This research study involved both quantitative and qualitative analysis of elementary teachers' problem-solving skills before and after a focused summer intervention program. Following research-based recommendations for effective professional development, the researchers developed and implemented a program to teach general problem-solving…

With the talk of "accountability" and "progress" in schools across the country, it's no wonder that assessment is on everyone's minds. And, it should be. Well designed pre- and postassessments provide students with a clear idea of what they are expected to know after a set of learning experiences. Effective assessments also help teachers hone…

Objectives: The purpose of this pilot project was to evaluate the effect of the Improving Children's Health through Farming, Food, and Fitness Program (CHF3) on the dietary knowledge and habits of participating children. Methods: The CHF3 program aims to 1) establish salad bars and integrate nutrition messages into cafeteria activities; 2) develop…

The purpose of this case study is to describe the challenges one coach faced during the initial implementation of a coaching initiative involving 33 teachers in an urban, high-poverty elementary school. Reading coaches are increasingly expected to play a key role in the professional development efforts to improve reading instruction in order to…

The author examined the effectiveness of a vocabulary intervention that employed structured, supplemental story read-alouds and related oral-language activities. Within each of 7 Title I schools across 2 sites, 15 third-grade teachers were randomly assigned to either use the intervention (treatment condition) or continue their usual practice…

A clear and consistent finding of educational research has been the importance of active student responding. During lectures and discussions, active responding most often takes the form of student responses to teacher questions. This whole group responding to questions, however, does not permit every student to respond and does not assure that all…

Out-of-school programs provide a context for enriching academic experiences. This study describes a 12-week after-school reading program, Project Expanding Horizons, which is based on the Schoolwide Enrichment Model-Reading (SEM-R) framework. SEM-R has three phases: exposure, supported independent reading, and choice. The exposure phase is…

Field-based learning experiences are often used to increase the effectiveness of science curricula. However, time and financial limitations in public schools often hinder a teacher's ability to bring their students into the field for learning, despite increased demands to incorporate more science content into their curricula. In addition, federal…

We examined the effects of a three-tier strategic model of intensifying instruction using "Reading Mastery Plus" in grades K-3 at a Title I school. Teachers received training and coaching before and during the program evaluation. They were assessed on their satisfaction with the program as well. The "Diagnostic Indicators of Basic…

Although research has established that phonological awareness is a predictor of future reading skill, the effects of variant vs. contiguous presentations of grapheme-phoneme correspondences as part of a teaching program have not been examined. A variant presentation is one in which there is a mismatch between the letter and sound or sound and…

The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of an INSET programme on regular classroom teachers' attitudes towards deaf students educated in regular primary schools. In this research project, a quantitative research approach is used involving randomised allocation of subjects to groups, and a pre-test--post-test design. The sample for…

This study evaluated the effects of a personalized computer-assisted mathematics problem-solving program on the performance and attitude of Taiwanese fourth grade students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the personalized computer-assisted program improved student performance and attitude over the nonpersonalized program.…

This investigation examined the use of computer-assisted instruction (i.e., "WordMaker") on students having different levels of reading ability. Of particular interest were the effects of "WordMaker" on the spelling performance of first graders in a co-taught classroom. In a short 10-week period, the "WordMaker" software program had a positive…

Two teachers working in Year 0-1 classes at Manurewa South School, a decile 2 school in the Manurewa area of Manukau City, Auckland, share their voyage of exploration around their own circle of influence. In this article the research team including Bronwyn Blair, a facilitator from the University of Auckland, worked through a cycle of needs…

Background: In most primary schools in Hong Kong, a product-oriented approach is used in teaching writing. The process approach to writing has been seen as an improvement over the traditional methods of writing instruction in recent years. However, the effectiveness of using the process approach to teach writing is still inconclusive. It is…