Students, even as young as kindergarten, are natural problem solvers (Carpenter et al., 2017). Even before they learn to count, they can make sense of mathematical problems and real- world situations (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2022). Kindergartners can make sense of complex story problems, including Separate Start Unknown…

Proficiency in mathematics is fundamental for academic success and is linked to numerous skills that are essential for success in the real-world. Despite its importance, many students struggle with math, leading to nationwide declines in math proficiency. This decline highlights the need for effective interventions that are accessible, able to be…

In primary-grade classrooms, young children are expected to participate in rich conversations as they build their speaking and listening skills. One way to support students' success with these types of conversations is to explicitly teach them academic conversation skills. Academic conversations are intentional, focused on school-related topics,…

Why is instructional gesture ineffective in some contexts? And what is it about learners that predicts whether they will learn from gestures? This between-subjects linear measurement training study compares gesture instruction to two controls--operant action and transient action--in a diverse sample of first-grade students (N = 174, M[subscript…

Purpose: Modeling is a potentially productive activity in which coaches can engage teachers to support teaching and learning (Gibbons and Cobb, 2017). Yet, there is a lack of empirical research that describes how coaches can productively implement this activity with teachers. The overarching purpose of this study was to explore the challenges and…

Being scientifically literate is an essential twenty-first century skill for every individual navigating today's complex world and science inquiry skills are seen as an important capability of a scientific literate person. However, teaching science inquiry skills requires specific competences and is often challenging for teachers. Understanding…

Given the widespread implementation of instructional coaching, it is not surprising that coaching research has explored a variety of topics, including coaching roles and practices, coaches' preparation and ongoing learning, and coaching's impact on teachers and students across subjects such as literacy, mathematics, and technology. Yet little…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how elementary school educators in the Mid- Atlantic region describe implementing social-emotional learning competencies in the classroom setting. Previous studies validated the importance of social-emotional learning, but how it was implemented in the classroom needed to be…

This paper advances in the understanding of motivation in terms of flow in groups from a physiological perspective. We use wearable devices to monitor the heart rate variation during a set of sessions of face-to-face STEAM project-based learning. By using Action Research with mixed-methods design, we observed a set of 28 students in real-world…

More and more is being learned about the importance of social and emotional competence. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a hot topic in teaching philosophy--the latest "it girl" of education. In today's world, every person must be able to work with and live among all different kinds of people from all walks of life. Social and…

Although modeling instruction has been identified as a productive professional development activity that coaches can use with teachers in their classrooms, coaches are provided with little guidance regarding how to support teacher learning as they model mathematics instruction. While previous research points to the importance of providing teachers…

Recent research has focused on innovative instructional shifts that aim to expand what constitutes science and engineering practices, exploring also how they can build on students' diverse language resources in science learning. However, few studies explore the intersections of elementary teacher preparation and the implementation of science and…

Young children frequently exhibit persistent overconfidence when evaluating their own physical and cognitive abilities. Although task persistence due to overconfidence may be beneficial in some instances, it may also have adverse effects on academic performance. For example, children may reduce cognitive effort because they mistakenly believe that…

Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing focus on spatial technologies in teaching and learning, revealing the potential to support new forms of youth sensemaking across varied settings and modalities. Recent scholarship has shown the possibilities of participatory digital mapping technologies, enabling young people to collect data…

Special education (SPED) teacher preparation programs are intended to help preservice teachers (PSTs) learn and adopt effective teaching practices to serve students with special needs. To help SPED-PSTs learn needed skills, SPED mentor teachers (MTs) must employ high-leverage practices (HLPs) such as performance feedback, conferencing, and…