It is widely accepted that concept maps are a meaningful learning tool. Even so, the use of concept mapping as a meaningful learning tool is probably less common than the use of concept mapping as an assessment tool. In first place, the easiest thing to with a student's concept map is to apply a rubric and give it a grade. And second, teachers…

The purpose of this study was to examine the skills and types of instruction present within four commonly used writing textbooks at grades four and five via content and quantitative analyses. Determining the presence of standards-based skills and evidence-based practices may help shed light on the effectiveness and quality of these curricula. The…

The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic has prompted educators to rethink and implement changes in instructional practices due to school closures affecting communities, society, and students. Access to formal education was significantly compromised during the pandemic shut down. This study investigated the development of materials and…

Research suggests that current teachers' writing instruction does not prepare students for the demands of college and career writing, a problem that has persisted for decades. The purpose of this survey study of third- and fifth-grade teachers (N=159) across the U.S. was 1) to determine changes in teachers' frequency teaching writing using a set…

In school-based research, isolating the potential effects of a single variable while attempting to maintain typical classroom routines is always a challenge. Unfortunately, the challenges and methodological approaches to overcoming them are often only shallowly reported, perhaps due to word limits or assumptions that those details are irrelevant…

This dissertation explores the dynamics of a formal classroom and an informal nature-based learning environment, focusing on their impact on student subjectification and knowledge authority. The study, conducted with a cohort of 27 fifth-grade students and their teacher, employs a comparative case study methodology to analyze how teaching…

This article illustrates how two fourth-grade bilingual teachers transformed their writing instruction for bi/multilingual learners by integrating a functional approach to language and literacy teaching and learning. The authors use a systemic functional linguistics genre pedagogy to explore and elucidate the teachers' innovative instructional…

Background: Reading and reading comprehension are crucial skills, yet many students in grade 4 struggle with them. To address this, several instructional practices have gained popularity. For one, explicit reading strategy instruction (ERSI) is deemed useful, given the finding that successful readers tend to employ reading strategies. As a second…

This qualitative descriptive study explored how general education K-6 teachers describe their ability to implement student Individualized Educational Plans (IEP) in their classrooms and the supports needed for effective implementation of IEPs in Ohio. Self-Efficacy has been defined as the confidence that an individual has in their ability to…

The purpose of this cross-sectional study (n = 43764 in four cohorts/groups) is to uncover the values when learning mathematics that students at Religious Vocational Middle Schools (in Turkish: Imam-Hatip Middle Schools) where religious contexts and contents are taught intensively in Turkey. In this regard, the study investigates the mathematics…

There is a call in science education for students to be in the business of "doing science," rather than "doing the lesson" (Jimenez-Aleixandre et al., 2000). Developing explanatory models is one important strategy for sensemaking in science. Teachers' knowledge plays a critical role in how classroom interactions are framed and…

The growth of a STEM-focused economy has intensified the focus on developing kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) students' STEM competencies and on the STEM practices of K-12 STEM teachers. The present study utilised secondary analysis of nationally-representative STEM teacher survey data to examine the ways in which middle grades teachers'…

This ethnographic case study investigated literacy instruction and intervention practices within a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework in upper elementary school. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support has been proposed as a system of schoolwide reform aimed to support students' academic and social-emotional development and is often used…

Building on recent practice-oriented and multimodal shifts in bilingual education and content area education, we propose "a disciplinary perspective on translanguaging" that leverages the synergy between translanguaging and contemporary conceptualizations of content learning. Specifically, we propose that a disciplinary perspective…

This article describes the practices the authors use to promote learning mathematics through social interactions that they cultivate in their classrooms throughout the year. The design of their instruction is guided by two productive discourse practices that they have found to be the most powerful. The first practice involved posing open…