The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what students in public and private schools know and can do in various subjects. First administered in 1969, NAEP collects and reports information on student trends and performance and compares the achievement of students in…

There is a growing interest in using a flipped classroom format in day-to-day teaching. Direct computer-based individual instruction outside the classroom and interactive group learning activities inside the classroom are the two essential components of the flipped classroom model. By watching instructional videos, students can work through some…

For many students, the summer is a time for family vacations, new friendships, new adventures in camps and summer learning programs, or taking summer classes to catch up or get ahead in school. For some families, affordable summer programs and camps can be a lifeline, while other families who may not be able to afford summer programs or activities…

Cognitive gains in science content linked to single zoo visits are well evidenced; zoos are unique educational settings. Not only do they foster learning about the natural world, but they also help young people to connect with wildlife (Jensen, 2014; Pearson et al., 2014). Even out-of-classroom experiences of short duration can evoke strong…

What better way to engage young students in physical science concepts than to have them engineer flying toy rockets? The integration of engineering into science classrooms is advocated by the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) and researchers alike (Brophy et al. 2008), as engineering provides: (1) A "real-world…

Environmental education has been widely promoted in Hong Kong schools since the 1990s. Teachers have a crucial role in educating students to be well-informed, environmentally aware and responsible green citizens. The environmental literacy and tendencies of teachers are seen as having far-reaching influences on the development of environmental…

The relevance of the research problem is due to applying various training programs in the modern education system which are supposed to increase teaching efficiency. In-depth study of some subjects at schools, lyceums and gymnasiums which starts in the elementary school quite often leads to tension and failures of adaptation process in innovative…

Statistical literacy is essential in everyone's personal lives as consumers, citizens, and professionals. To make informed life and professional decisions, students are required to read, understand, and interpret vast amounts of information, much of which is quantitative. To develop statistical literacy so students are able to make sense of…

In an educational landscape of primary teachers' underdeveloped professional knowledge and low feelings of self-efficacy around science teaching, the prospects for science losing status in the primary school curriculum seems grim. This paper reports positive findings from a New Zealand research project designed to support and enhance primary…

The Grade 3 Informational Text Reading Inventory (ITRI) was developed to address the specific reading challenges that grade 3 students encounter as they move from reading largely narrative textbooks in grade 2 to being expected to read and comprehend more dense and content-driven text in grade 3. This booklet contains all of the information…

Educational robotics activities are gaining in popularity. Though some research data suggest that educational robotics can be an effective approach in teaching mathematics, science, and engineering, research is needed to generate the best practices and strategies for designing these learning environments. Existing robotics activities typically do…

Amargosa Valley School in Nevada could be considered representative of almost any preK-8 school that serves a large proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and is focused on turning around persistently low achievement. Like other schools supported by federal School Improvement Grants, Amargosa is beginning to implement a reform plan…

Latino bilingual children hold rich understandings, which are underexplored and underutilized in the geoscience classroom. Oftentimes, young Latinos possess unique cultural land experiences shaping their place identities. We consider science as language and culture, and propose place-based geoscience hybrid space explorations that are culturally…

One may have heard of Bowland maths and will know something of the "case studies" that were published in 2008. These are substantial mathematics projects, taking five hours, or more, to complete. Most are set in real or realistic contexts, like "designing a smoothy"--Product Wars, or "devising plans to improve road safety"--Reducing Road…

This purpose of this investigation was to examine the level of training and perceptions regarding reading assessment by elementary teachers in a suburban school district. The teachers were given an on-line survey to complete in the spring of 2011. While the response rate to the survey was fairly low, the teachers who did respond indicated that …