The main aim of this article was to investigate the educational potential of a game-based math game competition to engage students in training rational numbers. Finnish fourth (n = 59; M[subscript age] = 10.36) and sixth graders (n = 105; M[subscript age] = 12.34) participated in a math game competition relying on intra-classroom cooperation and…

Critics of test-based accountability warn that test preparation has a negative influence on teachers' instruction due to a focus on procedural skills. Others advocate that the adoption of more rigorous assessments may be a way to incentivize more ambitious test preparation instruction. Drawing on classroom observations and teacher surveys, we do…

The researchers in this study investigated the impact of mathematics-focused parental involvement on Kindergarten to Grade 8 children and parents as well as factors prompting that impact. Qualitative analysis consisting of parent, child, and teacher interviews and 3-year quantitative testing showed significant improvements in students' mathematics…

Students with physical and health disabilities struggle with basic mathematical concepts. The purpose of this research study was to increase the students' mathematical computation skills through implementing new strategies and/or methods. The strategies implemented with the students was utilizing the ten-frame tiles and technology with the purpose…

In the era of contemporary society, which revolves around the fast information science revolution, the pupil is no longer just an observer in the educational process but rather an active constructor of one's own knowledge. Current didactic theories proclaim teaching, in which the teacher is an instructor and a facilitator, and as such should…

New systems that seek to evaluate teachers with regard to their classroom quality often rely on observation instruments that capture general instructional pedagogies. However, decades of research suggest that content-specific dimensions of instruction also are important to differentiate teachers and improve student outcomes. We explore the degree…

Children using robotics for engineering, science, technology, and mathematics (CREST-M) is an ongoing curriculum creation and evaluation project developing math-focused science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units that incorporate storytelling with math and are designed to be engaging for students from backgrounds…

Word learning can build the high-quality word representations that support skilled reading and language comprehension. According to the partial knowledge hypothesis, words that are partially known, a.k.a. "frontier words" (Durso & Shore, 1991), may be good targets for instruction precisely because they are already familiar. However,…

In this study, we examined whether orthographic learning can be demonstrated in disabled readers learning to read in a transparent orthography (Dutch). In addition, we tested the effect of the use of text-to-speech software, a new form of direct instruction, on orthographic learning. Both research goals were investigated by replicating Share's…

Writing may be an especially useful tool for improving the reading comprehension of lower performing readers and students with disabilities. However, it is reasonable to expect that students with poor writing skills in particular, may actually be less adept at using writing to improve their reading skills, and may not be able to do so without…

Gratitude is essential to social life and well-being. Although research with youth populations has gained momentum recently, only two gratitude interventions have been conducted in youth, targeting mostly adolescents. In the current research, we tested a new intervention for promoting gratitude among the youngest children targeted to date.…

Robotics competitions for K-12 students are popular, but are students really learning and improving their STEM scores through robotics competitions? If not, why not? If they are, how much more effective is learning through competitions than traditional classes? Is there room for improvement? What is the best robotics competition model to maximize…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the SuccessMaker (SM) program along with teacher instruction and skill development on the academic performance of fourth grade students. School personnel are searching for efficient and effective means for improving instruction and knowledge. Instructional technology can be very…

Background: A key aspect of social perception is the interpretation of others' intentions. Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have difficulty interpreting benign intentions when a negative event occurs. From a cognitive processing perspective, interpreting benign intentions can be challenging because it requires integration of…

This study draws on the application of sociocultural theory to second-language learning and teaching to examine the impact of a design-based research approach on teacher development and literacy instruction to English-language learners (ELLs). Design-based research methodology was employed to derive theoretical suppositions relating to the process…