The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) on the academic achievement, attitudes, and engagement of fifth-grade science students. Participants were from two science classes (N = 42). The experimental group received IBL instruction, while the control group received traditional instruction. Pretests and…

This study contributes to the investigation of the variability of the schooling effect on cognitive development between educational systems and its underlying factors, by focusing on 3 cases differing in the characteristics assumed to affect the magnitude of the schooling effect (the quality of the schooling and students' mean ability to benefit…

Despite the abundance of research in Modeling-based Learning (MbL) in science education, to date there is only limited research on MbL practices among K-6 novice modelers. More specifically, there is no information on how young/novice modelers' modeling enactments look so that researchers and educators have an idea of what should be expected from…

We all want children to become engaged and enthusiastic readers. Yet teachers are often challenged by students who, because of histories with a standardized and irrelevant curriculum, poor pedagogy, or unique learning styles, have become alienated from the written word. Impatient with teachers' ignorance and desiring to be liberated from…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether, or to what extent, property wealth of the upper and lower 5% districts, per pupil expenditure, limited English proficient students, economically disadvantaged students, membership, and teacher experience contribute to student achievement in 5th grade reading and mathematics. To do this, the…

A cluster-randomized trial (CRT) relies on random assignment of intact clusters to treatment conditions, such as classrooms or schools (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). One specific type of CRT, a multi-site CRT (MSCRT), is commonly employed in educational research and evaluation studies (Spybrook & Raudenbush, 2009; Spybrook, 2014; Bloom,…

This study tested to determine if a relationship existed between excused versus unexcused absences on STAAR reading and math scale scores for Hispanic, economically disadvantaged third through fifth grade elementary students in a rural South Texas school district. Research questions included: 1) Is there a relationship between excused absences and…

Using a quantitative method of data collection, this research explored the question: Do active learning strategies used in grades 5 and 6 affect student vocabulary achievement in a positive or negative direction? In their research, Wolfe (2001), Headley, et al., (1995), Freiberg, et al., (1992), and Brunner (2009) emphasize the importance of…

In this study, we examined 5th grade students' levels of vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness relative to their reading comprehension performance. The aim was to explore the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic awareness as potential sources of reading comprehension difficulty for these readers. Overall, we found that both vocabulary…

Two investigations of fifth graders' strategies for locating whole numbers on number lines revealed patterns in students' coordination of numeric and linear units. In Study 1, we investigated the effects of context on students' placements of three numbers on an open number line. For one group ("n"?=?24), the line was presented in a…

This study aims to discuss whether game-based learning with the integration of games and digital learning could enhance not only the flow experience in learning but achieve the same flow experience in pure games. In addition, the authors discovered that whether the game-based learning could make learners to reveal higher cognitive load. The…

The purpose of this study was to rate oral retellings of fifth graders to determine how passages, raters, and rating occasions affect those ratings, and to identify what combination of those elements produce reliable retelling ratings. A group of 36 fifth grade students read and orally retold three contemporary realistic fiction passages. Two…

This study of 1,974 fifth grade students investigated potential relationships between writing process-based instruction practices and higher-order thinking measured by a standardized literacy assessment. Writing process is defined as a highly complex, socio-cognitive process that includes: planning, text production, review, metacognition, writing…

This report summarizes results from a survey given to rising 5th grade students who attended AISD's science summer camp in 2013 at two elementary campuses: Pleasant Hill and Campbell. Students were surveyed about their attitudes toward science at the beginning of the summer camp and again at the end of the camp to learn whether students'…

"Read Naturally" is a supplemental reading program designed to improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension of elementary and middle school students using a combination of books, audio CDs, and computer software. The program combines three main strategies: modeling of story reading, repeated reading of text for developing oral…