Field-based learning experiences are often used to increase the effectiveness of science curricula. However, time and financial limitations in public schools often hinder a teacher's ability to bring their students into the field for learning, despite increased demands to incorporate more science content into their curricula. In addition, federal…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 5900 Culminating…

Upper-elementary students encounter a sometimes dizzying array of traditional and nontraditional texts both in and outside of the classroom. This practical handbook helps teachers in grades 4-6 harness the instructional potential of fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling; Web-based and multimodal…

Students involved in the interactive whiteboard (IWB) evaluation, sponsored by the Centre for British Teachers (CfBT), were interviewed in regard to their perceptions about IWBs. Twelve group interviews (72 students) were conducted between January and Easter 2004 with Year 6 students (between 10 and 11 years of age) in six Local Education…

This study concerns applying Web-based learning with learner controlled instructional materials in a geometry course. The experimental group learned in a Web-based learning environment, and the control group learned in a classroom. We observed that the learning method accounted for a total variation in learning effect of 19.1% in the 3rd grade and…

This paper reports on an exploratory, longitudinal study that analyzes and interprets the evolution of teachers' beliefs regarding learning, teaching, and technology, and their instructional practices, in the context of integrating technology-based information-rich tasks in six 4th-6th grade classrooms. The study used multiple research tools,…

The Technology Enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science II project (TEEMSS), funded by the National Science Foundation, produced 15 inquiry-based instructional science units for teaching in grades 3-8. Each unit uses computers and probeware to support students' investigations of real-world phenomena using probes (e.g., for temperature or…

The authors describe a journey of self-study during which one author shifted from traditional, teacher-driven approaches to a more problem-based inquiry approach to teaching mathematics. He videotaped a series of lessons taught to sixth-grade students over a semester and analyzed his teaching during discussions with his mentor at the university.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the nature of reading comprehension processes while reading on the Internet. Eleven sixth-grade students with the highest combination of standardized reading scores, reading report card grades, and Internet reading experiences were selected from a population of 150 sixth graders in three…

The Idaho State Department of Education gathered teams of exemplary educators from throughout the state to write courses of study related to Idaho Achievement Standards subject areas. In turn, all of the state?s school districts received hard copies as well as online access in order to assist them incorporate the Standards as a more integral part…

This paper investigates classroom interventions using a particular form of multimedia information and communication technology (ICT), and looks to study gains in pupil learning that accrue from its use. The research takes place in eight UK schools with 219, 11-year-old children (eight Year 6 classes). Work within the Literacy Hour is detailed in…

Can second-grade students construct an understanding of sophisticated science processes and explore physics concepts while creating their own inventions? Yes! Students accomplished this and much more through a month-long project in which they used Legos and Robolab, the Lego computer programing software, to create their own inventions. One…

This paper addresses the controversial issues of improving the reading skills of young learners through technology-assisted reading programmes. On reporting the results of primary school learners from grade 2 to grade 7 who participated in a computer-based reading programme for seven months, we try to answer the critical questions of whether…

This study focuses on the SeaTrek Distance Learning Project, housed at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. The educational goal of the SeaTrek project is to spark student interest in science and communicate information about real-world research and conservation work at Mote to students and teachers in Florida. To accomplish this goal, the…

A new computerized testing system, which facilitates the use of short-answer-type testing, has been developed. In this system, the question of a multiple-choice problem is presented first, and the options appear briefly on the request of the test taker. The crux of this manipulation is to force students to solve the problem as if they were solving…