paper describes a mixed-methods study that investigated student achievement of elementary children after receiving interventions from teacher candidates and identified the perceived benefits and challenges of a new Professional…

This mixed-methods case study examined the notebook entries of one class of 22 second graders as a way of examining how teacher identity shaped the way students experienced their science curriculum. These notebook entries were created during lessons with three different teachers over the course of one school year, using similar kit-based materials…

A mixed-method embedded research design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of the integration of technology for second-grade students' vocabulary development and learning. Two second-grade classes with a total of 40 students (21 boys and 19 girls) were randomly selected to participate in this study for the course of a semester. One…

This research study examines the impact of teacher research on participants in a large-scale educational reform initiative in the United States, No Child Left Behind, and its strand for reading teachers, Reading First. Reading First supported professional development for teachers in order to increase student scores on standardized tests. The…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the academic achievement in reading among students enrolled in single-gender and coeducational classes, as well as the impact of teachers' perceptions on the outcome of academic achievement. The study used a mixed-method approach to address this purpose. This study reported…

This mixed method study explored three approaches to reading fluency and their impact on students' reading fluency, perceived reading efficacy, and engagement. The quantitative portion of the study was conducted with 182 second-grade students and was guided by the following questions: (a) Which instructional method, iPod Touch, student-pairing, or…