This report documents the interim progress of the Baltimore Community School (CommSch) strategy by examining outcomes for the 2014-15 school year. Results show that CommSch parents more often reported being connected with community resources by school staff compared to parents at other schools. They also were more likely to report that school…

Engaging students in studies about conservation and sustainability can support their understanding of making environmental conscious decisions to conserve Earth. This article aims to contribute these efforts and direct students' attention to how they can use mathematics to make environmental decisions. Contributors to iSTEM: Integrating…

This study examined whether developing earlier forms of knowledge in specific learning environments prepares students better for future learning when they are placed in an unfamiliar learning environment. Forty-one students in the fifth and sixth grades learned to program robot movements using abstract concepts of speed, distance and direction.…

The purpose of the current study was to understand the association between bullying experiences (i.e., bullying, victimization, and defending) and social, emotional, and cognitive factors. The social factor was social skills (i.e., empathy, assertion, cooperation, responsibility); the emotional factor was emotional difficulties (i.e., personal…

Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) has witnessed an increase in the number of English learner students in grades K-12 over recent years, with students coming from more diverse backgrounds in race/ethnicity, countries of origin, and native language. This requires more support from the district to meet diverse needs in terms of languages,…

School bullying is a source of growing concern. A number of intervention programs emphasize the importance of a positive school climate in preventing bullying behavior. The aim of the presented pilot study was to examine whether calming background music, through its effect on arousal and mood, could create a pleasant atmosphere and reduce bullying…

In science teaching, metaphors are important tools for understanding meaningful learning and conceptual formation by the help of daily life language. This study aims to evaluate how the concepts of heat, temperature and energy are perceived by students in secondary school science classes and how the perceptions of these concepts vary in terms of…

This paper addresses the participation of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream schools. There are different benefits for ASD students to be educated in an inclusive environment (Gena, 2006; Whitaker, 2004). They challenge the school community by presenting difficulties in essential domains for school activities (Chamberlain,…

This study aimed to find the characteristics of public school math classrooms and how they influence self-efficacy of students. Data were collected on math students in grades 4 through 12 in a North Texas school district. Two surveys were administered to students in the district. Within 10 days, the students completed a classroom environment…

This study examined the influence of academic teaming (i.e., sharing academic classes with the same classmates) on the relationship between social preference and peer victimization among 6th-grade students in middle school. Approximately 1,000 participants were drawn from 5 middle schools that varied in their practice of academic teaming. A novel…

Research has begun to show that certain schoolwide characteristics--such as student-centered learning environments, leadership, and safety--can be important for improving student outcomes. In keeping with these insights, school improvement efforts around the country are becoming less narrowly focused on the performance of individual students and…

The purpose of this mixed method study is to explain the ecology Black males experience as they transition from elementary school to middle school in terms of behavior. The Black male graduation rate is well below 50% nationally (Orfield, Losen, Wald, & Swanson, 2004; Schott Foundation for Public Education, 2010). Graduating from high school…

This phenomenological study explored the lifeworlds of 27 academically advanced elementary students in three very different schools that endeavored to meet their diverse needs. Schools that had established formal social and emotional structures were found to have student populations far more accepting of diversity. As a result, academically…

In a series of 4 studies we investigated the relations of mastery goal structure and 4 dimensions of the classroom social climate (teacher academic support, teacher emotional support, classroom mutual respect, task-related interaction). We conducted multidimensional scaling with separate adolescent samples that differed considerably (i.e., by…

In the DISCUSS (Dialogic Inquiry for Socioscientific and Conceptual Understanding in School Science) research project, a Socioscientific Issues (SSI)-based curriculum is developed and implemented in sixth-grade science classrooms with predominantly English language learners (ELLs) in Houston, Texas. A four-week space unit is designed in…