The authors tested whether students can be taught to better understand conventional representations in diagrams, photographs, and other visual representations in science textbooks. The authors developed a teacher-delivered, workbook-and-discussion-based classroom instructional method called Conventions of Diagrams (COD). The authors trained 1…

Research has shown that the underlying teaching beliefs or theories of any particular teacher have generally been considered relatively stable and static throughout his or her career. However, this study investigates how one teacher's beliefs regarding both teaching and learning were changed during a short-term study and immersion program abroad.…

The effects of high-stakes, standardized testing on the curriculum are discouraging the teaching of multicultural, anti-racist content. Test-influenced educational environments contribute to the reproduction of racial and cultural inequality in education. Using the lens of sociolinguistics, the author asserts that high-stakes, standardized tests…

Clickers are also referred to as classroom response systems. They are small-handheld electronic devices that resemble a television remote control, used by students to respond to questions posed by instructors. Typically, questions are provided to students using electronic on-screen presentations. Results of students' responses can be immediately…

Formative assessment, as a strategy used to improve student learning, encounters several obstacles in its implementation. This study explores changes in teachers' views and practices as they are introduced to formative assessment in a high stakes testing and limited resource environment. The study examines the extent to which teachers use the…

This quantitative study examined the impact, if any, of two general co-teaching models on the academic achievement of all of the fourth-grade students in a small suburban elementary school district. It addressed co-teaching methods as possible supports to improve literacy gains for all elementary school students. The researcher investigated the…

The primary purpose of this study is to provide solid quantitative data demonstrating how teachers are perceived to change in a one-to-one laptop environment, both as a whole and by subject area, during a laptop initiative that includes significant investments in professional development. The main research question is "Do teachers change their…

The author reports on an experimental study of performance-based teacher compensation conducted in the U.S. which shows that a nationally watched bonus-pay system had no overall impact on student achievement. Nearly 300 middle school mathematics teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, voluntarily took part in the Project on Incentives in Teaching, a…

Actively engaging students in lecture has been shown to increase learning gains. To create time for active learning without displacing content we used two strategies for introducing material before class in a large introductory biology course. Four to five slides from 2007/8 were removed from each of three lectures in 2009 and the information…

The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the effects of activity-based and traditional instructions on students' conceptual development of certain probability concepts. The study was conducted using a pretest-posttest control group design with 80 seventh graders. A developed "Conceptual Development Test" comprising 12…

The impact of the accountability system on perceptions and practices of elementary teachers in South Texas was examined. A mixed methods approach was utilized in this descriptive study. Participants were randomly selected and included 192 educators from 12 campuses, from various districts. Teachers stated that they experienced a great deal of…

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of cooperative learning on General Science achievement among 9th class students. Based upon previous research literature it was hypothesized that significant difference existed between the mean posttest scores of General Science achievement of experimental group and control group. The pretest…

The study of linear relationships is foundational for mathematics teaching and learning. However, students' abilities to connect different representations of linear relationships have proven to be challenging. In response, a computer-based instructional sequence was designed to support students' understanding of the connections among…

An experiment compared asynchronous versus synchronous instruction in an online quantitative course. Mann-Whitney U-tests, correlation, analysis of variance, t tests, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) were utilized to test the hypothesis that more high-quality online experiential learning interactions would increase grade.…

Providing exploratory activities prior to explicit instruction can facilitate learning. However, the level of guidance provided during the exploration has largely gone unstudied. In this study, we examined the effects of 1 form of guidance, feedback, during exploratory mathematics problem solving for children with varying levels of prior domain…