In schools where curricular constraints and testing pressures narrow the ways in which students can take up identities as writers, longterm enrichment programs offer opportunities for the meaningful design of compositions. This paper, which presents the work of four elementary student participants in a writing workshop, shows how qualitative…

Using a case study design, with a phenomenological perspective, this research focused on a sample of primary classroom teachers (grades K-3rd grade) in south central Pennsylvania who are currently using and have been using Responsive Classroom® (RC) strategies for an extended period of time. Their perspectives provide insight into their use of…

The learning and teaching of mathematics are key elements for primary school teachers, and various approaches for teaching mathematics to pre-service teachers are evident in mathematics education. This paper reports on a project to develop a critical approach to using mathematical subject knowledge in choosing learning examples and examines data…

In Taiwan, English was only officially taught at the secondary and tertiary levels before 2001. Since 2001, English courses have been formally incorporated into the curriculum in primary schools. Research on teaching and assessing English in primary school education is relatively new compared with research on other levels of education in Taiwan.…

This study explores a second-grade English language learner's literacy development and ability to use blogging for social and academic purposes, in the context of learning academic writing genres in a US urban school. Grounded in sociocultural theories, it conceptualizes learning as appropriation, and language as a dynamic and functional system of…

Teaching English Language Learners (ELL) academics while they are acquiring English language skills is a challenge for teachers. This action research examines the use of Response To Intervention (RTI) in teaching ELLs mathematical language and its effect on students' math achievement in primary grades. It shows that when mathematical language…

The three tiered reading model and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are two initiatives being used to identify struggling readers of low socioeconomic status. While there is abundant information with statistical reports from various researchers, there is little research available as to what educators implementing…

The purpose of this study is to impact the teaching and learning of math of 2nd through 4th grade math students at Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary School. The Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) model serves as the independent variable for this study. Its intent is to promote math instruction that emphasizes problem-solving to a greater degree…

Because schools place such high importance on text-based analysis often devoid of opportunities to draw on home knowledge, diverse ways of making meaning from books are often ignored. This qualitative study of a bilingual second-grade classroom examined the manner in which four young Latina students told stories about their life experiences in…

The study reviewed in this paper examined the effects of offering a school-wide teacher performance bonus program on students' reading and mathematics achievement. The study sample included 309 high-poverty New York City public schools serving students in grades K-8 from 2007-08 to 2008-09. Of these schools, 181 were randomly chosen to be offered…

This action research study addressed the need to increase student attendance at an elementary school. Previously, this school's Average Daily Attendance (ADA) has been 92%. With having nearly 900 students, there are approximately 70 daily absences, 1,400 monthly absences, and 13,000 yearly absences. To address the challenge, the researcher…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe teaching actions--embedded in the "Science Writing Heuristic approach," a systematic teaching approach that integrates literacy instruction and argument-based inquiry learning of science--supportive of the cross-disciplinary literacy expectations necessary to compete in the 21st…

This paper operationalizes the definition of action research (AR) and the importance of conducting such studies to improve the lives of students and professionals. This paper provides an overview of literature regarding variables related to truancy and absenteeism. The paper discusses the importance of students being present and engaged, negative…

Community workers and community services are a typical part of the second grade curriculum in many American schools. However, the content provided in textbooks often lacks depth and the personal connection that students need to make their learning meaningful. How many times have seven year olds already learned about fire fighters and mail…

While the English language boasts a century of research into its most frequently-used words, no such attempt has ever formally been made in the Arab world. This pioneering study presents a list of 500 commonly-used words in the Arabic language based on compilations of words gathered from a number of popular reading series in Lebanon, spanning…