The links uncovered by research connecting teacher beliefs to classroom practice and student inquiry-based learning are tenuous. This study aims at examining (a) "how" teacher beliefs influenced practices; and (b) "how" the influence on practices, in turn, impacted student inquiry learning in a CSCL environment. Through a fine-grained comparative…

Research on the outcomes of Montessori education is scarce and results are inconsistent. One possible reason for the inconsistency is variations in Montessori implementation fidelity. To test whether outcomes vary according to implementation fidelity, we examined preschool children enrolled in high fidelity classic Montessori programs, lower…

This paper describes a randomised educational experiment (n = 47) that examined two different teaching methods and compared their effectiveness at correcting one science misconception using a sample of trainee primary school teachers. The treatment was designed to promote engagement with the scientific concept by eliciting emotional responses from…

Learning to reason spatially is increasingly recognized as an essential component of geometry education. Generally taken to be the "ability to represent, generate, transform, communicate, document, and reflect on visual information," "spatial reasoning" uses the spatial relationships between objects to form ideas. Spatial thinking takes a variety…

The article compares three different methods to estimate effects of task characteristics and to use these estimates for model-based proficiency scaling: prediction of item difficulties from the Rasch model, the linear logistic test model (LLTM), and an LLTM including random item effects (LLTM+e). The methods are applied to empirical data from a…

This prospective, intervention-based study was conducted to assess the impact of in-class review methods on student learning outcomes in a course preparing pre-service teachers for the Texas Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities teacher certification exam. Students were tested on midterm and end-of-term exams comprised of questions similar to…

Science teachers need an adequate understanding of nature of science (NOS) and the ability to embed NOS in their teaching. This collective case study aims to explore in-service science teachers' conceptions of NOS and the embeddedness of NOS in their teaching about astronomy and space. Three science teachers participated in this study. All…

Objective: To determine the reliability and validity of a 10-item questionnaire, the Food Label Literacy for Applied Nutrition Knowledge questionnaire. Methods: Participants were elementary school children exposed to a 90-minute school-based nutrition program. Reliability was assessed via Cronbach alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient…

Previous research suggests that anxiously withdrawn preadolescents demonstrate success in forming friendships, yet these friendships tend to be of lesser quality. Drawing on Selman's (1980) theory of interpersonal understanding, we compared levels of friendship understanding between anxiously withdrawn preadolescents and a sample of non-withdrawn…

High school biology teachers face many challenges as they teach evolution. State standards for evolution may provide support for sound evolution instruction. This study attempts to build upon previous work by investigating teachers' views of evolution standards and their evolution practices in a state where evolution standards have been…

The goal of this study was to determine if laptop use in lecture negatively impacts learning outcomes of surrounding students taking notes on paper. Two sections of a large introductory biology course (greater than 400 students/section) were zoned into a laptop-permitted and a laptop-free area. Two sections in which laptop users could sit anywhere…

Increasingly, qualitative researchers are combining methods, processes, and principles from two or more methodologies over the course of a research study. Critics charge that researchers adopting combined approaches place too little attention on the historical, epistemological, and theoretical aspects of the research design. Rather than…

Previous research on high school relationship and marriage education (RME) has shown small but positive course effects. However, these studies have pooled results across schools, without exploring differences in outcomes by school. This article examines variations in students' RME course experiences by school, captured in interviews. It compares…

Objective: Decision-making deficits have been linked to suicidal behavior in adults. However, it remains unclear whether impaired decision making plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of youth suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine decision-making processes in adolescent suicide attempters and never-suicidal comparison…

Objectives: This study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([superscript 1]H MRS) to evaluate the in vivo effects of extended-release divalproex sodium on the glutamatergic system in adolescents with bipolar disorder, and to identify baseline neurochemical predictors of clinical remission. Method: Adolescents with bipolar disorder who were…