Productive talk is structured talk designed to support students in developing a deep understanding of the content (Michaels et al., 2008): a characteristic of high-quality mathematics instruction (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2014). Students who engage in talk during mathematics class have opportunities to make sense of the…

The abilities to listen reflectively and speak respectfully concerning another person's opinion, as well as to think critically about that opinion and one's own, are essential to a functioning democracy. The teaching and learning of these abilities is well incorporated into the social studies and English language arts standards that are used to…

This study looked at the effectiveness of differentiated learning in enhancing students' mathematical outcomes by incorporating varied content, processes, and products. Employing a mixed-methods experimental design, the research hypothesized that differentiated instruction significantly influences students' performance in mathematics exams. The…

Entomology is a foundational subject in the sciences and is often required in curriculum standards for K-12 education because insects allow students to learn about animals in a controlled way. As a result, entomology education is a common yet frequently overlooked aspect of academic learning. To better understand the role an interactive insect…

While the merits of dialogic talk for supporting students' learning is well documented, the contribution of specific talk moves on learning outcomes remains less understood. This study was conducted to investigate how student-generated talk moves during whole-classroom discussions, as captured by the Low-Inference Discourse Observation tool,…

Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, this secondary analysis investigated the relations among classroom dialogic interaction, fifth-grade students' reading achievement, and teachers' dialogic stances. First, quantitative analyses of time-sampled lesson observations and state reading test scores suggested that the more class time…

Parent-child conversations are impacted by environmental setting. Yet, few studies have considered where mothers and early adolescent youth prefer to have conversations about daily stressors. This study examines where mothers and youth prefer to have conversations about daily stressors, differences in preference based on demographic variables, and…

In this contribution, we present a follow-up work-in-progress on an innovative system for facilitating small-group online discussions using an avatar during a video conference. A previous study has shown that the system had an effective, understandable, and more participatory interaction. Here, we examine long-term usage and its effects on…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether justifying one's own social knowledge (moral, societal, psychological) toward complex social-moral issues through collaborative argumentation was associated with the improvement of social perspective taking for elementary students. A total of 129 5th graders (52% female, Mage = 10.98) from six…

The abstract nature of grammar makes metalinguistic thinking a challenge for both teachers and students. However, it is suggested writing conferences in which students are encouraged to reflect on grammatical choices and their impact on meaning may be an effective means to develop metalinguistic awareness. This paper draws on cognitive linguistics…

Employing Asian critical theory as a theoretical lens and critical literacy as a pedagogical approach, the present study explores how Asian American counternarratives serve as vehicles for challenging dominant narratives and constructing an equitable classroom space for Korean American students who have been marginalized in their American schools.…

The current study examined the development of early adolescents' social perspective taking (SPT) through collaborative small-group discussions. A total of 250 fifth-graders were assigned to three conditions, Collaborative Social Reasoning (CSR) discussions, Read-Aloud (RA) and Regular Instruction (RI). SPT was assessed before and after the…

This dissertation investigates the potential of sustained use of academic vocabulary in reciprocal dialogue to improve educational equity for fifth-grade students with specific reading disabilities. Students with reading disabilities often struggle with acquiring academic vocabulary, which can hinder their overall academic performance and limit…

'Taking part' in conversations requires different activities from the interactants depending on the kind of conversation. This article investigates co-constructions in oral peer group discussions of elementary school children from grades 2 to 6 (7-12 years old). Although dissent is the starting point of argumentations, negotiating processes in…

During the past few years, the social interactions of students have been limited. The act of social distancing has not only exacerbated developmental gaps in social and emotional learning (SEL) (Vaillancourt et al. 2021) but also interrupted mathematics instruction (Lewis et al. 2021). Teachers are searching for strategies that promote…