The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of both unplugged and plugged coding activities on the computational thinking skills of secondary school students. Using an experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group, the study indicated that students enhanced their computational thinking skills through engagement in…

Course design academies are typically intensive, offered in multi-day format, integrate an explicit backward design framework, and leverage multi-disciplinary participation. This article describes an "unbundled" course design academy model that considers the impacts of COVID-19 on faculty members: trauma, and their increased design…

Creating a mindset for research, including the development of professional research skills and critical thinking, is of the utmost importance in preparing students for the business world. To help faculty with this mindset, we discuss novel approaches for incorporating professional research and interactions into the undergraduate classroom,…

Young children often make pragmatic assumptions when learning new words. For example, they assume that a speaker who uses different words intends to refer to different things -- the so-called principle of contrast. We used a standard disambiguation task to explore whether children's assumptions about contrast depend on how much words differ.…

Although universities have been decentralized for academic freedom and autonomy, resources are being increasingly centralized, and the role of central administration is growing for efficiency and excellence reasons. At the same time, a division of labor is progressing by assigning specific tasks to professionals. The professionals are also…

Advanced education is often thought to respond to the demands of the economy, market forces create new occupations, and then universities respond with new degrees and curricula aimed at training future workers with specific new skills. Presented here is comparative research on an underappreciated, yet growing, concurrent alternative process:…

This brief and infographic highlights the importance of explicit vocabulary instruction as part of intensifying reading instruction, with a focus on what to teach and how to teach it. Grounded in the science of reading, this resource offers practical guidance to help educators deliver instruction that is clear, accessible, and effective for all…

In an era where holistic education is gaining prominence, spiritual intelligence is emerging as a critical yet under-assessed component of students' personal and social development. This study aimed to develop and validate the Spiritual Intelligence Assessment Tool (SIAT) for cross-cultural application in faith-based educational settings across…

Adaptive skills are crucial for students with intellectual disability (ID) particularly in preparing for post-secondary transition and long-term independence as it allows them to take care of themselves, communicate effectively, and participate fully across settings. Special education teachers and related service personnel play a major role in…

For much of the last two decades, the narrowed focus on raising test scores under No Child Left Behind left important aspects of education untended. Since 2016, when the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) enabled a more comprehensive look at accountability, state leaders have heard growing demands for a whole-child approach that emphasizes…

This report summarizes the first year of the prekindergarten partnership between AISD, United Way for Greater Austin, and participating child development centers that served 417 students. Classrooms and students displayed high quality of instruction and academic performance, and teacher professional development opportunities are summarized.

Student learning communities (SLCs) are more than just a different way of doing group work. Like the professional learning communities they resemble, SLCs provide students with a structured way to solve problems, share insight, and help one another continually develop new skills and expertise. With the right planning and support, dynamic…

Purpose: Early Achievements for Education Settings (EA-ES) is a teacher-implemented naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) targeting core social communication impairments. The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) was to examine promise of efficacy of this…

The majority of parents in the United States recognize that social and emotional skills are a high priority for their children's success (Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 2015), but most cannot readily articulate how they are utilizing or promoting these skills in their own families (Zero to Three, 2016). Even professionals in…

Scientific and policy advances are putting early childhood development (ECD) at the center of efforts to improve human development. This study was undertaken to understand what knowledge and attitudinal barriers exist that 25 hinder the full-scale roll-out of services for the youngest children and their families. We used anthropological methods…