As schools continue to focus on outcome-based instructional practices, less emphasis is placed on the creativity and reasoning necessary for students to become effective critical thinkers. As a result, students struggle to demonstrate creative problem-solving skills in the classroom. This study examines how the facilitation of an instructional…

Students need to be actively engaged to learn--intellectually curious, physically active, and emotionally involved in collaborative work that builds their capacity for empathy. What can teachers do to instill these elements in the classroom? "Active Learning: 40 Teaching Methods to Engage Students in Every Class and Every Subject" is the…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become an international priority. STEM education provides students with interdisciplinary knowledge and promotes the cultivation of high-level skills. However, STEM training opportunities for teachers are rare, which results in fewer opportunities for primary and secondary…

To investigate instructional planning strategies that impact student improvement in argumentative writing, the teacher-researcher implemented an Integrated Writing intervention in a seventh-grade urban school classroom to impact student writing, student feedback, and teacher reflection. Utilizing a mixed-methods Action Research study, the…

The technologies and online supports that can offer students study opportunities have increased a lot in recent years, but often students do not use computers or mobile devices in school and, in general, for educational purposes. The Action of the University of Turin, within the "Ragazzi Connessi" project, proposes strategies for school…

Research related to teaching climate change, system thinking, current reform in science education, and the research on reform-oriented assessment indicate that we need to explore student understanding in greater detail instead of only testing for an incremental gain in disciplinary knowledge. Using open-ended items we assessed details in student…

Recognizing that children's learning outcomes generally remain low, in its recent 2017--2021 Education and Skills Sector Plan (ESSP) the Government of Zambia prioritized improving learning outcomes through strategies that addressed gaps in education system quality, access, equity and efficiency. What resources and contextual factors are associated…

New evidence builds upon the Student Engagement IndexTM and Teacher Engagement IndexTM research (Scott-Webber, Konyndyk, & French, 2019; Scott-Webber, Konyndyk, French, & French, 2018; Scott-Webber, Konyndyk, French, Lembke, & Kinney, 2017) determining post-occupancy answers to, "Can we demonstrate that the design of the built…

The aim of this study is to investigate student engagement from the point of view of the teacher, by focusing on teacher's didactical strategies used to engage students during algebra introduction. Eight teachers in grade 6 and 7 participated in a focus-group interview study. The findings are based on episodes of student engagement in algebra and…

Zoom in on the academic skills students are required to learn in reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language! This book cuts through all of the Common Core jargon and gets right to the heart of what students need to learn now. "Big Skills for the Common Core" is packed with engaging strategies you can use immediately to improve your…

This article focuses on the grade-level outcomes to be assessed on middle school (grades 6-8) physical education. Specifically, the article describes how to teach basic tactics and strategies while applying fundamental movement patterns to the various game and movement categories (invasion, net/wall, target, fielding/striking, dance/rhythms, &…

Critical thinking skills are an important topic of the United States' education system. This study examines the literature on critical thinking skills and defines them. The study also explores one specific teaching and assessment strategy known as the Socratic Method. The five-week research study used the Socratic Method for developing critical…

Getting students involved in the process of inquiry takes much more than pointing out a problem, offering sources, and setting them on their way. Fortunately, there are a number of teaching strategies that can be instrumental in engaging students in the process of inquiry. As a teacher of world history in the seventh grade, House of Avalon, at…

In line with continuing efforts to explain the demanding nature of multiplicative reasoning among middle-school students, this study explores the fine-grained knowledge elements that two pairs of 7th and 8th graders deployed in their attempt to coordinate the known and unknown quantities in the gear-wheel problem. Failure to conceptualize the…

Instructional tips help educators carry out recommendations contained in IES Educator's Practice Guides. The tips translate these recommendations into actionable approaches that educators can try in their classrooms. These tips are based on a practice guide authored by Sybilla Beckmann, Mark Driscoll, Megan Franke, Patricia Herzig, Asha Jitendra,…