Student goal setting and academic planning has been a major focus for PUSD, with the aim of increasing the level of student engagement and student ownership over their learning. Goal setting has been implemented in conjunction with the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) tests, which provide educators with a tool…

This study used a trichotomous achievement goal model to explore and describe what actually happened in terms of students' achievement goals and disruptive behaviors in an after-school physical activity program. Participants included 158 students in grades 3-6. They completed questionnaires assessing their achievement goals and disruptive…

One of the main policy responses to turnover and inadequate preparation among beginning teachers is supporting them with an induction program. Informal or low-intensity teacher induction programs are prevalent and include pairing each new teacher with another full-time teacher without providing training, supplemental materials, or release time for…

Previous work within self-determination theory has shown that experimentally framing a learning activity in terms of extrinsic rather than intrinsic goals results in poorer conceptual learning and performance, presumably because extrinsic goal framing detracts attention from the learning activity and is less directly satisfying of basic…

Although the transition from elementary school to middle school can be an exciting time for students, it can also be vexing and traumatic. Often, when parents drop off their children at middle school on the first day of school, the scene is reminiscent of the first day of school for kindergarteners and their parents. At Albert Leonard Middle…

Following queer theory and critical discourse analysis principles, my aims in this article are to analyze gay-themed discourses in literacy contexts and to suggest a way of queering literacy teaching. In the first part, I focus on ethnographically generated data from a class of fifth-graders in Brazil. The analysis shows that homoeroticism was…

This guide presents information and clinical tools to implement the Anger Coping Program, an empirically supported intervention for students in grades 3-6. Practitioners are taken step by step through setting up treatment groups, teaching vital skills for reducing aggression and disruptive behavior, and building strong partnerships with teachers…

This study postulated a structural model to investigate the degree of influence that White middle-level teachers who employ mastery goal orientation and academic pressure may have on Hispanic students' sense of school belongingness. Participants were 434 5th and 6th grade students and 21 teachers. Initial proposed model estimates fit the data…

Which comprehensive school reform programs have evidence of positive effects on elementary school achievement? To find out, this review summarizes evidence on comprehensive school reform (CSR) models in elementary schools, grades K-6. Comprehensive school reform models are programs used schoolwide to improve student achievement. They typically…

In an effort to explore the impact of performance incentives in education, the National Center on Performance Incentives (NCPI) partnered with the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to conduct the Project on Incentives in Teaching, or POINT. The study examines the effects on student outcomes of paying eligible teachers bonuses of up to…

Although preventive interventions that include both parent and child components produce stronger effects on disruptive behavior than child-only interventions, engaging parents in behavioral parent training is a significant challenge. This study examined the effects of specific risk factors for child disruptive behavior on parent attendance in…

This study explored how Taiwanese upper-elementary-school students' motivational characteristics were related to their decisions regarding avoidance of help seeking in the classroom context. Two hundred and ninety-eight sixth-grade students completed a self-report survey assessing their attitudes and behaviors related to help avoidance,…

Background/Context: Working theories about student goal orientation, understanding of intelligence, and affective mediation of task engagement inform current beliefs about students and learning and motivation. Much research has focused on identifying effective teaching strategies to raise the achievement of disadvantaged students; however, less is…

Many gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults report a period of childhood sexual questioning--an uneasy questioning of their heterosexuality brought on by same-sex attractions and motivating same-sex sexual exploration. This article evaluates hypotheses about the correlates, causes, and consequences of childhood sexual questioning. Participants were 182…

For students, fifth grade is a time of increasing independence and responsibility. Yet fifth-graders vary widely in their reading and writing abilities--and they are still young enough to require considerable teacher support. Depicting an exemplary teacher in action, this indispensable book presents innovative, practical strategies for creating an…