A mixed-method embedded research design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of the integration of technology for second-grade students' vocabulary development and learning. Two second-grade classes with a total of 40 students (21 boys and 19 girls) were randomly selected to participate in this study for the course of a semester. One…

The aim of this mixed methods study was to explore the relationship between teacher expectations and student ethnicity. Factors that contributed to the achievement gap were also investigated. The study involved 15 mathematics teachers and 361 students from five urban secondary schools in Auckland. Fifteen teachers completed questionnaires and 10…

This paper reports on an experimental research study that aimed at investigating the effectiveness of employing a virtual task-based situated language learning (TBSLL) environment mediated by Second Life (SL) in developing EFL student teachers' pragmatic writing skills and their technological self-efficacy. To reach this goal, a control-only…

This report is part of a larger body of work by the WestEd Justice and Prevention Research Center focusing on restorative justice (RJ) as an alternative to traditional responses to student misbehavior in schools across the United States. This work seeks to document the current breadth of evidence on the subject, provide a more comprehensive…

A growing number of school districts are moving away from the idea that charter schools are the enemy. Instead, districts are breaking down barriers and openly discussing how to share resources, responsibilities, and knowledge of what works. This report explores a lesser-known form of knowledge transfer: the practice of superintendents looking…

Calls for better preparation of STEM teachers have been prominent in educational communities and among the public for the past several years (e.g. American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2007). Some research suggests one way to improve mathematics instruction is to increase elementary pre-service teachers' "mathematical…

In the current reform of mathematics classrooms teachers are charged with the role of facilitating collaborative groups during problem-solving activity. The challenge is for teachers to engage students in making mathematical meaning during collaborative group discussions. In this paper we draw on the concept of adaptive expertise to report on…

Plagiarism has been the focus of considerable scholarly research in recent decades, much of which has examined the number of students who are plagiarizing, why they plagiarize, and what instructors can do to teach students to effectively and ethically integrate their own words and ideas with those of their sources. Overlooked in this scholarship…

Background: Although teaching nature of science (NOS) has been continually emphasized in many major reform efforts in science education, researchers claim that students do not possess adequate views of NOS. Insufficient understanding of NOS can be associated with the ineffectiveness of curricular or instructional approaches. Consequently,…

Recent scholarship on teacher professional development has shown renewed interest in collaborative forms of teacher learning. Networks, communities of practice and clusters are related concepts that describe forms of collaboration between schools and/or teachers that encourage such learning. In South Africa, teacher clusters represent a relatively…

There is a need to understand why some students succeed and persist in STEM fields and others do not. While numerous studies have focused on the positive results of using empirically validated teaching methods in introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses, little data has been collected about the student experience in…

Context-based learning approaches have been implemented in school science over the last 40 years as a way to enhance students' interest in, as well as learning outcomes from, science. Contexts are used to connect science with the students' lives and to provide a frame in which concepts can be learned and applied on a…

Social media has become a way of life. Society has become very connected, yet the classroom still remains quite isolated, from other teachers, students, experts, parents, the community, and a host of others who could potentially enhance learning. There are a number of different ways by which schools and teachers could open their classrooms to the…

Thirty four fifth-grade students were interviewed about classroom learning and technology. Interview data were considered through Schlechty's (2002) levels of engagement framework to explore students' authentic or ritualistic engagement during technology supported lessons. Student engagement is defined as interest in and commitment to learning.…

The PTechLS module combines learning styles with the use of technology to increase students' learning experience, especially in learning abstract concepts. The PTechLS module prototype was developed by Norlidah Alias (2010). The aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation effectiveness of the Biology PTechLS module in a Felda Learning…