Past work has shown that generating explanations can improve both comprehension and metacomprehension outcomes. Although practice testing may sometimes improve comprehension, it is unclear if it affects metacomprehension (the ability to monitor one's understanding). The current study tested whether online homework activities involving practice…

A successful flipped classroom relies heavily on student engagement in pre-class learning and their active participation in classroom activities. However, much to students' disappointment, their efforts in the learning process often go unnoticed in traditional assessment approaches (such as term papers and final examinations) that are more…

The Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) learning cycle improves understanding of the connection between empirical results and theoretical concepts when students engage in hands-on experimentation. This study explored whether training students to use a POE strategy when learning from social science texts that describe theories and experimental results…

Learning curves have proven to be a useful tool for understanding how a student learns a given skill as they progress through a curriculum. A learning curve for a given Knowledge Component (KC) is a plot of some measure of competence as a function of the number of opportunities the student has had to apply that KC. Consider the case where each…

Variety in homework is one way to achieve educational excellence in social studies. The twin social studies goals of teaching basic knowledge and teaching reasoning/critical thinking skills are accomplished by providing variety. In accordance with Lee and Pratt's homework taxonomy, homework can be placed under one of the following: preparation,…

In examining three dimensions of instructional time (teacher preparation time, student homework time, direct in-class instructional time), the objectives of this study were to determine which dimensions or combination of dimensions correlate with achievement, and whether the dimensions differentially affect achievement based on grade and ability…

School-related time allocations of students, including time at home, as reported in sample surveys of students, teachers, and parents, are examined for systematic relations to socioeconomic indicators, controlling for ability. Special attention is paid to teacher-influenced student time allocations such as instructional time and homework. The aim…