The shift from the traditional self-contained classroom to the departmentalized classroom structure in upper-elementary classrooms is increasing as the pressure to maximize student outcomes is higher than ever for public schools. Teachers prefer departmentalization but findings as to its benefits for students are mixed. This study considers the…

Spelling instruction is often overlooked by many teachers during reading and language arts. The purpose of this study was to implement a manageable differentiated word study instruction curriculum, drawn from the "Words Their Way (WTW)" curriculum, to determine how it affected students' spelling accuracy and how the participants…

As a result of educational reforms in many countries, including Finland, new or renovated comprehensive schools have increasingly begun to incorporate open and flexible designs and principles. Multipurpose and adaptable open learning spaces can provide children with amplified opportunities to be physically active during general education.…

This study examined the psychological well-being of students enrolled in two gifted programs with different service delivery models. Participants were 292 fifth- and sixth-grade students (M[subscript age] = 11.70, SD[subscript age] = 0.65) enrolled in a gifted math pull-out program (n = 103), a self-contained gifted program (n = 90), or a program…

This article provides an example of how one sixth-grade classroom teacher and an instructional coach built a bridge for students in a grade 6 self-contained classroom to support their conceptual understanding and procedural fluency with dividing fractions. Baseline data showed that most of the students in this class had mastered only the…

There is a national shortage of special education teachers, so it is imperative to retain special educators in the field (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). The most commonly cited reason special education teachers shared for leaving is lack of support from their administration. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how…

In this single-subject study, we examined the effects of a summarizing strategy on the written summaries of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). Six students with EBDs in fifth and sixth grades learned a mnemonic-based strategy for summarizing taught through the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) approach. Visual…

This article focuses on an argument-based inquiry (ABI) approach to a fourth grade unit on waves. A fourth-grade teacher included multiple opportunities for students to read, write, and use language to represent their understanding of physical science Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations (NGSS Lead States 2013). He…

In order to reach gender equity in the gifted population, an affirmative action policy was instituted in Israel to increase the number of girls identified as gifted. The purpose of this study was to compare the self-efficacy beliefs of girls in the top 1.5% (gifted girls (GG)) with those of girls in the top 3% (GG in affirmative action). It was…

The main purpose of the study was to characterize gender patterns regarding ways of thinking and learning among 242 fifth- and sixth-grade young gifted students in Israel. A written questionnaire was developed to assess ways of thinking as either connected (empathic) or separate (critical, detached). Findings showed that boys consistently rated…

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to examine the academic progress of students in reading, who have a learning disability in reading, as they transfer from pull-out support services to inclusion services; and (b) to examine the academic progress of general education students in reading, as they transfer from a general education setting…

There is limited research on teaching narrative writing skills to students with moderate to severe intellectual disability. In the current study, we used a multiple probe across participants single case design to evaluate the effects of an intervention package comprised of modeling, story templates, and self-graphing, on the inclusion of story…

Although elementary general music specialists teach students with a variety of exceptionalities every day (Chen, 2007; Hahn, 2010; Hoffman, 2011), many music teacher preparation programs do not adequately address exceptionality (Salvador, 2010). Articles regarding "strategies that work" appear perennially in the professional literature…

Researchers have linked teachers' use of mathematical tasks and questions to students' achievement in mathematics, and also have documented that the types of tasks and questions posed might change throughout the year in grades that include high-stakes tests of student achievement. This qualitative research study explored 3 elementary school…

Teaching students to enjoy reading is important in middle level education; however, middle school students with emotional behavioral disabilities (EBD) frequently struggle with reading skills and frequently display motivational deficits during reading instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine if the presence/absence of a classroom pet…