This action research study was conducted in an elementary school with a team of seven fourth- grade teachers. Transcripts of the fourth-grade teachers' discussions during their common planning sessions were recorded and analyzed. The data revealed that during collaborative planning sessions the teachers repeatedly referred to authentic…

The world, and especially our own country, is in dire need of a larger and more diverse population of computer scientists. While many organizations have approached this problem of too few computer scientists in various ways, a promising, and I believe necessary, path is to expose elementary students to authentic practices of the discipline.…

The aim of the study was to investigate differences in cognitive and metacognitive strategy use in the reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts among students with learning disabilities (SLD) and without learning disabilities (SWOLD). A total of 122 fifth and sixth graders took part in the study. Half of them (n = 61) were SLD…

We present the results of a study of local education agency (LEA)-based interventions to improve the reading outcomes of struggling readers in sixth grade. The sample included 1,076 intervention students and 3,644 comparison students. Regression discontinuity was used to evaluate intervention impact. The study contributes to the field by…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) develops and maintains a continuing five-year comprehensive strategic plan for elementary and secondary education in accordance with Public Act 93-1036. Agency staff members revisit the plan each year to review the agency's accomplishments and to refine the agency's strategies. The State Board amended…

Elementary teachers are challenged to maximize instructional time to cover standards in all content areas and to meet a wide variety of student needs including students who are not proficient in English. This action research looks at how one fourth-grade teacher improved achievement for English Language Learners by integrating social studies into…

A group of 50 good readers and a group of 50 poor readers of Grade 5 matched for age and intelligence and selected on the basis of their proficiency in reading comprehension were tested for their competence in word reading and the process of planning at three different levels, namely, perceptual, memory and conceptual in order to study the…

The purpose of this study is to develop "Self-Directed Learning Preparation Skills Scale" for primary school students. Data were gathered according to the principles of descriptive research method. In order to develop this scale, draft items were developed through review of literature, interviews done with teachers, parents and students…

The present study investigated the contribution of executive functions to narrative writing in fourth grade children, and evaluated to what extent executive functions contribute differentially to different levels of narrative composition. The written skills of 102 Dutch children in fourth grade were assessed using a narrative picture-elicitation…

A group of 50 skilled readers and a group of 50 less-skilled readers of Grade 5 matched for age and intelligence and selected on the basis of their proficiency in reading comprehension were tested for their competence in word reading and the processes of attention, simultaneous coding, successive coding and planning at three levels, i.e.,…

The paper highlights the main aspects and characteristic features of teacher-teacher Wikis, which are considered to be the most effective teaching and learning tools. The research studies the effectiveness of using Wikis by teachers during collaborative lesson planning. It also traces the impact of teacher-teacher Wikis on the teachers'…

In this paper we discuss how the products of student work during long-term, interdisciplinary curricular units at King Middle School, a grades 6-8 public school in Portland, Maine, through their aesthetic qualities, transformed people's understanding of what children were capable of. We argue that, to effectively understand student work of this…

Each year, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) updates its continuing, five-year comprehensive strategic plan for elementary and secondary education, per the Education Reform and Accountability Act of 2004. ISBE's Comprehensive Strategic Plan for Elementary and Secondary Education provides a comprehensive review of how the agency…

Packed with ideas for both new and veteran teachers of K-8 students, this book touches on a variety of topics that are especially relevant to the first week of school. The author provides critical information that includes arranging and navigating the classroom, setting basic expectations, communicating routines, and understanding your students'…

Inclusion classrooms were introduced in the United States in 1990 when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required that special education students be instructed in a general education setting. Ensuing changes in instructional formats have caused role confusion for special and general education teachers, resulted in mixed attitudes…