The problem that was the focus of this study was that only 30% of fourth grade students in the United States read at or above grade-level proficiency. Lack of reading proficiency affects fourth-grade students' ability to master content presented in subjects across the curriculum and may limit their educational attainment. The purpose of this basic…

This study provides the first large-scale quantitative exploration of mathematical language use in U.S. classrooms. Our approach employs natural language processing techniques to describe variation in the use of mathematical language in 1,657 fourth and fifth grade lessons by teachers and students in 317 classrooms in four districts over three…

The purpose of this research was to examine the pedagogical practices that encourage students with severe disabilities' participation in an elementary physical education program through the lens of ableism. Focus group interviews were conducted with elementary students and semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight educators in the…

Many children have difficulties with accurate self-monitoring and effective regulation of study, and this may cause them to miss learning opportunities. In the classroom, teachers play a key role in supporting children with metacognition and learning. The present study aimed to acquire insights into how teachers' cognitive and metacognitive…

In the realm of elementary education, the influence of teacher empathy on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) remains a critical yet nuanced aspect. This qualitative study explores the integral role of teacher empathy in shaping SEL environments in K-5 classrooms. Teacher empathy, defined as the capacity to perceive situations from students'…

The use of open problem-solving tasks in mathematics education challenges teachers' beliefs, knowledge and practices. This article examines the practices of two primary teachers and their 3rd to 5th grade classes during a three-year in-service teacher training project aiming to increase mathematical problem-solving in class. Three lesson videos…

Scientific inquiry is an often misunderstood concept in many elementary classrooms. On the inquiry spectrum, teacher-directed (TD) scientific inquiry is prevalent in schools. From a critical and social constructivism framework, TD inquiry programs affect students' original/unhindered questions, called primal inquiry (PI), and processes in science…

This correlative study examined the role of teacher qualities and working conditions in 4th- and 8th-grade Turkish students' mathematics achievement in TIMSS 2019. Teacher qualifications were defined based on the teacher questionnaire used in TIMSS 2019 and were discussed in three categories: personal characteristics, teacher qualifications, and…

This study contributes to the paucity of research on transformative approaches to civic education in elementary school classrooms. In this dissertation, I explore how culturally and linguistically diverse fourth graders and their teacher in a Spanish-English two-way bilingual education (TWBE) classroom engaged in transformative civic education.…

Classroom engagement can be problematic for students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH), but is essential to ensure that they can reach their best educational and postschool outcomes. This study used semi-structured interviews to explore the self-perceived barriers and facilitators to classroom engagement for 16 DHH students educated in…

This study investigated how two aspects of the classroom environment (teachers' emphasis on mastery goals and descriptive norms (i.e., the average student disruptive, prosocial, and achievement-related behavior in a classroom), moderated the relationship between student behaviors and coolness. The sample included 976 students nested in 54 fifth-…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the mainstream classroom teachers in this unique K-8 school setting report focusing on English Learners (ELs), what they perceive to be their roles and responsibilities in working with ELs, and what they want to learn further about ELs. For this study, mainstream teachers refer to those who…

Background: Interaction, participation and collaboration are thought to be important factors for supporting successful second or foreign language learning. The use of Interactive Groups (IGs) is regarded as helpful in creating the conditions in which interaction, participation and collaboration are increased to create effective dialogic learning.…

The adoption of engineering design-based science teaching requires elementary teachers to modify their current science pedagogy, often resulting in tensions or hard choices they must make in their teaching practice. The purpose of this study is to identify, compare, and characterize the tensions faced by 45 grade 3 and grade 4 elementary teachers…

Policy and practice communities increasingly are emphasizing conceptual, cognitively demanding, and "ambitious" instruction. Within this context, we examine whether such practices serve the needs of students with specialized academic needs. Across upper-elementary classrooms in four districts, we find that exposure to…