This study investigated the efficacy of sound-field amplification (SFA) for improving the speed with which students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) follow teacher directions. We used a multiple baseline design across six students in general education classrooms. Latency data were collected under nonamplified and amplified conditions…

This article is a glimpse into one primary classroom at a French school. The author, a kindergarten and first-grade teacher from Connecticut, visits a primary classroom for children ages five to eight years in a French village. She shares her reflections, based on observation, research, and interviews, of how a different culture approaches…

Students learn more from introductory weather and climate courses when they can relate theoretical material to personal experience. The ubiquity of weather should make the link obvious but instructors can foster this connection with a variety of simple methods. Here we describe traditional and web-based techniques that encourage students to…

The teaching observation process in a higher education context can be underpinned by an intention to enhance learning and teaching or used as a managerial tool to ensure standards are met or maintained. In this article we examine the perceptions of observees using a model that engages educational developers as observers. We seek to examine whether…

Objective: To investigate whether higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive behaviors could be observed in a sample of depressed preschoolers. Support for the validity of preschool depression is now available; however, objective evidence of negative behaviors among depressed preschoolers is needed. Method: A structured observational…

What and how do students learn about history from motion pictures? How does this knowledge interact with the history they learn in school? This is a complex problem space that has seen little empirical research. To lay the groundwork for addressing these questions, we describe two exploratory studies. The first study takes a broad view, using…

This series captures the dynamics of the contemporary ESOL classroom. It showcases state-of-the-art curricula, materials, tasks, and activities reflecting emerging trends in language education and seeks to build localized language teaching and learning theories based on teachers' and students' unique experiences in and beyond the classroom. Each…

Researchers and policymakers are increasingly interested in the issue of school accountability. Despite this, program standards for afterschool programs are not as fully developed as they are in other fields. This study bridges that gap and presents the results from a study that identifies benchmarks and indicators for high quality afterschool…

The present study sought to examine the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement in public elementary schools in a community district school of the New York City. It has 23 elementary schools, more than 7,600 students and around 350 teachers. For this study, participants consist of a sample of 117 full-time teachers who were…

Background/Context: With the growth of the small-school movement, many urban districts have restructured large underperforming high schools into new, small high schools or schools-within-a-school designed to engage adolescents in rigorous and meaningful learning along with strong teacher-student relationships. In the case of this study, the…

This paper describes a collaborative action research approach used to explore peer observation of teaching (POT) within the online environment. Although POT has become familiar in face-to-face teaching contexts, little is understood of its potential role in online settings. We conducted "virtual" focus groups to explore the experience…

1:1 laptop programs, in which every student is provided with a personal computer to use during the school year, permit increased and routine use of powerful, user-friendly computer-based tools. Growing numbers of 1:1 programs are reshaping the roles of teachers and learners in science classrooms. At the Denver School of Science and Technology, a…

It is important to be able to describe instructional practices accurately in order to support research on "what works" in education and professional development as a basis for efforts to improve practice. This report describes a project to develop procedures for characterizing classroom practices in mathematics and science on the …

Improving the quality of out-of-school time activities and creating effective learning environments is of keen interest to practitioners, funders and policymakers. Funded by The William Penn Foundation, "Quality Time After School" identifies characteristics of after-school activities that are linked to youth engagement and learning…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to analyze seventh grade students' and teachers' perceptions of literacy learning in language arts and reading classes. This paper includes a report of a section of this study that focused on discussions about literature. The impact of this diverse school culture on teachers' literacy instruction and…