A structural/cross-sectional micro-analytic perspective prevails in the Socio-constructivist research of peer knowledge construction. This paper proposes an alternative micro-sequential approach that focuses on the transitions between events during the activity. From this micro-sequential perspective, the study aimed to (a) explore the…

There have been many attempts to address the deficits in traditional teaching methods for decades Multiple studies have been done on the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM) and the results of each study has shown an improvement. The addition of relational conceptual change has added much needed improvement in teaching science. This study,…

Effectively evaluating the credibility and accuracy of multiple sources is critical for college readiness. We developed 24 source evaluation tasks spanning four predicted difficulty levels of a hypothesized learning progression (LP) and piloted these tasks to evaluate the utility of an LP-based approach to designing formative literacy assessments.…

This study examined the effects of two teaching treatments [multiple-representation instruction (MR) and traditional algorithmic instruction (TA)] on students' performance on mathematics problems that integrated fractions, decimals, and percent. Using a 2 × 2 crossover design, the effect of the teaching treatments and their sequences on student…

Chemistry knowledge can be represented at macro-, micro- and symbolic levels, and learning a chemistry topic requires students to engage in multiple representational activities. This study focused on scaffolding for inter-level connection-making in learning chemistry knowledge with graphical simulations. We also tested whether different sequences…

Mathematics instruction -- and interventions to support mathematics teaching -- for students with intellectual disability is important yet underexamined. This study explored a graduated instructional sequence referred to as the virtual-representational (VR) as a mathematical intervention. Researchers taught four students with disabilities what…

The Framework for Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards in the USA emphasize learning progressions (LPs) that support conceptual coherence and the gradual building of knowledge over time. In the domain of genetics there are two independently developed alternative LPs. In essence, the difference between the two progressions…

Diagnostic assessments are intended to support teachers' instructional decision making by providing instructionally relevant information. In this article, we propose that using cognitive theories of learning to design diagnostic assessments can provide teachers with two diagnostic outcomes: (a) the location of a student's thinking within the…

We detail a learning progressions approach to early algebra research and how existing work around learning progressions and trajectories in mathematics and science education has informed our development of a four-component theoretical framework consisting of: a curricular progression of learning goals across big algebraic ideas; an instructional…

This article presents the results of a 7th-grade classroom teaching experiment that supported students' understanding of integer addition and subtraction. The experiment was conducted to test and revise a hypothetical learning trajectory so as to propose a potential instructional theory for integer addition and subtraction. The instructional…

The New York State Education Department, in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, developed a "Striving Readers project" to address the literacy needs of early adolescent struggling readers in middle school. The goal of the project was to implement and examine the impact of a one-year comprehensive supplemental…

Planning engaging and effective lessons for middle and high school learners is one of the fundamental components of successful secondary teaching (Skowron 2001; Butt, 2006). While Wiggins & McTighe (1998) have set forth a framework for "backwards planning" in unit design, this article provides a framework for employing backwards planning in…

The purpose of this study was to construct and study the impact of a research-based sequence for teaching the concept of modelling to seventh-grade science students. We identified students' notions of models and the aspects of school science to be addressed regarding the model concept, which were then taken into account when we planned the…