When students feel comfortable in the learning environment and are being given authority to make their own choices about what they want to create, they can create significant artworks with different personal expressions through the form of narratives. Students feel this freedom especially when they are not in the regular school environment where…

Enhancing students' problem-solving abilities has been recognized as an important and challenging issue for technology-enhanced learning. Thus, previous research has attempted to address this issue by developing various mechanisms, among which a cognitive apprenticeship model can particularly enhance students' abilities. However, it is not clear…

Over the last decade there has been an increased focus on high-stakes standardized tests in reading and math. Social studies has been devalued in the classroom as many teachers and administrators focus their attention on reading and math instruction to avoid the punitive consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act. (2001). Based on this…

This study compared youth development outcomes of participants in a physical activity-based extended day program to the same outcomes during their school day. The extended day program, called "The Coaching Club," was offered to ten inner city fourth and fifth graders who attend an elementary school in a large metropolitan city. The program was…

Teachers can modify their instructional strategies with minimal training and effort, and this can result in increases in their students' self-efficacy. Self-efficacy judgments are based on four sources of information: an individual's own past performance, vicarious experiences of observing the performances of others, verbal persuasion that one…

Contemporary trends in education reflect a shift from traditional teacher-centered approaches to more student-centered approaches to learning. Empowering students in their own learning is facilitated by teaching them effective meaning-making strategies that support active participation in their own learning. Making this happen requires using…