Over the past 25 years, research and practical experience have supported investments in strategies to encourage all students to behave according to agreed-upon expectations. In collaboration with expert panelists, the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) distilled that research into practical recommendations for elementary educators. The…

This qualitative study explored teachers' perceptions and experiences regarding the implementation of the social and emotional learning framework, Strong Start, in a Title I elementary school in southeast Texas. The participants include ten elementary school teachers in Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade. Teachers' levels of experience range from…

This action research study aimed to determine the effects of culturally relevant art integrated math lessons on African American students' engagement. The study took place in a fourth grade classroom at an urban elementary school in Northern California. In response to the study's research question: What impact does culturally relevant…

Since 2012, the Prudence Foundation has been working to address the gap in financial literacy in developing nations by creating and distributing financial literacy media and curricula targeting 7- to 10-year-olds in Asia and, more recently, Africa. "Cha-Ching!" is a multipronged learning initiative that reaches children, teachers, and…

This report shares findings from EDC's evaluation study of "Cha-Ching Money Adventures." "Cha-Ching" is an interactive learning game that introduces 7- to 10-year-olds to fundamental financial concepts and fosters family dialogue about financial decisions. The authors found that the game was engaging for eight- and…

This paper presents a framework for implementing informal learning events through a multi-modal event. A specific example is provided using the Mars LEGO Robotics challenge during the global pandemic Novel-coronavirus-19 (COVID). Students in grades 4-6 typically develop Lego Mars Rovers and compete in a face-to-face large competition in three…

Students engagement with school is a concern of the educational community, research and policy makers. It has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct conditioned by several individual and contextual factors, namely personal, family, social and academic variables. Regarding academic variables, school retention is a controversial option,…

Using the ECLS-K:2011, a nationally representative dataset, we compared measures of behavioral engagement among students with four different learning profiles: students identified with learning disabilities, students identified as gifted, students identified as both gifted and having a learning disability (twice-exceptional; 2e), and general…

Professional development training is a crucial aspect of educational institutions worldwide, but its role in shaping and enhancing school culture is not always well-defined. This study explores the effects of professional development training on student-to-staff connections, students' sense of security, and their perception of safety within a…

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…

This study, an in-depth qualitative case study (Stake, 1995), framed with the theoretical tenets of situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) focused on fourth-grade students' experiences in literacy instruction that emphasized agency as a reform tool in response to narrowed, standardized reform efforts that left students disengaged (Au, 2007;…

Early attention skills have been found to be a significant and consistent predictor of academic outcomes, grades, and achievement results (Rabiner et al., "School Psychology Review," 45(2), 250-267, 2016; Rhoades et al., "Early Childhood Research Quarterly," 26(2), 182-191, 2011). A significant portion of students in elementary…

The purpose of this study was to understand how teachers leveraged the components of Project Based Learning (PBL) in a hybrid, remote, or in-person classroom environment to promote cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement. A narrative inquiry was conducted examining three teachers' implementation of PBL with students in Grades 4, 5, and 8…

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to study the effectiveness of two readers' theater (RT) programs in promoting reading skills and motivation of dysfluent readers in Grades 3-4. One program (RT Goal) included a goal of preparing a performance for an audience (n = 50), while another program (RT Practice) did not include such a goal (n =…

Students with co-occurring reading difficulties and inattention tend to respond to reading interventions less favorably than those with reading difficulties without inattention. However, there is limited research on how to increase student engagement during reading instruction for these students. To support the engagement of students with…