This article presents a series of open-ended tasks exploring the development of algebraic expressions suitable for exploration with Year 7 students. The tasks use a familiar tool, the hundreds chart, to aid the transition between representational tools and abstract ways of working. The tasks outline a developmental progression of patterns and…

The purposes of the study were to investigate the effectiveness of the 5E inquiry-based technique integrated with graphic organizers on grade 7 students' science learning achievement and to investigate the effectiveness of the 5E inquiry-based technique integrated with graphic organizers on grade 7 students' science analytical thinking. 36 Thai…

This study was carried out to examine proportional reasoning problem solving processes of seventh grade students. This study was conducted with the explanatory sequential mixed method design. In this respect, firstly, quantitative data from 56 students were collected and analyzed. Then, qualitative data of the study was collected from six students…

The objective of this study is to develop e-modules for bump pass learning for seventh-grade students. This study identified the problems and needs of students in learning bump pass skills, e-module eligibility and the effect of the e-module on students' bump pass skills. Two groups of seventh grades, two teachers serving as content experts and…

Interdisciplinary learning has become prevalent as a means of solving problems encountered in everyday life. Yet, there is a lack of experimental studies investigating strategies to facilitate interdisciplinary learning. This study explored the impacts of timing and types of instructional materials on the study of interdisciplinary subjects. A 2 ×…

This report describes initial findings from a study of middle school science curriculum materials that were designed to promote learning as called for by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). WestEd led an independent randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the NGSS-designed Amplify Science Middle School (ASMS) curriculum.…

Despite the growing body of research on how to support older readers, few studies consider whether U.S. teachers can identify students who have difficulty reading instructional materials across content areas or whether teachers feel like they have the knowledge and resources to support those students. Such information could lay the groundwork for…

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the impact of writing prompts and graphic organizers on Mona school's 7th and 8th grade students' mathematical academic achievement and their attitudes towards the authentic application of mathematics. Two research questions guided the study: (1) How and to what extent, do writing prompts and…

Students' lack of motivation in learning school science has been recognized as a problem, due to its negative impact on students´ STEM-related career choices. For supporting students´ motivation to study science, the use of an introduction which sets the scene, sometimes called a scenario, has been recommended. Although scenarios, which introduce…

Planned instructional scaffolding--the temporary use of materials, routines and structures to support students in doing challenging academic work--is a critical component of English-language reading instruction with emergent bilinguals (students formally categorized as English Language Learners). Although scholars describe how scaffolds…

Functioning in a world beyond school requires more sophisticated understanding of both content knowledge and knowledge production across the disciplines (Lee & Spratley, 2010; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008), as well as how to access, interpret, and share information in print and online environments (Afflerbach & Cho, 2009; Coiro &…

The increase in global migration and the prioritization of English as an international language have resulted in science learning environments that include students whose primary language differs from the language of instruction. This worldwide phenomenon is not limited to geographical regions but occurs where diverse populations representing…

Science education researchers have turned their attention to the use of images in textbooks, both because pages are heavily illustrated and because visual literacy is an important aptitude for science students. Text-image integration in the textbook is described here as composition schemes in increasing degrees of integration: prose primary (PP),…

This study used a single-subject, multiple-baseline across participants design to replicate previous research on the functional relation between the use of a mobile-based graphic organizer (MBGO) and the persuasive writing performance of middle school students with high incidence disabilities. The current study extended the previous research by…

One obstacle to understanding abstract concepts such as the "control of variables" strategy (CVS) is the tendency for learners to focus on surface rather than deep features in instructional materials. However, in tasks such as learning CVS, these same surface features may also support understanding, provided learners realize the…