The major trend in ELT materials evaluation has been the measurement of general satisfaction levels against borrowed items from previous checklists. However, their real quality can be accurately assessed through contextually relevant criteria. In this study, 85 English teachers, and 500 seventh-graders evaluated the effectiveness of their…

The authors investigated the impact of explicit instruction and peer-assisted writing on students' writing motivation and self-efficacy for writing. Eleven teachers and their 206 fifth- and sixth-grade students participated in a 2 (explicit instruction vs. writing opportunities without explicit instruction) × 2 (peer-assisted writing vs. writing…

Students' seatwork plays an important part in their learning in their lessons, and very often, students record their private work in the notebooks during seatwork. The students' private work in their notebooks reflects students' learning and thinking, representing explicit learning outcomes. The students' private work in their notebooks of 14…

Jaya Carrier's decision to focus on developing a more independent approach to learning in history at Key Stage 3 was prompted by concerns about her A-level students. In seeking to establish secure foundations for students' own historical research, Carrier first examined the assumptions of her colleagues and her students. She quickly recognised…

Genius Hour is a time built into the school day or week to enable students to actively create their learning rather than passively consume it. During the time set aside for Genius Hour, students choose what they will learn about, the strategies they will use to learn it, the pace of their work, the materials and resources they will use, and the…

This study is an investigation of the epistemological beliefs of South Korean middle school students and their relation to self-directedness in learning. A total of 700 students from seven middle schools participated in the survey. The result revealed the four dimensions of epistemological beliefs (i.e., Learning Effort/Process, Authority/Expert…

This paper describes high quality teaching practices in two schools that produce exceptional growth for all kinds of students. These practices focus on making the most of instructional time and exposing students to high quality content in a variety of contexts. They prove teachers don't need to choose between differentiating to meet students'…

This multiple case study examined six adolescent band students engaged in self-directed practice. The students' practice sessions were videotaped. Students provided verbal reports during their practice and again retrospectively while reviewing their video immediately after practice. Students were asked to discuss their choice of practice…

The lives of middle school students are dynamic, and their needs and desires are always evolving. They experience more complicated lives as influences of the broader society including popular media and technology, immigration and cultural diversity, amplified political divisiveness, and bullying effect their daily lives both in and out of school.…

This study used a multiple probe across participants design to (a) evaluate the use of system of least prompts to teach students to self-instruct and (b) evaluate the use of a mobile device for a video activity schedule of a functional daily living skill. In baseline, the classroom teacher asked participants to make a snack and collected…

In this paper the experience of learners during the first phase of the PIPLEP project is explored. PIPLEP is aimed at promoting digital literacy and independent learning with the creation of personal learning environments (PLEs) as the final product. The participants were a group of 17 students enrolled in year 5 of primary school, and the main…

Homework challenges are particularly relevant for students with autism spectrum disorders who demonstrate difficulty maintaining attention, motivation, and developing effective study skills. These challenges are often exacerbated for adolescents with disabilities who face a number of challenges during the middle school years. A multiple baseline…

This article reports on an empirical exploration of the relations and strengths among Turkish grades 9-11 students' (n = 209) personal epistemologies (justification of knowledge, certainty of knowledge, source of knowledge, development of knowledge), self-regulated learning (extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, rehearsal, elaboration,…

This research aims to reveal the influence of learning methods and self-regulated learning on students learning scores for Social Studies object. The research was done in Islamic Junior High School (MTs Manba'ul Ulum), Batuceper City Tangerang using quasi-experimental method. The research employed simple random technique to 28 students. Data were…

With the increasingly ubiquitous nature of mobile devices among K-12 students, many argue for and against the inclusion of these devices in K-12 classrooms. Arguments in favor cite instant access to information and collaboration with others as positive affordances made possible through mobile devices. Self-directed learning, a process where…