Children are active watchers of the world as they learn to be a part of their community. Field trips are a key component in addressing the 10 themes of the social studies standards through experiential learning. The authors recognize that in today's tough economic times, field trips that require additional funding may not be possible for all…

This study examines the convergent validity and divergent validity of the Student Engagement in School Success Skills (SESSS) survey. The SESSS is easy to administer (it takes fewer than 15 minutes to complete) and is used in schools to provide educators with useful information about students' use of skills and strategies related to school…

Task based learning (TBL) continues to evolve as information and communication technology (ICT) inspired tools and teaching approaches afford the possibilities of transforming students' learning experiences by heightening their motivation and sense of autonomy, and in turn, their vocabulary development. To capture this synergy, teachers will need…

This study explored the effects of a modified argument-driven inquiry approach on Grade 4 students' engagement in learning science and argumentation in Taiwan. The students were recruited as an experimental group (EG, n?=?36) to join a 12-week study, while another 36 Grade 4 students from the same schools were randomly selected to be the…

This study investigated the extent to which self-efficacy and motivation served as a predictor for mathematics achievement of fifth grade students in United Arab Emirates (UAE) across gender and achievement levels. Self-efficacy was measured by two scales, which differed in levels of specificity--Category Specific and Task Specific. Motivation was…

Besides cognitive factors, children's learning at school may be influenced by more dynamic phenomena, such as motivation and achievement-related task-avoidant behavior. The present study examined the developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance from kindergarten to Grade 4. A total of 225 children were tested for their…

Many children fall in love with science at an early age. There is just something about exploring critters, crud, gears, pulleys, and other "stuff" that has fascinated generations of young students. Unfortunately, in many schools across the nation, science in the elementary classroom is relegated to the back burner as other curricular areas have…

The issues that prompt this study are based on current research indicating the positive effects of inquiry learning on the cognitive development of children. The purpose of this case study was to understand the effects of inquiry learning on the academic achievement and bilingual verbal ability of 5th grade bilingual students in a French/English…

This mixed-methods study examined the relationship between middle level science students' perceptions of teacher-student interactions and students' science motivation, particulary their efficacy, value, and goal orientation for learning science. In this sequential explanatory design, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in two phases,…

This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language learners (YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N = 76, aged 10-11). Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was to examine the learners' L2 English language-related activities outside of school in general, and their…

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives of primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. There were nine graduate students, twenty-six 4th grade and thirty 5th grade pupils involved in this study, which took place over eight weeks in a graduate course. The graduate students designed and developed their WebQuests as a…

This research was carried out to understand the role of visual arts in the teaching and learning of science among Grade 3 teachers and students. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative research design was used to discover the different perceptions of both teachers and students on the role of visual arts in science. The data for the research was…

SMK and PCK are crucial for effective science teaching, yet the amount of subject matter covered in elementary teacher education programs is limited. This exploratory study of ten elementary school teachers focuses on how teachers learned science content from their teaching practice (including preparing to teach, classroom instruction, and…

This paper outlines a study which explored six young Looked-after Children's perceptions of what supports them to learn. The participants were aged between eight and nine years old and lived in the UK. The study adopted semi-structured interviews and notepad diaries as research methods and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the…

This study focuses on learning in three different hypermedia environments that either support autonomous learning, learner-controlled learning or system-controlled learning and explores the mediating role of academic self-regulation style (ASRS; i.e. a macro level of motivation) on learning. This research was performed to gain more insight in the…