The Goal-Setting Challenge App (GSC App) translates the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) to a web-based format, shifting responsibility from teachers to technology to address challenges in scaling-up implementation. The present descriptive study examines transition-age U.S. students' responses to GSC App lessons to explore the…

Online course taking is widespread in K-12 education and even more so as schools have turned to virtual learning during the global health crisis. Educators across the country are actively seeking evidence-based guidance, only to discover that there is limited rigorous research related to online learning. The need to understand how to prepare…

Adolescents' school engagement is associated with high school completion; yet, few studies have examined interventions to improve school engagement for English Learners (ELs). In this mixed-methods study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effects of two years of the "Check & Connect" intervention on…

Prior studies identified effective, but mainly non-digital, homework aids. This research involved 18 middle school students in a lo-fi prototyping study to integrate traditional homework support tools with intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), leveraging rich log data for personalized learning. Feature investigations in standardized diaries, goal…

Coaching is an essential component of supporting teachers to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) in classrooms. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), an EBP designed to promote student self-determination, uses a research-based coaching model with six guiding principles. This qualitative study analyzed the content of…

Implementation supports for teachers can significantly impact the degree to which evidence-based practices are used as intended with secondary students across settings and content areas. The present analysis focused on examining the impact of teacher implementation supports on the goals set by students with and without disabilities engaging in an…

Supporting college and career readiness among youth who encounter significant academic and life challenges requires innovative strategies to help them envision their futures, leverage their strengths and develop dispositions that promote positive trajectories. For youth development professionals who develop and implement novel programmatic…

Self-determination, defined by acting as the causal agent in one's life, plays a critical role in the transition from high school to postsecondary education, employment, and community living for all students, including students with significant support needs. The "Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction" (SDLMI) is a teaching model…

The purpose of this study was to understand a school-based mentoring model that uses school staff as adult mentors. This study presents existing literature on school-based mentoring models along with a case study of one teen parent high school. The report also includes step-by-step guidance for implementation. At the case study school, all school…

Middle grades teachers want early adolescents to take responsibility for their own learning and success in school. One way to encourage this is with "interactive homework," which enables students to lead conversations with a parent or family partner about something interesting they are learning in class. An exploratory study tested…

This study examined if and how thinking time, defined as the time from the start of the problem to the students' first action to solve, influences their problem-solving efficiency, defined as the number of steps taken to solve the problem, using Graspable Math, a web-based mathematical tool. We found that: (1) students who took longer to think…

A major instructional focus of interventions designed to promote self-determination, such as the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), is to engage students in learning to set their goals, identify action plans, and evaluate their performance. However, little is known about how students define their goal attainment outcomes, or…

Past research finds that the effect of socioeconomic origin on the probability of making educational transitions decreases over the educational career from primary to graduate school. Some have argued that this pattern of waning is the result of selective attrition, since those of modest social origins who make a given transition may have…

The Apply and Communicate for Transition Now (ACTNow) Discussion Tool allows secondary students to effectively explore transition options through a respectful and honest conversation regarding expectations for success in chosen career pathways. In a one year randomized control research trial of 203 students with disabilities who used ACTNow,…

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with academic failure in high school; however the underpinnings of these difficulties are insufficiently understood. This study examined deficits in self-regulated learning in a sample of high school students with ADHD (n=32) compared to demographically similar classmates without ADHD…