The study investigates the impact of Roadmap-formatted curriculum on student reading growth in grades 3-5 in the Ypsilanti Community Schools (Ypsilanti, MI). Classrooms in grades 3-5 were divided into two groups: those using the Roadmap-formatted, commercially-provided curriculum and those using the same commercially-provided curriculum in…

The Math Curriculum Impact Study was a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a digital core curriculum for Grade 5 mathematics. Reasoning Mind's Grade 5 Common Core Curriculum was a comprehensive, adaptive, blended learning approach that schools in the treatment group implemented for an entire school year. Schools…

The Math Curriculum Impact Study was a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a digital core curriculum for Grade 5 mathematics. Reasoning Mind's Grade 5 Common Core Curriculum was a comprehensive, adaptive, blended learning approach that treated schools implemented for an entire school year. The study was completed…

This study investigated the understudied area of virtual reality (VR) creation among elementary-aged youth, exploring their engagement in VR creation and the ways in which educators can facilitate this creative process. Using an embedded case study, the researcher examined how the youth visualize writing using the VR creation tool, CoSpaces. To…

Knowing a word means knowing its pronunciation, spelling, concept area, and meaning layers. Vocabulary is never an area that can be learned completely by individuals; rather it is a field that expands and deepens throughout life. Vocabulary teaching requires much more than just looking up words in a dictionary or using them in a sentence.…

In this empirical study we examined the effect of a literacy-infused science intervention on fifth grade economically challenged students' science achievement in the curriculum-based and standardized assessments. A total of 27 treatment students and 20 comparison students from two intermediate schools in a rural district in South Texas in the…

Schools nationwide are transitioning to the Common Core--our advice to you: Don't go it alone! Our new book, "Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources, K-5," shows you that teaching the Common Core State Standards in the elementary grades doesn't have to be intimidating! This easy-to-use guide provides model lesson plans for…

Students need to be prepared for the 21st century by developing the literacy skills necessary for participating in the age of synthesis--an age that requires a progressive set of skills and knowledge. The authors identified nine educational innovations that are perceived to be effective for preparing students for the 21st century age of synthesis…

With the adoption of new content standards, teachers are often left without adequate curriculum resources. This study examined how educators used their curricular resources to teach new mathematics standards in the USA. Analyses of open-ended survey responses from 257 teachers and teacher-leaders in Grades 3 through Grade 5 indicated that every…

"Odyssey® Math" is a web-based program developed by Compass Learning® for mathematics instruction in grades K-8. The online program includes a mathematics curriculum and formative assessments designed to support differentiated and data-driven instruction. Based on assessment results, the program generates an individualized sequence of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a physical education supportive curriculum and technological devices, heart rate monitor (HRM) and pedometer (PED), on physical activity. A single-subject ABAB research design was used to examine amount and level of participation in physical activity among 106 suburban fourth and fifth…

In the past decade, reform efforts in science education have increasingly attended to engaging students in scientific practices such as scientific modeling. Engaging students in scientific modeling can help them develop their epistemologies by allowing them to attend to the roles of mechanism and empirical evidence when constructing and revising…

Much has been written about developing outdoor classrooms or how to generate effective and integrated learning using the outdoors. However, with the release of the "Next Generation Science Standards," teachers need to consider how they are going to design their science curriculum to include opportunities for students to learn about core…

While investment in technology for use in the classroom is increasing, studies still do not reveal significant improvements in learning. Investigations have shown that aligning the design of learning experiences with students' needs creates synergy in the teaching and learning classroom processes. This can be achieved through orchestration, the…

In this paper, the authors discuss a portion of the design research process of developing an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) for classroom use. The goal of this ITS is to simultaneously provide automated support for student learning and generate diagnostic information for teachers that can lead directly to actionable recommendations for pedagogy…