The Cultural Heritage Bilingual Program (CHBP) was developed for English Language Learner (ELL) students from language groups not served by current bilingual programs in the Houston Independent School District (HISD), which are designed for Spanish-speaking ELLs. The largest group of students in this category consists of ELLs whose home language…

Classrooms are systems, schools are systems, and schooling in the United States is a big system. Changing any of those systems requires an awareness of how they work; what they produce; and where to apply time, energy, and resources. Current systems could be much better in meeting students' current and future needs. "Student Relevance Matters: Why…

This document summarizes a study that examines the relationship between performance on Utah's English proficiency assessment and English language arts and mathematics content assessments by English language learner students and compares the performance of English language learner and non-English language learner students on the content…

The Problem: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Vietnam's globalization on national language education policies and teacher training programs for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Specifically, this research explored the extent to which the new policies for English language training programs adopted by the…

Disparities in student achievement, engagement and retention have historically existed between technology-rich schools with more affluent students and schools with less access to technology and less-privileged students. This study explores how a community-based change initiative was used to enhance the access and use of technology in a high…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic characteristics on the reading ability of fourth-grade students in Louisiana. The dependent variable for this study was reading ability of fourth-grade students. Independent variables were demographic characteristics as measured by reading achievement (overall…

Today's adolescents must meet increasing demands for high levels of literacy. However, low self-efficacy and motivation for reading often prohibit adolescents from developing and sustaining positive reading habits. Consequently, educators must provide opportunities for students to experience reading as a rewarding and useful endeavor. Research…

In addition to building student knowledge and skills, educational strategies for all students should be aimed at increasing school engagement, motivation, and learner independence. Innovative technological tools, programs, and software can be used to promote student engagement, motivation, and ultimately enhance the quality of the learning…

James Moffett is revered by many for his contributions to English education, but his interest in discourse and rhetoric led him beyond reform in the language arts curriculum to a vision of a radically reconceived approach to education, one in which disciplinary knowledge is subordinate to the processes of symbolic representation that creates that…

This paper addresses my experience with a group of 11th grade students and their reading of The Grapes of Wrath (1939, 2002) by John Steinbeck. I questioned how the application of visual arts integration strategies, specifically the use of spontaneously created paintings, might influence the reader responses of my high school junior-level…

This study investigated the impact of Fast ForWord[R] products, specifically Fast ForWord[R] Literacy (FFL) and Fast ForWord[R] Reading Level 2 (FFR2), on sixth grade students' use of Standard Edited American English (SEAE). Fast ForWord[R] is a computer-based program that focuses on phonological awareness and makes use of modeled…

This quantitative study examined the effects of extracurricular activities on academic achievement of seventh and eighth graders. This study compared the academic achievements of participants and non-participants in Mathematics and Language Arts. The three different measurements used for the academic achievement were TCAP, ThinkLink, and GPA…

The objective of this research was to compare Career Technical Education--16 Career Pathway high school participants with non-participants on academic achievement, development of technical skills and school engagement. Academic achievement was measured by Exit Level Math and English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)…

Elementary children's sense of audience related to their multimodal information writing was examined. Forty-six third graders' interviews about the books that they created at the end of a science unit were analyzed to understand children's conception of audience, the connection between their sense of audience and their composing process, and their…

This mixed method study examined the oral contributions and personal journal writing of 8 focal students in an eleventh-grade integrated history/English classroom to ascertain whether and to what extent the students had appropriated three types of cognitive strategies desired and modeled by their teachers. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of…