Mathematical modeling is a high-leverage topic; it is critical to students' participation in STEM education and supports civic engagement. Until recently, research on modeling at the elementary level has been underemphasized, particularly research on supports and challenges for teachers who engage in designing authentic modeling tasks. In this…

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of effective professional learning communities while learning their impacts on staff members. The study also discovered the role of educational leaders during an effective implementation of professional learning communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff members of an…

Lesson study, especially when conducted with support from targeted resources, is often identified as a potentially effective means to support teacher learning. In this study, 80 school-based teams of educators, representing 80 classrooms of third- or fourth-grade students in the US, were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: lesson study…

Reading interest serves as an inherent driving force for children's reading. Current research shows that family cultural capital, school reading environment, and community reading culture all influence children's reading interests. According to the "family-school-community" collaborative education model, families, schools and communities…

Elementary-aged students likely participate in an in-school Community of Musical Practice (CoMP) in addition to CoMPs outside of school. Therefore, knowing a student's entire Landscape of Musical Practice (LoMP) can help music teachers align in-school music practices with those outside of school to support students' developing musical identities.…

Children's time use is a complex developmental phenomenon in need of a more in-depth, detailed understanding. The present study aimed to provide a comprehensive description of children's everyday lives in middle childhood and examine how different portfolios and patterns of daily activities occurring at home, school, and community are influenced…

This qualitative study examined how elementary school leaders from K-5 schools in eastern New York addressed contextual factors in implementing and sustaining professional learning communities (PLCs). Senge (1990) posited structures need to be in place to create and facilitate collaborative communities. A complementary position presents…

Despite the pervasiveness of bullying, less is known about the protective factors that could mitigate the effect of victimization on life satisfaction. We investigated the role of school connectedness as a mediator in the association between victimization and life satisfaction. Participants included 1284 elementary school students. The results…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of two farm-to-school programs, specifically the Field-to-Fork Multi-visit Program (N = 264) and the Field-to-Fork After-school Club (N = 56), on nutritional outcomes of elementary school students (third to fifth grade) from urban, diverse, and lower-income communities. Data…

A 7-month mathematics proficiency program was conducted in a primary Australian Indigenous community school. This paper focuses on outlining the specific methodologies employed to explore how students' mathematical proficiency changed throughout the implementation of the program in Years 2 to 4 (~ 7 to 9 years old). A mixed methods research design…

Graduate students often serve as a liaison between a university and its surrounding community through their participation in educational outreach programs. Astronomy graduate students' responses to openended survey questions about their experience volunteering with an educational outreach program were qualitatively coded to investigate how…

School and educator responses to the immigration policy environment may depend on what educators know about who is in their school community. This paper examines whether and how educators in a rural Midwestern community recognize undocumented and mixed-legal status students in their school community. We utilize concepts from recognition theory to…

Research has linked social presence in virtual teaching and learning to greater retention of students, increased student satisfaction, and higher levels of perceived learning. Teachers and families also benefit from increased social presence and community. However, challenges exist to implementing effective virtual teaching and learning at all…

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of Reading for Ethiopia's Achievement Developed Community Outreach (READ CO) project intervention on students' oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, academic achievements, and listening comprehension. It also aimed at identifying the students and teachers' awareness and practices about the…

The purpose of this dissertation-in-practice was to examine the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of K-5 elementary school teachers in a suburban Central Texas school on their use of blended learning in the classroom. Before conducting the study, previous research on blended learning was reviewed in the areas of student achievement, student…