School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in substantial learning gaps in students' mathematical abilities. The problem was self-enrollment against teacher recommendation among Honors Algebra 2 students in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students at a local high school. The purpose of the quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to…

The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to understand how 9th grade honors and general education language arts students made course enrollment decisions through the lens of the Expectancy-Value (E-V) theory. A survey was administered to 9th grade students (N = 118) attending a public high school with the overall mean score…

This quasi-experimental, quantitative study was completed to determine if a Modern Classroom approach to teaching had a significant relationship with student self-reported efficacy measures and end-of-course test data when compared to classrooms taught with traditional instructional methods as well as if there was a difference in results for…

While virtual reality (VR) technology can provide students with first-hand and situational learning experiences, limited studies have integrated VR in a K-12 classroom, resulting in the lack of understanding of the benefits and challenges of VR use in classroom settings. To examine the impact of VR on student learning, this study employed a…

A 9th grade Honors English class creates and publishes original poems, art, fiction, and nonfiction products through an activity called "Type Three -- Twenty Time = T4." The instructional method merges elements from Renzulli's Type III process with elements from Brookhouser's 20Time Project-based learning model. Each student researches…

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Pictionary and traditional vocabulary strategies on student performance in a 9th grade English Language Arts classroom. The sample consisted of 30 ninth grade honor students who were randomly assigned to an experimental and control group. Data were collected using teacher made tests.…

Background/Context: There is broad agreement about the benefits of taking AP and/or IB courses in high school. Nonetheless, student access to such courses remains uneven and inequitable, due largely to the practice of tracking students by perceived "ability." These tracking practices are often defended based on the contention that…

The purpose of the study reported here was to explore the relationship between the type of high school attended (magnet versus comprehensive) and the likelihood of graduates having completed an advanced course, after accounting for students' prior achievement. In addition, the study examined the relationship between students' prior achievement and…

Although the National Association for Gifted Children states that gifted and talented students from prekindergarten through high school require a differentiated curriculum in all subject areas to maximize their abilities, few gifted programs focus on developing the abilities of high school students in the domain of social studies. Further, the few…

The author used phenomenology to explore the subjective experience of ninth-grade girls susceptible to mathematics-related stereotype threat in their authentic learning environments. The sample constituted students categorized as either having low or high susceptibility to stereotype threat (SST) enrolled in Honors mathematics classes at an urban…

In an era in which information is rapidly growing and changing, it is very important to teach with the goal of students' engagement in life-long learning in mind. This can partially be achieved by developing transferable thinking skills. In our previous paper--Part I, we conducted a review of the transfer literature and suggested a three-attribute…

Public schools are examining their policies and instructional practices to address the achievement gap exposed by the reporting requirements of NCLB (Wenglinski, 2004). As accountability measures and stakes rise, there is a call for an improved use of scientific evidence to inform educational policymaking (Wiseman, 2010). In terms of the…

The study investigated the relationship of nature of science (NOS) instruction and students' decision-making (DM) related to a controversial socioscientific issue about genetically modified food. Participants were ninth-grade students in four intact sections (two regulars and two honors) in a public high school in the Midwest. All four groups were…

The focus of this study was the first year of implementation of the Advanced Placement Academy (APA), a program within a high school providing honors and Advanced Placement coursework for high-ability African American students with previously limited access to rigorous courses. The qualitative investigation explores practical solutions from…

This mixed-methods action research study was designed to assess the achievement of ninth-grade Physical Science Honors students by analysis of pre and posttest data. In addition, perceptual data from students, parents, and the researcher were collected to form a complete picture of the flipped lecture format versus the traditional lecture format.…