As a result of increases in immigration, more students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are entering K-12 classrooms in the United States. Thus, the need to study the education of diverse learners is intensified. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews, observations, and informal conversations, this case study examined how a…

This study examined the effects of using the Model-Strategy-Application with Reasoning Approach (MSAR) in teaching and learning mathematics in linguistically and culturally diverse elementary classrooms. Through learning mathematics via the MSAR, students from different language ability groups gained an understanding of mathematics from creating…

This case study examined planning decisions made and challenges faced by an elementary teacher in a high-poverty urban district to promote students' adoption of social norms of interaction for scientific discourse. Through interviews, document analyses, and observations during a science unit, the findings indicated that the teacher's planning…

Given the international need to improve student learning, there is nothing more important than classroom teachers. Obtaining a deeper understanding of effective classrooms is a priority if educational reform efforts are to succeed in any educational system around the world. In the last decade, educational researchers have expanded the knowledge…

This case study examines the experiences of two fifth grade teachers as they dealt with district mandates while trying to address their high-poverty urban children's learning needs. It reveals their personal struggles that led to both compliance and resistance. In this case, the act of finding the space to engage in the intellectual and…

This article documents what happened when a teacher in an urban school shifted classroom practice through changing participation structures to incorporate digital technology and multiple modalities into a fifth grade literacy curriculum. This shift in teacher practice provided opportunities for immigrant students to become more visible in the…

Science education reform standards have shifted focus from exploration and experimentation to evidence-based explanation and argumentation to prepare students with knowledge for a changing workforce and critical thinking skills to evaluate issues requiring increasing scientific literacy. However, in urban schools serving poor, diverse populations,…