This article describes an initiative to train lay people, predominantly parents of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), to teach "Bridge to Independence"--a care coordination curriculum--to other family caregivers of CYSHCN. Using a model based on Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick's levels of evaluation, the goal…

The "purpose" of this mixed methods study was to understand and describe self-reported experiences with effective School Improvement strategies used by school heads in primary and secondary schools. Focus group interviews and surveys with parents, school heads and teachers helped to inform the research questions identified for this…

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) prepares an annual report on graduates and dropouts in Texas public secondary schools. This report includes state summaries of the annual dropout rate, longitudinal graduation and dropout rates, and state attrition rates. In addition to statewide statistics, the report provides historical information about dropout…

Performing research can be an overwhelming and challenging endeavor. It's easy to get confused just from collecting, reading and deciphering textbooks and journal articles. Getting organized and mapping out the entire process would be extremely helpful and more importantly provide a path for accomplishing the research project. This paper will…

Procedures for direct observation as part of functional behavior assessment (FBA) in natural settings continue to be an important area of inquiry and evaluation in the field of education. Spread across a continuum of control and rigor, various direct FBA methods involve a variety of strengths and limitations. The purpose of this study was to…

This report summarizes external research requests submitted to and reviewed by AISD staff during the 2008-2009 school year.

The authors spend their days making decisions. Often, the consequences of their choices seemingly affect only a handful of stakeholders. Regrettably, when they rely on a scattershot approach to gauging stakeholders' opinions, they often find themselves off the mark. Perhaps, they give too much credence to "squeaky wheels" even though their views…

Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) is a system of teaching and management practices that gets better information about students into the hands of classroom teachers. This article discusses the five major elements: (1) good baseline data; (2) measurable instructional goals; (3) frequent formative assessment; (4) professional learning communities;…

This paper analyzes some current trends in Learning Management System's analytics. It points out that while the analysis of access log patterns -- clickometry--is by far the most common form of analysis available in LMS systems its value is limited at best. Being a measure of behavior in its most basic sense clickometry is best suited for…

There has been increasing interest in using of web-based surveys--rather than paper based surveys--for collecting data on alcohol and other drug use in middle and high schools in the US. However, prior research has indicated that respondent confidentiality is an underlying concern with online data collection especially when computer-assisted…

The efficacy of inoculation theory has been confirmed by decades of empirical research, yet optimizing its effectiveness remains a vibrant line of investigation. The present research turns to psychological reactance theory for a means of enhancing the core mechanisms of inoculation--threat and refutational preemption. Findings from a multisite…

The present article describes four free or inexpensive Internet-based activities that can be used to supplement statistics/research methods/general psychology classes. Each activity and subsequent homework assessment is described, as well as homework performance outcome and student opinion data for each activity. (Contains 1 table.)

Writing instruction is central to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. It is embedded across all curricula. Under the Common Core guidelines, students must produce writing that includes not only narrative and literary responses as part of the language arts curriculum but also argumentative and informative/explanatory texts in…

The main purpose of this qualitative research was to discover the effects of problem-based learning on a fifth grade language arts classroom. The secondary purpose was to examine how receptive fifth grade students were to a new way of learning. In this descriptive study, a group of nine students created an alternate reality game as part of a…

Adolescent males are influenced by various social and cultural factors. This qualitative study sought to further understanding about adolescent males' thoughts and behaviors regarding sexual decision-making. Specific exploration encompassed the influences of the identified factors of parents, peers, media, first romantic relationship breakups, and…