Teachers hold significant power to determine which books or printed materials students might access, choose, or reject. It is important to consider how teachers' objectives, understandings, or perspectives serve as literacy sponsorship and implicitly privilege or suppress which texts, genres, or authors students access. This case study examines…

This study reports the integrated findings of a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study that investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of mobile-based writing tools (MBWTs) as well as gender differences that emerged from these learning effects in the narrative writing skills of a group of sixth to seventh grade Latinx English Learners…

There is a dearth of empirical research on the efficacy of integrated teacher professional development (PD) models, ones that synthesize both online learning and face-to-face teacher PD experiences and interactions. The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to determine how teachers perceived an integrated PD experience that…

Early adolescents, particularly from underrepresented or marginalized communities, may feel disconnected from school science leading to a lack of engagement. The lack of connection between their out of school experiences and school science may lead them to devalue science. This study examines interviews with 56 middle school students and 12…

Writing is a critical tool for developing thinking and communicating ideas. However, only about a third of students across grades 4, 8 and 12 meet standards for proficient writing (NCES, 2011). While writing generally has long been a neglected area of curricula, this is especially the case with argument writing. The proposed presentation describes…

This study examines teachers' initial conceptions of an integrated STEM-PBL approach and their perceptions of what facilitates or hinders implementation in their schools. This study took place within the first year of a three-year STEM Professional Development (PD) program for middle school math, science and English language arts teachers. The two…

In "The No Significant Differences Phenomenon," Russell (1999) discusses a thought-provoking pattern of research findings regarding integrating educational technology into classroom instruction that started in 1928 and continues today. Finding few studies that resulted in measurable positive effects, Russell concluded that using…

This two-part investigation (a) assessed the impact of the Jaime Escalante Math Program (JEMP), a structured summer mathematics intervention program, on the math achievement of urban middle school students and (b) identified the characteristics of the program that the administrators and teachers perceived to contribute to student achievement. A…

This study relied on motivational models derived from self-determination theory to explain how garden-based science activities can contribute to minority students' motivation and learning in science class and academic identity in science. Participants were 105 sixth-grade students from primarily low-SES families at two diverse urban schools.…

In this study, we explored the potential of two forms of discussion (disciplinary vs. traditional) for 39 sixth- and seventh-grade students with or at-risk for LD, before writing historical arguments. Nine teachers who led small group discussions in six heterogeneous social studies classrooms implemented the intervention. Students who were…

Data from 1,312 middle school students from nine states in the U.S. were gathered in spring 2015 during an NSF grant initiative featuring middle school environmental science curricular activities. Surveys related to STEM dispositions, career interest, climate change, creative tendencies and attitudes toward school were completed by participants,…