This article discusses what constitutes engagement in learning from the perspective of Grade 8 students. While a mixed methods approach was employed to gather quantitative and qualitative data, the focus of this article is the qualitative data collected from an interactive, participatory workshop. As part of this workshop, Grade 8 students were…

Technology integration in K-12 classrooms is usually teacher-centered and has insufficient impact on students' learning. The purpose of this project is to facilitate science teachers' use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as cognitive tools to shift their practices from teacher-centered methods to constructivist,…

This study analyzes the development of percentages knowledge by seventh graders given a sequence of activities starting with a realistic modeling task, in which students were expected to create a model that would facilitate the reinvention of percentages. In the first two activities, students constructed their own pricing model using fractions and…

Why conduct education research? To answer questions that we have about our students, add to our knowledge of good teaching, and investigate new theories based on observations we have made in our classrooms, schools, or communities. This qualitative research methods case illustrates a study we undertook to better understand how teachers use close…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the creative inquiry-based science teaching on students' creative science thinking and science inquiry performance. A quasi-experimental design consisting one experimental group (N = 20) and one comparison group (N = 24) with pretest and post-test was conducted. The framework of the…

This article reports on how design-based research methodology was used to guide a line of intervention research that developed, implemented, revised, and evaluated online learning science curricula for middle school students, including general education students and English language learners (primarily of Hispanic origin). The iterative,…

Parent involvement has an influence on children's educational engagement for all school levels. The objective of this study was to examine public school principals' and teachers' practices for improving parent involvement in schooling. This study used a mixed method to identify the school administrators' and teachers' perceptions about parent…

The public school system in the United States is facing severe criticism. There exists today, a constant stream of negative messages through media coverage, news articles and charter school marketing campaigns claiming the failing of the public school system specifically in the content area of mathematics. Current research exposes alarming…

This paper discusses the implementation of the Tri-Squared Test as one of many advanced statistical measures used to verify and validate the outcomes of an initial study on academic professional's perspectives on the use, success, and viability of 9th Grade Freshman Academies, Centers, and Center Models. The initial research investigation…

This paper discusses the implementation of the Tri-Squared Test as an advanced statistical measure used to verify and validate the research outcomes. This type of statistical measure is ideal for teachers professional development as educators can create and validate instruments for educational settings. The initial research investigation published…