College faculty face the ongoing dilemma of balancing the professional emphasis on student learning with the administrative task of documenting student performance related to reappointment, promotion, and tenure. As tools in the undergraduate and graduate programs of an institution of higher learning, concept maps provide faculty with interesting…

This article reviews research on the achievement outcomes of three types of approaches to improving elementary mathematics: Mathematics curricula, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and instructional process programs. Study inclusion requirements included use of a randomized or matched control group, a study duration of 12 weeks, and achievement…

This paper focuses on blended learning in mathematics I module in elementary calculus, at a University of Technology. A computer laboratory was used to create a learning environment that promoted interactive learning together with traditional teaching. The interactive learning was performed using projects to optimize the discovery and error…

Practice-as-inquiry refers to the blending of instructional practice with systematic curricular inquiry. College and university teachers, while experts in their disciplines, typically are not specialists in instructional practice. Practice-as-inquiry (also referred to as teacher-as-researcher) may function as a mechanism of continuous teaching…

Constructivist physical education emphasizes cognitive engagement. This study examined the impact of a constructivist curriculum on in-class physical activity. Caloric expenditure in metabolic equivalents (MET) and vector magnitude count (VM) data from a random sample of 41 constructivist lessons were compared with those from a random sample of 35…

The paper reviews representative research into blended learning in universities, taking into account the methodology used, the focus of the research and the relationship between the two. In terms of methodology, most research was classifiable as case-studies, survey-based studies or comparative studies. A small number of studies take a…

The price of teacher attrition is high, not only financially, but also in terms of human and institutional costs. The inability to retain beginning teachers contributes significantly to teacher shortages. This study investigates the effect of the preparation program on teacher attrition. Attrition rates of elementary teacher graduates from two…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a preschool emergent literacy enrichment curriculum. Participants were 126 Head Start children, their teachers, and their parents. Matched centers were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: experimental literacy, experimental math, or control. Teachers in both experimental groups implemented…

Web-based instruction, including both online courses and online degree programs, offer flexibility to students and instructors and are now typical in higher education programs. Researchers compared WBI to traditional instruction for teaching undergraduate students about students with disabilities. Forty-four students participated in this study.…

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive strategy instruction (CSI) on Chinese reading comprehension of Hong Kong low achieving students. A total of 88 Grade 7 students from four intact Chinese language remedial groups were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Students in the treatment group received a…

During the 2009-2010 school year, Marzano Research Laboratory (MRL) was commissioned by Promethean Ltd. to conduct a second year evaluation study of the effects of Promethean ActivClassroom on student academic achievement. This report describes the findings from the second year study along with aggregate findings from the first and second year…

This study analyzed the instructional practices of more versus less effective U.S. History teachers identified by a multiple regression model. Using surveys, observations, and focus-group interviews, the study found that the most effective teachers had a more complete package of rigor, relevance, and relationship strategies than less effective…

In 2002, Tennessee passed its first Public Charter School legislation. Four schools were successful in gaining approval to begin operating in the 2003-2004 academic year. The second cohort of three charter schools began operation during the 2004-2005 academic year, with the third cohort of five schools starting-up during the 2005-2006 academic…

A study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using item response theory (IRT) equating to reduce test form overlap of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Subject Test in Mathematics. Monte Carlo methods were employed to compare double-part equating with 20-item common item blocks to triple-part equating with 10-item common item blocks.…

Five interrelated papers that explore the theme of validity within the context of cross-national assessments are grouped in this collection. These papers were presented at a symposium at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. These papers draw on data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).…