This research analyzed the effects of teacher professional development and lesson implementation in integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) on: (1.) Teacher self-efficacy and their confidence to teach specific STEM subjects; (2.) Teaching outcome expectancy beliefs concerning the impact of actions by teachers on student…

Recently, schools nationwide have expressed a renewed interest in school gardens (California School Garden Network, 2010), viewing them as innovative educational tools. Most of the scant studies on these settings investigate the health/nutritional impacts, environmental attitudes, or emotional dispositions of students. However, few studies examine…

Research has shown that even if students pass a standard introductory statistics course, they often still lack the ability to reason statistically. Many instructional techniques for enhancing the development of statistical reasoning have been discussed, although there is often little to no experimental evidence that they produce effective results…

The formative evaluation study describes the parallel development and implementation of two learning formats for a professional development curriculum focused on supporting partnerships with families. Face-to-face and e-learning delivery formats were developed based upon a theoretically informed framework and used state professional development…

Research indicates students who engage in music exhibit improved cognitive development. The quantitative study was conducted in a large suburban school district in Southeast Georgia. This study investigated the impact of music on student achievement when music is incorporated with the core academic subject of mathematics at the elementary level.…

In order to "offer a first class educational experience and become the system of choice for all families the school system," challenged individual schools within the district to select and implement innovative educational theme based programs, coupled with the framework of Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), to increase the quality of…

We designed and implemented curriculum intended to be used by students in an algebra-based introductory physics laboratory course. Our curricular goal was to foster, through observations in the lab, a coherent framework in students' understanding of general principles presented in the introductory mechanics course, while addressing known student…

Misuse of technology is a behavioral pattern that continues to emerge in our society. Television and newspapers continue to list and report technology misuse. A recent study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project has indicated approximately one third of teen are victims of online harassment (Lenhart, 2009). Other prominent problems with…

The Kuder Career Planning System administrative database results for the past five years have shown a low interest in the manufacturing career cluster among Arkansas students. The low student interest and shortage of high-skilled labor in manufacturing prompted the Arkansas Department of Career Education to invest grant funds in a new…

This multiple case study examined the efforts of six elementary school teachers in their implementation of new instructional strategies in their fifth grade social studies classrooms following their participation in a weeklong Summer Institute focusing on American history. The study was guided by one grand tour question and one sub-tour question.…

This study addressed the following research questions: (1) Will there be a statistically significant difference between the reading achievement scores of eleventh-grade students who received instruction implementing popular culture as an advance organizer for literature and the scores of the students who did not? (2) What are the perceptions of…

The significant increase of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States raises complex questions about how to provide these students with access to high quality education that can improve both their content knowledge of school subjects and their English proficiency, particularly their academic English proficiency. The development of…