Educational research has been around for over one hundred years and has faced periods of optimism, pessimism, and skepticism. Currently, there is a plethora of educational research available for teachers and districts to use. However, there is a research-practice gap. This gap refers to the amount of research available and educators using the…

Spatial reasoning, recognised as playing a critical role across STEM disciplines, is gaining prominence in mathematics education, not only as fundamental to mathematics, but also as embodied mathematical activity. In this paper, we discuss spatial reasoning and its embodiment in mathematics. We then present a systematic review of the topics as…

During this inquiry, I describe my journey as a beginning arts-based researcher, using this methodological approach to explore the "peak experiences" of five, second-grade gifted students in a general classroom. Concerned with collecting valid data from young children through traditional interviewing techniques, I turned to Arts-Based…

How people see the world, even how they research it, is influenced by beliefs. Some beliefs are conscious and the result of research, or at least amenable to research. Others are largely invisible. They may feel like "common knowledge" (though myth, not knowledge), unrecognized premises that are part of the surrounding culture. As we…

The present paper was written under the auspices of the interdisciplinary research group "Educational Processes, Competence Development, and Selection Decisions at Preschool and Primary School Age (BiKS)" (FOR 543), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The surveys were conceptualised and supervised as part of the developmental…

This article describes nine phases of curriculum-development activities conducted by the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC), the end result of which was to arrive at a research-based supplemental curriculum that could be used by teachers of English-speaking or bilingual Spanish-English-speaking children in prekindergarten and…

"Words Their Way"[TM] is an approach to phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction for students in kindergarten through high school. The program can be implemented as a core or supplemental curriculum and aims to provide a practical way to study words with students. The purpose of word study (which involves examining, manipulating,…

This research study examines the impact of teacher research on participants in a large-scale educational reform initiative in the United States, No Child Left Behind, and its strand for reading teachers, Reading First. Reading First supported professional development for teachers in order to increase student scores on standardized tests. The…

A number of studies have identified school mobility as one form of school disengagement that is disproportionately harmful for young children enrolled in large urban districts. However, there is substantial variation in these findings, with some studies actually evidencing positive associations between school mobility and academic outcomes (Mehana…

"Open Court Reading"[c] is a core reading program for grades K-6 developed by SRA/McGraw-Hill that is designed to teach decoding, comprehension, inquiry, and writing in a logical progression. Part 1 of each unit, Preparing to Read, focuses on phonemic awareness, sounds and letters, phonics, fluency, and word knowledge. Part 2, Reading…

"Bridges in Mathematics," published by the Math Learning Center (MLC), is an elementary school math curriculum covering kindergarten through fifth grade that focuses on problem solving and skill building, and applies a combination of whole-group, small-group, and independent activities. Lessons incorporate visual models, including…

When it comes to teacher preparation, the support provided to new teachers, and ongoing professional development for working teachers, Grades K-12 and the field of early care and education (ECE) are two very different worlds. While both worlds assume that teachers' classroom skills and behavior can be influenced at multiple points in time (through…

This study examined the effect of the "Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling" ("LETRS)" professional development curriculum on the reading achievement of second graders. The authors examined data on more than 5,000 second graders from ninety elementary schools in four states during the 2005-06 school year.…

This Evidence Based Education (EBE) request focused on research-supported vocabulary interventions for middle elementary students. Limited vocabulary is an important factor in underachievement of children in disadvantaged homes. Children with larger vocabularies find reading easier, read more widely, and do better in school (Lubliner & Smetana,…

"Breakthrough to Literacy" is a literacy curriculum for preschool through third grade that introduces students to a book-a-week throughout the year. Students gain exposure to the book-of-the-week through multiple formats: a Big Book, a Take-Me-Home Book, an audio book, and a computerized version. The book-of-the-week serves as the basis…