This pretest/posttest nonequivalent groups study explored the relationship between classroom-based creative writing instruction and the figurative language abilities of fourth grade students. Figurative language is widespread within the oral and written discourse of K-12 classrooms and is an essential component of higher-level language and…

Technology's rapid development is changing how educators plan lessons and incorporate these digital resources into classrooms with the expectation of impacting student academic performance. The problem is that teachers need professional development related to blended learning implementation to improve student achievement in elementary (An, 2021;…

This qualitative, phenomenological research study explores the best practices that secondary Grades 6-12 educators employ when using microcontrollers in the classroom. Governmental and private organizations have investigated and promoted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and computer science in education (Code…

This action research study aimed to find ways to adjust my practice by incorporating inquiry-based, science activities and virtual simulations to improve student conceptual understanding of physical and chemical changes. A multi-lesson, curricular intervention combining inquiry-based activities and virtual simulations was developed using…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to gather information from elementary teachers who use best practices to examine the impact of self-efficacy and mindset. Data was gathered from elementary teachers who use best practices in mathematics instruction. This research examined if location type (rural, suburban, urban), years of experience…

This qualitative semi-structured interview study investigated how the opportunity to learn with productive struggle emerges in a teacher's beliefs, anticipation, planning, teaching, and response to struggle in learning mathematics. In this study, the experiences of student struggle in the teaching and learning of fractions was investigated through…

For decades, stark disparities in academic achievement have existed between racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students and White students. These discrepancies have resulted in significantly less of these marginalized students enrolling in higher level science courses and, subsequently, pursuing careers in science fields. While these…

There is a significant lack of students in Tennessee who are reading at a proficient level. According to the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment data, nationally only 37% of fourth grade students are reading at a proficient level. Specifically, in the state of Tennessee, only 35% of fourth graders scored in…

This study was designed to highlight how students best learn to learn to read, best practices of reading instruction, innovative resources, and effective instructional strategies. The aim of this dissertation was to address the problem of kindergarten through fourth grade students in the United States not reading on grade level. The purpose of…

Facilitating meaningful discourse directly supports what students should be able to do with respect to the third of the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP 3) in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (NGA Center and CCSSO 2010): "Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others" (p. 6). Following best…

The authors present evidence-based digital literacy practices and resources for teaching and learning English as an additional language in two different educational contexts where these practices have been applied successfully with adolescent learners.

English Language Learners, such as my Hutterian students, struggle to overcome a variety of learning barriers. I examined a variety of instructional methods to determine what would help them. The first aspect I explored was how English Language Learners acquire literacy skills. I also investigated how to expand my students' background knowledge.…

This article explores examples of student-initiated inquiries (in Grades 1 and 5) and the opportunities and challenges with engaging in them. To explore these student-initiated inquiries, we use the "C3 Framework" Inquiry Arc (National Council for the Social Studies, 2013) and Harvey and Daniels's (2009) Small-Group Inquiry Model to…

Teaching intermediate grade children how to write means teaching them how to write the alphabetical letters, words, lists, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, narrative text, expository text, and writing mechanics (punctuation & grammar). Teaching writing for meaning is teaching children how to express their thoughts in writing, this is the…

Vocabulary instruction is a key component of reading comprehension but is often not addressed sufficiently in classrooms. The authors worked with a team of fifth-grade teachers in professional development targeted to learning instructional strategies for developing students' vocabularies. In this article, the authors share two strategies that the…