In this study, a comparative analysis was conducted to explore how students' learning outcomes were potentially influenced by student engagement during different modes of instruction. The study compared the final mean grade point averages (GPAs) of a sample (N = 600) of middle school students during in-person, online, and hybrid modes of…

The purpose of this study was to examine how growth mindset strategies enhance academic achievement for English learners in 5th grade from low socio-economic areas. Secondary data was available through (MAP) Measures of Academic Progress and surveys (Panorama and PACE/CORE) to analyze students' use of strategies from Fall to Winter of 2019 and…

In March of 2020 the COVID-19 Pandemic changed the world in education as we knew it. Schools, along with businesses and public venues around the world shut their doors in order to attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Just because the brick-and-mortar buildings were being closed did not mean that schooling would stop. Teachers and students from…

This mixed-method study introduced an adaptive scaffolding system to support middle school science problem-based learning (PBL) activities. 298 6th-graders were grouped into three conditions, which are the adaptive scaffolding group, the non-adaptive scaffolding group, and a control group that did not receive any scaffoldings. Results showed that…

The problem addressed in this research study involves lower student achievement on the i-Ready Reading Diagnostic test for fifth grade students that received reading instruction in the virtual setting during the COVID-19 pandemic than their peers that received in-person reading instruction. In this qualitative study, five teachers were interviewed…

The disruptions to schooling created by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted nationwide concern about negative impacts on academic proficiency, particularly for vulnerable student populations. Pennsylvania's 2021 statewide assessments offered the first opportunity since the pandemic began to assess how students across the Commonwealth were faring,…

This mixed-methods phenomenological study explored teacher perception and the phenomenon of general education teachers' lived experiences regarding the intricacies involved with assigning homework to diagnosed dyslexic students. Seven third and fourth grade general education teachers gave their perceptions, strategies, and experiences of assigning…

In March of 2020, in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Illinois mandated the transition to remote instruction for all schools. Although schools had the option to resume in-person instruction during the 2020-21 school year (SY21), the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) acknowledged that in-person instruction may not…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 was marked by a transition to remote learning in Illinois schools and nationwide. The following school year, schools and families faced difficult decisions about how and when to return to in-person learning. School leaders, parents and caregivers, and students considered how to balance…

For over two years, schools, teachers, students, and families across Illinois have worked to adapt instruction and learning under the ever-changing conditions wrought by COVID-19. This report, the third and final in the Learning During the Pandemic in Illinois series, investigates how much time students spent learning in-person and/or remotely…