The goal of this research was to test the effectiveness of a new science curriculum focused on increasing awareness and knowledge of microplastic pollution in middle school students. The curriculum utilized three teaching methods including lectures, object-mediated learning, and peer collaboration to enhance student engagement and learning. The 84…

Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, this secondary analysis investigated the relations among classroom dialogic interaction, fifth-grade students' reading achievement, and teachers' dialogic stances. First, quantitative analyses of time-sampled lesson observations and state reading test scores suggested that the more class time…

Students naturally have a phobia for STEM subjects which leads to poor performance in these subjects. The reason for this is varied but can be associated with the teaching approach. As an improvement on the traditional teaching method and the earlier technology-enabled teaching methodologies, using the affordances of technology to effectively…

The current research investigated the impact of Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) on middle level students' executive function skills. AVID uses inquiry-based and student-centered instruction to close the opportunity gap in college attendance and degree attainment for underrepresented demographic groups. With AVID, teachers inspire…

This study explored a middle school science teacher's curricular sensemaking in interaction with their use of an educative storyline curriculum, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, that was intentionally designed for more opportunities for students' scientific sensemaking. Using a phenomenological case study methodology, we examined…

In South Korea, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) has been implemented in public education for several years. This article explores the IB MYP's characteristics and educational effects by adopting the grounded theory research approach of Corbin and Strauss (1990, 2015). A total of 27 students from three public…

Research findings suggest that student-centered inquiry learning shows promise for lower-achieving students and that students who are struggling in school participate more fully and demonstrate competency to themselves and others. In this research, we present a multiple case study of three middle-level students who were struggling in school, both…

With new standards in social science and science, student-centered inquiry drives contemporary geography education. This article introduces and explains the Geo-Inquiry Process. Developed by the National Geographic Society, the Geo-Inquiry Process centers on the fundamental nature of global interconnectedness, the idea that wise decisions at all…

In an attempt to respond to the calls for dance educators to explore alternatives to harmful authoritarian teaching practices, we propose that one such route forward is an Activist Approach to teaching, which was originally developed in physical education contexts as a student-centered, inquiry-based approach that attends to issues of embodiment…

The examination of students' motivation towards lessons is an important aspect of educational studies. The constructivist approach significantly impacts the improvement of students' motivation. The present study aims to examine the use of the 5E learning model with concept maps to support students' motivation and compare the 5E approach and the…

The quality of educational work is inextricably linked to many factors at the system, school, teacher, and student levels. This research was carried out within the project 'Education of Teachers as a Factor of Providing High-quality Life-long Learning in the Learning Society/The Society of Fast Socio-economic Changes and Unsure Future', funded by…

"If your horse is dead, dismount," is Dakota tribal wisdom that reminds us to do the most obvious thing. In this paper, we describe how middle school students in summer school finally challenged us to 'dismount' from our traditional remedial reading instruction. In our new approach, middle schoolers chose topics for study and shared what…

Students explore the relationship between thrill-seeking rides and their algebra 1 curriculum in an informative, engaging, student-centered lesson that was designed using a project-based-instruction (PBI) framework.

Project-based learning (PBL) grounds instruction in authentic learning experiences where students engage in real-world explorations that culminate in a final product or performance. We report on a mixed methods study with 43 ninth-grade English language arts (ELA) teachers (22 PBL and 21 comparison) and 1,671 students exploring the feasibility of…

This mixed-methods study was designed to compare the learning gains of seventh-grade students (N = 417) taught a 4-week conceptual change unit on density using either a student-centered, guided inquiry-based approach or a more direct, teacher-centered instructional strategy. Application of a multilevel model to data obtained from the…