Ecological ponds can be a good teaching tool for science teachers, but they must be built and maintained properly to provide students with a safe and suitable learning environment. However, many schools do not have the ability to build and maintain an ecological pond. This study used virtual reality technology to develop a web-based virtual…

This article illustrates the effects of embedding a common language derived from research, conducted through Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, into teachers' documentations of classroom experiences. It suggests that documentation can be enhanced by using shared professional vocabularies that describe categories important in…

This study capitalizes on recent advances in the reliable and valid measurement of classroom-level social processes known to influence children's social-emotional and academic development and addresses a number of limitations in our current understanding of teacher- and intervention-related impacts on elementary school classroom processes. A…

Performance-based accountability along with budget tightening has increased pressure on publicly funded organizations to develop and deliver programs that produce meaningful social benefits. As a result, there is increasing need to undertake formative evaluations that estimate preliminary program outcomes and identify promising program components…

The objective of this mixed methods study is to gain insights into how teachers can assist their students to become good readers who read with joy and engagement. This study describes multicultural classrooms in a low-SES (socio-economic status) Stockholm area, representing reading communities, where reading fiction is the heartbeat of classroom…

The long-term goal of this program of research is to clarify how teachers may influence features of peer networks that, in turn, may affect students' perceptions of social support, achievement-related beliefs and academic achievement. As a first step in this process, in this study the authors focus on identifying teaching practices that are…

This study examined the longitudinal relations between competence (academic achievement and social preference) and problem behavior (loneliness and aggression) in 741 elementary school boys and girls in the Netherlands (Grades 1-5). Also, we examined the moderation effects of having no friends, aggressive friends, or nonaggressive friends on the…

Background: Cultural capital in families and especially, the educational level of parents, has during the last decades been found to be the most important dimension of socio-economic influence on school performance. How the transmission of cultural capital over generations is concretized is however not yet fully investigated. Aims: The aim is to…

Student perceptions of classroom environment can provide useful criteria for evaluating educational alternatives. The My Class Inventory (MCI) was used with 588 3rd- to 5th-grade students in Texas in evaluating the effectiveness of instruction using a textbook, science kits, or a combination of both. Various analyses attested to the factorial…

In this study, evaluation of direct behavior rating (DBR) occurred with regard to two primary areas: (a) accuracy of ratings with varied instrumentation (anchoring: proportional or absolute) and procedures (observation length: 5 min, 10 min, or 20 min) and (b) one-week test-retest reliability. Participants viewed video clips of a typical third…

This case study consisted of an examination of the perspectives of students, teachers, and administrators at the Shuangling Primary School, a rural Chinese school in Shaanxi Province, as they relate to themes of China's most recent curricular reform efforts. The intent was to understand these perspectives and determine how to best assist teachers…

This study examined social problems at school and relationships with peers, siblings, mothers, and fathers among children with ADHD only (n = 41), ODD only (n = 14), ADHD + ODD (n = 47), and normal controls (n = 204) from a school-based sample of 2,463 first to ninth graders in Taiwan. ADHD and ODD symptoms were determined by teacher and mother…

This article provides background on school mental health (SMH) programs in Baltimore and efforts to integrate evidence-based preventive interventions into the schools served by these programs. We describe the triangular model of SMH promotion, building at the base from environment and relationship enhancement, followed by universal and selective…

Students now routinely use computers to search the Internet, write reports, design presentations, crunch numbers, and make spreadsheets. The thing is, much of what they know and understand about computers and technology is most likely stuff they didn't learn in school. In this article, the author discusses how a San Diego school district is…

Bullying is a problem that has been studied in schools worldwide, but there is little research on bullying within Christian schools, a dearth which may stem from the assumption that Christian schools teach character traits that are inimical to bullying. Yet understanding the extent and nature of bullying in Christian schools may lead to a better…