International comparisons suggest that middle school American students compare poorly to their international peers in tasks that require spatial skills. This deficiency in spatial skills is more prominent in females and has been linked to a lack of developmental activities influenced by gender norms. These deficiencies are especially concerning as…

Disparity in educational and career outcomes between rural, regional and remote (RRR) students and their metropolitan counterparts persists despite successive federal and state government initiatives. In this paper, we will present a study that highlights one important, yet overlooked, avenue to improve outcomes for RRR students: early-stage…

The Project Fit America (PFA) curriculum was initiated in 1990 with a mission to create and provide quality opportunities for American school children to be active, healthy, and fit. This study assessed the effect of the PFA curriculum and outdoor fitness equipment on fitness testing scores of elementary school students. Participants were 4th- and…

Although earthquakes themselves do not kill people, they highlight the critical importance of physical infrastructure resilience, safety measures and preparedness for natural disasters. Earthquakes are one of several environmental crises that can be categorized as a natural hazard/disaster. This study uses the qualitative method of research. The…

The authors aim to present a case study of a three-year professional development program for school leaders with a specific focus on cultivating curriculum leadership. This program is funded by the Ministry of Education Taiwan and its goal is to empower school leaders' curriculum leadership under the second wave of curriculum reform in Taiwan.…

Studying nature from the atomic and molecular perspective gives students access to modern scientific paradigms and could improve achievement and motivation towards science learning. A visual and tactile approach to chemistry can form the foundation for a child-friendly but high-level chemistry curriculum and could be a powerful tool to invigorate…

Adolescence can be a particularly difficult time for youth as they experience the physical, social, and academic changes that accompany maturation. One of the most critical challenges for schools is teaching adolescent students positive social and emotional skills, which are crucial for them to succeed academically and emotionally. "Strong…

Trends toward short-term academic service-learning abroad necessitate programs designed to maximize effectiveness and measurement of outcomes. The current study sought to strategically foster and measure increases in global mindedness during an immersive community-based global learning program abroad. University students studying either Computer…

Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Introduction: Alcohol consumption, including heavy drinking, is the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Youth who engage in heavy drinking are likely to experience a number of problems associated with their use. In 2015, U.S. prevalence of heavy drinking was 17% among 12th graders. These data suggest a clear need for…

In the context of a large-scale randomized controlled trial, our team investigated "front line" teaching issues as schools implemented a fully digital, blended learning curriculum in mathematics. This paper focuses on observations of instruction within schools that were assigned to use the new digital resources. Compared to a…

This study highlights how principal leadership of goal-directed practices impacts outcomes. Over 2 years, three academics partnered with three principals and a small "project team" comprising one or more teachers, and one or more middle or senior leaders. In this report, the authors reflect on some of the key changes that occurred from…

"ACCESS", A Culture Creating Effective Systems for Success, was a three-year Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant funded by the Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. The "ACCESS" grant led the way for a district-wide redesign of educational practices based on the novel approach of…

In this article, the authors provide an overview of engineering and the engineering design process, and describe the steps they took to develop a fifth grade-level, standards-based engineering design task titled "Getting the Dirt on Decomposition." Their main goal was to focus more on modeling the discrete steps they took to create and…