Recent studies show that texting-based interventions can produce educational benefits in children across a range of ages. We study the effects of a text-based program for kindergarten parents, distinguishing a general program from one that adds differentiation and personalization based on the child's developmental level. Children in the…

Over the last several years, Tennessee has rapidly expanded the use of student growth portfolio models for the purpose of teacher evaluation. Participation, both in the number of districts and teachers, has increased steadily since portfolios were first introduced during the 2011-12 school year, and we expect that participation will continue to…

Language teacher education is widely identified as one of the most important areas that needs addressing in order to improve early language instruction, yet research into teacher education for early language teachers remains relatively sparse. This volume responds to this gap by compiling studies with diverse methodological tenets from a wide…

School-based mental health services are a promising context for evidence-based interventions to promote early socio-emotional development, yet implementation presents significant challenges. This paper describes the rationale, content and format of a school-based intervention, Starting Strong in Kindergarten (Starting Strong). Starting Strong is a…

Based on the recommendations of the K-3 Assessment Think Tank, an assessment design team consisting of current and former educators and early childhood education scholars developed a kindergarten entry formative assessment (KEA) which was piloted in 193 classrooms during the first 60 instructional days of the 2014-2015 academic year. North…

This article sets out how the author believes mathematics might be taught in creative ways. It is about the author's developing thoughts on how he teaches mathematics, how his class responds to his teaching, and how he adjusts his teaching through assessment of children's learning. Through observations and assessment of learning following his…

Quality engagement in early childhood programs is critical to the development and learning of young children, particularly those with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of engagement and interaction of children with disabilities in inclusive kindergartens in China. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the…

Ambivalence is a relatively little advanced concept for studying young people's engagement in education. We present a case study in which a teacher of a kindergarten-first-grade classroom works within an activity called a "playworld" to engage a child who had been excluded from certain classroom practices, after having been perceived by…

This study evaluated the effects of a mathematics software program, the Building Blocks software suite, on young children's mathematics performance. Participants included 247 Kindergartners from 37 classrooms in 9 schools located in low-income communities. Children within classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 21 weeks of computer-assisted…

This research aims at analysing technical specifications in a sample of Egyptian and French electronic storybooks (e-storybooks), to identify similarities and differences in technical specifications of children's e-storybooks and create a verified analysis list to be used for evaluation of e-storybooks. For this purpose, 32 e-storybooks in CD…

"Feeding up" establishes a substantive line of inquiry that compels learners to engage in investigation and inquire. It also forms the basis for the assessments that follow. Once students understand the purpose and begin to work, they receive "feedback" that is timely and scaffolds their understanding. Based on their responses, the teacher gains a…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how the effects of kindergarten teachers' evidence-based literacy instructional practices impact the development of low-income kindergarten students' intrinsic reading motivation. The research questions are: (a) What are kindergarten teachers' perceptions of students' intrinsic reading…

The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales (FSMAS) are among the most popular instruments used in studies of attitudes toward mathematics. However, the FSMAS has been mainly used among student populations and rarely used with teachers. In the present study, three scales from the FSMAS--"Confidence," "Effectance…

The authors examined the ecological validity of using observation-based scores to evaluate individual teachers' effectiveness, mirroring their use by school administrators. Using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, the authors asked (a) how similar are teachers' emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support scores from…

Helping children experience early learning success and acquire essential skills by third grade is a crucial part of any school reform effort. Yet, many teachers and children are overwhelmed by the ineffective curriculum-driven education system and the "rush to cover" climate in schools. "Fanatically Formative" shows how you can rediscover the joy…