Teachers play a large role in determining whether or not the classroom climate experienced by students is positive, especially through their visible emotional behaviors (i.e., neutral, positive, and negative emotional expressions). Research suggests that teachers make specific contributions to the classroom emotional climate in actions such as…

This paper examines how young children experience the moral and bodily discipline of the modern English 'on-task' primary classroom, in which they are expected to sit quietly and still for long periods on the classroom carpet, listening to what teachers know. It details the conditions of the classrooms, a performance-focused environment centred on…

Problem behaviors are prevalent in schools and may result in negative effects for the students exhibiting those behaviors, teachers, and other students. Increasing on-task behaviors has been shown to minimize disruptive behaviors. The current study utilized an interdependent group contingency-based intervention, Class-Wide Function-related…

Instructional choice is a low-intensity strategy that requires little preparation, is easy to implement, and supports content instruction in the classroom. In this study we explored the effectiveness of two types of instructional choice--across-task and within-task choices--implemented classwide during writing instruction by classroom teachers…

Researchers observed pre-kindergarten through second-grade public school classrooms, specifically noting child-centered and teacher-directed pedagogical approaches, by simultaneously examining: (a) student behavior and activities, (b) teacher instructional orientation and rationale, and (c) overall classroom environment. Dissimilar to previous…

Background: Acute physical activity breaks lasting 10--60 min have been related to positive effects on student focus and academic performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of repeated brief physical activity-infused academic lessons (1-5 min) on student retention and on-task behavior. Methods: One class from each K-2 grade…

An observational study investigated the influence of text difficulty (independent, instructional, or frustration level) on the reading experiences of students in grades 1-3 in two schools for the deaf. Participants included 12 students who are deaf or hard of hearing and 5 educators. The most significant findings were twofold. First, students…