A college education is, for many in America, part and parcel of the American Dream, and is certainly achievable. For countless reasons, students may enroll at community colleges underprepared, unprepared, anxious, and destined for a high risk of failure. Although community colleges are higher education institutions open and accessible to all who…

Because digital tutoring is rapidly expanding, more rigorous, independent evaluations of their effectiveness is critical to inform federal, state, and local policy decisions that influence their role and application of technology in educating underserved students. The in-depth observations and vignettes in this paper illustrate the challenges in…

Betty's Brain is an open-ended learning environment in which students learn about science topics by teaching a virtual agent named Betty through the construction of a visual causal map that represents the relevant science phenomena. The task is complex, and success requires the use of metacognitive strategies that support knowledge acquisition,…

This qualitative, insider account of student civic development in a university service-learning course has two primary goals. One is to propose frameworks for describing the process of civic development of service-learning students that are situated in theories of civic identity, cognitive development, and cognitive dissonance. The other is to…

This paper presents an executive summary of a study that uses a regression discontinuity (RD) design to assess the potential benefits of offering SES in districts that have unmet need. Specifically, the study focuses on six school districts in which more eligible students applied for SES than could be served with available funds (i.e.,…

The purpose of this research study was to understand the experiences of high achieving African American students and their parents. The experiences of high achieving African American students and their parents have been missing from literature on the academic achievement of African American students. Much of the literature that has been published…

This study explores the cost-effectiveness ratios associated with individual tutoring, intensive reading/language arts instruction, and a focus on core subject areas. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) database, this study analyzes these programs using a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) with a nationally…

The focus of this paper is on responses from fifth grade peer tutors who were trained to use child-centered play therapy language during tutoring sessions with kindergarteners. The focus of this project was to identify academic and social/emotional benefits of participating in the program. Results indicated that participation in the program…

Recent technological developments have given rise to blended learning classrooms. An inverted (or flipped) classroom is a specific type of blended learning design that uses technology to move lectures outside the classroom and uses learning activities to move practice with concepts inside the classroom. This article compares the learning…

During what might have in the distant past been called "quiet time" in Arlene Anderson's fourth-grade classroom, many of her students are glued to their netbooks. The intense, enthusiastic focus and the hushed chatter amongst the students are all about high scores and strategy. Students are revising and editing their writing assignments within a…

For more than 40 years, policymakers have committed to supporting the education of students with disabilities, who have grown as a share of all students in the United States (Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2016). Beginning with landmark legislation in 1975, the U.S. Congress mandated that students with disabilities have access to a free and…

For more than 40 years, policymakers have committed to supporting the education of students with disabilities, who have grown as a share of all students in the United States. Beginning with landmark legislation in 1975, the U.S. Congress mandated that students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education and provided…

The "2018 National Freshman Motivation to Complete College Report" examines the noncognitive motivations of college freshmen at the beginning of their first year and as they progress throughout that year. This report provides key insights into how freshmen are gauging their potential to graduate, what barriers (financial, academic,…

The 2015-16 survey "Programs and Services for High School English Learners" provides the first nationally representative data on this topic. This report is based on that survey and presents data on programs and services for high school English learners (ELs), including instructional approaches, newcomer programs, online or computer-based…

This paper presents an agent-based educational environment to teach argument analysis (ALES). The idea is based on the Argumentation Interchange Format Ontology (AIF)using "Walton Theory". ALES uses different mining techniques to manage a highly structured arguments repertoire. This repertoire was designed, developed and implemented by us. Our aim…