In an era of reductionist approaches to teaching and assessment, this dissertation returns to the fundamental question: "What is the value of writing, particularly poetry writing, in our society today?" The poet's central task, to abstract reality through symbols, requires profound cognitive and emotional work (Vendler, 2004; Steele,…

This presentation capitalizes on a three-year, longitudinal, school-randomized trial of the 4Rs Program, a comprehensive, school-based social-emotional and literacy program for elementary schools, to test intervention induced changes in features of classroom climate and key dimensions of teacher affective and pedagogical processes and practices…

The aim of this study was to determine the elementary teachers' knowledge about air pollution. Ozone depletion, global warming, acid rain, and renewable energy were also addressed in this study to get holistic picture about air pollution. A total of 183 teachers from the 91 schools in Ankara participated to the study. The data obtained were…

This study reports preliminary findings of a national survey on student violence against teachers in Taiwanese schools; 14,022 students from elementary to high school (grades 4 to 12) participate in this study. Students were given a structured and anonymous questionnaire including a scale for reporting their violent behavior against teachers.…

This study investigated 2 questions: (1) do children show consistent styles of appraisal across a range of moderately stressful events?, and (2) what are the adjustment and parenting correlates of individual differences in children's appraisal style? Ninety-nine 3rd though 5th grade children and their mothers participated. For each of 6 vignettes…

In this study over the course of one school year, I set out to look closely at what the diverse fifth-grade students in Ms. Jean's urban class were learning from the social justice curriculum. As a former kindergarten teacher at Gonzales myself, in this project I wanted to know what children said, thought, and did when they were asked to read…

This study provides a comprehensive look at a constructivist one-to-one computing program's effects on teaching and learning practices as well as student learning achievements. The study participants were 476 fourth and fifth grade students and their teachers from four elementary schools from a school district in the Dallas, Texas, area. Findings…

This teacher research study examines the literary talk and classroom community that emerged during Book Club meetings, fishbowl discussions, and a Retrospective Reflection session which transpired in my fifth grade classroom over the course of two thematic units. Themes of cultural awareness and belonging served to help students flesh out social…

This quasi-experimental study investigates how the classroom learning environment changed after inquiry-based activities were introduced and student questioning was encouraged. Three science teachers and three classes of fifth graders (n = 92) participated in this study. The analysis of covariance reveals that although the experimental group…

Relational aggression was studied within classroom environments by examining individual and classroom correlates among 2731 children (3rd-5th graders) during two successive measurement years. Multilevel analyses yielded small gender differences for relational aggression, indicating that such aggressive behavior was more associated with girls as…

In this study, the authors examined the racial and gender gap in the academic development of African American and White children from kindergarten to 5th grade. Their main goal was to determine the extent to which social and behavioral factors, including learning-related skills, problem behaviors, and interpersonal skills, explain these gaps and…

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a classroom event in which fourth and fifth grade students in a highly diverse urban school interpreted, discussed and responded to a district survey intended to illuminate the social climate of the city's schools, with a particular focus on race and racism. We drew on the three-dimensional…

In this study, 149 low-income, ethnically heterogeneous, fourth- and fifth-grade students completed self-report surveys in the fall and spring of 1 academic year. We examined classroom climate (satisfaction, cohesion, friction, task difficulty, and competition) and school belonging in relation to language arts and math and science self-efficacy,…

The importance of effective instruction on student academic and social achievement has been well documented. Strong classroom management and the use of high rates of opportunities to respond (OTR) have been two advocated classroom practices to positively impact student performance. This article presents an analysis of data collected across 35…

This paper discusses a case study of a small cluster of 10- and 11-year-old multilingual children, all first- or second-generation Canadians living in suburban Toronto, who collaboratively wrote an elaborate adventure book in English as a Grade 5 enrichment activity. We explore the language worlds of these gifted young writers to trace their…