Supervised agricultural experiences (SAE) have been a core tenet of school-based agricultural education. Despite this, limited evidence has existed regarding the best practices associated with facilitating quality student learning for SAEs at the middle school level. In response, we used self-regulated learning as a lens to examine this…

As students enter the middle grades, many lose academic momentum and thus reach ninth grade unprepared. This lack of preparedness snowballs: It leads students to disengage from their studies, causing them to miss opportunities to get back on track in high school and thrive in the years beyond. Sixth grade is a particularly critical juncture.…

Although School based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers have a variety of responsibilities within a comprehensive program, supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs are considered an intracurricular component. Unfortunately, the ability for teachers to plan for and facilitate SAEs has been reported as lacking. The purpose of this…

Ongoing discourse in education emphasizes the need for schools to adapt to 21st-century teaching methods to adequately prepare students for the future society and workforce. The problem is that schools battle constraints of priorities and limited resources, and the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has only further unearthed and magnified…

Many students rely on rote algorithms that have been recently taught as they look for a direct way to tackle challenging problems. Especially for students who have not succeeded in the typical high-school curriculum, problem-solving in a novel situation is complex, and students ask for a direct way to solve rather than persevering. The purpose of…

Background/Context: As part of a national movement to eliminate a global tracking system that disproportionately assigned underserved students to low-level math classes, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) mandated academic algebra for all students entering high school in 1997. The results were disappointing: low-skill students experienced elevated…

"Middle School Today" is clustered into major themes: adolescent development and identity, the adolescent learner, curriculum and instruction, and the contemporary middle school. The book describes the components related to adolescent development starting with simple principles from psychology regarding the physical, cognitive, and…

A qualitative approach was utilized in this study to examine four transition programs' best educational practices in building transition programs for eighth to ninth grade. An analysis of a retrospective study of the four transition programs provided data to support recommendations for best educational practices to build a transition program for…

This mixed methods designed-based research (DBR) study explored one iteration of an online teacher professional development (oTPD) course about K-8 English language pedagogy. The study examined 85 educators' beliefs pre- and post-course about teaching academic and literacy content to English Language Learners (ELLs) and analyzed their discursive…

Grammar instruction and its role in writing proficiency have been the subject of long-standing controversy in literacy instruction. While traditional grammar instruction has been proven ineffective, many teachers still implement this approach due to a familiarity with the method or an insecurity in their grammar knowledge. Research instead points…

This research study focuses on providing professional development for teachers using virtual reality in secondary social studies classrooms. Literature surrounding virtual reality for education focuses on the effects of virtual reality on student motivation and engagement. However, there are no current studies available to help instructional…

This teaching guidebook will help educators navigate emerging best practices to center historically marginalized voices and perspectives in middle, high school, and postsecondary learning spaces. The author provides an accessible blueprint for utilizing histories, culturally responsive teaching, and community responsive pedagogy to build…

This study sought to determine the factors that motivate teachers to differentiate curriculum for gifted students in a case study school in Victoria, Australia. For this purpose, 10 teachers from Year 7-9 mixed ability classes at the school were engaged in interviews about their practice of differentiation specifically for gifted students and the…

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…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been called an educational catastrophe. It caused massive disruptions in education, learning loss for students, and massive increases in teacher workloads, stress, and health-related issues. There were significant issues of student disengagement and rampant cheating on assessments. This paper looks not at the huge…