The importance of computational thinking skills in mathematics has been recognized in educational research for a long time. More recently, this recognition has materialized in formal international recommendations (e.g., by PISA's 2022 Mathematics Framework) and in national or provincial curricular reforms (e.g., in France, Sweden, and Canada) that…

The ability to code computer programs is considered an important part of literacy in today's society. This paper reports from a case study in two sixth-grade classes where Scratch coding was part of six mathematics lessons. The aim of the study was to investigate how Scratch coding affected students' interest development in coding and in…

This study investigated the potential development and use of historical empathy in sixth-grade students while using the colonial-era historical education game "Mission US" and its associated learning activities. A collective case study was developed to describe and interpret students' experiences. The gathered data included the students'…

The phenomenon of bullying in K-12 school districts in the United States continues to undergo examination. The purpose of this study was to understand the issues of bullying from teacher and administrator perspectives and to describe components needed to build a quality program to prevent bullying. Research questions involved understanding…

Online environments can cultivate what have been referred to as 21st century skills and capabilities, as youth contribute, pursue, share, and interact around work and ideas. Such environments also hold great potential for addressing digital divides related to the development of such skills by connecting youth in areas with fewer resources and…

This study examined the effects of a research-based intervention, schema-based instruction (SBI), implemented by experienced- (taught SBI in previous study; Jitendra et al., 2015) and novice-teacher implementers (taught SBI for the first time with professional development) on the mathematics outcomes of seventh-grade students. SBI is a…

This case study examines the role of playful talk in negotiating the "how" of collaborative group work in a 6th-grade science classroom. Here we develop and test a Vygotsky-derived hypothesis that postulates playful talk as a mechanism for identity exploration and group status negotiation. Our findings indicate that students utilized the…

This study examined teachers' language use across the school year in 6th grade urban middle-school classrooms (n = 24) and investigated the influence of this classroom-based linguistic input on the reading comprehension skills of the students (n = 851; 599 language minority learners and 252 English-only) in the participating classrooms. Analysis…

English language learner (ELL) mathematics students at a California middle school did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) toward state standards in 2010. The purpose of this project study was to examine 6th and 7th grade mathematics teachers' perceptions regarding differentiated instruction for ELL students' specific academic needs and to…

The authors examined the role of an intervention designed to increase reading comprehension, reading self-efficacy beliefs, and engagement in social studies for middle school students of varying language backgrounds. Thirteen sixth- and seventh-grade teachers implemented the United States History for Engaged Reading (USHER) program with their…

Much has been written recently about the role of talk in content-area learning, including science learning. However, there is still much to be learned about how teachers begin to engage students in the kinds of peer-to-peer conversations that help them make sense of their investigations in science and that advance their conceptual understandings.…

Teams of educators conducted lesson study independently, supported by a resource kit that included mathematical tasks, curriculum materials, lesson videos and plans, and research articles, as well as protocols to support lesson study. The mathematical resources focused on linear measurement interpretation of fractions. This report examines the…

Eighty-seven 4th, 5th and 6th grade students were administered the "Derivational Relatedness Interview" (DRI) (Templeton, Smith, Moloney, Van Pelt, & Ives, 2009). The purpose of this instrument is to explore students' understanding of derivational morphology. During the same week, the subjects were also administered an Upper…

This study examined how literal symbols affect students' understanding of algebraic expressions. Middle school students (N = 322) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions in which they were asked to interpret an expression (e.g., 4c + 3b) in a story problem. Each literal symbol represented the price of an item. In the c-and-b condition, the…