With the benefit of multimedia and the learning cycle approach in promoting effective active learning, this paper proposed a learning cycle approach-based, multimedia-supplemented instructional unit for Structured Query Language (SQL) for second-year undergraduate students with the aim of enhancing their basic knowledge of SQL and ability to apply…

A multiple baseline design investigated the effects of computer graphic organizers on the persuasive composition writing skills of four Hispanic students with specific learning disabilities. Participants reviewed the elements of persuasive writing and then developed compositions using a word processing program. Baseline planning was done with a…

Most of the scholarship on learner-centeredness is focused on individual classroom pedagogy, but this book takes learner-centeredness beyond the classroom and asks academic leaders to consider the broader implications of making their institutions fully learner-centered. Systemic change is needed, and curriculum is at the heart of what higher…

High fidelity simulation has become a widespread and costly learning strategy in nursing education because it can fill the gap left by a shortage of clinical sites. In addition, high fidelity simulation is an active learning strategy that is thought to increase higher order thinking such as clinical reasoning and judgment skills in nursing…

Writing is complex, and assessment of writing is equally complex, particularly when considering the need to measure outcomes at the institutional level while providing meaningful data that informs curriculum reform and supports learning at the discipline-level. Using a multi-layered assessment that incorporates standardized measures of writing…

The purpose of this study was to investigate upper primary school students' academic development in science courses and to evaluate their views and feelings about self-learning processes through journals. Students in 6th and 7th grade wrote journals twice a week for nine weeks. We evaluated the journals weekly according to the Science Journal…

There is an underlying, often verbalized, assumption by which Montessori teacher education programs operate: every child should receive every presentation. The author has heard the head of one Montessori teacher education center put it this way, "Every child has a right to every presentation." But the more authentic question for a Montessori…

A relatively new mobile text message service, "ChaCha," describes itself as "a smart search engine powered by human intelligence." The service claims to provide high-quality, accurate information, yet there is no research published to date substantiating this claim. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which health and…

Background: Facing growing accountability pressures, Teacher Work Samples (TWSs) as a model of performance-based assessment is of growing significance in teacher education. Developed at Western Oregon University and widely adopted and adapted, proponents claim that the model is "real," "natural," "meaningful," and "helpful" (G. R. Girod, 2002).…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and perceived pedagogical utility of a multidimensional weighted performance assessment rubric used in Kansas state high school large-group festivals. Data were adjudicator rubrics (N = 2,016) and adjudicator and director questionnaires (N = 515). Rubric internal consistency was…

Learner-generated content (LGC) has always been produced as part of the learning process; however, it often generally goes no further than the teacher. Research has shown that by exposing LGC to a wider audience, students are motivated to produce work of a higher quality. The process of publishing and sharing LGC also helps students develop key…

In the STEM classroom, students can work in collaborative teams to build those essential skills needed for the 21st-century world. In project-based learning (PBL), teams of four to six students are often randomly selected to describe a realistic situation that may occur in today's workplace; this may be done by counting off in fours, fives,…

English language learners (ELLs) bring a wealth of knowledge to science classrooms, yet often that knowledge is untapped by traditional instruction and assessment. As classrooms become increasingly diverse, it is critical to recognize the depth of understandings ELLs bring to classrooms to explain the scientific world around them. English language…

This study explored a group of elementary teachers' ("n" = 35) learning to construct high-quality lesson plans that foster student understanding of fundamental mathematical ideas. The conceptual framework for this study was gleaned from the recently released Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recommendations, including (a)…

The purpose of this research study was to examine, through statistical analyses, the impact that the 2 different types of highly qualified teachers have on student achievement reading and math scores among fourth- and fifth-grade special education and general education students for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. The evaluation…