This article presents the research conducted as part of a Pilot Experiment regarding the application of the ECTS to the Childhood Education Teaching Degree taught at the University of Cordoba (Spain). It analyses the Experiment, which was carried out in the Education Faculty over the course of three academic years (2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07).…

This study examines the relationship between systematic direct observation (SDO) of time on task (TOT) and student engagement as measured by a self-report task-specific measure. The research questions guiding the study are (a) what is the relationship between SDO of TOT and a self-report measure of student effort, and (b) what is the relationship…

Despite the enactment of No Child Left Behind (2002), many urban school districts continue to battle the achievement gap and struggle with low literacy rates. Authentic writing instruction, a main component of literacy, is being cut in those districts that struggle most to accommodate other demands made by the nation and state. The primary purpose…

Despite their flaws as teaching and learning environments, large lectures remain a standard teaching approach because of their relatively low cost, ease of preparation, and long tradition in education. Research shows that active inquiry yields positive results in learning outcomes, and one way to make the large lecture class more active and…

Children are diagnosed with AD/HD more often than any other disorder and interventions are needed in schools to increase on-task behavior. Most studies examining on-task behavior are conducted in special education classrooms or clinical laboratories. Previous studies have not combined video self-modeling and self-monitoring as an intervention to…

Using a grounded theory approach, this investigation addresses how an interdisciplinary research (IDR) team negotiates meaning and struggles to establish and sustain a sense of collective communication competence (CCC). Certain communication processes were foundational to building CCC, such as spending time together, practicing trust, discussing…

We observed 17 graduate and advanced-undergraduate piano majors practicing a difficult, three-measure keyboard passage from a Shostakovich concerto. Participants' instructions were to practice until they were confident they could play the passage accurately at a prescribed tempo in a retention test session the following day. We analyzed the…

The purpose of this study is to determine the views of students about blog use for supplementary purposes in courses. Survey research method was applied for the quantitative dimension of the study, and the semi-structured interview technique was used for the qualitative dimension. Regarding the quantitative dimension of the study, the participants…

This paper reports experiment results of teaching large classes of introductory economics with modern learning technology such as MyEconLab or Aplia. This new technology emerges partially in response to the enrollment pressure currently facing many institutions of higher education. Among other things, the technology provides an integrated online…

There are large differences across countries in instructional time in schooling institutions. Can these differences explain some of the differences across countries in pupils' achievements in different subjects? While research in recent years provides convincing evidence about the effect of several inputs in the education production function,…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Two third-grade Taiwanese students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders participated in a pull-out, small-group social skills training program developed to promote their skill acquisition and maintenance. Using a multiple baseline across skills design, the authors demonstrated that both participants made marked performance improvement in…

This article focuses on representations of youth identity and culture that circulated in a long-term teacher and researcher study group. These representations are important to examine because the way that teachers of adolescents envision their students' identities and cultures relative to that of other adolescents is fundamental to how they…

This study evaluated the effects and collateral effects of extinction (EXT) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) interventions with inappropriate vocalizations and work refusal. Both interventions have been used frequently to reduce problem behaviors. The benefits of these interventions have been established yet may be…

Measures of teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ), effortful engagement, and achievement in reading and math were collected once each year for 3 consecutive years, beginning when participants were in 1st grade, for a sample of 671 (53.1% male) academically at-risk children attending 1 of 3 school districts in Texas. In separate latent…