Learning by example is nothing new to the education landscape. Research into think-aloud protocols, though often used as a form of assessment rather than instruction, provided practical, content-specific literacy strategies for crafting the instructional intervention in this study. Additionally, research into worked examples--from the earliest…

This article examines gender gaps in academic performance (grades in mathematics and reading) between boys and girls of ninth-grade elementary schools in the Czech Republic. Our analysis is based on 2003 data from the Programme for International Student Assessment, encompassing the academic performance and family background of ninth-grade pupils.…

Although the psychological benefits of intergenerational learning environments have been well documented, no study has yet investigated wisdom as an outcome of intergenerational classroom engagement. In this study, Elders between the age 60-89 were recruited to participate in a high-school English classroom. We hypothesized that participating in…

This study analyzed the perceptions of five high school English teachers of the efficacy of interactive word walls in high school classrooms. Through data collected during interviews and professional reflective journals, as well as the review of student artifacts, this article presents the themes that emerged from effective classroom teachers.…

This paper discusses the social positioning work three Appalachian adolescents engaged in during two literacy events drawn from a year-long critical teacher-researcher ethnographic study in a twelfth-grade English class in a rural Appalachian high school. Data analysis indicates that in these literacy events, the focal students positioned…

We propose "instructional chaining" as an analytic method for capturing and describing key instructional episodes enacted by expert writing teachers to foster the recontextualization over time of the social practices of argumentative writing through process-oriented instructional approaches. The article locates instructional chaining…

As more English learners (ELs) are included in mainstream content classrooms at the secondary level, the need to understand how teachers collaborate to meet the particular instructional needs of ELs is essential. This paper presents findings from a qualitative case study that investigated the collaborative work that engaged a group of literacy…

Federal mandates require technology use in the classroom, but not all English language arts (ELA) teachers have implemented technology as an integral part of teaching. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why ELA teachers in 2 local high schools rarely or never use technology as an instructional tool. The study was…

Federal mandates require technology use in the classroom, but not all English language arts (ELA) teachers have implemented technology as an integral part of teaching. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why ELA teachers in 2 local high schools rarely or never use technology as an instructional tool. The study was…

State tests, which assess reading comprehension, ask students to make inferences and connections beyond the text. The problem of practice in which this study is situated is that students are having difficulty making meaningful connections and developing inferences in relation to the material that is read aloud together in class or assigned for…

Virtual K-12 schools have rapidly become a popular choice for parents and students in the last decade. However, little research has been done on the instructional practices used in virtual courses. As reflected in the central research question, the purpose of this study was to explore how teachers provided instruction for Grade 7-10 students in…