This quantitative, nonexperimental research study focused on discovering the impact of inquiry-based instruction on the science achievement of rural Georgia fifth-grade students as measured by the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS), a criterion referenced test. Inquiry-based instruction is a teaching method that combines the natural…

Success in undergraduate biology courses relies upon a firm grounding in chemical principles. We sought to raise students' awareness of the connection between these two disciplines and to improve their understanding of each by carrying out a pilot project that integrated the curricula of Principles of Chemistry II (CHEM1212K) and Principles of…

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) on the academic achievement, attitudes, and engagement of fifth-grade science students. Participants were from two science classes (N = 42). The experimental group received IBL instruction, while the control group received traditional instruction. Pretests and…

The purpose of this study was to document the design, classroom implementation, and effectiveness of interactive online units to enhance science learning over 3 years among students with learning disabilities, English learners, and general education students. Results of a randomised controlled trial with 2,303 middle school students and 71…

Informational texts, such as those found in science education, have historically been reserved for secondary students. With the increased emphasis on elementary students' academic accountability, these high impact instructional strategies must also be utilized to support subject matter comprehension for younger students. This causal-comparative…

Despite efforts mandated by national legislation, the state of Georgia has made little progress in improving Grade 5 students' standardized test scores in science, spurring the need for social change. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in the student achievement in…

Previous research has linked poor student performance with the depersonalized feeling of large lecture courses. Various forms of enhanced communication have been tried that appear to enhance personalization in large courses. For general chemistry classes taught in a 365-seat lecture hall at the University of Georgia, we have attempted to enhance…

The authors used a case study-based approach in the introductory biology course at Spelman College. The course taught to entering freshmen was divided into three modules--ecology, evolution, and biodiversity, each designed around a case study. They noted that (1) case study teaching was dramatically more effective than the traditional lecture…

Despite efforts to engage students in the traditional lecture environment, faculty in Georgia Southern University's Physics Department became dissatisfied with lecture as the primary means of instruction. During the fall semester of 2006, our department began adapting the studio model to suit the needs of introductory calculus-based physics…

The Implementing Standards-Based Accountability (ISBA) study was designed to examine the strategies that states, districts, and schools are using to implement standards-based accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and how these strategies are associated with classroom practices and student achievement in mathematics and science.…

Since 2001-2002, standards-based accountability (SBA) provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) have shaped the work of public school teachers and administrators in the United States. NCLB requires each state to develop content and achievement standards in several subjects, administer tests to measure students' progress toward…