This phenomenological qualitative study examined the possibility of enhancing educational experiences for students with dyslexia. The data recorded in this study emphasized the need for alterations to the methods by which dyslexic students are educated, viewed, and perceived by general education teachers. This qualitative study added to the body…

The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine parents, students, and staff perceptions of school climate in urban middle schools and explore if relationships exist between perceived school climate, perceived reading instruction, and reading performance as measured by the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The…

Health and biomedical science courses are meant to teach students the skills they need to be career ready; this includes digital literacy skills as technology in healthcare continues to grow. Blended learning is an instructional strategy that uses face-to-face and digital learning activities and has been shown to improve the digital literacy…

Student achievement in education and inclusive support for students with special needs has been a deliberated topic at the federal, state, and local levels of government. The co-teaching approach aims to provide ways for two teachers to work together to create a more inclusive classroom. The co-teaching approach is also known as co-teaching models…

This phenomenological qualitative study examined the possibility of enhancing educational experiences for students with dyslexia. The data recorded in this study emphasized the need for alterations to the methods by which dyslexic students are educated, viewed, and perceived by general education teachers. This qualitative study added to the body…

The increase of students with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD) in the past decade has been cause for concern in our educational system. Many believe that this is due to the effectiveness of early childhood screening programs; however, conducive learning environments, along with the social and emotional wellbeing of students, has…

This paper discusses an initiative called Product Innovation and Development (PID) that was launched at Texas A&M University. The goal of PID is to create a high impact learning environment that focuses on innovative product development. Undergraduate students are hired to develop innovative new products. The student teams generate ideas for…

Background: The National Center for Education Statistics in 2009 and 2011 showed that African American and Hispanic students scored relatively lower than their white peers by an average of more than 20 test-score points on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 4 th and 8th grade mathematics and reading assessments. Resulting…

Purpose is an important aspect of character development and thriving in adolescence; yet, there is little research explaining how it develops or how contexts such as school can support its development. In this study, 1,304 eighth graders completed a survey that measured purpose as the integration of 2 dimensions-- beyond-the-self life goal…

In "The No Significant Differences Phenomenon," Russell (1999) discusses a thought-provoking pattern of research findings regarding integrating educational technology into classroom instruction that started in 1928 and continues today. Finding few studies that resulted in measurable positive effects, Russell concluded that using…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Teaching Quality and includes: (1) Fostering Culturally Diverse Learning Environments (Paula Johnson); (2) Unlocking Instruction…

This report describes characteristics of the 11 model SEL schools in AISD and compares them to nonmodel SEL schools.

In this article, the author considers the ways racial and gender oppression uniquely impact the experiences of women faculty of color working at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). HSIs are federally defined as accredited, not-for-profit two- or four-year institutions of higher learning whose total full-time student enrollment is at least 25…

For several years, WestEd's Measure to Learn and Improve (MLI) project team has kept California state policy leaders informed about the statewide implementation of the California Academic Standards in English language arts and mathematics, by summarizing and disseminating results from the RAND Corporation's annual American Educator Panel (AEP)…

Using state-representative teacher surveys in three states--Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky--we examine teachers' implementation of college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards. What do teachers report about the specificity, authority, consistency, power, and stability of their standards environment? How does their policy environment predict…